Deal Me in Challenge: "Repent, Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman by Harlan Ellison

Card Drawn:

Jelly beans! Jelly beans for all!

My first club card from the deck and this was a weird one. Like, really really weird. I should have expected as much since this is Harlan Ellison we are talking about here who is basically the king of weirdness and the macabre. It is no surprise to me whatsoever that he is a huge influence on Stephen King. Both authors specialize in the uncanny, the bizarre and of course, horror. Without knowing anything about this story, an unusual title like "Repent Harlequin!" Said the Ticktockman" conceivably suggests something peculiar and comical, which this story certainly delivers in spades (or should I say, delivers in clubs? ha!). 

This is the second story that I have read by this author and definitely enjoyed it a lot more than "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream," a very unsettling story where an omniscient A.I. supercomputer has imprisoned the last of humanity. The premise is fascinating but his writing style did not always work for me. Similar to "Repent Harlequin,"  Ellison's literary imagination and big concept ideas take precedence but his writing style actually feels more acute and cohesive; his story-telling more focused instead of inchoate in execution. Beginning in medias res, the narrative then moves backwards before jumping forward to its conclusion, which makes thematic sense since the manipulation of 'time' plays such an important role in the story. Imagine a world where your time on earth is predetermined from birth and controlled by an imposing authoritative figure called the Ticktockman. He is known as the "Master Timekeeper" who tracks everyone's time-card connected to implanted cardioplates in their body to ensure people are never late or caught stealing time by not being productive. Those who violate these laws are severely punished, either by him removing the exact time from your life for being tardy or turning off your cardioplate, which kills you. The actual origin of the Ticktockman is never revealed but there is a reference to a war going on with the underlying implication that maximum efficiency is integral to achieving victory. Humanity has become lazy and unproductive. Self-preservation at the expense of others will inevitably cause our own self-destruction. Thus, the Ticktockman becomes a metaphorical representation of Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan: an absolute monarch ruling over the people in a totalitarian society where people have abandoned their freedom and consciousness in exchange for safety, stability and order.

Enter the Harlequin, a lone revolutionary and folk-hero of the people seeking to dismantle the Ticktockman's tyrannical regime ("the ones who kept the machine functioning smoothly"). The anti-capitalist social commentary becomes quite explicit. He disrupts the entire natural order of things and sabotages the set time schedules by creating clever diversions. However, his acts of rebellion and subterfuge are not violent; rather, he engages in various pranks and comical high-jinks. For example, one of his pranks is to drop millions of jelly beans on the crowds below who are all lined up like mechanical drones waiting to go inside the factory to work, throwing everyone into a total frenzy and causing a delay in production for days. No wonder he is given the name of Harlequin as he becomes the most wanted man in the world. Although shifts in tone between farce and seriousness can be jarring at times, Ellison's dark humor remains most pervasive. I am still not sure what to make of the ironic ending that left me slightly confused but somehow it also makes sense?

Strangely enough, the more I reflect upon this story, the more it grows in my esteem.

Note: I re-read this story again in February 2023 and absolutely loved it. My initial 3 star rating is far too low--this deserves 5 stars and is now one of my absolute favorites. Welcome to the Hall of Fame.