Classic
science fiction novel by
Clifford D. Simak. While the complete book was published in 1952, it was really a compilation of closely related
short stories and
novellas published by Simak in the '40s and '50s.
This is the kind of
story that exemplifies why I love so many stories from science fiction's
Golden Age -- it has stereotypical sci-fi elements like
robots,
mutants, and
aliens, it has completely unscientific elements like
talking dogs and
intelligent ants, it has wild, breathtaking
ideas, it has characters you can't help but love and hate, and its glimpse of the
future is simultaneously
grim and
hopeful. It's far from a perfect book -- there are ongoing assumptions in the story that most of humanity, regardless of cultural differences, will always speak and act with one voice. There are no important
female characters in the whole book. And some of the science is distractingly
goofy. Nevertheless, Simak is one of science fiction's unrecognized
geniuses, and this is his
masterwork.
"City" is the story of how
mankind dies, told from the perspective of the intelligent
dogs who have taken over the Earth in our absence. It's all framed as an attempt by the dogs to assemble an
oral history of the planet, including the improbable
myths of a creature called
Man that used to run things in the distant past. Much of that
history follows the lives of a single human family, the Websters, and a nearly
immortal robot named Jenkins.
In the initial story, told only a short distance in our own future,
humanity is in the process of abandoning all of its cities. Mostly plotless, it serves mainly to allow us to follow the transition from today's
urban society to a future
society using advanced
technology to embrace a more
pastoral lifestyle. Technological advances in
transportation and
communications have rendered the city unnecessary -- people can live anywhere they want and still stay in contact with their friends, families, and coworkers. Anyone can feed themselves with a
hydroponic garden. Few people want to live in big, crowded, smelly cities, which are mostly
abandoned except for some
squatters. Only a few old-timers still cling to the old ways.
A
century later, we get to our first really important character, Jerome Webster, a doctor who's been turned into an
agoraphobic, terrified of
open spaces, by his
comfortable life at home. His every need is taken care of instantly by the family's robots, including the
butler, Jenkins. Webster is called upon to travel to
Mars, where history's greatest philosopher,
Juwain, is gravely ill -- if he lives, he will soon develop a new
philosophy that will propel humanity to the very peaks of perfect
enlightenment. But Webster finds himself completely unable to undertake the journey to save his friend.
We jump forward several decades and sees the introduction of the Dogs, as Jerome Webster's grandson surgically gives his pet the ability to
speak. We also meet
Joe, a mutant who is able to live for centuries and is gifted with extraordinary intelligence. A completely
amoral creature, he has spent over a hundred years helping humans, but he's getting bored with that. So he steals the last notes on Juwain's
revolutionary Martian philosophy, just for the pleasure of hurting humanity. We also get our first look at the ants, as Joe puts a nest on the path to higher intelligence by protecting it for a few
winters, then sadistically demolishes the mound. But the ants have already learned quite a bit, and they'll be back...
The years march on, and we leave Earth to visit the hostile surface of
Jupiter, where scientists have attempted to
explore the planet by transforming themselves into creatures that can survive the
corrosive atmosphere -- but none of these
scientists have ever returned. What predator could be killing them off? In fact, they're not being killed off -- they're
refusing to come back because they don't want to become human again. For a
Jovian, the planet's surface is the greatest, most ecstatic, most wonderful
paradise imaginable. Years later, one of the scientists decides to return to Earth to tell everyone about how wonderful Jupiter is -- but will the news trigger the
extinction of humanity? Who would choose to remain human or live on Earth when another species on another planet could know such perfect
bliss?
Decades, centuries, millennia pass. The Webster family continues on, slowly
dooming the human race with each decision it makes. The Dogs continue on, growing in
sophistication and
morality. Jenkins and the other robots continue on, shepherding the new animal
civilization through the years. The ants continue on, becoming more and more
powerful. Some species die off, some species
evolve into new forms, some species abandon Earth
forever. Life continues, on and on. Earth continues.
No question, it's a
melancholy, almost heart-breaking story. If you've long dreamed that mankind would live forever, this story will subject you to the spectre of the human race embracing
extinction, of humanity's greatest works of
science and
art being forgotten, of even
Man's Best Friend leaving our home planet behind in the face of an expansionist alien species. Simak's "Epilog" (which is not present in all editions of the novel) is even sadder. "City" is a book with few truly
happy endings.
And yet, I still see this as a
hopeful book, and it fills me with
joy when I read it. Why? I really don't know. Perhaps it's the
beauty of the
writing and of the story. Perhaps it's the fact that many of mankind's
creations -- robots, dogs,
storytelling, morality and
ethics -- continue thousands of years beyond our end, even if our status as the
creators are long forgotten. Maybe I just really like dogs.
Maybe I enjoy the novel so much because I like the way it's acknowledged that, eventually, all species must die out -- extinction is
inevitable, but I think Simak knew that our story isn't finished yet. Enjoy the good things that humanity has brought about, recognize the bad things that we've caused, resolve to help move the species farther along the
evolutionary chain,
scientifically,
artistically,
socially.
In the end, I think it's a story about
life and
death and
memory. Years will pass, centuries will pass. We will die, and those who follow us will
remember us for a while. But we will eventually be forgotten. That thought may make you feel depressed and melancholy. But life, in some form, continues, and where there's life, there's
hope.
Research:
http://www.scifi.com/sfw/issue398/classic.html
http://www.sfsignal.com/archives/002619.html
The joy of reading good science fiction