The Stars My Destination

The Stars My Destination (also called Tiger! Tiger!) is a science fiction novel by Alfred Bester, first published in Galaxy magazine in October 1956.

Spoilers

Trapped

:Gully Foyle is my name

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:And Terra is my nation

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:Deep space is my dwelling place

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:Death my destination

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Gully Foyle is last remaining survivor of the Nomad, a space faring vessel. Foyle is a living zombie, a man who has not bothered to explore the minimum potential of his abilities. Trapped on Nomad, he blindly waits for a rescuer. Seeing a spacecraft named Vorga, he rejoices thinking he will be saved. The Vorga however passes him by, leaving him to die. This callousness triggers something in Foyle turning him from human zombie into human monster. Vengence becomes his mission. Hand crafting an escape vehicle, Foyle crashes onto a satellite inhabited by the forgotten offspring of scientists. These odd descendents, dubbed the Scientific People, tattoo onto Foyle's face a Maori mask, horrendous and fierce, as well as the word "N?mad". Foyle then escapes from the tribe with his new face.

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Treacherous

Disguised as a student of Jaunting, Foyle plans an attack on the Vorga. Before he can do this he is discovered by a telepath who he then rapes and forces to help him. The attack against the Vorga fails miserably and he is captured. The authorities then try to pry the location of Nomad out of Foyle who stubbornly refuses to do so. Incarcerated underground, he discovers a teacher and crook who schools the driven, but uneducated, man. During further questioning by the Law, Foyle discovers a vast treasure exists on the Nomad. He sees this as an opportunity to complete his vengence, which is now directed towards the Captain of the Vorga. Escaping with his teacher, he returns to the Nomad seeking the treasure where he discovers a strange isotope along with the weatlh. Betraying and Abandoning his fellow crooks to the authorities he flees to parts unknown, hunting the Captain of the Vorga.

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Transformation

Using an alias, Foyle publicly re-emerges as a rich dandy who charms high society with his antics. Foyle is however not the same person, he has extensively altered himself physically and educated himself severely. Meeting Prestign, the owner of the Vorga, he falls in love with Prestign's daughter, Olivia. Despite this he is unable to relenquish his hunt. Blackmailing the telepath, his old rape victim, he finds several ex-crewmembers of the Vorga, who perish at the mention of the Vorga. He finally keeps one alive long enough to torture him forcing the crew member to reveal who captained the Vorga. It turns out to be the woman he loves, Olivia. Driven by rage, remorse, and self pity he tries to give himself up to the authorities who are franticly hunting him. He approaches a lawyer who turns out to be a double agent working for the Outer Planets (a group seeking independence). Foyle is told that the isotope, pyrE, that is sought by the authorities is irrelevant. The Outer Planets are more interested in Foyle himself. It turns out Foyle had "Jaunted" himself across space, something no-one had ever done before and something Foyle did not know himself. Foyle held the holy grail of Jaunting.. space travel. The lawyer disables Foyle but at the same moment the pyrE is detonated.

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Transformer

In the wreckage and confusion of the detonation Foyle discovers he is not just able to travel millions of parsecs through space but that he is able to jaunte through time as well. In a conference with interested parties he decides not to hold the power of pyrE and time jaunting to himself but give a chance to the masses. Traveling throughout the world he jettisions his pyrE to the masses urging them to follow him into the future. He promises to teach them time jaunting if they can find him. He demands that they, like he has, find their full potential. That they too become the driven tiger. With that he jauntes to the Scientific People to await the awakened human race.

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:Gully Foyle is my name

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:And Terra is my nation

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:Deep space is my dwelling place

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:The Stars my destination

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