Generation Starships

[john domenic]

I'm trying to find a short story of the "generation starship" subgenre of sf. I read the story several years back in an anthology. The story involves a boy living on the starship, and an engimatic character called the Protector (or perhaps the Patriarch, or Patrician, but I'm most confident in Protector) who in some way controls the starship from behind the scenes. The boy's family is killed in a raid, but he escapes; along the way, he meets this Protector. In the end, I believe, the boy becomes the next Protector.

Some things I'm less confident in:

• the boy is a member of a ruling family
• when he escapes, he lives in the "common realms" for a while
• he attends a meeting of revolutionaries/rebels before meeting the Protector
• the ship is to make planetfall soon

A spare outline, I know, but can anyone help me with the title/author of this short story?

Thanks,

John

[They]

sounds like Dune. not very original, either

[j. d. worthington]

It also sounds like Citizen of the Galaxy, and about three dozen other science fiction novels... the basic material may not be original, but that's not to say the book itself isn't. Truly original ideas are scarce in any aspect of art; one may just not be aware of the influences that lie behind what are taken to be original.

As for your question, John ... it seems to me I've read this one in one of the classic SF anthologies of the 1970s, but I'm not certain (I read one heck of a lot of them back then). However, I'm sure someone a bit more knowledgeable (and whose memory is a bit more in shape) will be along to help with this, though it may take a day or two.

Meantime, welcome to the Chronicles... you are cordially invited to join into any of the discussions, and to pull up a chair in the Tea Room should you feel like socializing. Hope to see you around.