Childhood's End

In the 55 years that the Overlords have ruled over Earth, there has been a significant shift to a utopic society worldwide. War has ended, education is universal, and production is largely automated, which has eliminated the necessity of work for humans. The only people who work are those who want further luxuries beyond a standard of comfort. Hunger, disease, hatred, and crime have essentially disappeared in the wake of the technological advances brought by the Overlords.

The side effect of the world’s newfound universal peace and prosperity is that there is essentially no new discovery—another hint at The Cost of Utopia. Art, science, and religion have all stagnated or disappeared. The mysteries that have historically propelled human ingenuity seem irrelevant when the Overlords likely have the answer for most questions humanity can envision. The elimination of most problems leaves little for music, literature, and visual art to confront. Religion has largely been dispelled by Karellen’s gift of video of the past 5,000 years on Earth, including the advent of every major religious leader or messiah.

The one concern left to philosophers is the question of what the Overlords want. Although their actions seem entirely altruistic, the actual purpose of these actions remains shrouded in mystery. Another potential threat to the utopia is boredom—although mankind is currently satisfied with the novelty of peace and prosperity, the narrative suggests boredom is inevitable.

Rupert Boyce is hosting a housewarming party to show off his new house and his new wife, Maia. Jean Morrel and George Greggson arrive at the party and are surprised by a giant hologram of Boyce—clearly technology gifted him by the Overlords. After they enter the party, they meet Maia Boyce, who is distractingly beautiful. Jean reveals an aspect of the current culture when she thinks, “It was such a nuisance that men were fundamentally polygamous. On the other hand if they weren’t […]. Yes, perhaps it was better this way after all” (79). They then explore the house and discover Rashaverak reading in the library. They are both a little shocked to meet an Overlord in person but recover quickly to make conversation.

The party continues, with Rashaverak clearly the guest of honor commanding much of the attention of the guests. George goes onto the roof to get some fresh air. Jan Rodricks, Maia’s brother, comes out onto the roof, and George offers him a cigarette. George goes back inside, leaving Jan outside ruminating on his frustrations.

Jan Rodricks stands in the night air on the roof of Boyce’s house. He is frustrated by his limited professional and romantic options. He is in love with a woman who does not return his affections, and his highest career goal would be to explore the stars—a pursuit that the presence of the Overlords has made unlikely to impossible. While humanity was actively pursuing space travel with a planned Mars mission before the arrival of the Overlords, their superior technology has demoralized the scientific community: “There was no point in developing rockets when the Overlords had infinitely superior means of propulsion, based on principles of which they had never given any hint” (92). Additionally, one of the few pursuits the Overlords have forbidden is space travel.

Jan watches an Overlord ship take off from the moon and head toward a distant constellation. When he returns to the party, it is essentially over with only the hosts and five guests remaining. Rupert is preparing to demonstrate his invention: essentially an advanced Ouija board. George sees the whole practice as silly but participates. Rashaverak watches rather than participates, and Ruth takes notes for the group as they begin to ask questions of the divining machine. After several questions, all potentially revealing one of the participants’ knowledge, Jan asks the location of the Overlords’ home planet, and the board answers with a series of letters and numbers, “NGS 549672” (101), which causes Jean to faint.

Karellen and Rashaverak discuss the members of the party and the information revealed by the board. They decide not to interfere with Jan, who asked the question, as they believe that Jean is the conduit through which the information came, and she is to be moved to another category of human. She is too old, they say, to be “a Prime Contact” (105), but her reaction and her participation is worthy of attention.

Rupert, having lost the piece of paper the answer was written on, and in something of a fog from the alcohol, decides to forget the outcome of the séance. Believing that Jean’s fainting is a sign of her extraordinary sensitivity, George decides to propose marriage to her. He proposes a term of five years, and she adjusts it to 10. As they discuss the outcome of the séance, Jean avoids telling George that this sort of thing has happened to her before.

Jan arrives at the International Astronomical Union conference in London. He plans to visit the Union’s library to locate the star named in the séance. When he does, he sees it is located within the Carina constellation, where he saw the Overlords’ ship direct itself a few nights prior. Although he struggles with the mystical origin of the information, he believes he has located the Overlords home world, and feels a surge of power from that knowledge. Jan’s recognition of the mystical origin of true information references The Relationship Between Science and Mysticism.

The world is further described as utopic. The surveillance capabilities of the Overlords placed carefully into a scant few human hands captures all major crimes, so there is no need for a court system. Knowing they will get caught, most people do not commit crimes. The entire world is automated sufficiently that no one needs to work; however, most do—largely in entertainment. The prosperity comes from a combination of automation and the dissolution of armed forces. Still, humanity has always tried to advance, and the question of how to advance still burns for many.

Jan and Boyce chat while examining Boyce’s latest specimen for the Overlords: a taxidermized elephant. The Overlords have been collecting such specimens for some time. Boyce mentions snakes, monkeys, butterflies, and a soon-to-be-delivered sperm whale and giant squid. Jan inquires about Rashaverak and whether Boyce ever discovered the Overlord’s aims regarding Boyce’s paranormal books. Boyce says Rashaverak’s interest was anthropological, but Jan is unconvinced. As they talk, an idea occurs to Jan—specifically related to the whale.

Jan travels to Professor Sullivan’s lab under the Pacific Ocean. He marvels at how foreign the undersea world is, and Sullivan later comments on how the oceans contain enough mysteries to last centuries. Jan attempts to enlist Sullivan’s help in his plan—to stow away within the whale to discover more about the Overlords, and space.

Professor Sullivan considers Jan’s plan and decides that to take part in it will possibly allow him to cement his place in history. Jan prepares to leave, writing Maia a letter explaining that the physics of light travel and relativity mean he will be gone only four months from his perspective, but 80 years from hers. Jan and Professor Sullivan discuss the incidentals of oxygen, food, and a drug, Narcosamine, which imitates hibernation, allowing Jan to sleep for six weeks within the belly of the whale on the journey to the Overlords’ home world.

The whale is constructed artificially, rather than harvesting a live whale and killing it. Jan’s cell is constructed inside the belly of the whale, with the stores he’ll need on waking. Karellen visits Professor Sullivan’s workshop to see the whale and squid tableau before it is loaded onto the transport. Jan and Sullivan are both concerned that Karellen is suspicious, especially when he asks about the realistic possibility of Jonah’s biblical ride in the belly of the whale. However, Karellen moves on and seems not to suspect their plan. Jan climbs into the whale through the mouth, takes the Narcosamine, and sleeps as he is transported into space.

Karellen gives a massive press conference. He informs them that in a recent transport ship to his home world, there was a stowaway discovered: Jan Rodricks. He tells the reporters he is not sure what will happen to the young man, as that decision is out of his control. He also tells the reporters that interstellar space is off limits to mankind because it is simply too vast for the safety and comfort of humanity. He says that “the planets you may one day possess. But the stars are not for man” (137).

After the conference, Karellen reflects on those words. Karellen knows that things will change very soon for the Earth and those that live there. There have been 50 years of peace and prosperity—a golden age, but that age is ending in just 12 years.