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TheSaturdqpRevieio

AUGUST 27, 1955

THE

MYTH

OF

SCIENCE

FICTION

-/-f .:...

^ ^ cr - r - - ^ - x ^

~1S^^

/4

teacher of engineers and a sculptor-student of symbols

join this week to dissect theivide, wild cult of SF.

Siegfried Mandel is a memher of the English Department

oj the Polytechn ic Institute o f Brook lyn; Peter Fingesten

is the author of a comparative study of xvorld symbolism

and art

( East

Is East, Muhlenberg Press), and is also

a noted sculptor w ith more than thirty exhibitions

oj

his

works here and abroad

to his

credit.

By SIEGFRIED MANDEL

and PETER FINGESTEN

M

ODERN science f ict ion

is a

quest fo i ' a key to the un iverse.

In s id e t h e s l i ck SF p ack ag eis

t h e d es i r e

to

u n lo ck t h e d o o r

of

th is

wo r ld an d escap e i n to t h e b ey o n d

w h e r e

all is

s im p le m ach in e s

and

c l ean sp ace . To sp eed th i s wi sh SF h as

c r e a t e dam y th o lo g y wh ich i sa c o u n

t e r p a r t

of

t h e cu l t s fo rm ed b y p r im i

t i v e m en wh o d id n ' t k n o w wh ere t h e

ra in cam e f ro m , o r t h e win d , an d wh o

i n v e n t e d m y s t e r i e s

in

order to d ispel

u n cer t a in ty . On th e h ee l s

of

m y s t e r y

en t e r ed t h e e l em e n t s a l so p rese n t

in

SF today: symbol ism, ideology , codes,

p r i es t s , s a lv a t i o n , d o c t r i n a l t e rm in o l

o g y , t r ad i t i o n ,

and

p r o p h e c y .

he

heai ' toft h e fo rm i sam o o d y d i sco n

t en t wi th t h in g s as t h ey a re . I t i s m ag

n i f i ed c l au s t ro p h o b ia . Wh y are we

ear th b o u n d , i so l a t ed , ands h u toff

f rom th e in f in i teness of the u n iv ers e?

As Groff andLu cy Co n k l in h av e

noted, science fiction "offers

a

w e l

come rel ief f rom the conf inementof

our no isy , clu t tered , and of ten dul l

an d wear i so m e ev e ry d ay l i v es , an d an

escap e f ro m th e r es t r a in t s

of

co m p lex

civ i l izat ion ."

L ik e Wes t e rn s , SF p lo t s co n s i s tof

a r a n g e

of

i n v en t io n i n s id e

a

g en era l

fo rm . Ty p ica l of t h e s t r a ig h t f aced n a r

r a t i v e t ech n iq u e is t h e s t o ry wh ich

opens in th is fash ion: "Ord sat in h is

swiv e l ch a i r an d su rv ey ed t h e so l a r

sy s t em ." Ord i s

a

s p a c e - s t a ti o n s e n t i

nel manning h is post 2 ,000 mi les above

e a r t h w h e r e heev en tu a l l y co n t r ac t s

"so l i tosis ,"

an

affliction which besets

wi th h a l l u c in a t i o n s m en s t r an d ed i na

d e s e r t e d u n i v e r s e . " R e a l i s m "

of

th is

sor t i s bu t

a

t r an s fe re n ce of ev e ry d ay

o b jec t s an d s i t u a t i o n s o n to

a

cosmic

p l an e . Sp acem en a re ,

of

c o u r s e ,

af-

f licted only w i th psychologica l d is

eases ,

as

s u p e r - m e d i c i n e

has

m a d e

o b so l e t e t h e o th er k in d .

In an o th er s t o ry

a

se l ec t g ro u p j e t s

i t s way in to sp ace an d a f t e r sev era l

g a l ac t i c ad v en tu res r each es i t s d es t i

n a t i o n in the far r e a c h e s of as t r a l

in f in ity , bu t is refuse d an imm igrat io n

p erm i t a f t e r b e in g t ag g ed

as

u n d e

s i r ab l e . Th e au th o r h as g iv en h im se l f

h er e an o p p o r tu n i ty t o d i scu ss l i b e ra l

p o l i t i c s an d t h eo r i es of " g r o u pdy-

n am ics"al l v e ry m o d ern . In t h i s " r e

j ec t i o n " s t o ry we a l so h av e an i n d i ca

t i o n of the feel ing of i n fe r io r i t yof

S F m a n t o w a r d s u p e r i o r b e i n g s

in

sp ace , inco n t r as t to hisfeel ingof

su p er io r i t y t o ward f e l l o w ear th m en

wh o d o n o t b e lo n g

at

al l in th e ci rcle

of the elect.

T h e r e isno l imi tat io n tot h e g i m

m i c k s t h a t a r e e n g i n e e r e d b y S F w r i t

e r sfro m p ro j ec t i o n s fo rward

and

b a c k w a r d i n s p a c e - t i m e to i n t e r s t e l l a r

war s an d "en d o f t h e wo r ld " s t o r i es

esp ec i a l l y s i n ce t h ey r a id t h e en cy c lo

pedic sources of b io logy , an thropology ,

an d as t ro n o m y . S t il l , t h e b es t SF w r i t -

"OUR EARTHLY BROTHERS, t h e e x p e d i

t i o n

is

r e a d y W e w i l l

go to

y o u

in

y o u r n eed , an d e l ev a t e y o u

to

M a r

t i an s t an d ard s . We wi l l wip e o u t

all

e a r t h - m a d e l a w s , a n d r e p l a c e t h e m

b y Mar t i an co d es ; we wi l l ru l e y o u

fo r y o u r o wn g o o d . At l a s t , o u r ea r th

ly b ro th er s , y o u wi l l r i se ab o v e t h e

b a r b a r i s m t h a t

has

en g u l f ed y o u "

Stanton A Cohlentz, Missionaries

from the Sky,

Amazing Stor ies fJVo-

vemher 1930).

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er s t ry n o t t o l e t g im m ick s d o m in a t e

th e i r ch arac t e r s ; t h ey m ak e an a t

t em p t to u n d e r s t an d o b j ec ti v e ly h o w

the l i fe of Future Man wi l l have been

affected by another 1,500 years of

en g in eer in g . Wh at wi l l Lo v e b e i n

3 50 0 A.D.? Lo y a l ty ? Am b i t i o n ? Pa

t r i o t i sm ?

Escap e f ro m co n fin em en tfro m p o

l i t ical, social , and p erso nal real i ty

alway s h as o ccu p ied m an ' s m in d .

Th i s ex p l a in s t h e d i s in t e res t ed a t t i

tude toward women in science f ict ion ,

an d t h e ab sen ce o f p l easu re - seek in g

per se.

Di sco u n t in g sp u r io u s sp ace

o p ere t t as an d f r i n g e m elo d ram as ,

leg i t imate SF does no t ass ign women

to s i ren ro les; there are no bosomy

crea tu res t o d r iv e m en to e ro t i c d i s

t r ac t i o n . Th ey wai t a t h o m e, l i k e Pe

n e lo p e fo r Uly sses , an d wh a tev er

th ey ' r e d o in g t h e re i t ' s n o t h e ro i c .

Th ree t h in g s acco u n t fo r t h i s s i t u

at ion : the b leak sobr iety wi th which

science f ictionfil led w i th a dm ira

t i o n fo r Kin sey an d F reu d ap

proaches the wide subject o f sex : the

desi re to get as far away as possib le

f ro m Ear th ; an d n a tu ra l a sce t i c i sm .

Wo m an rep resen t s o n e o f t h e

s t ro n g es ti f m o s t a t t r ac t i v ech ain s

th a t b in d m an to co n t em p o rary l i f e .

As m o th er s , wiv es , o r swee th ear t s

women involve men in the k ind of

complexi t ies f rom which the male in

h is wishfu l th ink ing would l ike to

escap e , e scap e t o wh a t t h e sc i en ce-

f ict ion cu l t bel ieves to be the more

signi f ican t real i ty . In the o ld mythol

o g i es Mo th er Ear th an d wo m an were

sy n o n y m o u s . Men p ass wh i l e t h e

ear th r em ain s . Wo m an , l i k e t h e ea r th ,

forms the f ixed subst rate of society .

To b rea k m an ' s d ep en d en ce o n e i t h e r

woman or ear th i s no t now feasib le .

After al l , we ar e s t i l l ear th me n or

terrans,

in science-f ict ion term inology .

Bu t i n SF th e a t t em p t i s m ad e ,

h o wev er , t o m in im ize h i s d ep en d en ce

social ly , psychological ly , and physic

al ly . SF has l i t t le over t sexual i ty ; in

s tead there i s in tel lec tual ize d feel ing

d

la

P l a to , wh o d ec l a re d t h a t t h e h ig h

est type of f r iendship can ex is t on ly

"HOW IN THE NAME of all the he lls can an yth ing live in in terg ala ctic sp ac e? "

Th e v o i ce , s t r a in ed an d u n reco g n izab l e , cam e th ro u g h th e co m m u n ica to r of

Grosvenor 's space su i t as he s tood wi th the o thers near the ai r lock . I t seemed

to h im that the quest ion made the l i t t le g roup of men crowd close] ' together .

Fo r h im, the p roxim i ty of the o the rs w as not qu i te enoug h. He Vv-as too aw are

of the impalpable yet inconceivable n ight that co i led about Ihem. pressing

down to the very b lazing por tho les .

Almost for the f i rs t t ime s ince the voyage had begun the immensi ty of that

darkness s t ruck home to Grosvenor . He had looked at i t so of ten f rom the sh ip

th a t h e h ad b eco m e in d i f f e ren t . Bu t n o w h e was su d d en ly aware t h a t m an ' s

far thest s tel lar f ron t iers were bu t a p in po in t in th is b lackness that reached

bi l l ions of l igh t -years in every d i rect ion .

A. E. Van Vogl. The V oyage of th

Space Beagle (Simon and Schuster).

between men. This aspect o f the cu l t

contains an obvious element of la ten t

h o m o sex u a l i t y , d ram at i zed i n t h e

em o t io n l ess an d h u m o r l ess r e l a t i o n

sh ip b e tween th e sen io r an d t h e j u n

io r m ale ch arac t e r s i n SF . In co rp o

ra t ed h ere i s t h e d a n g ero u s an d

u n c o n q u e r a b l e d e l u s i o n t h a t " G r e e k

lo v e" was r ea l l y l i t t l e m o re t h an an

ag reeab l e co m p an io n sh ip b e tween

man and boy; and that there i s no

reaso n wh y th i s s im p le r e l a t i o n sh ip

sh o u ld n o t b e t r an sp l an t ed i n d ep e n d

ent ly in to the fu ture. In any case,

b y r e j ec t i n g g l an d u la r sex u a l i t y t h e

SF er f ee l s t h a t h e r i ses sa in t l i k e ab o v e

m u n d an e d i s t r ac t i o n s an d ach i ev es a

scien t i f ic ob ject iv i ty dominated by

reaso n and in tel lect alone. This new

mana cold ly ascet ic and in tel lectual

c rea tu reis t h e m an wh o wi l l b e

read y p h y s i ca l l y an d m en ta l l y t o co p e

with the unpredictab le, sou l less , and

n erv e- sh a t t e r i n g b l eak n esses o f o u t e r

space.

Readers of science f ict ion are most

a t t r ac t ed t o se r io u sn ess an d i n t e l l ec

tual "r igor" of th is k ind . In a survey

of science-f ict ion readers , John W.

Campbel l , J r . , comes up wi th the fo l

lowing ave rag e prof i le: "T echnic al ly

t rained , ph i losophical ly incl ined , im

ag in a t i v e m an b e tween twen ty an d

th i r t y - f i v e . " Th i s m ean s t h a t we a re

n o t d ea l i n g wi th a c r ack p o t au d i en ce

seeking rel ief in fan tasy . What are

th ey seek in g ? On e f i n d s t h a t a co m

mon denominator i s the wish for a

"MANY, VERY MANY, say t ha t b ec au se of Ma n's m ac hin es an d his s cience h e sha ll

s ink back in to ob l iv ion , d ie the death of a race. But do not h is machines make

more eff icien t h is contro l o f energy , en large h is s tore l imi t less ly , enable h im

to mold the un iverse in to a l ikeness of the Purpose that includes al l th ings?

There are d i f ferences , Hektor , d i f ferences that make men deny l i fe for what

i t is . We ar e no t as an amoeb a, nor as a sea -w orm , nor a f lower. T hese vapor

fo lk [ ce r t a in o u t e r - sp ace c rea tu res ] a r e n o t as we . Bu t , t o m y m in d , t h e

if-

ference i s a s imple one.

All things differ in life.

We a re m o re a l i v e , f a r m o re

a l i v e t h an t h e b ac i l l u s o r t h e wo rm . An d th ese v ap o r c rea tu res a re m o re a l i v e

than we. Any race, any en t i ty that i s ab le to contro l the energy of the world

ab o u t h im , an d u n i fy , an d m o v e s t ead i ly t o ward t h e Pu rp o se t h a t l i e s b eh in d

every th ing , and who can do these more in tel l igen t ly , more eff icien t ly than we,

must he more alive than

toe." P .

Schuyler Miller, Clean of Yzdral,

Am azin g

S to r i es

(July 1931).

world where the scien t is t no t on ly

b lu ep r in t s an d su p erv i ses t h e p ro d u c

t ion of guns and but ter and satel l i t

sp ace- s t a t i o n s , b u t a l so p o ssesses t h

p o l i t i ca l p o wer t h a t d e t e rm in e

th e i r u se . We a re r em in d e d o f t h

moral conf l icts in men l ike Oppen

heimer , who seem to feel that th

scien t is t i s responsib le for the use of

h i s g ad g e t s o v er an d ab o v e t h e n o rm a

ch an n e l s o f p o l i t i ca l g o v ern m en t . Bu

how to m ak e th is "respon sib i l i ty" ef

fect ive in a const i tu t ional s tate i s a

p r o b l e m w h i c h e l u d e s D r . O p p e n

h e im er as we l l a s t h e SFer .

W HE N al l i s said and done, the SF

cu l t ca r r i es fo rward an ag e-o ld t r ad i

t i o n . W h en e v er an d wh ere v er m a

finds h imsel f consciously alone wi th

th e u n iv er se h e h as r eso r t ed t o " im ag

m ak in g , " p eo p l in g t h e ea r th an d t h

h eav en s wi th c rea tu res f ro m th e r ea lm

of h is imaginat ion . History has seen

the r i se and at rophy of mythologie

from the t ime of the Sumerians to th

Krem l in i t es . To d ay , wi th t h e n ew e r

of atomic science unlocking a vas

realm of secrets , man again i s ask in

himsel f the t rad i t ional quest ions abou

the universe. Old shapes in a new

m y th o lo g y a re t h e an swer .

In the o ld mythologies the creat io

of gods in the l ikeness of men wa

d o m in an t . In t h e n ew m y th o lo g y th

s t r es s h as sh i f t ed away f ro m an an

th ro p o m o rp h ic im ag e . Th e c r i t e r i o n i

an abs t rac t : In tel l ige nce. After al

scien ce fiction is in pa rt an in tell ect ua

sp ecu l a t i o n o f h o w t ech n iq u es an d ap

p ara tu s can es t ab l i sh co n t ac t wi t

o u t e r s p a c e c r e a t u r e s a n i m a l , m i n

era l , o r v eg e t ab l eth a t a l so p o sses

in t e l l i g en ce , o r h o w h u m an in t e l l

g en ce can co n q u er t h e v e ry i n h o sp i t

ab le condi t ions of ou ter space. Th

old means of es tab l ish ing contact wi t

seen o r u n seen as t r a l ag en t s t h ro u g

r i t u a l s an d m ag ic h as g iv en way t

v is ions of te legraphic and elect ron i

co m m u n ica t i o n . In p r im i t i v e so c i e t i e

to wer in g r esp ec t i s g iv en t o t h e l ead e

p o ssess in g m ag ica l p o wers . Wh y , as

scie nce fictioneers, sh ould no t th

(Continued on page

24)

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FICTION

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ffll

T he In tel lec t vs . th e Spir i t

^9

' 'The Genius and the Goddess,^' by

Aldous Huxley (Harper. 168 pp.

$2.75), is the tenth and latest no vel of

one of the leading satirists of our times.

Its publication provides an occasion for

a review of his life and work.

By Thomas E. Cooney

A L D O U S L E O N A R D H U X L E Y h a s

/ \

pub l i shed ten novels in the las t

- ^ ^ ^ t h i r t y - f o u r y e a r s . W i t h o u t e x

cept ion, f rom "Crome Yel low" in 1921

t o "The G en i us and t he G oddes s " i n

1955,

t he s e nove l s have been i n s om e

degr ee abou t i n t e l l e c t ua l s , and have

been fi l led with their talk on the

dizz i ly in tersec t ing planes of es the t ics ,

psychology, h i s tory , sc ience , and mys

t ic i sm. I f Emerson 's scholar i s Man

Thi nk i ng , t hen H ux l ey ' s i n t e l l e c t ua l

has of ten seemed to be Man Talking,

But despi te the i r cease less c lacking of

tongues and ping-pong of ideas , these

inte l lec tual s have a l so ac ted out the

amusing and ter r i fying fables of Hux-

leys ' sa t i r i ca l invent ion, and have thus

t raced the journey of a br i l l i ant c r i t i

ca l in te l lec t through the jungle of

t w en t i e t h - cen t u r y l i f e t ow ar d h i s de

c lared goal of " individual psycho

logica l f reedom."

Th a t H ux l ey i s bo th p r o f ound l y

wel l informed about the phys ica l uni

ve r s e and p r o f ound l y w or r i ed abou t

man 's d i spos i t ion of h i s soul hardly

com es a s a s u r p r i s e w hen you exam

ine hi s genealogy. Born in Godalming.

Su rre y, in 1894, he had for h i s pa ter

n a l g r a n d f a t h e r T h o m a s H e n r y H u x

ley, b iologis t , popular izer of sc ience ,

and ferocious ly ar t i cula te defender of

Darwin 's "Or igin of Species ," whi le

h i s m a t e r na l g r andf a t he r w as Thom as

Arnold, the grea t prac t ica l moral i s t

and headm as t e r o f R ugby , and h i s

g r ea t - unc l e w as Ma t t hew A r no l d , w ho

was not a t a l l opt imis t ic about man 's

abi l i ty to survive the products of h i s

own inte l l igence . Growing up in the

conf luence of two such s t reams of

inte l lec tual t radi t ion, i t was natura l

tha t Huxley should go to Eton in 1908

on a scholarship , and tha t he should

specia l ize in biology and look forward

to the s tudy of medic ine . Whi le he

w as a t E t on he expe r i enced w ha t he

cal l s the most impor tant s ingle event

of his life: affliction by keratitis,

which a lmost to ta l ly bl inded him for

t w o yea r s , w r ec ked h i s m ed i ca l a m

bit ions, and left him with l i felong eye

t rouble . As i t has wi th so many mod

e r n w r i t e r s , how eve r , phys i ca l d i s a

bi l i ty proved to be a b less ing by i so

la t ing him as an adolescent , forc ing

him to re ly on hi s own resources , and

dr iving him into the pos i t ion of de

tached observer . I t was a l so provi

dent ia l ly kind, as he wryly observes ,

in prevent ing him f rom becoming a

"complete Engl i sh Publ ic School

G en t l em an . "

When he was e ighteen and s t i l l

b l ind he wrote a comple te novel , by

t ouch on a t ypew r i t e r , bu t neve r had

a chance to read i t because i t was

los t before he regained hi s s ight . Wi th

the help of tu tors and par t i a l ly i -e-

s tored vi s ion he was able to go to

O xf o r d , w he r e he r ead Eng l i s h l i t e r a

ture and phi lology a t Bal l io l , t aking

his B .A. in 1916. Du r in g the Fi rs t

Wor ld War he worked success ively as

a w oodcu t t e r , bu r eauc r a t , and t e ache r ,

and in 1919 he m arr ie d M ar ia Nys , a

Belgian refugee . From thi s t ime unt i l

he and hi s wi fe and son Mat thew

moved to I ta ly in 1923, Huxley

worked as an essayis t , drama, ar t and

music cr i t i c , and edi tor for such pub

l ica t ions as the

Westmins ter Gazette

and the

Athenaeum,

who se chief ed -

i to i- then w as John M iddle ton M urry .

Al though he s tar ted in these years

the product ion of poems, essays , and

his tor ica l v ignet tes tha t has cont inued

t h r oughou t h i s l i t e r a r y ca r ee r , i t w as

as a sat ir ical novelist that he f irst

caught the fancy of the publ ic in the

Tw ent ies a nd T hi r t i es . A sa t i r i s t i s , of

cour s e , a l w ays d r i ven by m or a l i n

dignat ion. I t was not c lear , however ,

what the source of th i s indignat ion

was in "Crome Yel low" (1921) , in

w h i ch t he young poe t D en i s S t one

pushes inef fec tual ly agains t the wal l s

of h i s sexual inhibi t ions whi le on hol

i day a t an Eng l i s h coun t r y hous e i n

hab i t ed by t he u s ua l quo t a o f ga r r u

l ous eccen t r i c s and n i gh t - c r aw l i ng

daughters . I t became a l i t t l e c leare i -

in "Ant ic Hay" (1923) when the hero

pa r t i a l l y s ucceeded w he r e D en i s had

f a i l ed , by i nven t i ng "G um br i l ' s Pa t

en t Sm a l l - c l o t he s " ( i n f la t ab le un de r

wear for comfor t on church, school ,

and s ubw ay benches ) , qu i t t i ng a s

schoolmaster , and growing a beard. I t

w as m uch c l ea r e r i n "Thos e B a r r en

Lea ves " ( 1925) , w he r e i n young C a l -

am y , hav i ng conque r ed hi s r e p r e s

s ions and having enjoyed a career as

D on J uan , p i ous l y r u s t i c a t e s on an

I t a l i an m oun t a i n i n o r de r t o exp l o r e

t he " i nw ar d un i ve r s e " t o w h i ch h i s

a t tent ion has been di rec ted by the

f / l l ^ -

x ^ ^ X

"You have a house in Connecticut, a sports car, and

you're a book-club selectionwhy switch to poetry?"