Both in
A Case Of Conscience by James Blish and in "The Problem of Pain" by Poul Anderson, a Christian questions his faith after an encounter with an intelligent species on an extra-solar planet. Apart from this similarity, the two narratives could not be more different.
A Case Of Conscience is part of Blish's Haertel Scholium, a branching future historical sequence, and is also Volume III of his multi-genre
After Such Knowledge Trilogy whereas "The Problem of Pain" is an installment of Anderson's main future history series, the History of Technic Civilization. Whereas human-Ythrian interactions are a major narrative thread in the Technic History, Blish's Lithians are introduced in
A Case Of Conscience and their planet is destroyed at the end of that novel - although it is mentioned as still existing millennia later in Blish's pantropy future history series. (Earth, Mars and other Solar planets exist in different fictional futures so why not also Lithia etc?)
At this point, another author enters the dialogue. CS Lewis:
wrote several works of Christian apologetics, including a volume called The Problem Of Pain;
also wrote some theologically themed sf;
is referenced in Volumes II and III of After Such Knowledge.
Lewis's character, Elwin Ransom, discovers that, within the Solar System at least, only Earth has "Fallen" in the theological sense. By contrast, later in the Technic History, Anderson's Fr. Axor acknowledges that the many intelligent species in the galaxy are prone to sin. Whereas Ransom averts the need for a second Incarnation or some other such divine intervention on Venus, Axor seeks for evidence of a divine incarnation on at least one other planet elsewhere in the galaxy. Anderson's and Lewis's narratives seem to invert each other.
4 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
One thing I remember about Lithia, from A CASE OF CONSCIENCE, is that it probably did not even actually and physically exist, that it was a massively convincing illusion of Satan. I think the Pope in that story advised the Jesuit POV character to pray over or exorcise Lithia, to see whether or not it EXISTED.
Another thought I had just now is that I might ask Fr. Axor if was really necessary for him to search for evidence of the Incarnation of Christ on other worlds? Because, if the Church decided non human intelligent beings could also be baptized and become Christians, then the salvific effects of Christ's redeeming sacrifice on Earth would also apply to them. So while Christ might have become Incarnate on another planet thousands of light years way on the other side of the Galaxy, that need not be of any immediate concern for Fr. Axor.
In my "God and Alien in Anderson's Technic Civilization" article I wrote that the fact a hydrogen breathing Ymirite tried to murder Dominic Flandry in WE CLAIM THESE STARS shows it was not only oxygen breathing sophonts who had Fallen.
Ad astra! Sean
Sean,
The status of Lithia remains ambiguous. Lithia explodes either because Ruiz exorcises it or for a physical reason. In AFTER SUCH KNOWLEDGE, only Vol II shows supernatural beings as unequivocally read.
Paul.
real
Kaor, Paul!
It was that ambiguity which made me doubtful, in my memory, about Lithia being REAL.
Ad astra! Sean
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