Word Processor of the Gods
| "Word Processor of the Gods" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Stephen King | |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Short story |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Playboy (1st release), Skeleton Crew |
| Publication type | Magazine |
| Publisher | Playboy Media Corp |
| Media type | Print (Periodical) |
| Publication date | January 1983 |
 |
"Word Processor of the Gods" is a short story by Stephen King first published in the January 1983 issue of Playboy magazine under the title "The Word Processor", and collected in King's 1985 collection Skeleton Crew.
Plot summary
In the days when dedicated word processors were still popular, the main character, a middle-aged writer disenchanted with his wife (a large-figured, shrewish, tyrannical woman), teenage son (an amateur "musician" with an attitude disorder), and life in general, gets a gift from his nephew (a teenage genius) – a custom-built word processor. Unfortunately, the nephew has recently died in a car accident (at the hands of his own violent father, the protagonist's brother, who was driving drunk), so the writer must figure out on his own how to use it. He discovers that, with this word processor, he can write things into existence, and also delete them – at least, as long as the rickety word processor can last. He erases his son and wife, and finally (seconds before the processor's demise) replaces them with his nephew and the nephew's kind, gentle mother. The story ends with the writer going inside with his new son.
Adaptations
"Word Processor of the Gods" was adapted for an episode of the Tales from the Darkside TV series, first broadcast November 25, 1984.
Similar Plotlines
A 1940 serialized novel by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, Typewriter in the Sky features the protagonist finding himself inside the story of his friend's book.
A 1960 episode of The Twilight Zone, "A World of His Own", features a dictation machine that can bring things into existence.
A 1991 episode of Are You Afraid of the Dark?, "The Tale of the Dream Machine", features a typewriter that brings dreams into existence.
A 1991 romantic comedy/fantasy film, Delirious, starring John Candy, featured a TV soap opera writer who finds himself in the mythical town from the TV show, and uses a typewriter to change the characters and real-life story.
A 1997 book in R. L. Stines' Goosebumps series, The Blob that Ate Everyone, has a typewriter that writes things into existence.
A 2006 film, Stranger than Fiction, has the main character's life directed by the manuscript of a novel as it is typed up.
A 2010 game, Alan Wake, features a writer going on vacation, only to find out that the lake he lives near has the power to turn everything he writes into existence.
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