I felt an unreasonable amazement. I knew that something strange had happened, and for the moment could not distinguish what the strange thing might be. As I stood staring, the door into the garden opened, and the man-servant appeared.
We looked at each other. Then ideas began to come. “Has Mr. —— gone out that way?” said I.
“No, sir. No one has come out this way. I was expecting to find him here.”
At that I understood. At the risk of disappointing Richardson I stayed on, waiting for the Time Traveller; waiting for the second, perhaps still stranger story, and the specimens and photographs he would bring with him. But I am beginning now to fear that I must wait a lifetime. The Time Traveller vanished three years ago. And, as everybody knows now, he has never returned.
EPILOGUE
One cannot choose but wonder. Will he ever return? It may be that he swept back into the past, and fell among the blood-drinking, hairy savages of the Age of Unpolished Stone; into the abysses of the Cretaceous Sea; or among the grotesque saurians, the huge reptilian brutes of the Jurassic times. He may even now—if I may use the phrase—be wandering on some plesiosaurus-haunted Oolitic coral reef, or beside the lonely saline lakes of the Triassic Age. Or did he go forward, into one of the nearer ages, in which men are still men, but with the riddles of our own time answered and its wearisome problems solved? Into the manhood of the race: for I, for my own part, cannot think that these latter days of weak experiment, fragmentary theory, and mutual discord are indeed man’s culminating time! I say, for my own part. He, I know—for the question had been discussed among us long before the Time Machine was made—thought but cheerlessly of the Advancement of Mankind, and saw in the growing pile of civilization only a foolish heaping that must inevitably fall back upon and destroy its makers in the end. If that is so, it remains for us to live as though it were not so. But to me the future is still black and blank—is a vast ignorance, lit at a few casual places by the memory of his story. And I have by me, for my comfort, two strange white flowers—shrivelled now, and brown and flat and brittle—to witness that even when mind and strength had gone, gratitude and a mutual tenderness still lived on in the heart of man.
DARK FUTURES AND DYSTOPIAS, by Matthew Crom
Dystopian literature depicts ideals manifesting as concrete nightmares. The two chief roots of utopia are Plato’s Republic and More’s Utopia. Plato’s Republic is the first attempt to describe an ideal state. Yet the state itself is founded on a ‘noble lie’ that undermines family and romantic attachment and fosters loyalty to the state. The violence against parental love and romantic love is the high cost of the ideal.1 Thomas More’s Utopia describes a purely rational society. There is no opposition between individuals as property is held in common. This obviates class distinctions and channels the acquisitive impulses towards the common good. Crime, religious persecution and war are absent. While clearly advocating the adoption of utopian practices, More does not have any expectation that changes will actually occur.2 Thus either: 1) the ideal community is founded on a crime against truth, or 2) the ideal community is possible without a crime, but is unlikely to be achieved. If utopian literature features an ideal that may or may not be attainable in practice, dystopian literature is defined by the actualization of the ideal turning out to be a disappointment. Consider, for instance, the three pillars of dystopian literature: Zamyatin’s We, Huxley’s Brave New World and Orwell’s 1984.
Zamyatin’s We is the original dystopian novel.3 The setting is the One State which depicts a city constructed entirely of glass; a Green Wall separates the city of the One State from “the irrational, hideous world of trees, birds, animals” (Zamyatin, 93). Individuals have no identities but are known only by numbers. All but .2% of the population perished in a massive war. Food is now derived from petroleum and freedom has been superseded by order. Order stems from the Table of Hours which prescribes the actions to be performed during twenty-two of the day’s hours. Sexuality is rendered impersonal by a voucher system where people can choose any other to partner with on sexual days. On these days only are citizens permitted to draw their blinds, as “We have nothing to conceal from one another” (Zamyatin, 18).4 D-503 fears that eventually a time will come when there will be no more shadows and “The sun will shine through everything” (Zamyatin, 183). With nothing private, everything will be understood in the public sphere.
The novel itself is a collection of papers prepared for the launch of The Integral, which is a spaceship intended bring the message of the one state to other worlds. The papers are penned by D-503, one of the ship’s builders. As we read, the builder becomes romantically involved with the woman I-330. D-503’s feelings are possessive and this destabilizes and isolates him from the crowd. D-503 has succumbed to an incurable disease: he has developed a soul. D-503 laments “Never again would I merge into the regular, precise, mechanical rhythm, never again float on the mirror like untroubled sea” (Zamyatin, 83). His passion is not rational, but it enriches his life. Despite this, the complexities of passion lead D-503 to have an operation that makes possible a return to the majority by destroying his imagination.5
The One State commits two egregious errors. First, it regards itself as the conclusion of history. The revolution that produced it is “the final one. And there can be no others.” (Zamyatin, 174). Second, the attempt to render human life purely rational strips it of its worth. By expelling the fantastic and affective from the state, the state has excised the most worthwhile human qualities.
Like We, Brave New World describes a World State. In Brave New World, human nature is malleable and manipulated through genetics and prenatal nutrition. This is supplemented by constant psychological conditioning that upholds the social order. Technology tailors the intellectual and physical capabilities of each individual to their destined social class. Shapely physiques and nimble minds mark an Alpha; a burly physique and low mental capacity signify an Epsilon destined to a life of physical labor. Like the state of The Republic, the World State ensures loyalty through the dissolution of family and romantic love. Test-tube conception has rendered familiar attachment obsolete. Sexual attachment has been diluted by a proliferation of partners. Anything that could compete with the State for the devotion of its members has been eliminated.
One distinctive feature of the World State is drug use in the form of soma, which is described as “Euphoric, narcotic, pleasantly hallucinant. All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects” (Huxley, 64). Soma blunts the reminder of a non-conditioned world outside of humanity’s technological constructs and enables a pleasantly mindless existence. Instead of pondering the past or anticipating a future, soma enables its users to bask in thoughtless contentment. As Lenina puts it, “was and will make me ill, I take a gramme and only am” (Huxley, 122).
John is a savage outsider horrified by the lack of feeling and the stunted minds of the citizens of the World State. They want for nothing; they should want more than the hollow pleasantness of their lives. John argues that human life is only properly such when it experiences depth. Deep pleasures and deep sorrows alike are preferable to a drug-induced neutral pleasantness augmented by consumerist and sexual indulgences. The states of both Huxley and Zamyatin both fail to provide a suitably rich human existence for their citizens.
George Orwell’s 1984 is arguably the apex of dystopian literature and depicts a people of and for the government. Like Huxley’s world state, the regime of Oceania has eroded all objects that could claim the allegiances of individuals. The family still exists in Orwell’s vision, but it is politically undermined as family members (particularly children) are encouraged to inform on each other. Sex is depleasurized as marital unions have to be approved by the state and “permission was always refused if the couple concerned gave the impression of being physically attracted to one another” (Orwell, 66). Sex is only permitted to exist because of its usefulness to the state, and in time, even the orgasm will be eradicated.
; Words are eradicated as well with the existing vocabulary being reduced so as to limit the capacity for thought and render the private realm of the mind ever less removed from the public life of the superstate. Without words to articulate them, feelings cannot germinate into the fullest depths of the emotional life. There may still be reminders of the world before the one state, but with only words like ‘doubleplusgood’ to describe them, the development of a separate individual consciousness is unlikely to take place. Thoughtcrime will be impossible without the resources of language. As Syme points out “Orthodoxy means not thinking—not needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness” (Orwell, 54). Without thoughts to animate our speech, language is nothing more than a mechanical blabbering. As Orwell describes Syme’s speech: “It was not the man’s brain that was speaking; it was his larynx. The stuff that was coming out of him consisted of words, but it was not speech in the true sense: it was a noise uttered in unconsciousness, like the quacking of a duck” (Orwell, 55). Even an incongruity between one’s facial expression and the expected demeanor is a punishable offense. The scope for resistance in such a regime is limited. From the onset, Winston and Julia know they are doomed. At one point Winston describes the limitation of state power saying “If you can feel that staying human is worth while, even when it can’t have any result whatever, you’ve beaten them” (Orwell, 167). A victory to be sure, but it is scarcely less bitter than Victory Coffee.
Whereas Brave New World manipulates human nature with science, 1984 uses torture to change human beings. After his ordeals, Winston no longer even dreams of revolt, and genuinely loves Big Brother. The entire manipulation works because of Winston’s own body, its needs and the desire to preserve it against harm. As Winston observes, “the dull ache in his belly made consecutive thought impossible…the issues that you are fighting for are always forgotten, because the body swells up until it fills the universe, and even when you are not paralyzed by fright or screaming with pain, life is a moment-to-moment struggle against hunger or cold or sleeplessness, against a sour stomach or an aching tooth” (Orwell, 102). The mind inhabits the body and a robust mental life cannot arise in the absence of physical conditions. But the body may also contain within itself the seed of resistance.
Winston hopes that life itself will defeat the power of the state. This hope underlies his delight when Julia admits that she adores the sexual act: Sex represents a “simple undifferentiated desire” that “was the force that would tear the Party to pieces” (Orwell, 127). This rests on the hope that there is some aspect of human nature that cannot be manipulated. 1984 concludes showing Winston, broken in mind and body, readily betraying his love. Winston does not fear death, but torture amplifies his bodily needs to the point where all else is drowned out. In the end, Winston is powerless to resist; love of Julia has been replaced by a love of Big Brother. Both 1984 and We conclude with their chief characters collaborating in their own oppression and descending into the madness of willful subjection. 1984 shows that the internal space of the mind is not immune to political power. Further, the desire to wield power and dominate appears as undifferentiated and unconditioned as the sex drive.
The ruling caste of the super state, the members of the inner party, wields power with no illusions and seeks power for its own sake. The appeal to power strikes at the darkest reaches of human motivation: “the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless” (Orwell, 271). Inviting Winston to picture the future, the inner party member O’Brien invites Winston to “imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever” (Orwell, 271).
Having surveyed classic dystopian fiction, let us now consider some more recent works. Suzanne Collin’s The Hunger Games features a society where a small group enjoys luxurious privilege while the majority starves and perishes for the entertainment of the elite. Twelve remaining districts surround the capital city Panem which punishes the districts for their previous rebellion with forced participation in the Hunger Games. Each district must offer forth two tributes, one boy and one girl, who are then “imprisoned in a vast outdoor arena that could hold anything from a burning desert to a frozen wasteland” (18) and left to fight to the death until only one remains. The sole remaining tribute becomes the winner.
Despite the most real violence, the games are contrived. Although apparently in an outdoors setting, the terrain is manipulated. The moon is artificial and the night skies include a standings graphic that displays the results of the latest kills. The course is rife with genetically altered birds, wasps, and dogs. Though the setting is artificial, the genuineness of Katniss’s empathy comes through. When her enemy Cato is eaten alive by the ‘mutations,’ Katniss just wishes his suffering to end. All the while, she is aware that the suffering constitutes first class entertainment for the viewers. The viewers do not connect with the tributes but focus their own feelings while watching the games (354). The disparity between Katniss’ feelings and the viewers’ suggests the interposition of the viewing medium flattens the emotional impact of human suffering. The result is a society that uses its technology for violent domination rather than meeting the most basic of human needs.
Paolo Bacigalupi’s work also shows technology used to worsen the plight of the hungry. The setting is a world that has run out of oil but still has genetic engineering. In “The Calorie Man,” the story’s namesake describes the genetically engineered crop SoyPRO as being a CEO’s dream because it is sterile. SoyPRO is “A genetic dead-end. A one-way street” with the result that “We now pay for a privilege that nature once provided willingly, for just a little labor” (114). The calorie man is transported by Lalji, whose family attempted to grow crops using the new seeds from the calorie company. Despite the family’s prayers and dutiful vigilance to their crops, no amount of patience or care can cause the sterile PurCal seeds to germinate. Lalji recalls unearthing the seeds and finding them “decomposed, tiny corpses in his hand, rotted. As dead in his palm as the day he and his father had planted them” (112). The calorie companies have also eliminated competition from ‘natural’ crops by beefing up plant diseases and blights. Rich or poor alike must purchase ‘one cycle’ seeds from the calorie firms. But Lalji hopes to realize the calorie man’s unlikely dream of sowing fecund seeds amongst outgoing shipments of PureCal and SoyPRO and freeing the world from the grip of the calorie companies.
With the work of Philip K. Dick and William Gibson, the dystopian incorporates elements of film noir and mixes them with the high-tech of science fiction.6 Gritty, urban landscapes predominate and there is no escaping the problems of the city. In Neuromancer, the eastern seaboard of the former United States is one massive city known as the Sprawl: a block of neon and concrete wherein all cultures succumb to the value of currency. Every action that takes place in the novel is ordered by a corporation. No one is in charge of their own destiny and no one is able to back out of the job. Survival rather than meaning is the focus of each character. No lasting human connections are formed and no meaningful change occurs in the lives of the human characters.
Cyberspace represents the frontier in Neuromancer as it represents a way out of the concrete and neon jungle of the Sprawl. 7 Life after death is possible in cyberspace as “The Dixie Flatline” lives on as a construct and Case’s ex continues her existence on a virtual plane. But the virtuality of this new frontier falls well short of reality. And the reader knows it, even if Case may forget.
In Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Earth is devastated by the aftermath of a nuclear war and everyone who can afford to leave has done so. Those who stay must undergo periodic intelligence tests to make sure their faculties haven’t deteriorated. Housing is plentiful in the absence of occupants. Animals too have diminished and owning and caring for an animal is a means to flaunt one’s status. As genuine animals are expensive and rare, a market emerges for simulated animals. Humans have been simulated as well, with the simulated humans being known as replicants.
As in much of Dick’s work, the t
ension between appearance and reality is continually referenced and manipulated. The plot centers on a bounty hunter’s attempt to detect and ‘retire’ escaped androids. One method of detection measures empathy responses. The emotional life is a central part of being human. But the ‘mood organ’ device is widely used and its manipulation of the user’s emotional states gives the emotions an artificial tinge. Replicants are said to lack empathy. However, Resch is ‘tested’ to be a genuine human, despite lacking empathy and enjoying killing. Mercerism is shown to be literally false, but appears to transcend its artificiality by facilitating genuine empathy. In the end, it is unclear whether there is any genuine truth or whether everything is mired in artificiality and simulation.
“The Fluted Girl” by Bacigalupi depicts children whose lives and bodies are subordinated to share prices. Lidia and her sister are owned by Belari, who rules a fief. Despite being a veritable queen, Belari is not free. Individuals, like companies, have a stock with a share price, with both at the mercy of whoever holds the controlling interest. As an aging actress, Belari can expect her share price to fall with each passing year. To counteract this, she can become wired for Touch-Sense, a technology that will enable paying viewers to experience the sensation of being inside Belari’s body, but this technology would mean the end of privacy for Belari.
Belari’s solution is to raise the value of two of the stocks that she owns and use the gains to purchase her own stock. Belari stunts the girls’ growth and, despite the beauty of the originals, replaces their eyes.8 Lidia recalls recovering after multiple surgeries, each time “crippled, unable to move for weeks despite the wide-bore needles full of cell-knitters and nutrient fluids the doctor flushed through her slight body. The doctor would hold her hand after the surgeries, wipe the sweat from her pale brow and whisper, “Poor girl. Poor, poor girl” (35). After each surgery, Belari anticipates the stock rise that will accompany the girls’ coming stardom. The surgery transforms the girls into musical instruments to entertain the privileged elite. In rebellion, Lidia prepares to end her life by ingesting a poisoned strawberry but then offers the berry to Belari. Lidia’s defiance is admirable, but she and her sister remain property to be bought and sold by whoever fills Belari’s place.
Sense of Wonder: A Century of Science Fiction Page 57