| "Call Me Joe" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Poul Anderson | |
 First publication Cover art by Frank Kelly Freas | |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Publication | |
| Publication date | April 1957 |
"Call Me Joe" is a science fiction novelette by American writer Poul Anderson (1926–2001), first published in Astounding Science Fiction in April 1957.[1] It has been frequently anthologized,[2] including in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two (1973), a collection of unusually outstanding works selected by the Science Fiction Writers of America.
The story involves a future program by humans to explore and settle the surface of the planet Jupiter. (At the time of publication, it was considered plausible that the planet had a solid surface.) Because the Jovian environment is extreme (gravity, pressure, temperature, hydrogen/ammonia atmosphere, liquid methane) — and thus humans cannot descend to the surface — a prototype synthetic life-form is created and remote-controlled by technologically enhanced telepathy (psionics). This intelligent creature (which happens to resemble a centaur) is inserted among the native Jovian life-forms, none of which are sentient. The controller and operator of this artificial body is a severely disabled human.
- ^ Call Me Joe title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- ^ For example in Anderson's 1981 collection The Dark Between the Stars and in Jupiter (1973; Ballantine Books), edited by Carol and Frederick Pohl.