Jamieson

In Short

This narrative follows a mother and son living in hiding as "Konvs"—individuals possessing a device that allows for instantaneous, teleportative travel. Driven by the memory of her husband’s murder by government Agents, Mrs. Jamieson raises her son, Earl, to view their unique ability as a weapon for retribution. The book endures as a poignant study of how obsession can warp familial bonds, shifting from a tale of sci-fi escapism into a tragedy about the futility of living for the past.

The Story

The story begins in rural Wisconsin, where Mrs. Jamieson lives a quiet, isolated life with her son, Earl. Beneath her unremarkable facade, she harbors a secret: she is a Konv, possessing a semi-conductor cylinder under her skin that allows her to travel anywhere instantly. Her life is defined by the memory of her husband, E. Mason Jamieson, who was killed in Bangkok by government Agents while attempting to join a group of Konvs fleeing to Alpha Centaurus. Having already killed one stray Agent in a fit of grief, she waits for Earl to be "chosen" by the device, intending to groom him into a tool of vengeance.

When Earl is fourteen, he is spontaneously recruited into the Konv community, receiving his own cylinder. His mother immediately begins preparing him for a life of vigilante justice. As they practice jumping to remote locations to antagonize the authorities, Mrs. Jamieson constantly feeds Earl stories of the "great ones" who escaped to Centaurus, hoping to instill a singular, burning hatred in him. However, as Earl grows into young adulthood, he begins to chafe under the weight of his mother’s bitterness. He craves a normal life, feeling the sting of his isolation from his peers and questioning his mother’s absolute moral certainty.

Earl begins to act on his own, eventually infiltrating an Agent’s office in Bangkok to find the names of his father’s killers. During this encounter, he is confronted not by a monster, but by an Agent who explains that the government only pursues Konvs because they are impossible to imprison. This nuance confuses Earl, who finds himself unable to sustain the pure, unadulterated hatred his mother demands. The tension between them peaks when Earl begins to kill, yet remains detached from the ideological fervor his mother insists upon.

The climax arrives when an elder Konv named Benjamin appears in their home to facilitate their final escape to Alpha Centaurus. In a last-minute revelation, Benjamin confesses that the mother's obsession with hate has fundamentally compromised her ability to use her power. The "Stinson Effect" relies on love, not malice; because she has allowed her soul to be consumed by vengeance, her cylinder fails her. As the Agents break down the door, Earl and Benjamin vanish to safety, leaving a bewildered, powerless Mrs. Jamieson to face the consequences of a life spent in the service of hate.

How It Unfolds

The hidden life Mrs. Jamieson lives in isolation beside a Wisconsin river, hiding a surgical scar behind her hair that marks her as a Konv. She keeps her distance from the world, obsessively nursing the memory of her husband's murder in Bangkok.

The recruitment During a summer day at the river, Earl is suddenly taken to a mysterious room and fitted with a cylinder. When he returns, his mother immediately begins the process of turning his fear and confusion into a mission of retaliation.

The shift in perspective As Earl reaches college age, he attempts to engage with the world, feeling the ache of a normal life he cannot have. His encounters with an Agent force him to see his mother’s enemies as human beings, driving a wedge between his experience and her dogma.

The final confrontation Benjamin arrives to spirit them away to Alpha Centaurus, but the escape exposes the fatal flaw in Mrs. Jamieson’s philosophy. Her inability to let go of her rage renders her powerless, leaving her behind to face the authorities alone.

The People

Mrs. Jamieson is the story's anchor, a woman whose entire identity is defined by her devotion to her dead husband. She is calculating and fierce, viewing her son not as an individual but as a vessel for the revenge she feels she cannot achieve alone. Her failure lies in her belief that hate is a source of strength; she is ultimately undone by the realization that her dark passion has stripped her of her agency.

Earl Jamieson begins as a passive participant in his mother’s trauma, but he matures into a conflicted young man. Unlike his mother, he is capable of empathy, even toward the Agents who represent the forces persecuting them. His struggle is between the life his mother demands and his own desire to be "human," even if it means admitting he cannot hate as she does.

Benjamin serves as the story’s voice of wisdom. He is a relic of the original Konv group who provides the necessary context for the Stinson Effect. He represents the "higher" path—the recognition that hate and greed are self-limiting, while love is the true catalyst for the power the Konvs wield.

In Its Own Voice

Mrs. Jamieson’s internal state is revealed through the contrast between her public silence and her private, violent impulses:

"She didn't care that no one heard her."

(She whispers her desire for Earl to commit murder to the walls of his room, highlighting her complete detachment from reality.)

The tragedy of the Konv power is articulated during the final escape, explaining why the mother is left behind:

"Even now, no one knows how the idea of love ties in with the Stinson Effect; but we do know that hate and greed as motivating forces can greatly minimize the cylinders' power."

(Benjamin explains the metaphysical cost of Mrs. Jamieson's vengeful life.)

What It's Really About

The story argues that hate is a self-consuming force that ultimately invalidates the very survival it claims to protect. The "Stinson Effect"—a sci-fi conceit for teleportation—acts as a metaphor for the human spirit; it requires a state of clarity and love to function. By tethering her son to a legacy of murder and resentment, Mrs. Jamieson inadvertently poisons his ability to reach the "better world" of Alpha Centaurus. The book questions whether a parent’s trauma can ever be truly separated from their child’s development, suggesting that when we live solely to avenge the past, we lose the capacity to move into the future.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate a character study disguised as science fiction will find this a compelling, albeit bleak, read. It possesses the sharp, economical style of mid-century pulp magazines, moving quickly through a world where technology is a mere backdrop for a very human, domestic tragedy.

The story does not shy away from the unpleasant aspects of its characters’ fixations. Mrs. Jamieson is a difficult protagonist; her casual violence and manipulative parenting can be jarring, and the period-typical portrayal of government Agents as faceless, "decadent" oppressors reflects the era of its 1960s publication. There is little time for the reader to rest or sympathize with the mother, as the narrative relentlessly pushes toward the point where her hatred finally breaks her.

What lingers is not the technology of the Konvs, but the image of a mother and son sitting in a bungalow, speaking past one another—one demanding a sacrifice of the heart, the other struggling to maintain his humanity. It is a haunting, efficient piece of writing that warns of the cost of holding onto grief until it becomes one's only defining feature. It remains a stark reminder that some burdens, once carried too long, cannot be set down.