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I don't remember the storyline, but background info stated that teleportation of people left them changed. They lost their soul or emotions or something. There was a special term that was used for people like that, who were regarded as outcasts. The protagonist (male) is someone who has been teleported himself. He doesn't live on Earth. The story itself is not about teleportation. I read it ages ago, suspect the story is at least 30 years old.

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  • Hi, welcome to SF&F. You describe this as a story; was it a short story (or novella), as opposed to being a complete novel?
    – DavidW
    Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 18:04
  • There is a previous question about a similar story, if that helps you.
    – DavidW
    Commented Aug 1, 2023 at 18:19
  • I think I remember this story - are the teleported people duplicates (with the originals left behind)?
    – Andrew
    Commented Aug 2, 2023 at 0:14

1 Answer 1

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I am thinking of "The Hatchetman" by Fredric Brown and Mack Reynolds, available here.

Duplicated teleported people are called "Duplies"

He knew all too well the character of the Duplies, products of the Duplicator. Their complete egotism, their utter lack of any moral sense whatsoever, their cold viciousness and inhumanity. But he was still amazed that they’d have the utter gall to construct an illegal machine of their own here on Venus


When the switch was thrown there’d be a duplicate of him on Mars — except that duplicate would be a Duplie instead of a human being. It would be exactly like him in every way, except that it would lack that intangible ingredient “soul”, that ingredient man had never been too sure he had until the Kingston Duplicator had proved it to him — and had created chaos in the process.

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  • @DavidW I remember it as a book, a paperback. I think it was a complete novel, but I'm not sure.
    – Wilgetwijg
    Commented Aug 2, 2023 at 13:22
  • As far as I remember, there was no mention of duplicates. I read about the concept of duplicating for teleportation only yesterday, on this forum, and it surprised me. I always assumed the broken down matter was transported on some kind of energy beam. :) So I don't think it was the story you are referring to.
    – Wilgetwijg
    Commented Aug 2, 2023 at 13:25

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