Zoran Zivkovic - First Contact and Time Travel

by Selected Essays

  “Exactly what was meant by ‘plenty of time,’ no one had ever been able to

  decide. It was left to the discretion of the man on the spot.”

  Unfortunately, as far as the medusa is concerned, Falcon’s decisions in this

  area have long ago lost the characteristic of unbiased objectivity, and he is

  swayed by anthropomorphic factors.

  Nevertheless, before Falcon finds himself directly testing the validity of the

  provisions of the Prime Directive, the anthropomorphic mechanism needs to

  be subdued for a second time. At the start of the last act of the drama on

  Jupiter, Falcon suddenly gains the paradoxical insight that he, who is physi-

  cally no longer a human being, might well become the “first ambassador of the

  human race.”

  This feeling appears to reflect a hidden, broader contradiction in Falcon’s

  double identity and seems likely to produce change of attitude towards the

  medusa. However, Clarke prevents this by concentrating on the lethal weapon

  that the “monstrous bag of gas” has available. The occasion for pointing his

  thoughts in this direction is provided by the peculiar atmospheric conditions

  on Jupiter that bring the space capsule nearer and nearer to one of the

  medusae. Although he presumes that the range of its defense mechanism is

  rather limited, Falcon does not at all wish to get involved in personal

  investigation.

  However, more important at this moment than the renewed current of fear,

  the roots of which are quite clear, is the fact that, for the first time, Falcon

  thinks of the possibility of direct action in relation to the medusa. “The wind

  that was steadily sweeping Kon-Tiki around the funnel of the great whirlpool

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  had now brought him within twelve miles of the creature. If he got much

  closer than six, he would take evasive action.” This hint that Falcon would, in

  principle, avoid getting any closer to the medusa—his readiness to act to nip

  any such possibility in the bud—has a special place in the events which soon

  follow, events to which Falcon brings a whole series of contexts for our

  consideration.

  1.3.4 Noumen and Phenoumen

  The events described in the chapter “Prime Directive” are different from those

  we have considered up to now because they suggest that, for the first time,

  both protagonists in the encounter are aware of each others’ existence. Right

  up to the moment when one of the medusae unexpectedly appears immedi-

  ately above the space capsule, only the human was reliably aware of the

  encounter with the alien. The mantas and more distant medusae showed no

  signs at all of having noticed the tiny earthling spacecraft. Unfortunately, there

  are very meager data on the circumstances which nevertheless caused one

  medusa to “spot” the alien in its world.

  For this occasion, Clarke suddenly introduces a constructional defect in the

  Kon-Tiki: its large silver balloon prevents the area above the craft being

  inspected either optically or by radar. This unfavorable technical circumstance

  allows Falcon and the strange inhabitant of the terraced clouds to find

  themselves in direct proximity, enabling the medusa to “react” to the

  Kon-Tiki’s presence.

  In fact, except for mere chance, Clarke has no other option at his disposal:

  this momentous convergence could not have happened on Falcon’s own

  initiative without contradicting the essential features of his psychological

  makeup presented so far.

  On the other hand, if the initiative had been ceded to the medusa, Clarke

  would have made a big mistake with regard to the logical coherence of his

  novella: he would, in his role of the omniscient storyteller who conceives his

  heroes and predicts their actions, have stepped much further onto the plane of

  the noumenon of the strange inhabitants of the Jovian atmosphere. To do so

  would seriously impair the basic assumption underlying the type of storytelling

  demanded by the theme of “first contact.”

  All the subsequent events follow as the outcome of certain “actions” by the

  medusa, but there will be no foundation for concluding more reliably or in

  greater detail their real nature. Regardless of this uncertainty, however, there

  are two significant circumstances which force Falcon to react in a specific way

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  to the particular “initiative” of the “monstrous bag of gas,” even though the

  provisions of the Prime Directive are sharply opposed to such reactions.

  Above all, at the moment of direct encounter, Falcon’s fear of losing his

  human identity is again aroused by the particular circumstances that precede

  the appearance of the medusa above his capsule: Before he discovers the actual

  presence of the medusa in his vicinity, he is faced with a dramatic, though

  indirect, hint of its appearance, for which he is at first unable to find any

  explanation. The gigantic “oval mass” that looms above his craft causes

  darkness to fall suddenly over the surrounding area, even though there remain

  several more hours to sunset.

  This unpleasant optical puzzle soon receives acoustic clues. From some-

  where out of the immediate vicinity—and no longer through the radio

  link—Falcon begins to hear without any warning or announcement a spectral,

  cacophonous crescendo of medusa “noise” with which “the whole capsule

  vibrated like a pea in a kettledrum.” This rise in tension finally removes the last

  ambiguity from Falcon’s attitude towards the “monstrous bag of gas,” leaving

  room only for overwhelming fear.

  The second important circumstance influencing the direction of Falcon’s

  actions and linked to his emotional state is the very vagueness of the medusa’s

  actions, which allow contradictory interpretations.

  The process which we can conditionally designate as an “attempt to make

  contact” between the medusa, as the “initiator,” and Falcon, who is reacting to

  this “initiative,” is in four separate phases, the common denominator of which

  is the identical nature of the actions of the “monstrous bag of gas”: that is, it

  makes a special kind of “approach” in which Falcon primarily perceives a

  reliable indication that the medusa is aware of his existence. The first phase

  begins when a fence of thick tentacles suddenly descends around the capsule,

  the climax of the tension that has been growing ever since the surprise eclipse.

  In the process of responding to this initiative by the medusa, Falcon finds

  himself choosing between two principal models of reaction: the noumenal and

  the phenomenal.

  The first model specifies his response on the basis of a particular interpre-

  tation of the action of an alien creature—an interpretation that implies the

  possibility of noumenal knowledge of the medusa. The second model does not

  attempt to comprehend the alien’s intention, and thus does not specify the

  direction of response but confines itself to establishing what should not be

  done. This is not, however, because that sense could not possibly be reached a

  priori, but because it con
tains too many unknowns to establish the actions to

  be taken. Here, the problem of getting to know an alien being on the level of

  noumenon is not posed at all. Falcon’s consciousness, dominated by fear,

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  corresponds to the noumenal model, while the phenomenal model is embod-

  ied in the Prime Directive.

  Although both these models are available to Falcon immediately before the

  medusa’s action, he does not make a choice based on a process of sensible

  elimination but instinctively opts for the possibility that has prevailed in his

  consciousness up to now and that envisages a specific response. In deciding

  with a “lightning-swift movement” to pull the rip-cord of the balloon and

  thus, without aforethought, to escape the embrace of the medusa’s tentacles,

  Falcon simply succumbs to the effect of renewed and strengthened fear. From

  this perspective, the medusa’s action could only be interpreted as aggressive

  and could only have been responded to by a hasty retreat.

  The later events on Jupiter also remain completely part of the noumenal

  model of Falcon’s reaction to the initiative of the “monstrous bag of gas,” and

  this results in their outcome being the same as in the first case. Nevertheless,

  although he always responds to any approach by the medusa by retreating, he

  is twice in a position to react from the point of view of the phenomenal model.

  The first such occasion arises in the second phase of the “attempt to make

  contact.” The medusa “responds” to Falcon’s escape by coming still closer, but

  then suddenly stops at a distance of less than a mile above him. It is only this

  complete cessation of activity by the creature that allows Falcon to come out of

  his cocoon of fear and consider the medusa’s initiative from another angle.

  Falcon’s reflection on the causes which might have prompted the bizarre

  inhabitant of the Jovian atmosphere to keep itself at a certain distance includes

  both the noumenal and phenomenal models which were previously available

  when he attempted to learn about the strange creatures. “Perhaps it had

  decided to approach this strange intruder with caution; or perhaps it, too,

  found this deeper layer uncomfortably hot.”

  In the first interpretation, the medusa’s activity is interpreted from a

  noumenal perspective, as shown unambiguously by the words “decided” and

  “with caution.” The second, phenomenal interpretation does not pretend to

  penetrate to the possible inner motives for the medusa’s action, but is limited

  to external physical explanations. Although this phenomenal interpretation is

  seemingly more reliable than the noumenal one, it is significant that it appears

  only when the medusa is not attempting to make contact.

  Confronted with such a limited field of action, Falcon remembers

  Dr. Brenner’s warning about the provisions of the Prime Directive. At that

  moment, Falcon recalls a television discussion between a space lawyer and

  another astronaut:

  “After the full implications of the Prime Directive had been spelled out, the

  incredulous spacer had exclaimed: ‘Then if there was no alternative, I must sit

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  still and let myself be eaten?’ The lawyer had not even cracked a smile when he

  answered: ‘That’s an excellent summing up.’”

  Here, the lack of a phenomenal model of behavior towards aliens during

  first contact is finally made concrete. Because the Prime Directive limits itself

  to giving instructions exclusively about the things which should not be

  done—and first contact intrinsically requires some action, if only in

  responding to the initiative of the other party—it is obvious prescription on

  the level of phenomenon is insufficient.

  Its value remains until the need for direct action arises, after which it is

  unable to offer any kind of plan. In this it differs from the noumenal model

  that does indeed suggest a certain plan, but its validity remains completely

  overshadowed by the distorting effect of anthropomorphism. The final aban-

  donment of any attempt to reciprocate using the phenomenal model follows

  immediately in the third phase when the medusa again goes into action. This

  time its initiative is most clearly an “attempt to make contact,” but Falcon’s

  fear has already caused him to ascribe an a priori aggressive nature to all

  “overtures” by the opposite side.

  This is best shown by the association aroused in Falcon’s consciousness by

  the unexpected elongation and descent of one of the medusa’s tentacles towards

  the Kon-Tiki. “As a boy he had once seen the funnel of a tornado descending

  from a storm cloud over the Kansas plains. The thing coming toward him now

  evoked vivid memories of that black, twisting snake in the sky.”

  Whatever it actually represents, this step by the medusa means only one

  thing to the astronaut: an attack, directly manifested through an assumed

  attempt by the creature to “eat up” the Kon-Tiki. Falcon response is thus to

  “frighten” the bizarre Jovian inhabitant so he can gain time to retreat. But

  since this retreat has to be a final one, he hesitates for a moment, waiting for

  Dr. Brenner’s opinion. And now follows the key moment that at last gives

  practical confirmation of the inappropriateness of the Prime Directive to the

  purpose for which it was intended. Both before and during the medusa’s

  initiative, the exobiologist has remained strictly faithful to the phenomenal

  model of reciprocity. Now, when he finds himself for the first time in a

  situation where he cannot simply decide what should not be done but must

  propose some direct plan of action, he has nothing to say to Falcon’s decision

  to withdraw even though it is contradicts the Prime Directive.

  After the decision to withdraw becomes irrevocable, it seems to be the end

  of the drama on Jupiter. The specter of fear has prevented Falcon from

  responding to the medusa’s initiative in any other way than by retreating.

  And indeed, he immediately starts up the engine ignition sequence which will

  finally take the space capsule out of the atmosphere of the huge planet. Clarke,

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  however, does not allow the actual take-off to happen immediately but again

  resorts to a special “external intervention.”

  It turns out that a full five minutes has to elapse from the start of ignition to

  lift-off. The author absolutely needs this time, for two reasons: First it allows

  the fourth phase of the “attempt to make contact” in which one arrives closest

  to the level of noumenon in understanding the alien. Second, it creates the

  conditions to remove the burden of anthropomorphism from Falcon (a process

  which, however, cannot in the given circumstances be reflected in any way in

  the immediate action.) Without this unburdening, the final preponderance of

  the cyborg side of his dual identity would remain unexplained—a goal that is

  reached in the last chapter of the novella, which takes place back on Earth.

  In the short span of time before the Kon-Tiki’s ram-jet fires at full strength,

/>   there twice come physical touches between Falcon and the medusa. First, the

  medusa’s tentacle “very gently rocked the Kon-Tiki,” and soon after, “a large,

  heavy hand patted the balloon.”

  In both instances, Clarke deliberately shows the nature of the action of the

  “monstrous bag of gas” from the point of view of the human protagonist, so as

  to avoid the danger of the “omniscient story-teller” encroaching on the plane

  of noumenon of the alien. The expressions “very gently” and “a large, heavy

  hand patted” have meaning only for Falcon and not for the medusa. In this

  way the medusa’s level of noumenon remains inviolate, but Clarke neverthe-

  less succeeds in defining in the most accurate way up to now the nature of the

  creature’s initiative, which is needed in order to arouse a particular reaction

  from the Falcon.

  At first, Falcon tries not to pay any attention to the presence of the medusa’s

  tentacle but when, on the second occasion, its inaggressive “patting” on the

  balloon becomes quite unmistakable, he can do nothing else but openly and

  for the first time allow the possibility that the bizarre Jovian creature does not

  have an unfriendly attitude towards him: “Of course, Brenner might be

  perfectly right. Perhaps it was just trying to be friendly.”

  And now follows the key moment of the whole novella. Thinking how to

  respond to this action of the medusa in which—burdened no longer by fear,

  just because of the very short time still remaining for him to spend in its

  vicinity—he perceives undoubted signs of a special wish for friendly contact,

  Falcon suddenly arrives in a blind alley. It becomes clear to him that anything

  he can do, even in this case, would be extremely inappropriate and laden with

  anthropomorphic limitations, albeit different ones to those produced by a

  negative emotional attitude.

  “Maybe he should try to talk to it over the radio. Which should it be: ‘Pretty

  pussy?’ ‘Down, Fido?’ Or ‘Take me to your leader?’”

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  The unambiguous irony in the second sentence simultaneously reveals two

  important things. On the one hand, Falcon has realized that the model of

  reciprocation offered him by parochial earthly experience—the possibility, that