Scanners Live in Vain is a short story published by Cordwainer Smith in 1950, and it is considered a seminal work of science fiction.

It was fortuitous that the story came to be noticed at all, since it was published in a science fiction magazine with a very low circulation (Fantasy Book). However, that publication happened to carry a story by the more well-known author Frederik Pohl, who read Smith's story and recommended it to others. Afterwards, Smith wrote other stories set in the same universe.

The narrative begins abruptly by throwing a series of unexplained terms at the reader, making you curious about what could be going on, although quite a lot can be deduced from the context.

The story is set in a distant future in which space travel has become commonplace. However, space travel is fatal to humans if they do not hibernate for the duration of long flights due to something called the "Great Pain". A special group of people is therefore created through a process of physical modification, and these individuals are able to stand the pain of traveling in a conscious state through deep space. However, the cost of this modification is the loss of all human senses (apart from sight), and instruments attached to the body must be continuously monitored by users to "scan" both basic physical functions and everything in the environment around them instead of feeling these things naturally. Most of these modified humans are criminals who have been forcibly drafted into service, but the Scanners who oversee them on space flights have made the sacrifice voluntarily and are therefore held in the highest esteem within society.

Only through a special process called "cranching" can Scanners temporarily experience their human senses and emotions again, and this cannot be done too often or for too long without adverse effects.

Against this background, a man named Adam Stone comes to the attention of the Confraternity of Scanners when he discovers a process whereby people can remain awake during space travel without feeling the Great Pain. The Scanners feel threatened by this discovery since it would render their role obsolete, but they do not all agree on what should be done about the situation.

This short work showcases Cordwainer Smith's vision in several areas, for example in his idea of how a futuristic government and society may operate, the influence new technology may have upon human psychology, and the advantages and disadvantages of physical modification. Of course, a major factor which makes it relevant to the reader is that it, like many other notable works, probes the question of what it means to be human.

The only possible flaw may be that the ending feels a little rushed and overly optimistic. ( )

We went from cyborgs to an analysis of human emotionality into revolution, all in a short story. Pretty damn impressive and interesting, if you ask me. I was tempted to add this one into my zombie bookshelf, too, because they're all dead men, after all. Very cool. ( )