The SF & F Maps
The SF and F Maps
We know that the word 'Fate' means both spoken - and, by extension, prediction. One step further and we are into prophecy. For, by its very nature, we know that the word is prophetic. Thus science fiction is a predictive and prophetic genre.
The only question we must raise is how accurate such predictions may be. Fans of this form of literature are well aware of the 'spot-on' accuracy of Arthur C Clarke's descriptions of communications satellites long before their actual advent. But not all authors achieve this kind of accuracy. Nonetheless were it possible to programme a computer for a consensus of all the science fiction ever written, the odds are that a very accurate picture indeed would emerge.
Such a mass examination would eliminate most of the eccentric bias. But it would not fully eliminate the scientific bias: certain fundamental assumptions would remain pervasive. So although such topics as the theory of evolution may now be found wanting (eg 'Evolution: A Theory in Crisis), they will be generally accepted as an underlying basis for most novels in this field. The geological theory of uniformitarianism which supports and underlies evolutionary theory, now also under suspicion since the details of Venus's surface behaviour have materialised, confirms the fact that science is, at the moment, distorted in some aspects of its viewpoint.
Since inside us all at the deep level of babyhood we know what is really true, it might be part of the reason for the fact that 'hard' science fiction is not completely satisfying and is complemented by fantasy writing. For science fiction has, for a long time been associated with fantasy. Indeed we can go further and also make allowance for the horror story as it is the darker side of the supernatural.
Fantasy and horror deal directly with magic and the supernatural, whereas science fiction usually limits these topics unless under the guise of parapsychology or extra-sensory perception (esp).
Science fiction and fantasy are modern Faërie Tale: the former wearing the Empire's new clothes - science - and the latter somewhat barer. Fantasy concentrates on the colour and shape of magic mainly and does not give the same precedence to the cosmic context. But it is in the cosmic context that the allegory of science fiction provides the prophecies for the scientific age.
In A E Van Vogt's 'Empire of the Atom' and it's sequel 'The Wizard of Linn' (strangely reflecting the two themes of sf and f in their titles), the atom gods are worshipped. It is the religion of the era.
As we have seen (see 'Astrology - the Timespan of History') the prime ruler of the age is Juno Moneta, the goddess of money ruling Pisces. But the powers of the age are plural. Under Jupiter and Juno's 'aegis shelter a number of subsidiary gods. And in the examination of the atomic part of our times we come to discover their names.
Who are the atom gods? Principally they must be Uranium and Plutonium since they are invoked (named) most frequently. It is significant that these radioactive elements are named after ancient gods, following the precedent set by the planets of the same name. Thus we could provocatively argue that these elements came into being when we were made conscious of them by the discovery of the planets of the same name. The ancients invoked these gods and we've have added our call and they have been conjured up.
The elements which take their name from these 'modern' planets are radioactive. it is Uranium and Plutonium which are most well known. Uranus was the Greek god of Heaven whereas Pluto was the god of the nether world - Hades or Hell. So, it would appear, we have invoked Heaven and Hell. These extremes reflect the choices we can make between nuclear fusion and nuclear fission.
Reading these novels we accept the precepts as allegory because we have lost sight of what 'worship' really means. Because of our upbringing we tend to believe it only means church ritual. But worship is praise. And man always prefers to praise his own handiwork. Our nuclear industry came into existence due to the praise (attention) given by its adherents. Van Vogt's allegory isn't allegory when seen through a child's eyes, it is fact! And so with much of science fiction. It is the prophetic medium of the age.
But what does it tell us? The nuclear industry was built on the praise given to the conceptions. For praise builds up. The industry is another product of man's artifice. We do things the hard way, building with our hands in order to understand what it tells us of ourselves.
The process has ever been thus since we left Eden. The first typewriter was a person before the term was transferred to the machine. The first computer was a person. The machines are only ever hardware. It's the software that counts, and that software is us.
A typewriter produces a string of words ... so do we. A computer does only what we can already do, albeit faster(?) So a typewriter will tell others something about our nature just as a computer will. But what does nuclear power really mean - at the magic level?
If we are typewriters and computers, then we must be nuclear furnaces as well. The thread from Chernobyl helps us to understand. For Chernobyl means wormwood which we find mentioned - in connection with a fallen star - in the Book of Revelation. We know from the Hebrew that stars and angels were once cognate terms. Fallen stars and fallen angels are thus the same. Stars are nuclear furnaces, and as such, possess incredible power. But people are angels and people are stars - unless you care to dispute the plain English of folk wisdom.
To suggest that we are fallen angels, fallen stars and nuclear furnaces may seem well over the top. But that's because we have been blinded by science and have forgotten how to use the language properly. Frank Herbert's novel 'Whipping Star' and it's sequel 'The Dosadi Experiment' propose a sentient entity which is a star. William Hjortsberg's protagonist in his book of the same name is a 'Falling Angel'.
And stars are angels. But there are angels and fallen angels. Or angels and demons if you prefer. The question is, of course, what's the difference between the two?
There are two types of nuclear energy release, fission and fusion. The latter is free of 'hard radiation' and is a pure conversion of matter to energy. It implies control. We have not mastered it yet.
Fission means to cleave or split - hence 'splitting the atom'. Brute force is applied and fragments scattered everywhere. Fusion means to melt, and by extension - fuse together - to unite. The choice is simple, divide or unite.
Science has mastered the art of dividing in order to rule, following Roman precedent. But it has not mastered unification. It's 'Unified Field Theory' is still wanting because science itself is not complete. For science to be as cosmic as it claims, it would have to be universal and able to explain everything. But because it is based on measurement (numbers) it cannot incorporate magic. So it ridicules it. But we have seen from the study of grammar (see 'High Magic') that magic does exist and is alive and well as it has always been.
Science fiction uses magic - words - to colour the black and white backcloth of the numerical framework. But the desire for magic on the part of the people (to fill in the cold, scintillating grid of number) has not been fully met by this predominantly twentieth century genre. Hence the 'psi' powers that bridged the gap between it and the magic of pure fantasy has been one of the enduring themes of science fiction. Fantasy titles probably now outsell science fiction, at least in book form. The visual arts lag a little behind as usual.
Science cannot explain magic. But magic can explain science. Numbers cannot explain words, but words can explain numbers. As an aside, to partly prove the point ...
Current atomic speculation is that 'quarks' may themselves be made up of smaller building blocks. Magic can help to explain the situation.
What is a quark? The name is down to James Joyce. So it is Irish to us. The nearest referent? Quirk. Quarks are quirky ... and queer in the sense of strange. Or weird. Which of course we know is wyrd/word. And it is also fate and spell and destiny and charm.
These quarks have names, but there is some confusion as to their number, for we have 'top', 'bottom', 'up', 'down', 'strange', 'charmed' and 'colour'.
Top
Up
Strange … = weird = wyrd = word
Down
Bottom
Charmed = song, spell
The Measurement of the Scientific Cosmos
They are another part of the story. The diagram represents a measurement.
Do quarks have component parts? Of course they do: letters. And in Greek, letter is 'gramma', which in French becomes 'gramaire' and means magic. What are quarks made of? Magic. The magic of grammar.
We are stars ... nuclear furnaces. But to fission is to split and irradiate poisonously. Our radiation? Our thoughts and our words. But, imagine ... suppose you discovered on the Psi*Net the power of fusion?
Eric Frank Russell had it. In his novella, 'Metamorphosite', his protagonist defeats his enemy by turning into a miniature sun. The character achieves this 'evolution’ like his people, by surviving a nuclear holocaust. Which makes us think ...
In the 1960s the people sought an antidote to the threat of nuclear holocaust in the colours of psychedelia – ‘flower power’. And they found it ... but didn’t know how to handle it. They were indeed presaging a new age.
“Turn on, tune in, drop out” was the buzz phrase. But what is it we turn on and tune in? The answer must be: radio. If we then are stars, we areradio-active – we are radios, broadcasters and receivers. The terminology was intuitively correct. The problem was that most people tuned into the wrong stations. Any science fictionm fan will be aware of John Brunner’s ‘Listen, the stars!’, Piers Anthony’s ‘Macroscope’ and Colin Kapp’s ‘The patterns of chaos’. These are a few examples that delineate the process and its dangers.
In the 1960s many negative signals were picked up. But then we know from an historical perspective that the ancient enemy usually gets in first. “Imagine there’s no heaven ...” – no thanks, it isn’t true.
So by extension we discover that we are radio receivers and broadcasters. Yet another distort, this time of the 1990s, surfaced to reflect this process. The counterfeit cosmics, the pseudo new age spellbound, are glorifying and glamorising crystals, as if these objects had inherent value beyond symbolism. Crystals help to tell us what we are.
Quartz crystals are usually found in close proximity to gold, as the stars are found (subjectively) related to the sun.
Crystals vibrate, giving rise to the first radio sets, and then, in more recent times, to the timers in wristwatches. So crystals can tell us about the radios that we are. But to worship (give power to) a lump of imperfect roick is a delusion.
But we have wandered slightly off track.
So if science fiction is prophecy when correctly tuned-in, then we must consider the full implications. The question is, which authors spoke true?
The answer, in part, must be: those that are loved the most. And Eric Frank Russell’s name deserves to be on that list, an opinion shared by John W Campbell, Alan Dean Foster and Jack L Chalker. They love him for the same reason that I do: of all the writers of allegory, he spoke truest. He explained strategy and tactics better than most. I have used many of his solutions in the real world.
In one of his novels, ‘Sinister Barrier’ space was closed to man and his ‘forceful’ rocketry. Doubtless if such proves to be the case it would be more than a disappointment to the technophiles. I would once have shared that disappointment. But when you consider that JFK’s assault on heaven was followed by his death and a further confusion of the language (before the euphemistic ‘lift-off’ – a gentle phrase – the science fiction books and comics used earlier terminology: ‘Fire!’ or ‘Blast off!’, terms which, once more, reflect the brute force philosophy). That JFK’s fate mirrors that of Nimrod and the tower of Babel should give us cause to remember that history does repeat itself ... in new clothes.
Metamorphosite ... a powerful tale. A true story. A big word that means a changer of forms, a shapeshifter. But since we are typewriters, computers, radios, crystals, stars etc, then we know it is we who are shapeshifters. (See also the exploits of Arthur in T H White’s ... and Dennis Wheatley’s ‘Strange conflict’, for further parallels).
It is our power when it flowers: nuclear flower power.
In the context of grand prophecy, a fire comes to give birth to a new age, and is opened by the phoenix (The Age of Enoch).
Cosmic fire! or ‘the cleansing’ as Sun Bear calls it in his ‘Black Dawn, Bright day’. A powerful force in his terms ... and dangerous too. So the wider context of Judao-Christianity together with a Red Indian version, say much the same thing.
In a fire only flames survive. A baptism such as the one that Shadrach, Meshach and Abednigo underwent in Daniel’s time.
It takes a hellburner to burn Hell. We are about to fry ... or hatch. Man into angel, man into star, via cosmic fire. Fusion or fission? You get to choose ... prior to Judgment Day. Remeber James 5 and the gold and silver that socorrode they eat the flesh of the ‘fat cats’ like fire?
So, even the post-holocaust science fiction novels are not entirely wrong. Be prepared! But don’t forget the science fiction magicians. The ‘espers’ had both the magic and the science, both the word and the number. They are the bridge between science fiction and fantasy. They tell us how to use our psi powers. For one simple reason: they have the language that bridges the cosmic backcloth and the colours of meaning.
Our days as children are nearly over. Childhood is ending. New Age travellers and sf and f fans are in the vanguard. If you, too, want to be a star, then you must learn how to keep it together, learn the difference between fission and fusion ...
Reviews
“For twenty years nobody has rivalled Russell at his best.” Brian W Aldiss
“A number of common themes run through the bulk of Russell’s work, including contempt for authority in any form and a totally cynical attitude toward humanity’s institutions.” Jack L Chalker
“He was the only of the many miners of the imagination, of that peculiar dimension we label science fiction, who could make me both laugh and cry. He displayed more simple common sense in a short story than most writers did in a full novel. He possessed an empathy for mankind unmatched by any other sf writer I’ve known.” Alan Dean Foster
“He developed a racy, wisecracking style in most of his stories; often it made his stories seem more quintessentially American than those of any American contributor …” Malcolm J Edwards
What science fiction does best is take familiar ideas and turn them inside out … and one of the masters of that game was Eric Frank Russell.
Some recommended short stories and novelettes
· … And Then There Were None .. the short story of an ingenious decentralized political system.
“John W Campbell edited Astounding/Analog … there was one special kind of story which touched his own grin muscles: the story of hard-headed individualists triumphing over bureaucratic ineptitude. Eric Frank Russell’s .. And Then There Were None is the archetype of those stories: not just one stubborn hero but a planetful of them …” Frederik Pohl
· Allamagoosa … the Hugo award winning story. What do you do when you’ve lost a piece of equipment you didn’t even know you had? Invent it! · Late Night Final … Earth’s a great place to invade … but you wouldn’t want to live there! · Weak Spot … Barbarian spacefleets slashed at the Empire, and the Empire’s only concern was how to keep them at it. · Plus X … “Russell’s hero wins with – a phony handmade gadget that does nothing, plus unlimited quantities of highly imaginative gall.” Groff Conklin · Metamorphosite … a mind-blowing tale, thoroughly recommended
Top novel · Wasp Secret agent James Lowry is planted on the ninety-fourth planet of the Sirian Empire to become a one-man Underground to soften up the planet for a Terran invasion. Plastic surgery, a purple-coloured skin and the cultivation of a bow-legged walk have combined to make him enough like a native Sirian to pass muster. In what some critics consider his most brilliant story, Eric Frank Russell combines a gripping tale of espionage with his own personal brand of science fiction.
· Three to Conquer ‘Wade Harper – Forger’ That was the cryptic inscription on his card. But it was lucky for the FBI and for the world that it was this tough, thick-set micro-instrument maker who first discovered the dying state trooper just off the highway one April afternoon. For Harper possessed the uncanny telepathic power of ‘hearing’ thoughts which alone could track down the killers and crack a staggering interplanetary plot to grab world control through people’s minds. “Russell tells a good story at a fast pace. If this one doesn’t scare you nothing will.” Brian Aldiss
“My best enemy was the late Aleister Crowley whom I put in his grave by bone-pointing.” EFR
I cannot praise this book too highly. I have been reading sf for over four decades and have encountered many amazing tales in the process. But this one is a giant. DJR
“This book delivers everything it promises in terms of galactic scope, audacious concepts and believable characters both human and non-human.” New York Times
Thousands of years hence, many races inhabit the far reaches of space, from the superintelligent entities in the Transcend to the simple creatures and technologies that are all that can function in the Unthinking Depths.
When scientists discover an ancient Transcend artefact, they unwittingly unleash a Blight that destroys thousands of worlds and enslaves all forms of intelligence. This is the story of the war against the Blight, and of the epic, multi-species fight to save the galaxy from a new dark age.
“No summary can do justice to the depth and conviction of Vinge’s ideas. The overall concept astonishes, the aliens are developed with memorable skill and insight; the plot twists and turns with unputdownable tension. A masterpiece.” Kirkus Reviews
“No one excels at presenting awesome vistas of both space and time.” David Brin
“A tale that burns with the brazen energy of the best space operas of the Golden Age.” John Clute
PHULE'S COMPANY
RECOMMENDED SF: 'PHULE'S COMPANY' by ROBERT ASPRIN
Phule has a problem. Not only has he just survived a Courts-Martial, but he's also inherited the one legion no one wants to run.
They aren't just tough, they're stupid. And it'll take all of Phule's cunning to turn them into a fighting force.
More foool Phule!
Although written in 1990, I have only just picked this novel up. I'd seen Robert Asprin's earlier titles [Another Fine Myth etc] on the shelves, but was put off by both the 'comical' titles and the 'humorous' covers. I thought I might be in for another Tom Holt or Robert Rankin. Thus, from both the title and cover of this book, I was uncertain what I'd find.
Whilst there is some wordplay with the characters' names, the storyline is not only comparitively serious, but is a cracking yarn into the bargain. In fact it is one of the best written tales I've seen in a while. The psychological insight and unorthodox solutions provided offer great satisfaction. Hence I thoroughly recommend this title. Derek J
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