The Six Fingers of Time

by R. A. Lafferty

Release: September 1960
Format: Novelette
Genre: Fantasy
Audience: Adults
Content: Time Phenomena
Original Language: English

The story does not involve time travel, but it does have speeded-up time as in “The New Accelerator” by H. G. Wells.

— Fred Galvin

I awoke this morning to some very puzzling incidents. It seemed that time itself had stopped, or that the whole world had gone into super-slow motion.

DEBUT

“The Six Fingers of Time,” If, September 1960.

VARIANTS

2 English variants

TRANSLATIONS

Dutch translation:
[ex=bare]“De zes vingers van de tijd” | The six fingers of time[/ex], in Negenhonderd grootmoeders (Meulenhoff, 1972).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by R. A. Lafferty
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by F. Lancel
French translation:
[ex=bare]“Les six doigts du temps” | The six fingers of time[/ex], in Le livre d'or de la science-fiction: R. A. Lafferty (Presses Pocket, October 1984.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by R. A. Lafferty
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Elisabeth Vonarburg
German translation:
[ex=bare]“Die sechs Finger der Zeit” | The six fingers of time[/ex], in Die sechs Finger der Zeit, edited by Wolfgang Jeschke (Lichtenberg, 1971).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by R. A. Lafferty
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Gisela Stege
German translation:
[ex=bare]“Die sechs Finger der Zeit” | The six fingers of time[/ex], in 900 Grossmütter Band 1 (Fischer Taschenbuch, June 1974).
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by R. A. Lafferty
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Karl H. Kosmehl
Italian translation:
[ex=bare]“Le Sei Dita Del Tempo” | The six fingers of time[/ex], Urania #852, 7 September 1980.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by R. A. Lafferty
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by Hilia Brinis
Japanese translation:
[ex=bare]時の六本指 | Six fingers of time | “Toki no roku-pon yubi”[/ex], in 九百人のお祖母さん, February 1981.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . written by R. A. Lafferty as by R・A・ラファティ
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . translated by 浅倉久志

6 translations

TAGS(SPOILERS!)

Time Periods

Circa AD 1960 to 1969: presumed time period

Themes

Altered Metabolic Rates: There are advantages intellectual, monetary, and amorous in being able to enter the accelerated state at will.
Become an Expert: There was no reason why he could not master anything in the world, when he could take off for fifteen minutes and gain fifteen hours.
Get Rich Quick through Time Travel: With tellers counting their money, he interfered outrageously and enriched himself.

Groupings

Cited in Worlds Enough and Time, edited by Gary Westfahl ()
If · Worlds of If (periodical): September 1960
Cited in Time Machines by Paul J. Nahin ()
Urania (periodical): 7 September 1980