User:DoctorWho42/The Annex

"The Annex" is a short story by American author John D. MacDonald. It was first published in the May 1968 issue of Playboy.

Background
In 1968, "The Annex" was MacDonald's first SF story in 10 years.

Plot
The nurse looks into Room 11. She thinks the patients get restless before dawn. In the morning, Davis gets dressed. He walks through the city to the lobby. There is no one behind the desk. Leo asks Davis about the thing. Davis reluctantly shows Leo a gold miniature of a dog tag. He takes it. Leo tells Davis he wants Room 4242. He asks for the key. Leo tells him the annex is being demolished. Mrs. Dorn should be there, who has the key. Davis follows red pipe to stairs. Davis hears high heels then Mrs. Dorn. Up the stairs, there is a library and writing room. It has many doors that open onto corridors. Davis tries them. Mrs. Dorn wears a grey shift dress. She makes marks in a room with yellow chalk. She tells him someone could be lost for weeks. In an elevator, Davis considers her pockets. Sensing a trap, he looks at the twenty-one buttons. Maybe there is no forty-second floor? Mrs. Dorn frowns. The transients want the top floor. People live above the twenty-first. They walk down pale yellow corridors to another elevator. The doors are numbered in the 4000's but out of order. They meet an old couple. Mrs. Dorn wraps an arm around his waist. He does the same. They pretend briefly. The couple ignores them. Davis sneaks a hand into her pocket and feels something metallic. He finds it's a gold miniature of a dog tag. They go down a swaying corridor to Room 4242. Its doors open onto a street. There is a powerful thud. The building is being demolished. In a room, he feels weak and sits on a bed. She pushes him to lie back. She stands before a window. She tugs off her dress. He wonders about weakness. Despite tricks, they must follow rules. She tells him he understands more. Soon he will know the rest. In the morning, Dr. Samuel Barringer goes into Room 11. He sees a nurse by the window. He checks the patient's pulse. He goes to meet Sylvia Dorn. He tells her there is no change. Sylvia is the mother of Davis's kids. The doctor says sorry but Davis doesn't have much heart left. She asks if Davis would know she's holding his hand. The doctor thinks Davis is gone. He tells her Davis would know. In the morning, Davis begins to dress.

Reception
In 1969, Publishers' Weekly's Barbara A. Bannon said "The Annex" was "the best of all the selections." Analog Science Fiction / Science Fact's P. Schuyler Miller called it "strange and effective." In 1970, The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction's Joanna Russ noted "The Annex" "a well-written story by John D. MacDonald, but its subject (the man who hallucinates days of life at the moment of death) has been public property for some time, e.g. "The Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" and "Mr. Arcularis."