The Cat Who Walks Through Walls

The Cat Who Walks Through Walls

Author	Robert A. Heinlein
Cover artist	Michael Whelan
Language	English
Genre	Science fiction
Publisher	Putnam Publishing Group
Publication date	1985
Publication place	USA
Media type	Print (Paperback)
ISBN	ISBN 0-399-13103-5
Followed by	To Sail Beyond the Sunset

The Cat Who Walks Through Walls is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein published in 1985. Like many of his later novels, it features Lazarus Long and Jubal Harshaw as supporting characters.

Plot

A writer seated at the best restaurant on a space habitat ("Golden Rule") is approached by a man who desperately but cryptically urges him that "Tolliver must die" — and is then himself shot before the writer's eyes. The writer — Colonel Colin Campbell, living under a number of aliases including his nom de plume "Richard Ames" — is joined by a beautiful and sophisticated lady, Gwen Novak, who helps him flee to Luna with a bonsai maple and a would-be murdering bum ("Bill").

After escaping to the moon, Gwen seems to be obsessed with the now ancient Lunar Revolt (as described in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress) and Mike, the supercomputer that aided the rebels. Gwen claims to have been present during those events, and despite her claim that she was only a girl at the time, the math still doesn't add up, and Campbell becomes suspicious.

Still pursued by an unknown organization, Campbell and Novak are rescued by an organization later revealed to be called the Time Corps, led by none other than Lazarus Long. After fitting Campbell with a new leg (he had lost the bottom half of one of his legs in combat years before), the Time Corps attempts to recruit Campbell for a special mission. Accepting only because Gwen, whom Campbell was enamored with and who had also been a member of the Corps all along, Campbell agrees to lead a team to retrieve the now decommissioned supercomputer, Mike. The Time Corps was engaged in frequent time-travel, changing various events in the past, each time creating an alternate universe with every time-line they disrupted. They needed Mike in order to accurately predict the conditions and following events in each of the new universes created.

During the mission (which is only mentioned briefly at the end of the story), Gwen is grievously wounded and Campbell loses his foot again, though the Time Corps was successful in retrieving Mike. The story ends with Campbell talking into a recorder (presumably the source of the first-person medium through which the story is told) reflecting on the mission and his relationship with Gwen.

The Cat Who Walks Through Walls is regarded by many to be the Heinlein novel for Heinlein fans. It is hardly disputed that Richard Ames can be considered Heinlein's alter-ego (note that like the protagonist, Heinlein was a writer retired from the military with the initials R.A. and the initials G.N. remind us of his wife Virginia who was sometimes known as Ginny.) Critics have given the book mixed reviews and many consider the plot to be thinner than many of his other works, many of which are considered to be "hard" science-fiction. However, many consider the book to be the philosophical synopsis of his career. Dr. Ames is by far the most free-spirited character ever created by Heinlein. And when coerced into action by several of the writer's most prominent characters, such as Lazarus Long and Jubal Harshaw, he declines on grounds of "impoliteness." This rings true to what can be considered the central theme of most of Heinlein's stories, namely being true to personal values and individuality. The overall plot of the story is considered by many to be secondary to that message, though that notion is disputed.

The Cat Who Walks Through Walls may be regarded as part of Heinlein's multiverse series, or as a sequel to both The Number of the Beast and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.

The title of the book refers to a cat by the name of Pixel, who has an inexplicable tendency to be wherever the narrator happens to be (see Schrödinger's cat). However, Pixel is only a supporting character who doesn't appear in the story until the final third of the book.

Gwen Novak is eventually revealed to be Hazel Stone, a character previously featured in Heinlein's The Rolling Stones and who had played a small but important role in The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress. Col. Campbell is also eventually revealed to be a son of Lazarus Long, a Heinlein character originally introduced in Methuselah's Children and who reappeared in Time Enough for Love, The Number of the Beast, and To Sail Beyond the Sunset. Also appearing is Jubal Harshaw, a major character in Stranger in a Strange Land.