Coventry (short Story) - Plot Summary

Plot Summary

The protagonist, David MacKinnon, is a romantic idealist up for trial for assault. Since the government fears that he will repeat his action, he is given a choice: either allow trained psychologists to fix him, or leave to an area known as Coventry. MacKinnon chooses to emigrate so he can escape the boredom of a too civilized future. He is sent to the rugged outland beyond the Barrier, where people who refuse to abide by social norms are exiled, rather than submit to radical psychotherapy. He finds out that the peaceful anarchy he envisioned is but a corrupt democracy and he is immediately jailed, losing all his goods. Outside of the democracy is a military dictatorship and a group of expatriate of the former theocracy. Befriended by a man he knows only as "the Fader," he breaks jail. He then finds out that the dictatorship is planning an attack on civilization. He breaks out of Coventry with Fader to warn everyone. He then learns that the Fader is actually an agent of the United States Army, and that he has redeemed himself by risking his life to warn the rest of the country.

Robert A. Heinlein's Future History
Collections
  • The Past Through Tomorrow
  • The Man Who Sold the Moon
  • The Green Hills of Earth
  • Orphans of the Sky
  • Revolt in 2100
  • The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein
  • Expanded Universe
Short
stories
  • "Life-Line"
  • "Let There Be Light"
  • "The Roads Must Roll"
  • "Blowups Happen"
  • "The Man Who Sold the Moon"
  • "Delilah and the Space Rigger"
  • "Space Jockey"
  • "Requiem"
  • "The Long Watch"
  • "Gentlemen, Be Seated!"
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  • "Searchlight"
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  • "The Green Hills of Earth"
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  • "If This Goes On—"
  • "Coventry"
  • "Misfit"
  • "Universe"
  • "Common Sense"
Novels
  • Methuselah's Children
  • Time Enough for Love
  • To Sail Beyond the Sunset
  • The Moon is a Harsh Mistress
  • The Number of the Beast


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