Jameson Cult Film Club Quatermass and the Pit Screening

Jameson Cult Film Club’s first ‘Chills in the Chapel’ Halloween screening was Quatermass and the Pit, a film that is perhaps more science fiction than horror.

For the screening Jameson went to great lengths to decorate their eerie Union Chapel church setting; unique lighting, a thick foggy air and actors portraying generic horror types walking around all combined to create a creepy atmosphere. And on the stage below the screen, they had even built a version of the most important scene setting in the film – a large black alien spaceship with rubble strewn at its base.

Several actors were also present to portray the film’s main characters, staying in character whilst the audience were taking their seats and chatting. These actors then gave a small performance and introduction before the feature started. This pantomime-like audience engagement served to build a sense of joviality among the audience, and the way in which those characters were introduced so dramatically on stage certainly increased excitement and anticipation among those present who had not seen the film before.

Quatermass was originally a British television series in 1953, called The Quatermass Experiment, which had various other series and films that followed it. The 1967 film Quatermass and the Pit tells the story of a strange object that is unearthed in a London underground station as an extension is being built. The odd nature of this sleek black object and the primitive human skeletons that surround it draw the attention of a host of people; the military, anthropologists and most importantly, the quirky and verging on crazy scientist Professor Quatermass (in this Quatermass outing, being portrayed by Andrew Keir).

As they manage to penetrate the object, they discover it to be a Martian spaceship that has been buried underground for millions of years. The ship and its inhabitants begin enforce psychic effects upon the people involved and London is thrown into disarray, as what is effectively a delayed Martian invasion unfolds.

Being an old Hammer film production, one would expect the effects to be a little bad and likely very dated, and they range here from extremely poor (the Martians themselves, who look like large grasshoppers), to really rather good at a times. For the audience at hand though, this played as a straight comedy; laughing often at both the effects and the very exaggerated, over the top and impeccably British acting within. This seems the sort of film though that perhaps wasn’t even meant to be taken too seriously back when it was made.

It is possible that what the film is really commenting on is World War II and the Holocaust. There is much at play here that relates to this, such as an attempt by the Martians to kill off a particular kind of people (the small minority immune to their psychic manipulation).

The film is also daring in the way that it disregards religion and hypothesises that aliens might have played a hand in our development (“You realise what you’re implying? That we owe our human condition here to the intervention of insects?” asks the Ministry of Defence incredulously).

What strikes about this film the most though is its intelligence. Dealing with both deep and allegorical themes, whilst still managing to retain all of the science fiction and horror thrills you could want serves to create something quite special indeed. This is a gem of science fiction that deserves to be more widely seen and appreciated.

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Tron: Legacy Preview

Tron: Legacy, the eagerly anticipated sequel to the 1982 cult science fiction classic Tron isn’t out for general release in UK cinemas until December 26th (surely the best Christmas present anyone could ask for this year), but tonight audiences were treated to a sneak preview, which was made up of five scenes from the film (four of which were in 3D), plus a final montage, all of which totalled 23 minutes of screen time.

The preview opened with a steady stream of computerised text appearing slowly onscreen, to the sound of key strokes, detailing how those present would be the first people in the world to see this amount of footage from the new film.

The first scene we were treated to centered on Sam Flynn meeting with Alan Bradley, who, as many have seen from the trailer, hands Sam the keys to his Dad’s disused arcade and suggests that he visits it, the scene culminating in those fantastic lingering lines: “Alan, you’re acting like I’m going to find him sitting there working; just: ‘Hey kiddo, lost track of time’,” and Bradley’s response of: “Wouldn’t that be something,” coupled with a wry smirk.

After the first scene, each following scene we were shown seemed only a small jump ahead of the previous one in terms of story time, leaving us with a sense of coherency and an unexpected lack of disjointedness. In the following scenes we witnessed such key moments as Sam’s battle outfit fitting by four creepy women; Sam’s first disc battle, where he wins by a clever manoeuvre; the first time Sam meets Olivia Wilde’s character, Quorra; and Sam’s reuniting with his father, Jeff Bridges’ character Kevin Flynn, for the first time in years. No light cycle action was present unfortunately, however, save for a couple of quick sequences shown in the final montage.

What strikes the most about this film, from the segments that we were treated to, is firstly the sublime effects; this is 3D used perhaps to its best effect yet – the computerised grid world is the perfect setting to explore and test the technology in new ways. As Sam is thrust into this computerised world, from the battles he fights to his simple detainment and transportation, the shots make a wonderful use of spacial awareness – there are often large voids of space and distance around and below the characters, and some dizzying and sweeping shots of such serve to give you a wonderful sense of vertigo, inducing those rare chills up your spine on quite a regular basis.

There is also a real sense of quality about this film, which might come as a surprise to some. There’s a (probably intentional) Abrams’ Star Trek-like feel about Tron: Legacy’s set up – and indeed there are some direct similarities between the films present; something much loved in geek SF fandom is being rebooted here, and with that comes its risks. But luckily, from the footage we’ve seen so far, it looks like this will also go the way of Abrams’ Star Trek in terms of quality and will end up being a lot better than both sceptical Tron devotees and first timers might assume.

Even from this short preview you can tell that the casting choices were excellent decisions; Garrett Hedlund has a coolness and sincere likability about him, Olivia Wilde is both seductive and cheeky here, and about Jeff Bridges’ virtues nothing needs to be said. The only main character that was hardly shown to us at all here (beyond a few shots in the final montage) was Michael Sheen’s villainous Castor. Add to all of this a hauntingly dramatic and powerful score, and you’ve got something quite special indeed.

Those who caught this preview likely came out far more excited about Tron: Legacy’s prospects (not to mention aggravated that they couldn’t watch the whole film there and then) than they were beforehand and those who missed it but who are eagerly awaiting the sequel, rest assured that, based on this footage, the film will certainly not disappoint come December.

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Fringe - 'Do Shapeshifters Dream of Electric Sheep?' (Season 3, Episode 4): A monster's love

“Sometimes monsters aren’t all that bad. Sometimes, if you get to spend some time with them they can be very surprising. They can be incredibly sweet and pure and capable of great great love. And then, one of them might actually become your best best friend” - Ray (a shapeshifter)

Charmingly constructing its title by borrowing from the title of the Philip K. Dick novel 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?', this excellent episode, like the novel, explores than unrelenting SF question of can an artificial life form (in the novel, replicants, and here, shape shifters) have emotions in the same manner that humans do?

Right from the episode's opening we are shown that these creatures are capable of love and kindness - the senator shapeshifter is kind to two young girls who are selling lemonade, without any ulterior motive as far as we can see. And his kindness is ultimately his downfall, since as he smiles as the girls' shouts that he forgot his change whilst looking in his rear view mirror, he is hit by another car and hospitalised.

We are then presented with another shapeshifter, this one living under the guise of a family man, who has clearly grown and retains strong emotional ties with 'his' child and wife. I found this man's story and the way he alters his mission (he doesn't shape-shift during it in the hopes that he can return to his family life afterwards) quite moving. And his ties are also his downfall; with Newton taking care of this potentially compromisable part of his organisation.

Through the theme of can an artificial being becoming too emotionally attached when undercover, we of course explore at the same time whether alt-Olivia has or is succumbing in the same manner. Newton - before his death, which I feel is a great loss for the show - confronts her on this and accuses her outright of warming to the enemy, stating that ultimately it would be here downfall; and based on the demise of the shapeshifters featured in this episode (both due to them loving humans), it seems that alt-Olivia is likely destined for the same fate. It makes me wonder if she will do something drastic now to try to disprove Newton's accusation (to herself); we know she is capable of killing innocence in cold blood, so I'm fearful about what she might do to any given member of our main cast when put in a corner.



I don't know how to read into alt-Olivia mounting Peter at the end; it could be her embracing her emotional ties to him, thinking 'stuff the consequences', but it is probably more likely her trying to disprove Newton (to herself again) by performing an act of deep emotion while retaining an aloofness to it in her mind - essentially a test for herself; can she remain emotionally disciplined even when sleeping with him.

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Fringe – 'The Plateau' (Season 3, Episode 3): Probability juggling

“You know why you didn’t die today, right? Because you didn’t know the protocol... You did something that he couldn’t factor in; you kept running. You know why you did that... you’re not from this world Olivia.” – Peter [Olivia's subconscious]

Right from the off this was an excellent episode. Watching who was clearly this episode's antagonist manipulate probabilities towards securing a fatal outcome was immersing, and by the end of the opening you could just tell this would be one of those way above par Fringe episodes.

Walternate here reveals at least the first part of his plan for deluding our Olivia with regards to her identity – because she holds one capability that Alt-Olivia did not; the ability to cross between universes easily. If this is the only reason for undertaking such extensive effort to get her to believe that falsehood, I found it a little underwhelming. Also, surely making her reach ‘the plateau’ and fully become Alt-Olivia would mean she lost everything Olivia-like about herself, including the ability to cross over? And if she retained it somehow, then during the tests that they are about to put her through, using Peter’s clothes as a stimulant, surely such items would also remind her of her true identity, meaning as the experiment succeeds she’d essential turn against them anyway?

It is also revealed here that Alt-Olivia had a partner (in the relationship sense), with whom our Olivia is now with. The key question here is does her partner know that it isn’t his Olivia (i.e. has he been told)? If he hasn’t been told then surely someone as close as a partner would be able to tell the difference? And if he has – his insistence for her to tell Broyles could be sign that he has been told, or could simply be the caring worries of a partner – why is he so ok with the change? By threat from Walternate?

Probability manipulation/prediction as a topic here was an excellent choice. Everything this show boils down to is the fact that how a single decision, however minor, made in different ways can and will branch off into separate universes. Showing us Milo's perspective as he observes all the possible outcomes of a given situation - them using a segmented screen to show us all the variable outcomes at once - reinforces and highlights for us the idea mentioned above; that an infinite number of universes exist for each outcome of every possible decision we make (the 'many worlds theory').

This makes me wonder if this show will ever venture into focusing on more than two universes at a time. Charlie Jade managed three at once successfully (even if this confused some people, making them calling it 'complex' and probably thus was a minor contributing factor towards the show's cancellation), so I think at least one more could be added to the mix without things getting out of hand. After all, isn't the plot hole here that really there should be a bunch of other Walters who also stole a Peter from other universes, and subsequently a bunch of other Walternates bent on destruction? With all of those trying to cross over into other universes, why has only this one managed to access ours? Shouldn't there be a storm of them knocking at our Walter's door, thinking him the perpetrator of their theft?

Neatly slipped in is another reminder of just how different this universe is to our own, with Olivia’s mention (presumably through the implanted memories) of “how much did you pay for those?”, referring to some avocados; implying that avocados are considerably rare and thus expensive in this universe.



Overall, I think this is the best episode of the three we’ve had so far for this season. The Alt-universe (and thus odd numbered) episodes are proving more interesting so far.

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Fringe - ‘The Box’ (Season 3, Episode 2): Ruthless actions

"You don't have to remind me whose side I'm on" - Alt-Olivia

Two episodes in and the game we seem to be playing is a slow and exploratory one. There is minimal forward momentum with the story arc; we even here have an episode that feels like a return to the stand-alone, case-of-the-week episode format – the only difference being that the object in question here plays a part in Walternate’s larger endgame. Last week we got to explore the alternate universe’s characters via Olivia’s struggle there, and this week we get to explore how Alt-Olivia is fitting in and accomplishing her mission in our universe.

I believe I read in SciFiNow magazine that for the first stretch of this season all of the even numbered episodes will be set in our universe and all of the odd numbered episodes on the other side, which the season has indeed so far followed. I think this is a cool touch – not only for the significance of the ‘odd’ number in relation to the universe that is 'strange' to us, but also because we are being given both a healthy dose of this new toy – the other side – without losing touch with our own.

Perhaps inspired by Matheson’s short story and Richard Kelley’s recent adaptation of such, the curiosity of what lays inside a mysterious box getting the better of you premise is only really used, I think, to parallel the decision that Walter must make about whether to further ‘cross the line’, as Bell suggests, and whether to look inside the safety deposit box.



For me, the key thing to take away from this episode is that Alt-Olivia far more unlike our Olivia and indeed far more ruthless than we perhaps thought; shown by her action of shooting the deaf man in cold blood, as well as her distracting Peter with her sexual allures. Before this execution of an innocent man, she seemed like she could hold the potential to warm to our side and universe, even if perhaps not straight away, and possibly even change sides. Early on here though, she tells Newton (though it is more directed at us, the viewer): “You don’t have to remind me whose side I’m on” – a statement that we should really have accepted at face value. Her encounter with the third man puts to rest any hopes we might have had – she is loyal, she is ruthless and she is deadly. Whereas we can see from where Walternate’s maliciousness and disregard for human life stems – the theft of his son – it is far more shocking to see Olivia act in this manner. Could small, differently made choices made in her life really have turned her into this?

Alt-Olivia also doesn't seem to be playing her undercover role very well - several times in this episode she acts differently to how our Olivia acts, on purpose; with the dance, the music admiration, and even the way she now wears a fringe like with her original hairstyle, leading me to believe that Peter will definitely figure out her true identity, if he hasn't already. She is making it far too easy for him, and I really can't see how such a highly trained professional could be so foolish and careless. Either meaning that maintaining her cover is perhaps less important to these people than we thought, or that this is perhaps a minor plot error at play?

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Review - 'The Lawnmower Man: Director's Cut' on DVD

(This review was written by me for the site www.thefilmpilgrim.com, on which it can also be found)

Release date (UK DVD) – 18 October 2010
Certificate (UK) – 15
Country - USA
Director – Brett Leonard
Runtime – 140 minutes
Starring – Jeff Fahey, Pierce Brosnan

It cannot be denied that Stephen King is capable of writing great science fiction, some of which has been successfully realised on the big screen (David Cronenberg’s The Dead Zone (1983) and Paul Michael Glaser’s The Running Man (1987) for example), and in 1992, director and screenwriter Brett Leonard chose to adapt one of King’s science fiction short stories titled ‘The Lawnmower Man’.

Dr. Angelo (Pierce Brosnan) is a top scientist working for Virtual Space Industries, who (though his morals are in the right place) is attempting to develop a new and effective war weapon out of the technology of virtual reality. After a chimp test subject breaks loose and causes havoc, a mentally challenged lawnmower worker named Jobe (Jeff Fahey) is willingly pulled into Dr. Angelo’s work, becoming his first human test subject. Dr. Angelo increases Jobe’s intelligence to an astonishing degree, but along with this, dangerous ideals form in Jobe’s head and he discovers that he holds a few extraordinary powers.

The Lawnmower Man is firmly and openly an exploration of the benefits and also detrimental effects of the technology of virtual reality (a new advancement at the time of filming). It serves primarily as a cautionary tale about what might happen to our culture and the way in which we communicate with one another (right down to how sex will be altered) should we become too enveloped and essentially enslaved by these false words in which we can play the God of our own universe. At the same time, however, it speculates on whether virtual reality holds within it the amazing potential to ‘evolve’ the human mind (and what dangers might arise if this is done too quickly and taken too far), and the possibility that it could be the vehicle used to create a Utopia on Earth (Jobe’s goal in the film; albeit through twisted, murderous means).

The three books we briefly see sitting atop Dr. Angelo’s television set towards the start of the film – The Ascent of Man, The Science of Mind, and Science Fiction Films – tell the viewer everything they need to know about what is to come.

It is a story that draws strong parallels with Daniel’s Keyes’ classic SF novel Flowers for Algernon (surely an influence on King’s story) – in how a dim-witted individual gains incredible intelligence at a rapid rate through breaking-edge science, and this having fatal results. It also shares a strong parallel with Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein – in how a creator nurtures his creation through science and that creation eventually turns into a monster (indeed, at one point Jobe says to Dr. Angelo: “I’m sorry you hate what you created”).

This is the most unjustly criticised and underrated film that I have ever come across. Many deride and despise it; on the internet movie database (IMDB.com) it currently holds a dire rating, and elsewhere one reviewer calls it ‘a drool-inducing sci-fi disaster’. My being an SF addict perhaps makes me a little bias in my final judgement, but this is a film that has everything that the medium of film strives to convey; there is strong emotion, a haunting score that compliments the horrors at play, great acting (both Fahey and Brosnan are exceptional), moments of hilarious comedy, a compelling story, and perhaps most importantly, an intelligent and thought-provoking premise – and a highly relevant one, even to today’s society – that the viewer can grapple with; right down to it delivering a uniquely ambiguous ending, which the viewer can make up their own mind on regarding its meaning.


Many people today – mostly male youths – spend the vast majority of their time immersed in the false worlds of video games (much to the complaint of their girlfriends, which this film also observes via Dr. Angelo’s stringent work habits – his partner complaining: “I’m young Larry, I don’t want to become a recluse just for you; I’m into reality reality, not this artificial reality.”) Video games themselves are becoming ever more life-like and thus seductive all the time; we are drawn in by the ability to create our own world, with our own rules, where we can act without consequences, and this temptation poses a long-term threat which this film viably highlights.

Religion is treated here cleverly: first the film shows it to be a safe haven in times of need, then as a corrupted and brutal thing (the church priest being easily swayed by money and whipping Jobe brutally at any excuse he can find). It is also rife with religious symbolism and statements: from Jobe’s Christ complex, to him nailing Dr. Angelo to a cross in the virtual world, to his statement when fully embedded in the virtual world: “I am God here!”

Those who find this film a shambles mostly complain about its dated visual effects (which are presumably poor for 1992), but dates aside, I argue that they are no worse than those used in the film Tron (1982), and that film is a revered as a cult classic.

Where the film’s ambition does fall a little flat is in its prediction that by the year 2000 everyone would be as immersed in virtual reality as we are in television. This is simply a risk that predictive SF takes, and I don’t think that this film can be faulted for perhaps predicting too early in the future a problem that may yet still arrive. Another fault is perhaps in the kind of powers that Jobe acquires – telepathy, telekinesis and more – and the way it showboats them for the sake of some action scenes.

For Lost fans this is a minor gold mine with regards to the cast; with Jeff Fahey and also Doug Hutchinson being familiar faces from the hit SF show (and indeed the Lost writers likely chose these actors due partly to them staring in this film, since Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse were heavily influenced by King).

If you are a big fan of science fiction, you may just find this to be the surprisingly superb, undiscovered gem that I found it to be. Fans of Lost would be well served just viewing it to see a young Jeff Fahey in action. Those not inclined towards SF should perhaps steer clear, as the harsh effects, occasional spouts of scientific jargon, and the film’s hard-SF premise might prove a little too heavy and ‘geek’-saturated for some.

The extras on this double disc set are numerous, but slim in running time. There is a storyboard that is shown alongside a scene from the film, the deleted scenes that were taken out in the commercial version (very interesting to observe – since this version is all the better for them being kept in), a featurette made at the time of filming, and even the entire sequel (far more despised by people than this film), Lawnmower Man 2: Beyond Cyberspace, on a separate disc, plus more. No director’s commentary, however, feels a little lacking for such an edition.

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Fringe - 'Olivia' (Season 3, Episode 1): Identity crisis, Collateral-style

"Sometimes you just gotta believe in what you can't see" - Henry

'Fringe' is back for a new season and this will be the first show that I attempt to discuss every week, hopefully keeping up with every episode. Now, I fully realise that I don't have the TV analytical skills of someone like Alan Sepinwall, who can spot every popular culture reference (and there are always many) within a Chuck episode without blinking, and who offers key insights into such things as the writers' thoughts, but you'll just have to make do with the skills I do have.

Firstly, it's great to see the guest appearances for this show getting better; last season giving us such acting (and nerdy SF-reference) greats as Peter Weller, and now, interestingly - since there there is no clear geek culture link that I can see - Andre Royo of The Wire fame.

This episode shouted Michael Mann's Collateral at me continually; with the taxi driver hostage to a fugitive situation, whom towards he the taxi driver then becomes sympathetic and ever more entangled with, to the point of almost being complicit, and the taxi driver having a profound effect on the thoughts of our fugitive, etc.

Olivia struggles with her identity until she eventually buckles and seemingly believes that she is indeed alt-Olivia (presuming she isn't duping Walternate and co.), which we're told is a key move towards Walternate's unknown endgame.

Seth Gabel's character Lincoln Lee is treated to more characterisation here (and how cool does he look all scarred up and not giving a damn? - that's got to hurt like hell, no matter how good medicinal technology is in this universe), something that was necessary since this show has for a long time resisted introducing new long-term characters (though it could perhaps be argued that it is all the better for this) - presuming Lee is here to stay, since we know we are going to be treated to a great deal of time spent in the alternate universe this season.

I grew so used to Anna Torv's hazel coloured hair in this episode that seeing Alt-Olivia's blonde hair at the end gave me the same repulsed reaction I had when I saw the hazel do for the first time. I'm forced to conclude that they both look good on Torv, but just should never be viewed in quick succession of one another (something we unfortunately won't be able to avoid).

Overall, this was a great character piece for Olivia, excellently portrayed by Torv, which allowed us viewers to spend some much deserved time exploring this alt-verse, whilst also setting up some key plot scenarios to take forward. A great start to the season.

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Short story: 'Babel's Tower', Chapters 10 & 11 (Final two chapters)

Chapter Ten.
WAR IN THE HEAVENS

So it began. Many thousands of Perfect Men crossed over into the higher plane, as did the minds of the Spiritual Men allocated to the task. Intellectual Men were left behind as planned, with the intention of Spiritual Men passing constantly between planes to take orders and pass on information. A planet in the higher plane was chosen as a base, one that was far enough away from the creator’s planet as not to be noticed by the bronze men and not so far away that the journey into battle would take an excessive amount of time.

When the time came the hordes of Perfect Men, accompanied by the disembodied Spiritual Men, took flight towards the said planet. The bronze men they passed along the way looked upon them with surprise and worry and immediately fled back to their home planet. On reaching their destination they found a vast army of the bronze men awaiting them, floating gloriously around the planet with looks of resentment upon their faces; however Perfect Man outnumbered his enemy two to one. It was a representative of the Perfect Men that spoke first, in the language of the beings they were confronting (through a method of telepathy which all could hear) ‘Intelligent beings, men of great worth, we come to you now in both an act of brotherhood and hostility. We, as highly intellectual beings are here to request an audience with the creator whom you serve, the lord of all, the star maker, the man behind the curtain. We hide nothing from you; it is with malice and contempt with which we look upon your God. But know that we hold nothing against you our brothers; we are understanding that you have been tricked or forced into the servitude of this awful being and it is with open arms that we welcome you if you wish to join us. We should be fighting together, not apart. This is our offer, what say you?’. The reply was both courteous yet fully threatening ‘We understand your plight perhaps more than you know friends, yet do not insult us with such an offer. You pretend to know exactly what it is we protect here yet really you know nothing. An audience directly with him you cannot have. He is a being far too great for you to shame with your ignoble plight. I am permitted to speak for him and I tell you now to return from whence you came immediately and we shall not lay claim upon your lifeless corpses. I warn you men, if he knew you were here you would not be presented with such an easy escape’. After discussing among themselves Perfect Man’s representative retorted with ‘Do not ridicule us. If the creator is unaware of even an enemy knocking on his door he is as we thought, not a being as noble and powerful as you say. Enough of this’.
And such a battle as had never been seen before started on the edge of this magnificent planet. Thousands of Perfect Men and bronze men flew at each other in unison against the backdrop of the intense golden light radiating behind them. Perfect Men made excellent use of the powers at their disposal, but were matched with far superior powers. Perfect Men hurtled bronze men into each other with telekinesis, bronze men healed their injuries with regeneration. Perfect Men, through a lack of natural elements to manipulate, used their immense physical strength to tear the bronze men apart limb from limb, bronze men retaliated by conjuring fire out of nothing and propelling it across space as though it did not need oxygen to survive. Perfect Men tried to confuse and confound the bronze men with telepathic manipulation, bronze men paralysed Perfect Men with a mere thought. The Spiritual Men all the while commanding the Perfect Men telepathically and sending other Spiritual Men back and forth into the Earth’s realm to report and receive orders. The battle echoed the biblical war between angels in heaven when Lucifer challenged God for the throne. Such ancient nonsense did not seem so foolish here, to my eyes at least.

Once it reached the point where Perfect Man’s numbers had dwindled too greatly and even the reinforcements had been destroyed, bronze man brought the battle to a halt and looked upon what remained of his vanquished foe. Perfect Man’s number had diminished from the countless thousands strong to a mere two thousand pitifully wounded creatures. A vast sea of bodies, of both species, slowly spread out into space away from the planet; yet bronze man’s number looked the same now as at the start, with a seemingly endless supply of reinforcements being supplied from within the planet. With great fury in his eyes the same bronze man spoke out as before, his words searing painfully the minds of the remaining Perfect and Spiritual Men; ‘You are a treacherous and arrogant race of men, each and every species of you. You shall look now into the eyes of the life giver and know true punishment. You are not the first men to bite the hand that feeds it but know you shall be the last’.

Our minds were immediately filled with a shockingly painful clarity. In each of our mind’s an eye burned brightly before our sight, one which we could not turn away from no matter how hard we tried. With it came a shocking realisation in our hearts at what we had done and how foolish we had been in our endeavours. Not foolish in the way that we believed what we had done was wrong against the creator, but foolish in our believing it was possible to destroy him as we had destroyed our predecessors. Coupled with the sight the continuing voice of the bronze man rang in our ears; ‘Know it is he the life-giver whom you look at now, and hear forth his punishment’.

Chapter Eleven.
THE SCATTERING

I am writing in the first person because I am, of course, one of the Spiritual Men who observed and played a commanding role in that battle. Upon that moment a voice entered my head so clear and commanding that I immediately blocked out all the anguish and the pain in order to focus intently on it. The tone was fierce, the words themselves vanquishers of all hope. It was explained to us that mankind should never have reached this stage in committing such an offence towards his creator, and by committing such atrocity he would be doomed to a slow but eventual extinction. Each single man, woman and child would be taken and placed into his own separate universe, one which was fully devoid of any intelligent life and held no prospect of escape or happiness. He would live out the rest of his days on a habitable planet until every last person had died and mankind had become extinct forever. This was to be our punishment. After his last sentence I do not remember anything.

When I awoke I found myself in a lush jungle with springs and thick vegetation, though one with no animal life except the smallest of insects. It has been thirty years since that day and I have since lived in complete solitude, doing nothing but wandering this world in silent contemplation. Over time I have managed to produce many writings etched on thin bark and it is on such that I write this now. I have been able to give so detailed an account due to my vast knowledge of man’s history and my role played in the war. All of my connections to the higher plane were taken from me; I am now nothing but a ‘normal man’ as it were. This irony of man’s depletion back to his original stage has both taunted and humoured me throughout my days.

Looking in retrospect over these events, I believe this punishment was set upon us to put mankind in his place before his final demise. In being scattered among the cosmos we have each and every one of us been shown just how small and insignificant we are compared to the creator and his multitude of creations and have been forced to experience loneliness on perhaps the grandest scale possible. The number of universes must indeed be infinite if every man was put, like me into his own to become lord of it’s cosmos before he perishes.

I am confident that this will find its way into your hands and it will do you and your kind the greatest service, I am confident because I have a very secure method of preserving this manuscript for many a thousand years at my disposal on this planet, one which my knowledge of science has allowed me to develop. So if the creator does decide to fill this wondrous Universe with intelligent life again after my demise, you will hopefully one day excavate these writings.

In truth I write this story as much for myself as for you and your people. I write it now, long before I expect to die, so that I can organise my thoughts clearly and sanely, for the loneliness I endure will inevitably bring me to the edge of my sanity at some point, probably very soon. Once I have laid this completed document in its secure place I will wander again across the plain to make further exploration of this vast and magnificent planet. I only hope that the men who outlive me in other universes have been given as beautiful a planet as I to live out their last days on. I find it poignant that the very last man will know no more of his significance that if it were to be me right now. Perhaps it is, who can know. Or perhaps time does not flow in these separate universes in the same way one would expect it to. Know though, whoever you are, of what we as a species endured, and also of what we achieved. Learn from our mistakes so that you may not commit such atrocities. I leave you now.

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Short story: 'Babel's Tower', Chapters 8 & 9 (out of 11)

Chapter Eight.
REVELATIONS

For a long time a divide existed between Intellectual Man (with the few remaining Physical Men) and Spiritual Man. Trade ceased between countries, cooperation ceased in all fields of scientific experimentation and communication between the two species was in general non-existent. Each race made locating the creator its primary goal and desperately tried to achieve this goal before the other.

Eventually an agreement was reached, with both races acknowledging the futility in working separately when they were both trying to achieve the same goal. A meeting took place, in which a representative from each of Intellectual and Spiritual Man took to debate amongst a crowd of their peers. Spiritual Man starting by stating that although he had quite despised normal man and his existence on this Earth he did thoroughly not agree with what Intellectual Man had done, yet for the sake of mankind achieving the ultimate goal, he was willing to put aside their differences and fully cooperate with each other again. It was also revealed, to Intellectual Man’s astonishment, that Spiritual Man’s religious beliefs had changed over time to that of the hostile faction, though he would only condone violence towards God: not any other being.

Intellectual Man retorted by saying that although he had been deeply offended by Spiritual Man’s lack of unity at the time of war and in his neutral stance, he was willing, for the sake of brotherhood and for the goal, to accept the proposal. Also, he stated that he was very pleased with Spiritual Man’s change of faction over this time and spoke of how this would bring each race even closer. Intellectual Man was first to reveal his discoveries. It was explained that a long time ago, he had come to the conclusion that since the cause was now a hostile one against the creator they would have to create, like normal man had done before him, a far stronger and more capable man than any that existed at that moment. Intellectual Man admitted that over the time of the dispute he had used the few remaining Physical Men to experiment on in aid of this cause, for he realised that a creature must be made to contain all the abilities and more of the three existing races. Spiritual Man could not be studied of course because of the dispute, and neither could a peace offering be made to solve the problem, so a different measure had to be taken. It was revealed that a handful of Spiritual Men had been contacted and had willingly crossed the border to subject themselves to experimentation for the sake of the ultimate goal. It was explained to Spiritual Man’s representative before he could react angrily that both the Physical Men and Spiritual Men used in the research had given themselves up of their own free will, knowing that death would await them at the end of it, due to the extreme testing of their power’s limits. The representative replied that each Spiritual Man had the right to govern his own. Intellectual Man’s representative then went on to reveal that, coupled with the study of their own race, phenomenal progress had been made, and that they now had the precise blueprint for the ‘Perfect Man’ (as he put it). He said that with Spiritual Man’s consent and cooperation they could begin the process of creation which would result in a great milestone for mankind. The Spiritual representative expressed his doubts on the quality of this idea, asking what would stop this new race eventually reacting precisely as Intellectual Man had done in destroying their creators. The representative replied saying that, because these new beings would have a perfect incorporation of all three races, he would have the sense and clarity in perception of Spiritual Man, who he noted would never act in this way.

Then the turn came for Spiritual Man to share amongst them precisely what he had achieved over the vast amount of time they had spent apart. Their representative started by saying that although Intellectual Man’s achievement over this time had been truly great, what Spiritual Man had achieved was even greater and far more beneficial towards the ultimate goal. He described how Spiritual Man had made a huge breakthrough in locating the creator’s whereabouts. He told of how Spiritual Man took to studying in full the spiritual plane they connected with so easily, in the hope of understanding it fully. It was discovered that this force did indeed exist across the universe that had so far been explored. They realised that the only way they could achieve their goal was by gaining full access to the plane itself. Spiritual Man took to observing the plane as a complete Universe unto itself, one that existed on top of his own but was at the same time completely separate. Up until now, Spiritual Man had been existing half in one Universe, as it were, and half in the other. It became his goal to give a few selected men full access to this other world. Once a method had been attained (one involving much altering of the volunteer’s mental construct) these men were sent into this other Universe with high hopes. This method though, could not send a Spiritual Man through in body but only in mind. This was safer for the men, for if they encountered a hostile alien race in their journey they would at least be physically invisible to them. Each man was assured that he would have full movement in his state on the other side as a disembodied spirit and had only to use his mind to get him where he willed to go.

Only one of the handful sent returned and what he had found was described to the council as the greatest discovery in mankind’s history. Here follows some excerpts from the exact account given (from what I can recall from memory) by the man upon his return, which was shared with the council;

'This other realm, Universe or plane, whatever one wishes to call it; had the precise layout of my own Universe, yet none of its inhabitants or unique characteristics. In this world, Mars, Saturn and all Earth’s nearby planets were exactly where one would expect them to be, yet they looked nothing like one would expect. Here it seemed, a different history had taken place, one with very different results to our own…. ….In my movement about the stratosphere I had come across these beings quite coincidentally. They had the exact form of a man, but with the height and stature of that which would have put even Physical Men to shame; a bronze skin with a metallic quality to it, as though if one were to touch it, it would feel like steel; and a manner in their movements and apparent discussion that suggested a high level of intelligence. What I found most astonishing though was that these beings were able to move through space without any means of transport. They had small dark coloured wings upon their back, but these showed no sign of movement in propelling them along. They simply floated much as I did, though they in physical form, across space without any struggle and seemingly with no need to breathe. What advanced beings these must be to have found a way to achieve such a thing. Luckily they took no heed of me in my observations…. ….There existed one planet, very far from where Earth would be in my own Universe, which was more magnificent than anything I have ever witnessed or could ever describe with justice. This planet, abnormally large in size, seemed to radiate light from itself, in a very different way to which a Sun or a Star would as we know them to, which obscured my vision of the planet’s very surface. This wondrous planet was the only one I came across in my journey that I could not descend upon and observe among its surface. Something seemed to block my movement completely at every try. Many of these strange men went to and fro from this planet (disappearing from my view the second they passed through this light) making me believe that this place could perhaps be the very place we are looking for…. ….It seemed (due to my eventual comprehension of these men’s languages) that my theory was in fact correct. In their conversations when travelling these men talked about how pleased their leader would be with their work, which seems to be the observing of races such as our own. This leads me to believe that these men are able to view our world at will when at a certain point in their Universe and that this is in fact the very disruption we have so long pondered on that gives us such a period of bliss. They discussed how our races and others were progressing, how long each will last before its extinction, and through these conversations I even learnt that there exists a multitude of Universes, all of which are connected to this higher one in the same way as ours. These revelations, I think you’ll agree, are beyond astonishing. Mankind has finally discovered his origins and is very close to meeting his maker.’

Much debate then flowed, primarily on the credibility of the account then on what this meant to mankind as a species if it was true. The Intellectual and Spiritual Men left the meeting with renewed vigour in their hearts: this astonishing collaboration of intelligences meant that the goal they and their ancestors before them had strived towards was now very close to being realised.

Chapter Nine.
THE CREATOR FOUND

Thus Perfect Man was born. Intellectual Man designed him to have the ability to pass fully into and out of the ‘higher plane’ as it was being called, both physically and mentally, now that Spiritual Man had completed his research. His intelligence was just above that of Intellectual Man, his physical capabilities twice that of long-gone Physical Man’s; with such powers as no Physical Man could ever have dreamed. Whereas each Physical Man had been reared to have one special ability, Perfect Man had at his disposal every power that had ever been developed in Physical Man and more. This being had the power of flight not only within Earth’s atmosphere but also in space. More beings had been sent into the higher plane to observe these strange men until the method of flight had been discovered. This being could manipulate all of the Earth’s elements at will, could heal itself from major wounds and could even change its appearance to give a near perfect effect of invisibility. It seemed there was nothing these beings could not achieve, making them very intimidating, yet perfectly equipped to achieve man’s ultimate hostile goal. Upon having explained to them their purpose at an appropriate age they seemed to share the hostile reasoning of both races and showed no signs, as Intellectual Man had predicted, of rebellion towards their immediate creators. These beings were bred in huge quantity and in this way Intellectual and Spiritual Man built up a vast army.

Meanwhile, further research was taking place in trying to find out more about this strange planet on which all these men seemed to live. Men had speculated that these beings were perhaps the creator’s own personal race that he used to do his will. Why they had been chosen it was not known, most were in general agreement that the creator had created them himself. It was also generally accepted that the creator lived on the planet; or even, as some speculated, was the planet. Whatever the theory, it was realised that war must be launched upon this world and its men before they realised they were being observed. A ‘final meeting’ was called, which lasted over a period of several days, where Intellectual Man, Spiritual Man and Perfect Man all debated both the ultimate goal itself, whether it was an ideal past its time, and how applicable it was to their modern society. They also discussed battle strategies on the war to come. It was concluded with this strategy; contact would be made with the bronze men, in which a peaceful meeting with the creator would be proposed. If they refused, the planet would be attacked, and upon being breached, they would confront the creator themselves with their questions (whatever he may be): he would then be destroyed. If they accepted, then man would meet with the creator and find out what he wished to know, then continue the attack as planned. Either way a conversation would take place in which certain questions regarding his indifference and existence would be put forth, and then he would be attacked regardless with full strength, and annihilated.

Perfect Man would be man’s infantry, Spiritual Man his leaders and Intellectual Man his tacticians. Spiritual Man would be in the higher plane in mental form only among the fighting Perfect Men, and Intellectual Man would have to stay in his own Universe (for they could not pass through), and would have to give tactical command to the Spiritual Men which passed back and forth. Supreme confidence was heralded all around in Perfect Man and his (hopeful) superiority over the bronze men, and eventually over the creator. It was rationalised that if the creator needed such men to guard him then he must not be so all powerful, and it was thought that if they could defeat the bronze men then defeating the creator would be an easy task.

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Short story: 'Babel's Tower', Chapters 6 & 7 (out of 11)

Chapter Six.
LIFE FOUND

After many centuries of this peaceful observation and personal development a breakthrough regarding the ultimate goal was achieved. Through man’s gradually expanding exploration of the universe a planet was found which it was obvious had quite recently contained intelligent life. Intellectual man, along with normal man, had taken complete control of space exploration (with the other two races merely acting as observers) and it was through their ever increasing ingenuity in methods of space travel that such far reaches of space had been reached. The planet that had been discovered was similar to that of Earth except for the fact that it seemed to be experiencing an Ice Age that had recently come into full effect and was increasing exponentially year by year. Upon this planet lay many ruins of what had been impressive architecture as well as the remains of a species long dead. It was revealed through analysis that this species had looked something like a cross between man and some form of wingless bird species. It was found that they had been covered on most parts of their body by a thick quilt of feathers and seemed to have entertained some type of beak in place of a mouth. It was assumed that their intellect had been advanced, but not past that of ancient man in the first millennia. They seemed to have attained an agricultural level of development and had left very few written manuscripts. Upon further excavation, something more astonishing was found. Not far beneath the surface of their planet existed the remains of what once had been tall industrial buildings, much like those that had existed on Earth in the 22nd Century. Further study showed that these buildings had been destroyed by explosions of a nuclear origin. It was pieced together then, that this race had faced a global war, on a scale that Earth had itself once narrowly avoided, which completely destroyed and ruined this amazing civilisation. The survivors, it seemed, had many years later started to rebuild civilisation, but this time modestly, and had abandoned many things which they could easily have made if they had wished to. In the presumed amount of time this new civilisation resided on the planet after the war they could have built a world up to the standard of their predecessors and more, yet it seemed that they had chosen to live humble and modest lives, in the manner of old man, purely being concerned with agriculture and minor trade, and without excessive technology and weapons.

This discovery had huge repercussions back on Earth. Man had now confirmed the creator’s lack of care for his creations. An intelligent race upon another planet had been totally annihilated, even after achieving complete rehabilitation and a lack of arrogance, and yet God had not intervened in the slightest to save his race; he merely let them die without a care. This confirmed that if ever mankind were to face extinction, God would take the same approach in doing nothing to stop it. Many men, normal, intellectual, physical and spiritual, united gloriously in the righteousness of their beliefs and wept bitterly upon the true realisation that they were not cared for. This was considered a time of huge victory for the hateful faction, and their number increased dramatically. The hearts and minds of many were changed; all of normal men now belonged to this hateful faction, as well as two thirds of Physical Man and even one quarter of Spiritual Man. Mankind as a race was now becoming increasingly hateful towards God and it seemed that upon completion of the ultimate goal, the result was far more likely to become a hostile one than a peaceful one.

Chapter Seven.
THE RETURN OF WAR

All through the new men’s existence normal man was forced to take a backseat to all that was happening, and had long resented it. Some claimed that it was a mistake to have created such beings and yet others claimed that it was necessary and the only way to achieve the ultimate goal. Whichever view they took, all were united in their fear for their own existence and in their resolve to survive. Intelligent Man had long since cut off all communication and involvement with normal man, deeming it futile, and it was well known that his despite for him had reached a new height.

Three and a half thousand years after the finding of alien life, all of normal man, Intellectual Man and Physical Man now belonged to the hateful faction. Only Spiritual Man held out in its majority with members of the alternate faction. The general despite of God among the newer races was now a source of great danger for normal man. The final part of the ultimate goal was now fully conceived. Once God had been found he would be met by mankind with fierce hostility and after everything man wanted to know had been found out, God would be destroyed with the same complete lack of empathy he had showed man. This led to the train of thought that before they defeated the ultimate creator they must defeat their immediate one; normal man. Although they had initially been treated by them with great empathy and love, these relations had long since faded and the situation, in the view of Intellectual and Physical man was beyond repair. Coupled with their uselessness and constant plundering of the Earth’s precious resources, it was decided that they had to be destroyed. In terms of population at this time normal man took up around 40% of the world, Intellectual Man 15%, Physical Man 30% and Spiritual Man 15%. War was promptly declared by Intellectual and Physical Man against normal man. Spiritual Man did not try to intervene. This was mostly due to his fear of the complete control Intellectual Man seemed to have over Physical Man; but he bravely refused Intellectual Man’s request for allegiance (which greatly angered him) and stood completely neutral throughout the war.
Normal man did not last long. The war was fought almost completely in the old fashion style, with army pitted against army. Both sides agreed not to ruin the planet with the extreme explosives man had crafted over the years. Intellectual Man had Physical Man under complete control; only Physical Men were used in their armies, so that Intellectual Man was not put directly in harms way. After a decade and a half the war was finally coming to a close. Normal man’s weapons had inflicted some damage but proved ultimately ineffective against Physical Man’s highly developed powers, coupled with the machines that Intellectual Man had devised to aid him. Telekinesis, advanced strength, self-regeneration, manipulation of the elements and more were all used to bring about normal man’s downfall.

With the complete destruction of their creators, and taking courage in Physical Man’s mass depletion, Spiritual Men finally united in strong defiance of the other two races and the atrocities they had committed.

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Review - 'Behold the Man' by Michael Moorcock

I am slowly working my way through all of Gollancz’s SF Masterworks series, in no particular order (much as the books are numbered and were published in no particular order, I was told by the Gollancz team). I picked Behold the Man up earlier than many of the other masterworks due to its short length, because it was about time travel and because it looked like it had a very interesting take on both time travel and on religion. This is the first Moorcock book that I have ever read (there’s another in the SF Masterworks series and another in the Fantasy Masterworks series that I’m yet to tackle) and I’ve come away considerably impressed.

Behold the Man uses what has since become a well known and perhaps clichéd time-travel plot of a man going back in time to witness a particular event and then it ending up that he plays a major role in bringing about that event through his actions in the past; a self-fulfilling paradox. Here, this is exercised to the fullest, with the novel’s protagonist Karl Glogauer going back to 29AD in order to witness Jesus and his crucifixion and the narrative working out so that he eventually becomes the Jesus that Christianity reveres (which the book’s blurb makes no attempt to hide, so I do not feel like I am spoiling anything here).

What I was expecting, then, was a neatly constructed time-travel narrative, of the kind we are now used to, but Moorcock delivers so much more. The book is both a psychological portrait of a broken and troubled man, and it also delves into what lies at the core of religion and comes out with some interesting things to say. Glogauer is both a compelling character who we can sympathise with and yet at the same time incredibly unlikable – a difficult trick to pull off. The flashbacks of his life before time travel are full of instances of homosexuality, strange lusts intertwined with religion, and many occasions of him driving women away due to his self-diagnosed neurosis and self-loathing.

The frequent debates about the nature of religion that occur between him and one woman, Monica, are stimulating, and as the novel nears its end some interesting conclusions are drawn by Glogauer. It debunks religion in general, in a way, and shows often how it is simply the product of people hearing what they want to hear and seeing what they want to see.

Throughout the text are scattered extracts from the bible which serve to highlight the exact role that Glogauer knows he must play. Knowing that Glogauer is Jesus, the placement and choice of these extracts also cleverly forces us to look at them in a new and different way; in light of Glogauer’s knowledge of the future and his strong will to fulfil Jesus’s role, the often riddle-like phrases Jesus speaks in the bible seem to make so much more sense here.

One aim of the SF Masterworks series is to bring people’s attention to certain science fiction masterpieces that have been forgotten over time by many and subsequently overlooked. This text is certainly one of those; when you think of Michael Moorcock, most think of certain of his other works and are completely unaware of this book. This is the best book about time-travel that I have read so far, and one from a very talented writer. I realise that this is a book unlike typical Moorcock, but it has made me look forward to reading more of his work nonetheless.

8/10

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Short story: 'Babel's Tower', Chapters 4 & 5 (out of 11)

Chapter Four.
DISPERSION

All these three beings were conceived at the same time by different groups of scientists across the world in order to compare the development between them. Breeding was encouraged amongst them but strictly controlled. Within thirty years of creation their overall number had increased from the initial 90 to 146, and their number grew exponentially from then on. They were each fully aware of each other but were kept strictly apart until adulthood had been reached. After much deliberation, it was decided by normal man that each race should be given its own land to live on, and would be ruled over in no way by normal man except in his laws. They would be allowed to appoint their own leaders among themselves (which in truth they had already done) and live as they pleased, with some normal men living among them constantly so as to study them and maintain a solid relationship. With respect to their own wishes Spiritual Men were given several Northern continents to occupy, Physical Men several continents about the equator (in that their athletic nature demanded a hot climate) and Intellectual Men several in the South, all separated sufficiently by their creators so as not to cause strife between the races.

Chapter Five.
RELATIONS BETWEEN THE NEW SPECIES

The relations that existed between these new races were few and far between due to extreme diversities. Intellectual Men and Spiritual Men looked upon each other primarily with respect, for they were able to see in each other an advanced species of a different kind they could converse with, at least to an extent. Secondly they looked upon each other with contempt, for both thought themselves superior to the other; and thirdly with a jealous eye, for although each thought their area of advancement the better one that would bring them closer to the ultimate goal, each looked upon the other’s with wonder. Spiritual Men wished to be able to achieve such a high level of intellect as to not rely on Intellectual Man’s experiments, and Intellectual Men wished they had the capability to connect fully with the wondrous plane which could give them clarity in their thinking and thus their work, which could possibly be the link they needed to the creator.

If the Intellectual Men and Spiritual Men looked down upon each other then they both did doubly so upon Physical Man. He were handled with care, for all the other men knew well enough how dangerous he was, but he was generally excluded from meetings among the races, especially regarding intellectual pursuits and the ultimate goal. Physical men despised the way they were looked upon as lesser beings. They desired to achieve the ultimate goal as much as any of the races, but did not care for the means, purely the result. All that concerned these men were the more simple pleasures of life, relaxing and enjoying what they were given. Among them existed the notion of romantic love, as well as monogamy. Adultery was greatly frowned upon in their community. What they were interested in most though of course, was personal advancement in all physical aspects. Fierce, highly regular athletic games existed, as well as showcases of many different individual ‘powers’ (as physical man named them) for entertainment’s sake, such as magnificent displays of telekinetic ability and amazing displays of super strength. All individuals were encouraged and aided in developing their power to its maximum potential, and through this astonishing things were achieved.

Regarding the factions that existed among man, each new race took on the train of thought they found most plausible and joined the respective faction. Intellectual Man took to the side of the believers, but to the faction that viewed the creator as an enemy who had perpetrated a great sin upon man kind in his carelessness that should be punished.

Physical Man on the other hand, due to his low level of intelligence, initially took the view that there was an all caring and loving God watching over him, and with whom he could share a mutual appreciation; but upon revealing this to the other races he was greeted with shock and anger that such a barbaric and ancient view could have re-formed in this day and age. He was shown the ‘error’ of his ways and taught to appreciate all three of the existing factions first, then told to choose which one suited him best. This led to Physical Men each choosing different factions to one another, causing (beneficially) their nation to become a very diverse one in terms of belief.

Spiritual Men were unified in their beliefs like Intellectual Man, yet did not share the same opinion. They believed that the plane they were able to connect with was not the creator himself but something definitely deeply linked to him. It was debated continuously as to its true nature and purpose but most believed it was the creator’s method of travel and of observing his experiments. There were times in this state, perhaps once every two decades or so, that a huge disruption occurred causing Spiritual Men to become mentally inept for however long the period of time lasted, resigning themselves to their homes, not being able to communicate or do anything accept sit in solitary meditation in awe of this wondrous increase in their perception and state of mind. It was said by many to be the presence of the creator when he came to make his observations on mankind. Within this time of resignation Spiritual Man claimed there was nothing but goodness and bliss in the world he perceived, which logically meant the creator was not an evil being. They all therefore took to the faction that believed in a God but held no hatred for him, believing him to be an essentially good if neglecting being, and looked upon him with the same indifference with which he looked upon mankind. Atheism then, was completely non-existent among the new races; it only remained with normal man. When this was realised by normal man, the atheists reasoned that if these higher beings they had created all believed in God then logically God had to exist and what they were doing was folly. From that day of realisation onwards, Atheism was forever dead among mankind.

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Short story: 'Babel's Tower', Chapters 2 & 3 (out of 11)

Chapter Two.
THE COMMON GOAL

It was upon reaching this peaceful age that unrest began to show again. A great divide formed between those who believed in an indifferent and unjust God. There were those that looked upon this being with anger and hatred at his experimental and careless attitude toward mankind, and those who looked upon him without animosity, but with the same indifference with which he regarded them. This divide was worsened still by young radicals who wanted to see each other’s faction marginalized or completely obliterated. Action was taken in order before any real hostility could arise. A meeting was arranged between the factions, which would not end until their differences were settled. After much debate it was concluded that though their views conflicted, their goals were effectively the same. Both had long dreamed (and such had been the dream of all man) that they could one day find this being and make contact with it, for whatever purpose. It was believed that man had now definitely reached the technological stage where such a goal could be achieved: all that was left now was for man to reach the stage within himself where he would be ready to do so. They devised how he would achieve this level through his now unequivocal mastery of genetic modification. A new, improved man, worthy of contact with God, would be created.

With the abolishment of nationalism, the Earth was now run by a World State, which contained equal members of all three factions; the two forms of believers and the atheists. This was a state that, up until now, imposed very strict restrictions on both genetic engineering and space exploration. Both of these were practised, but in moderation. This was the case with genetic engineering because the believers within the state feared within themselves the capability of becoming like the creator himself, bringing into existence a new species of man purely for the sake of scientific experimentation that would not be loved or nurtured. It was the case with space travel because believer and atheist alike feared the individual colonisation by any single faction on a separate planet or moon where it could not be monitored, thus having the capability of starting a rebellion. After the landmark meeting of the factions however, it was decided that man was ready to be given total freedom in both these fields (though with guidance), to aid him in reaching his single goal. Philosophers gave assurances through their own reasoning, that by God having created life from physical matter once, and that physical connection having once existed, he must be reachable, and it must be possible for that connection to be re-established. It was realised that the new form of man to be created must excel in many ways that they did not.

For many years it was debated whether the creator could be reached through a predominantly spiritual, physical or intellectual being, based on speculation of the creator’s own make-up. Some argued that since the universe was created of physical matter, then the creator would logically himself have to be a physical being and exist somewhere out there in the universe. Others argued that religion, in both its old and new form has always been rooted thoroughly in the spiritual side of things, and they argued that it was only through the soul, and through man’s oneness with existence that God could be reached. Others still, argued that God must be a being of unfathomable intellect to have created such a wonderfully complex thing as the universe and that the only way to make contact with him would be to advance man’s intellect to the highest stage possible, upon which the means of contact would become clear. It was then rationalised that by covering all angles they could not fail, and it was eventually decided that they would make one species of man excelling in each attribute: for if they tried to make one that embodied all, the combination of factors would result in a confusion of aims and principles that would result only on failure.

The moral implications that previously placed restrictions on genetic engineering were brought up again. It was suggested that this could be solved by treating these new beings purely as equals, not as inventions of man. This would (in man’s eyes) shift any blame that could be cast from man onto the very creator he was aspiring to find. Regarding deep space exploration, a theory was put forth which it became extremely important to prove. Man’s previous, restricted exploration had discovered life, but only miniscule and bacterial. No intelligent life had ever been discovered. It was reasoned among man that if any intelligence was discovered then it would prove God’s experimental attitude towards his living creations. The thinking behind this was that if another intelligent species existed in the vastness of space then it was only logical to assume there were many more to be found. Man figured that the more numerous God’s creations, the less he cared for any one specific race. It was also thought that if evidence could be found that an intelligent species had once existed and been wiped out to the point of extinction, then this would prove that God had not intervened when one of his creations was threatened and thus cared even less about their fate. Lastly, if such a race was found, it was hoped that they would have the same aspiration as man and be able to help him with his quest.
Of course, not all were in full support of mankind’s new united goal. The atheist factions that still existed among them viewed man’s new quest primarily with amusement, in that they thought it a futile mission to search for something that wasn’t there; over time this turned to anger as the vast majority of man’s attention and resources was being put into these efforts. They thought there was many a better way in which such resources could be spent. This did not mean to say they didn’t relish in the findings acquired through space exploration, being themselves men of science.
So man took on the first step in the journey, creating three completely new species of man.

Chapter Three.
THREE NEW MEN

Intellectual Man

Initially it was designated that thirty humans of each species would be created: fifteen male and fifteen female. Intellectual Man was the firstborn. His brain was designed to be precisely two and a half times the size of a normal man’s. He was thus given an enlarged skull to compensate. The sheer weight of this new man’s head demanded that his body be designed to have an extremely large and muscular neck and shoulders, not to mention legs stout and sturdy to hold the excessive weight. In order to accommodate the huge muscles necessary for all of this, Intellectual Man’s average height was brought up to around 7 foot, making him an extremely powerful and intimidating creature. The high levels of intellect were instigated through certain parts of the brain being injected with a substance that could increase activity in that region. This was administered to the parts of the human brain that normal man knew would benefit from such increases.
The way these men were brought up and educated throughout their youth, it was realised, would play a great part in how their intellects would evolve. They were subsequently given the best education available, by normal man’s finest, from a very young age. These beings (to the delight of their engineers) responded positively to this and showed a hunger for knowledge and personal advancement in a way that would be considered abnormal among ordinary men. Upon having described to them man’s aspirations to reach God, and the role they were to play in what was to come, Intellectual Man seemed to find the prospect intriguing and took pride in the importance of their species. By the age of sixteen these beings had taken in everything normal man had to offer them intellectually, they were thus encouraged to create their own experiments in many fields and to continue to pursue their advancement of intellect. Intellectual Men relished this sudden change and worked exclusively with each other in these experiments, relegating normal man’s role to that of mere helpers. After a while even normal man’s top intellects, assigned to the demeaning role of observation, started to lose understanding of what was being explored due to their inferior intellect. Thus was normal man reduced to funding experiments they knew nothing about, and although they were angry at their complete lack of comprehension, they trusted that whatever these new men were undertaking was very necessary and beneficial towards their goal. In truth Intellectual Men’s work was progressing at an exponential rate, as indeed was their intellect, and though appreciative of their creators they looked upon them as pathetic, feeble minded creatures.

Physical Man

Physical man was designed to possess all the abilities of normal man’s best athletes multiplied tenfold. This supreme athletic skill was engineered to be achieved naturally through growth from childhood to adulthood, rather than having to be achieved through strict repetitive training. This amazing skill obviously required a strong, large physical stature, even larger than that of Intellectual Man, placing the average height of this race at 8 ½ foot. This similarity in size and stature made Intellectual Man’s overly large head and brain the only way to tell each race apart visibly. Normal man was technologically able at this time even to manipulate evolution itself and thus encouraged in Physical Man a rapid progression of such by rearing them in specific environments to develop within each of them an astonishing abnormal ability. There was a vast range of environments used in order to acquire diversity, the result of this being that each Physical Man developed a power unto his own. Among them lay the gifts of abnormally great strength, astonishingly developed agility and speed, the ability of some to breathe and thus survive under water and even in some cases the power of partial flight, though not sustainable for very long. They paid a price though for what has been described; their mental state suffered heavily and they were barely able to achieve intelligence at the level of the average normal man. They were however shown great love and affection, making them kind and loving yet very powerful beings. Some argued that this was a race close to the old image of God from the time when religion was rife; an innocent, all-powerful yet loving and caring being.

Spiritual Man

Spiritual Man was a far greater challenge for normal men to devise than the previous two, for spirituality had been something strongly linked throughout the past with religion. These men were raised then with very idealistic values. It was reasoned by normal man that even though it had been established that God was not the creator, or at least the nurturer of all that was good in the universe, goodness still existed in some absolute form and was an important thing to connect with. During the time of religion long ago, many men had claimed to be able to achieve a state of mind on a different level to that of the average man through various methods including meditation, the use of drugs and religious experiences. Over the years man had discovered that this higher state of mind was no delusion and that there did indeed exist something all around us with which we could mentally connect. Much debate at the time included the argument that this very thing was God himself. A method was devised to give easier access than before to this plane of thought: a very complex and expensive to produce drug named Tribathiew B. At the time this was only affordable by the very rich, or was given freely to men of great intellect with the aim of advancing mankind in their fields. The drug itself only enabled a very short period of time in this state as it was found to be often fatally dangerous otherwise. Thus not much was discovered. Gradually, with the progression of science, man had devised a way to genetically engineer his senses to the point where new ones could be created. Much inspiration was taken from the study of the wide range of senses various animals hold and the way they use them. Thus man learnt that a sense could be engineered within a being which automatically connected them to this strange frequency which existed everywhere, without the need of any drugs at all. This was tested and re-tested with minor beings until it was perfected in theory and thus put into effect with Spiritual Man.

Here then was a being that could tune itself in and out of this state of clarity at will. Of course no new knowledge could be discovered if these creatures suffered from low levels of intelligence, so from childhood they were given the best education available and encouraged to develop their own experiments much in the way of the Intellectual Men, though at nowhere near the same level due to their brains being of an average size. So although not as intelligent as the Intellectual Men, through this higher state they could achieve a form of understanding beyond the reach of Intellectual men (at least for a long enough time to gain anything from it) and were potentially already closer to God than mankind had ever been before.

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Short story: 'Babel's Tower', Introduction and Chapter 1 (out of 11)

An old short story of mine in the vein of Olaf Stapledon. I will be uploading two chapters at a time from now on, every once and a while, until the entire story is on here.

Babel's Tower
By Chris J. Hart

Introduction.
LOOKING BACK

This is a historical account, written to document how the occurrences of the past 19,000 years, of man’s folly, over-ambition and blind arrogance has led to destruction for the majority of our race: and something far worse for the rest. I have decided to create this account, for both my own benefit and the benefit of others. It is my hope that you will learn from the mistakes we have made so that you may not commit such crimes yourselves.

Chapter One.
THE MOVEMENT

It is the year 3411 that marks the true start of what was to come. A spiritual movement was conceived that allowed man to delve far deeper than before into the pit of arrogance and ignorance in which he already wandered. Up until the year 3000, man’s constant struggle with religious wars and terrorism hampered his development greatly and suppressed any change for the better that could possibly have taken place. After many wars, and the constant cyclical progression of hate breeding hate, it was concluded that the only way to defeat the problem was to attack it at its core; to attempt to change religion thoroughly. By this stage in man’s existence, he had developed the intellectual capacity to conceive in mass that religion, though laudable in its ideals, was fundamentally illogical. How could there be a God, all loving and caring like the most popular religions claimed, who was willing to let limitless pain and suffering occur amongst man and not intervene in the least? How could he let entire species, whether intelligent or not, become extinct as though they never existed? How could any of the worshipped Gods of the time be real if, when looked back over history, a vastness of different incarnations had been given by each religion, and each had held their God to be the only true one? It was therefore deduced by many that if indeed a God did exist at all, it was most likely that he was indifferent to his creations and cared not in the least about any of them. This led man into a period of agnosticism and what became known as nihilistic theism, led by many great philosophers and intellectuals who previously held these dispositions. This was aptly named the Movement of Spiritual Clarity. Through a realisation of this lack of love, love itself did not fail on Earth as one might think, but instead it grew exponentially. Man became less divided through his abolition of orthodox religions and united as one with pride in his own species, much as many unwanted children would band together in the absence of their parents and look out for each other.

One might wonder how this Movement of Spiritual Clarity was brought about, and how people so fixed in their beliefs that they were willing to die for them could be made to change their ways. The truth is that by this time man’s intellect had evolved and grown to the point where it was a natural thought to abandon these naive ideas of an all caring deity. Many religious wars were still being fought; more to protect and conserve nationalism and the religious traditions of those before them than because they really believed in their God. All that was needed was one major movement such as this to unite everyone in this new way of thinking.

For four thousand years man was at one with his new outlook on religion. His lack of animosity allowed him to focus instead on more important things such as developing science as far as possible and in this time vast developments were indeed made. The problems the planet faced, such as the ever dwindling fuels and the effects of global warming, were able to be given full attention and were, over time, solved completely. Population levels were now under strict control, meaning that mankind was free to give his attention to what it considered the two scientific fields most worth pursuing; deep space exploration and genetic engineering.
The planet was secured as a safe home for mankind. At least until a new danger arose.

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