Isaac Asimov: The Foundations of Science Fiction (Revised Edition) (42 page)
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Denison tells Neville about himself and is told that he can work in the Lunarite laboratories. In the laboratories Denison is able to use a Pionizer, invented by the Lunarites, which does in a small space what the proton synchrotron does in a large one. With the Pionizer Denison gets results that he feels confirm the dangers he and Lamont have warned about: within a few years or a few decades, the growing strength of the nuclear force will lead to the explosion of the sun, perhaps even the entire arm of the Galaxy. Neville discounts Denison's findings, saying that they are within the limits of error of his process. Denison explains to Selene that people believe what they want to believe. Neville does not like to leave the tunnels in which he was born and raised (like the city-dwellers in
The Caves of Steel,
he suffers from agoraphobia). He wants the Electron Pump so badly because then the Moon will not be dependent upon solar batteries, for which people must go out on the surface. Denison suggests to Selene that Earth will not shut down the Electron Pump because it is dangerous; Earth must be offered something better. He offers a clue: the number two is ridiculous and cannot exist. Selene guesses what he means: if there are two alternate Universes, there must be an infinity of them.
The Caves of Steel,
he suffers from agoraphobia). He wants the Electron Pump so badly because then the Moon will not be dependent upon solar batteries, for which people must go out on the surface. Denison suggests to Selene that Earth will not shut down the Electron Pump because it is dangerous; Earth must be offered something better. He offers a clue: the number two is ridiculous and cannot exist. Selene guesses what he means: if there are two alternate Universes, there must be an infinity of them.
The accuracy of Selene's guess surprises Denison. Selene reveals, in a conversation with Neville and later with Denison, that she is an Intuitionist. Genetic manipulation, some of which was aimed at producing more people with intuitional ability, was discredited on Earth after an (undescribed) time of troubles called the Great Crisis reduced Earth's population from six billion to two billion and left behind a permanent distrust of technology and a reluctance to risk change because of possible side effects. Although Selene is not the result of a genetic experiment, her ancestors might have been. Among other things, Selene's intuition led to the invention of the Pionizer. She functions as Neville's Intuitionist.
Selene speculates to Denison that the para-Universe might not care if the sun explodes, for then they might be able to get energy directly from Earth's Universe. Indeed, para-men might even prefer that the Galactic arm explode into a quasar and would like to keep Earth from stopping the Pump before that happens. In experiments on the surface of the Moon, Denison and Selene, who have grown more intimate, use the Pionizer to tap another Universe and succeed. Gottstein comes upon them while the experiment is going on. Later, Denison explains to Gottstein that they have tapped a Universe, which might be called an
anti-para-Universe, in which the strong nuclear reaction is so weak that the entire Universe could consist of a single star. It would be a situation similar to that in Earth's Universe before the explosion of the cosmic egg, or "cosmeg." As humanity taps the cosmeg-Universe for energy, the seepage of natural law will counteract the effect of the Electron Pump and with proper coordination leave a net zero result. The cosmeg-Universe, on the other hand, might eventually explode as the strong nuclear force leaked into it. This explosion, however, would result not in damage but in conditions under which life eventually would be possible. This sequence of actions might, in fact, explain the explosion of the cosmeg in Earth's Universe, as some other Universe tapped it for energy.
anti-para-Universe, in which the strong nuclear reaction is so weak that the entire Universe could consist of a single star. It would be a situation similar to that in Earth's Universe before the explosion of the cosmic egg, or "cosmeg." As humanity taps the cosmeg-Universe for energy, the seepage of natural law will counteract the effect of the Electron Pump and with proper coordination leave a net zero result. The cosmeg-Universe, on the other hand, might eventually explode as the strong nuclear force leaked into it. This explosion, however, would result not in damage but in conditions under which life eventually would be possible. This sequence of actions might, in fact, explain the explosion of the cosmeg in Earth's Universe, as some other Universe tapped it for energy.
Gottstein offers to take this information back to Earth in the form of a paper. Denison wants Lamont and Neville to be listed as co-authors. Lamont accepts (and receives appropriate honors and position, while Hallam is demoted), but Neville refuses. In a final wrap-up, Gottstein brings back from Earth plans for constructing cosmeg pumps on the Moon because they must be operated in a vacuum. Some of the cosmeg pumping will be used for energy, but most, for a while at least, will serve to counteract the changes in field intensities introduced by the Electron Pump. Neville, however, wants to use the cosmeg pumps to convert the Moon into a stellar ship. By transferring momentum to the cosmeg-Universe, the Moon could accelerate at any convenient rate without loss of mass.
Allowing the Moon to leave Earth orbit could create problems in balancing the Electron Pumping. Denison points out, however, that the problems could be solved by constructing space stations with cosmeg pumps attached. But, he says, the Moon won't leave its orbit because there is no sense in it doing so. It would be more efficient to build starships that would be easier to accelerate and require less energy. Neville wants to take the Moon because of his neurosis. It is Neville's prison, Denison says, but it need not be the prison of every other Lunarite.
Neville is adamant even when Selene, who has been waiting in another room and has heard everything, comes in and disagrees with him. Neville is outvoted decisively by the citizens of Luna City, and the novel ends with Selene asking Denison if he would be willing to contribute sperm toward her artificial insemination. A second son for her has just been approved. They end in each other's arms.
Part of the letdown in Part III is due to the speculative intensity of Part II, which is difficult to match. By comparison Part III seems
uninventive. Even the reader's natural curiosity about the fate of Estwald and the triad, in which the reader has invested so much concern, is unrewarded; one does not know whether the part of Estwald that is Dua ever convinces the composite Hard One that survival should not be bought at the price of destroying the other Universe. One cannot conceive of an effective way in which the reader could be returned to the para-Universe, but this does not lessen the disappointment.
uninventive. Even the reader's natural curiosity about the fate of Estwald and the triad, in which the reader has invested so much concern, is unrewarded; one does not know whether the part of Estwald that is Dua ever convinces the composite Hard One that survival should not be bought at the price of destroying the other Universe. One cannot conceive of an effective way in which the reader could be returned to the para-Universe, but this does not lessen the disappointment.
Part III does not even offer the scientific credibility of Part I. The ingenuity with which Asimov rationalized the existence of plutonium-186 and the attention he lavished on the accident-plus-preparation process by which the Electron Pump was created makes the development of energy from the cosmeg-Universe seem unlikely and unconvincing. The solution is ingenious but also convenient.
Without the intrinsic narrative interests that propel Parts I and II, Asimov resorted to artificial suspense in Part III. Instead of the natural mysteries that drive his best work, he offered concealed identities and information (the kind of substitute for the built-in puzzle that weakened
The Stars, Like Dust
). The only reason to conceal Denison's identity until section 6, for instance, was to paper over the lack of suspense with a contrived curiosity about who the middle-aged tourist is. For a while, the reader is tempted to believe that it is, and even wants it to be, Lamont. In a similar way, the information that Selene is an Intuitionist is hidden from the reader (and from Denison) until section 11, even though Selene and Neville converse privately in alternating chapters. The purpose of the Lunarite physicists is kept secret nearly to the end. Asimov tried to rationalize withholding information from the reader by establishing Neville as suspicious, even paranoid. At one point Selene chides herself for thinking of the secret purpose as "the other," rather than naming it, and she says she has been infected by Neville's chronic suspicions. All of this is weakness rather than strength.
The Stars, Like Dust
). The only reason to conceal Denison's identity until section 6, for instance, was to paper over the lack of suspense with a contrived curiosity about who the middle-aged tourist is. For a while, the reader is tempted to believe that it is, and even wants it to be, Lamont. In a similar way, the information that Selene is an Intuitionist is hidden from the reader (and from Denison) until section 11, even though Selene and Neville converse privately in alternating chapters. The purpose of the Lunarite physicists is kept secret nearly to the end. Asimov tried to rationalize withholding information from the reader by establishing Neville as suspicious, even paranoid. At one point Selene chides herself for thinking of the secret purpose as "the other," rather than naming it, and she says she has been infected by Neville's chronic suspicions. All of this is weakness rather than strength.
The strengths of Part III are the descriptions of lunar life, the characterization, and the final solution to the Electron Pump problem. Much of Part III is a guided tour of Lunar City and environs. It seems little more than padding in the midst of the more pressing concerns about the Electron Pump, but the scenes are presented so winningly and so thoroughly imagined that they rival the similar presentations in Heinlein's
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.
Acrobatic performances and games ("a melee in the giant gymnasium") get almost an entire section, as does gliding (with the aid of argon-filled gliders attached to the shoes) on a lunar slope. Asimov describes the food (artificial and mushy, but the Lunarites, who have grown up on it, like it better than natural
food), the language of contempt (Earthies, Lunies), the gravity (hard on Earthmen, even harder on anyone who tries to return to Earth), the difficulties of sleeping in one-sixth Earth gravity, and the problems of elimination. More importantly, he describes the social mores of the Lunarites: nudity is accepted as comfortable and natural; population is controlled by rationing the right to children; artificial insemination is the normal method of conception (although disapproved on Earth, it is allowed on the Moon for medical reasons; it is not clear whether artificial insemination is the custom among Lunarites or only between Lunarites and Earthie immigrants); and sex between Lunarite and immigrant or tourist is undesirable because of the possibility of injury to the slighter, less heavily muscled Lunarites as well as the difficulty of coordinating Earth-accustomed muscles to the Moon's gravity. This earned Asimov a pleasant reward at the end of the novel (as in
The Naked Sun
) when he brought Selene and Denison together.
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress.
Acrobatic performances and games ("a melee in the giant gymnasium") get almost an entire section, as does gliding (with the aid of argon-filled gliders attached to the shoes) on a lunar slope. Asimov describes the food (artificial and mushy, but the Lunarites, who have grown up on it, like it better than natural
food), the language of contempt (Earthies, Lunies), the gravity (hard on Earthmen, even harder on anyone who tries to return to Earth), the difficulties of sleeping in one-sixth Earth gravity, and the problems of elimination. More importantly, he describes the social mores of the Lunarites: nudity is accepted as comfortable and natural; population is controlled by rationing the right to children; artificial insemination is the normal method of conception (although disapproved on Earth, it is allowed on the Moon for medical reasons; it is not clear whether artificial insemination is the custom among Lunarites or only between Lunarites and Earthie immigrants); and sex between Lunarite and immigrant or tourist is undesirable because of the possibility of injury to the slighter, less heavily muscled Lunarites as well as the difficulty of coordinating Earth-accustomed muscles to the Moon's gravity. This earned Asimov a pleasant reward at the end of the novel (as in
The Naked Sun
) when he brought Selene and Denison together.
As in Part I, the characters seem like real people. Denison is not a hero (no doubt he functions as the author's representative: Denison's age is forty-eight; Asimov's, when he wrote the novel, was fifty-one), and Selene is not a heroine. Selene's attachment to the sullen Neville seems perverse, though her later rejection of him seems correspondingly more satisfying. Neville, on the other hand, is a more classic villain (although Asimov can probably understand his attachment to his lunar tunnels and sympathize with his desire to take the solid Moon along with him on his space travels). Gottstein seems a character of convenience. The reader longs a bit for Lamont's intensity or even Bronowski's wit.
Denison, however, who downplays everything, has what was always for Asimov (and for those readers who like Asimov's fiction) the saving grace of rationality. He behaves rationally, understanding the stupidity of others (the stupidity against which the gods themselves, but not Denison in his later years, contend in vain), realizing that one must make people want what is good for them rather than waste effort and time on trying to make them stop doing what they want to do. He accepts the weaknesses of others as readily as he admits his own. He has learned (rather like the moment when Asimov learned to give up the smart-aleck quip and become lovable). At the age of twenty-five, he says, he was still such a child that he had to amuse himself by insulting a fool for no reason other than that he was a fool. Since Hallam's folly was not his fault, Denison admits he was the greater fool to insult him. Since then, he has learned not to insult others and has learned to accept help where it is offered without false pride and without illusions as to
why it is offered. He refrains from hurting others. He wants Neville's name added to the scientific paper as co-author in order to save Neville's and Lunarite pride. When he first kisses Selene, he puts his hands behind his back; when he moves toward her at the end, he moves hesitantly.
why it is offered. He refrains from hurting others. He wants Neville's name added to the scientific paper as co-author in order to save Neville's and Lunarite pride. When he first kisses Selene, he puts his hands behind his back; when he moves toward her at the end, he moves hesitantly.
The final strength of Part III, the solution to the scientific problem, justifies or almost justifies its weaknesses. The concept of the cosmeg-Universe seems so neatly implied by the para-Universe, as the opposite end of the nuclear force spectrum, that it falls naturally into place as the last piece of the puzzle. And its existence is reinforced by the cosmological explanation it implies for the explosion of this Universe's original cosmic egg.
The entire novel plays itself out on Asimov's traditional bare stage. Few surroundings were described; even the lunar environment was only referred to by the texture of its food, the lessened influence of gravity, and the presence of Earth in the lunar sky. Asimov fiction always had this characteristic, perhaps reinforced by his first book-editor's criticism of his attempts at colorful writing in the early drafts of his second novel,
The Stars, Like Dust.
More likely, writing went faster and more easily for Asimov with limited description, and Asimov always wrote swiftly. Moreover, ideas play themselves out most effectively and most clearly in isolation, and Asimov, in
The Gods Themselves
as the present example, was more concerned about the "idea" of lunar life than about its reality.
The Stars, Like Dust.
More likely, writing went faster and more easily for Asimov with limited description, and Asimov always wrote swiftly. Moreover, ideas play themselves out most effectively and most clearly in isolation, and Asimov, in
The Gods Themselves
as the present example, was more concerned about the "idea" of lunar life than about its reality.
The important aspect of
The Gods Themselves
may be not so much what it is but what it represented. Though better written, better conceived, and even more greatly honored than earlier Asimov work,
The Gods Themselves
was not as important as half a dozen of those earlier books. The novel came at a time when science fiction was maturing into individual statements by individual authors; each new novel was considered mostly on its own merits rather than on its context and its contribution to that context. Each, therefore, might be individually superior but less important in terms of the genre of which it was a part. So it was with
The Gods Themselves.
It was important as a statement by Asimov that science still could be the distinguishing characteristic of science fiction, that the older traditions of science fiction (not always honored in their own time, even by Asimov) could be built upon rather than discarded, that science-important fiction could be recognized as contemporary. And, as a personal statement, the novel demonstrated that Asimov still could write serious science fiction.
The Gods Themselves
may be not so much what it is but what it represented. Though better written, better conceived, and even more greatly honored than earlier Asimov work,
The Gods Themselves
was not as important as half a dozen of those earlier books. The novel came at a time when science fiction was maturing into individual statements by individual authors; each new novel was considered mostly on its own merits rather than on its context and its contribution to that context. Each, therefore, might be individually superior but less important in terms of the genre of which it was a part. So it was with
The Gods Themselves.
It was important as a statement by Asimov that science still could be the distinguishing characteristic of science fiction, that the older traditions of science fiction (not always honored in their own time, even by Asimov) could be built upon rather than discarded, that science-important fiction could be recognized as contemporary. And, as a personal statement, the novel demonstrated that Asimov still could write serious science fiction.
The Gods Themselves
came as a capstone for a career in which Asimov
was recognized as an important writer of our time, a recognized master of the science popularization, a polymath profligate with books in many fields and pursued by opinion-seekers of all kinds on a variety of subjects, a witty, expensive, much-sought-after speaker, a commercial spokesman upon occasion, and only last a science-fiction writer, insofar as his general reputation went. The occasions of his one hundredth, two hundredth, three hundredth, and four hundredth book publications brought him considerable attention from the book world and perhaps even from the book-reading world. He was reviewed and interviewed and profiled in and on a variety of national media. He was an institution. The delightful part of the man was that, in spite of his fame and wealth and general reputation, he never forgot his roots. He still considered himself a science-fiction writer. He was shaped by science fiction and by John Campbell, just as he was shaped by an upbringing in Brooklyn and his servitude in the series of candy stores from which he was liberated only late in his teens, by his precociousness, and by his father's stern ethical principles. Out of all these influences came the Asimov stories in the Golden Age of the magazines and the books published when science fiction first was breaking into the book market. As a consequence, the stories influenced the genre because they led the way in critical times. They retain that importance, but it may exceed their basic value as literature.
came as a capstone for a career in which Asimov
was recognized as an important writer of our time, a recognized master of the science popularization, a polymath profligate with books in many fields and pursued by opinion-seekers of all kinds on a variety of subjects, a witty, expensive, much-sought-after speaker, a commercial spokesman upon occasion, and only last a science-fiction writer, insofar as his general reputation went. The occasions of his one hundredth, two hundredth, three hundredth, and four hundredth book publications brought him considerable attention from the book world and perhaps even from the book-reading world. He was reviewed and interviewed and profiled in and on a variety of national media. He was an institution. The delightful part of the man was that, in spite of his fame and wealth and general reputation, he never forgot his roots. He still considered himself a science-fiction writer. He was shaped by science fiction and by John Campbell, just as he was shaped by an upbringing in Brooklyn and his servitude in the series of candy stores from which he was liberated only late in his teens, by his precociousness, and by his father's stern ethical principles. Out of all these influences came the Asimov stories in the Golden Age of the magazines and the books published when science fiction first was breaking into the book market. As a consequence, the stories influenced the genre because they led the way in critical times. They retain that importance, but it may exceed their basic value as literature.
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