Let There Be Light (Heinlein short story)

Short story by Robert A. Heinlein

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"Let There Be Light" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, originally published in Super Science Stories magazine in May 1940 under the pseudonym Lyle Monroe. It is the second story in his Future History and was included in the first collection, The Man Who Sold the Moon, but was omitted from the omnibus collection The Past Through Tomorrow. This story draws on Heinlein's early leftist ideas, and makes references to George Bernard Shaw's The Apple Cart.

Summary

The story concerns the invention of "light panels" – devices which turn electrical power directly into light (similar to electroluminescent displays, invented in 1949). In the course of their discovery, the inventors also discover that these panels can also be used to derive power from light. In attempting to bring their discovery to market, they encounter the active opposition of the Power Syndicate, a conglomeration of energy-producing companies dedicated to preserving their monopoly on power production. Rather than trying to maintain a patent on their invention, the scientists then publicly release the scientific details of their discovery for a small royalty, allowing anyone to obtain their own power, and thus outwitting the Power Syndicate. "Douglas-Martin sunpower screens" appear in several other Heinlein stories, such as "The Roads Must Roll".

References

US 2624857, Mager, Eric L., "Electroluminescent lamp", issued 1953-01-06, assigned to Sylvania Electric

External links

"Let There Be Light" title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
"Let There Be Light" on the Internet Archive

v t e Robert A. Heinlein's Future History
Collections	The Man Who Sold the Moon (1950) The Green Hills of Earth (1951) Revolt in 2100 (1953) Orphans of the Sky (1963) The Past Through Tomorrow (1967)
Novels	Methuselah's Children (1958) The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress (1966) Time Enough for Love (1973) The Number of the Beast (1980) The Cat Who Walks Through Walls (1985) To Sail Beyond the Sunset (1987) The Pursuit of the Pankera (2020)
Short stories	"Life-Line" "Let There Be Light" "The Roads Must Roll" "Blowups Happen" "The Man Who Sold the Moon" "Delilah and the Space Rigger" "Space Jockey" "Requiem" "The Long Watch" "Gentlemen, Be Seated!" "The Black Pits of Luna" "It's Great to Be Back!" "—We Also Walk Dogs" "Searchlight" "Ordeal in Space" "The Green Hills of Earth" "Logic of Empire" "The Menace from Earth" "'If This Goes On—'" "Coventry" "Misfit" "Universe" "Common Sense"
Characters	Lazarus Long The Notebooks of Lazarus Long Delos D. Harriman Jubal Harshaw Competent man Maureen Johnson Andrew Jackson Libby Hazel Stone
Related	The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein (1966) Expanded Universe (1980)

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