Clark Ashton Smith Review: The Dimension of Chance

I’ve seen Americans all across the political spectrum claim that before December 7, 1941, the U.S. and Japan had friendly relations or were, at worst, indifferent towards each other. It’s undeniable that Japan struck without a declaration of war but the two nations were in an extended state of animosity. Some trace this all the way back to Commodore Perry in 1853; others to Theodore Roosevelt’s peace negotiations for the Russo-Japanese war (for which he won the Nobel Peace Prize). Whatever the case, bad blood was flowing because the normally tolerant Smith used racial slurs against the Japanese in 1932’s “The Dimension of Chance.”

In the story, an American pilot and his co-pilot pursue a Japanese rocket-plane (while early jet planes were in production at the time, the term “jet” for aircraft wasn’t recorded until 1944).

Both planes fly into a rip in the sky that leads to an unstable universe where gravity, distance, light, and everything else change at random. With the help of the intelligent race that lives there, the Americans were able to return home but the dimension became Japanese pilots’ grave.

I’ve read several stories of worlds that changed at random, the best of which were probably Jack Chalker’s. I don’t know know if anyone wrote such a science fiction story before “The Dimension of Chance” (I guess Alice in Wonderland would qualify as one in fantasy). Smith described the effects of these changes, especially with gravity and vision, in almost too much detail. The descriptions gave a good mental picture of them but they slowed down the pace until the aliens appeared.

I think the element of the story that would get the most attention today is the use of the word “j*p” (just in case I ever get nominated to the Supreme Court, I’m not writing it out).

The Japanese invaded Manchuria in 1931, a year before the story’s publication. It would have been hard for a reporter with pro-Japanese sentiments to spin that, and Californian newspapers were decidedly not pro-Japanese. Smith correctly foresaw a brutal war approaching (although he depicted the Japanese as gaining a foothold on mainland America).

Smith had written in favor of mixed-race marriages at a time when they were illegal in California and many other states (it wasn’t legalized in California until 1948). He also depicted nonwhite characters in a much more positive light than Howard, Lovecraft, and the majority of other writers of his time.

For what it’s worth, I believe Smith’s tolerance in the vast majority of his stories outweighs the language of this one, but I know many other readers may disagree.

The issue of drug use also jumps out to modern readers as one of the American pilots said
“I’ve monkeyed around with hashish and peyote beans in my time.” I’ve written about older writers being much more open about drug use but it always surprises me.

“The Dimension of Chance” doesn’t showcase Smith’s best work. It is slow until the end and relies on aliens as a deus ex machina. What it’s probably most useful as is a look into public opinion prior to WWII.