- Bibliografija

Arthur C. Clarke

Watching in awe and fear as gleaming spacecraft emerge from the sky and position themselves, ominously, over the world's great cities, the human race learns it is not alone. Earth soon learns that its days of sovereignty are over. The alien Overlords are taking charge, for humanity's own good.

Early efforts to resist prove monumentally futile in the face of the Overlords' vast intellectual and technological superiority. People are reduced to either placid acceptance or fretful anxiety over the aliens' ultimate mission, which they will not reveal. The Overlords even refuse to show themselves; they issue directives through Rikki Stormgren, the U.N. secretary-general. Frustration builds among a small minority of people, but the Overlords do not act until Stormgren is kidnapped in a desperate attempt to pressure the visitors. Only then do they promise to reveal themselves--in 50 years.

Much happens during that time. United politically, and with a completely restructured economy, humanity no longer knows want. The Overlords usher in a Golden Age. Consequently, Earth is so well-disposed toward the aliens that when they finally reveal themselves, their uncanny resemblance to a creature from the darkest human legends seems not to matter.

A few people are restless, though, even in utopia. Some lament the dearth of new creative and scientific achievements. Others wonder whether human nature can endure paradise forever; and if not, what will follow. Meanwhile, the Overlords' edict forbidding interstellar travel chafes a young dreamer named Jan, who plots to smuggle himself onto an Overlord ship bound for their home world--though he has no idea what he'll find there.

In any event, the Overlords' work is nearly done. Humanity has been prepared for an awesome phenomenon even the Overlords don't understand, a phenomenon that will touch every child on Earth.

Unconventional heroes

Though of necessity it singles out interesting characters to follow, Childhood's End is not about a hero's adventures, but rather a sweep of events that affects all of humanity. In a way humanity itself is the protagonist, and what's at stake is the collective fate of the entire race. Clarke, through clear storytelling and action that advances both the characters' development and the larger drama, keeps Childhood's End compelling and grounded through events that span centuries.

Of those interesting characters--including Stormgren, the secretary-general; Jan, who stows away on the starship; and Jeff, the unexpectedly crucial little boy--the Overlords are perhaps the most memorable. Their intervention, which might easily have been a two-dimensional plot device, instead initiates a complex story, and an alternate path for Earth.

A critical readers might quibble with the way humanity meekly accepts demotion to the status of subject race, or argue the likelihood of this utopia, in which all poverty and strife are eliminated. These elements, however, are present in order to demonstrate the essential unity of the human race, which is crucial to its destiny. Again, it's not about one unusual person being the key factor in the race's advancement; everyone has the same potential.

What's more important, and more intriguing, is Clarke's central argument that the human mind, because it's still so young and undeveloped, cannot embrace the infinity of space. Such a skeptical view--if accepted--might relegate much of today's galaxy-trotting science fiction to mere wishful thinking that ignores the mind-bending nature of the universe. Clarke's body of work, with some exceptions, offers little hope that humanity will escape the solar system; Childhood's End is the clincher.

Childhood's End

Imagine humanity on the verge of universal travel, space crafts primed to break the final barrier and open up a cosmos full of mystery and wonder. Then imagine that in one moment it's all taken away. A technologically superior race descends from the heavens to become our keepers. Life as we know it ends.

The opening scene of Grandmaster Arthur C. Clarke's Childhood's End is probably the most recognizable of SF introductions. The vision of gigantic Overlord space ships appearing over every major Earth city is so phenomenally powerful that it has been recreated and honoured in countless science fiction films, such as the classic TV mini-series V as well as the 1996 blockbuster Independence Day.

The LA Times states that the novel is, "A frighteningly logical, believable, and grimly prophetic tale..."  Childhood's End has recently been re-released as part of the SF Masterworks line from Orion Gollancz (UK) and from the Del Rey Impact (US) line, both book series that give genre classics new life. Although originally published in 1953, Childhood's End has a timeless quality that makes it relevant and poignant today.

Unlike standard alien invaders, the Overlords have not come to enslave humanity. Instead they usher in a golden age, solve hunger, homelessness, war and even cruelty to animals. Although allowing no one to see them, at first, the benevolent visitors truly seem to want the best for us. However, they will not allow us to venture into space. As their enigmatic leader Karellen continually states, "The stars are not for Man."

Humanity ceases to aspire to anything and becomes mired in physical pleasure and entertainment. People begin spending an average of three hours watching television per day (in reality it is believed the current average number of hours watched is four... how prophetic) and many become mired in excessive avarice. As the years float by, a few select people begin wondering just what the Overlords are planning for the residents of Earth.

The story spans 200 years of human history after the Overlords' arrival. There is no specific central human character; instead humanity itself is represented through different individuals: Stormgren the fatherly leader; conservative and materialistic George Greggson; adventurous Jan Rodricks. They are all aspects of humanity.

The underlying theme of evolution and enlightenment has inspired many other great novels to utilize the concept, like Dan Simmons' Hyperion series. The loss of individuality is another important and controversial theme in Childhood's End and certainly the heaviest in the story. Clarke is attempting to encourage people to think beyond their current preconceived notions, much like he attempted with the original Rendezvous with Rama novel. With linear thought and physics we simply cannot understand how aliens think.

The Del Rey Impact book does suffer from a lackluster cover, but it and the Gollancz edition do have a few bonuses. Clarke himself has written an introspective introduction and it features an alternate beginning. Originally, when Clarke wrote the book in 1953, the Germans seemed our natural rivals in the space race. Then when the novel was re-released in 1989 the Russians were at the forefront, so he revised the opening. The Del Rey Impact edition starts with the original beginning, but also features the rewritten opening that also appears in the UK version.

In essence Childhood's End is about transcendence and the next step in humanity's evolution. It has earned a place in the SF pantheon and remains a brilliant vision of mankind's potential in the next level of perception.