| Last and First Men | |
 First edition cover |
|
| Author | Olaf Stapledon |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Methuen |
| Publication date | 1930 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover & Paperback) |
| Pages | 336 |
| ISBN | 9781857988062 |
Last and First Men: A Story of the Near and Far Future is a science fiction novel written in 1930 by the British author Olaf Stapledon. William Olaf Stapledon ( May 10, 1886 &ndash September 6, 1950) was a British philosopher and author of several influential works The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view Methuen Publishing Ltd is a British Publishing house and publishes in the areas of Theatre and Drama. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A hardcover (or hardback or hardbound) is a Book bound with rigid protective covers (typically of cardboard covered with Cloth Paperback, softback, or softcover describe and refer to a Book by the nature of its binding. Year 1930 ( MCMXXX) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display 1930 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located William Olaf Stapledon ( May 10, 1886 &ndash September 6, 1950) was a British philosopher and author of several influential works A work of unprecedented scale in the genre, it describes the history of humanity from the present onwards across two billion years and eighteen distinct human species, of which our own is the first and most primitive. This article focuses on future histories in general For Robert A In Biology, a species is one of the basic units of Biological classification and a Taxonomic rank. Stapledon's conception of history is based on the Hegelian Dialectic, following a repetitive cycle with many varied civilizations rising from and descending back into savagery over millions of years, but it is also one of progress, as the later civilizations rise to far greater heights than the first. In classical Philosophy, dialectic (διαλεκτική is controversy the exchange of arguments and counter-arguments respectively advocating Propositions A Civilization is a society in which large numbers of people share a variety of common elements The book anticipates genetic engineering, and the idea of superminds composed of many telepathically-linked individuals. Genetic engineering, Recombinant DNA technology, genetic modification/manipulation (GM and gene splicing are terms that apply to the direct Supermind in Sri Aurobindo 's philosophy refers to the infinite unitary truth-consciousness or truth-idea simultaneously Transcendent and Telepathy ( Greek τηλε tele meaning "distant" and πάθεια patheia meaning "to be affected by" describes the purported transfer
A controversial part of the book depicts humans, in the far-off future, escaping the dying Earth and settling on Venus—in the process totally exterminating its native inhabitants, a marine intelligent species. The VENUS ( V ictoria E xperimental N etwork U nder the S ea project is a cabled sea floor observatory operated by the University Stapledon's book has been interpreted by some as condoning such interplanetary genocide as a justified act if necessary for racial survival, though a number of Stapledon's partisans denied that such was his intention, arguing instead that Stapledon was merely showing that although mankind had advanced in a number of ways in the future, at bottom it still possessed the same capacity for savagery as it has always had. Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group
The book had the distinction of being the only work of fiction published by Pelican Books. Penguin Books is a British Publisher founded in 1935 by Allen Lane.
In 1932, Stapledon followed Last and First Men with the far less acclaimed Last Men in London. Year 1932 ( MCMXXXII) was a Leap year starting on Friday of the Gregorian calendar. Last Men in London (1932 is a Science fiction novel by Olaf Stapledon. His other great novel, Star Maker (1937), could also be considered a sequel to Last and First Men, but is even more ambitious in scope, being a history of the entire universe. Year 1937 ( MCMXXXVII) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.
Contents |
Human species
- First Men. (Chapters 1-6) Our own species: the rivalry of America and China, the First World State, its destruction as a result of using up all natural resources, followed by the Patagonian Civilization 100,000 years hence, with the cult of Youth, and its destruction after the sabotage of a mine which leads to a colossal subterranean atomic explosion and the ensuing intercontinental nuclear holocaust, rendering most of the Earth's surface uninhabitable for millions of years save for the poles and the northern coast of Siberia. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National The World State is the primary setting of Aldous Huxley 's 1932 Dystopian novel Brave New World. Llao LLaojpg|thumb|250px| Lake Nahuel Huapi, near Bariloche, Argentina Youth is the period from infancy or childhood to maturity Usage Around the world the terms "youth" " Adolescent " "teenager" and Nuclear holocaust refers to the possibility of nearly complete annhilation of human Civilization by Nuclear warfare. Siberia (Сиби́рь Sibir) is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of Northern Asia and for the most part currently serving The only survivors are thirty-five humans stationed at the North Pole. The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is subject to the caveats explained below defined as the point in the northern
- Second Men. (Chapters 7-9) "Their heads, indeed, were large even for their bodies, and their necks massive. Their hands were huge, but finely moulded. . . their legs were stouter. . . their feet had lost their separate toes. . . blonde hirsute appearance. . . Their eyes were large, and often jade green, their features firm as carved granite, yet mobile and lucent. Jade is an Ornamental stone. The term jade is applied to two different rocks that are made up of different Silicate minerals. See also Green This article is about notable Tints and shades of the Color Green. Granite (ˈɡrænɪt is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, Felsic, igneous rock. Lucent Technologies was a technology company composed of what was formerly AT&T Technologies, which included Western Electric and Bell Labs. . . . not till they were fifty did they reach maturity. At about 190 their powers began to fail. . . "
- Third Men. (Chapter 10) "Scarcely more than half the stature of their predecessors, these beings were proportionally slight and lithe. Their skin was of a sunny brown, covered with a luminous halo of red-gold hairs. A halo (ἅλως also known as a nimbus, Aureole, glory, or gloriole) is a ring of light that surrounds a person in art . . golden eyes. . . faces were compact as a cat's muzzle, their lips full, but subtle at the corners. WikipediaManual of Style (spelling, articles should conform to one overall spelling style of English typically the one most linked to the article topic (if it is geographic Their ears, objects of personal pride and of sexual admiration, were extremely variable both in individuals and in races. . . . But the most distinctive feature of the Third Men was their great lean hands, on which were six versatile fingers, six antennae of living steel. Antennae (singular antenna) are paired Appendages connected to the front-most segments of Arthropods In Crustaceans they are " Deeply interested in music and in the design of living organisms. Genetic engineering, Recombinant DNA technology, genetic modification/manipulation (GM and gene splicing are terms that apply to the direct
- Fourth Men. (Chapter 11) Giant brains, built by the Third Men. For a long time they help govern their creators, but eventually come into conflict.
- Fifth Men. (Chapters 11-12) An artificial human species designed by the brains. "On the average they were more than twice as tall as the First Men, and much taller than the Second Men. . . the delicate sixth finger had been induced to divide its tip into two Lilliputian fingers and a corresponding thumb. Lilliput and Blefuscu are two fictional island nations that appear in the 1726 novel Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan The contours of the limbs were sharply visible, for the body bore no hair, save for a close, thick skull-cap which, in the original stock, was of ruddy brown. The well-marked eyebrows, when drawn down, shaded the sensitive eyes from the sun. " When Earth ceases to be habitable, they terraform Venus, but do not cope well after the move. The terraforming (literally "Earth-shaping" of a Planet, moon, or other body is the hypothetical process of deliberately modifying its The VENUS ( V ictoria E xperimental N etwork U nder the S ea project is a cabled sea floor observatory operated by the University
- Sixth Men. (Chapter 13) "Sadly reduced in stature and in brain, these abject beings. . . gained a precarious livelihood by grubbing roots upon the forest-clad islands, trapping the innumerable birds, and catching fish. . . Not infrequently they devoured, or were devoured by, their seal-like relatives. Pinnipeds ("fin-feet" lit "winged feet" or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semi-aquatic marine Mammals comprising "
- Seventh Men. Flying humans, "scarcely heavier than the largest of terrestrial flying birds", are created by the Sixth Men.
- Eighth Men. "These long-headed and substantial folk were designed to be strictly pedestrian, physically and mentally. A pedestrian is a person travelling on foot whether Walking or Running. " When Venus becomes uninhabitable, they design the Ninth Men, who will live on Neptune. Neptune ( English|AmE] ] is the eighth and farthest Planet from the Sun in the Solar System.
- Ninth Men. (Chapter 14) "Inevitably it was a dwarf type, limited in size by the necessity of resisting an excessive gravitation. DWARF is a widely used standardized Debugging data format. DWARF was originally designed along with ELF, although it is independent of Object file Gravitation is a natural Phenomenon by which objects with Mass attract one another . . too delicately organized to withstand the ferocity of natural forces on Neptune. . . civilization crumbled into savagery. "
- Tenth to Seventeenth Men. "Nowhere did the typical human form survive. " The Fifteenth and Sixteenth achieve a great civilization and learn to study past minds.
- Eighteenth Men. (Chapters 15-16) The most advanced humans of all. "Superficially we seem to be not one species but many. " Are eventually extinguished on Neptune after a supernova consumes the remains of the solar system. Neptune ( English|AmE] ] is the eighth and farthest Planet from the Sun in the Solar System. A supernova (plural supernovae or supernovas) is a stellar Explosion. The Solar System consists of the Sun and those celestial objects bound to it by Gravity.
Appearances in other media
The novel appears in the computer game Deus Ex as a reference when a corporation in the game allegedly tries to develop the Second Men in the series, but also in a much broader aspect as the game deals with genetic engineering, the next phase of evolution and human augmentations. A personal computer Game (also known as a computer game or simply PC game) is a Video game played on a Personal computer, rather Deus Ex (abbreviated DX and pronounced as ˌdeɪəsˈɛks day-uss ex) is a Cyberpunk -themed Action role-playing game developed Genetic engineering, Recombinant DNA technology, genetic modification/manipulation (GM and gene splicing are terms that apply to the direct eVolution is the third Album by eLDee, it was due to be released in 2008
Also similar to the book are the options presented to the player as to where human kind will go next: a fall back into an almost savage state of humanity, or extreme progression with the danger of sacrificing basic rights.
Influences on other writers
Brian Aldiss, in his preface to the 1962 edition, acknowledges the deep impression on him -and considerable influence on his own later writing - of Stapledon's book, which he encountered in 1943 while a British soldier fighting the Japanese in Burma - "An appropriately unusual period of life at which to encounter a vision so far outside ordinary experience". Brian Wilson Aldiss, '''OBE''', (born August 18, 1925 in East Dereham, Norfolk, England) is a prolific English Year 1943 ( MCMXLIII) was a Common year starting on Friday (the link will display full 1943 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar ( pjìdàunzṵ mjàmmà nàinŋàndɔ̀ is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia.
Aldiss also mentions James Blish as another writer deeply influenced by Stapledon. James Benjamin Blish ( East Orange, New Jersey, May 23, 1921 – Henley-on-Thames, July 30, 1975) was an
C. S. Lewis in his own preface to "That Hideous Strength", notes:"I believe that one of the central ideas of this tale came into my head from conversations I had with a scientific colleague, some time before I met a rather similar suggestion in the works of Mr. Clive Staples Lewis (29 November 1898 – 22 November 1963 That Hideous Strength is a 1945 Novel by C S Lewis, the final book in Lewis's theological Science fiction Space Trilogy. Olaf Stapledon. If I am mistaken in this, Mr. Stapledon is so rich in invention that he can afford to lend, and I admire his invention (though not his philosophy) so much that I should feel no shame to borrow".
The reference to "objecting to Stapledon's philosophy" was no accident. In particular, the Christian Lewis objected to Stapledon's idea, as expressed in the present book, that mankind could escape from an outworn planet and establish itself on another one; this Lewis regarded as no less than a Satanic idea - especially, but not only, because it involved genocide of the original inhabitants of the target planet. Satan, ( Standard Hebrew Satan'el, English accuser) is a term that originates from the Abrahamic faiths, being traditionally Genocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction in whole or in part of an ethnic racial religious or national group Professor Weston, the chief villain of Lewis' Space Trilogy, is an outspoken proponent of this idea, and in "Out of the Silent Planet" Lewis opposes to it the depiction of the virtuous and stoic Martians/Malacandrians who choose to die with their dying planet, even though they possessed the technology to cross space and colonise Earth. Professor Weston (full name Edward Rolles Weston) is arguably one of C __FORCETOC__ Out of the Silent Planet is the first Novel of a Science fiction Trilogy written by C As an adjective the term "martian" is used to describe anything pertaining to the Planet Mars.
Arthur C. Clarke has said of Stapledon's 1930 book Last and First Men that "No other book had a greater influence on my life . Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE (16 December 1917–19 March 2008 was a British Science fiction Author, Inventor, and . . [It] and its successor Star Maker (1937) are the twin summits of [Stapledon's] literary career". [1]
John Maynard Smith has said "A man called Olaf Stapledon was a marvellous predictor who wrote science fiction books that I read when I was 16 and that completely blew my mind; and Arthur C. Clarke put his finger on quite a number of bright thoughts. Maynard Smith redirects here -- for other uses see Maynard Smith (disambiguation Professor John Maynard Smith, F Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, CBE (16 December 1917–19 March 2008 was a British Science fiction Author, Inventor, and He and I have something in common: we both took out of the public library the same science fiction book when we were boys of about 15 or 16, which was Stapledon's Last and First Men. We took it out of the same country library in Porlock in Somerset. Porlock is a quiet coastal village in Somerset, England, situated in a deep hollow below Exmoor, five miles west of Minehead. Somerset ( or) is a county in south west England The County town is Taunton, which is in the south of the county Whoever put that book on the shelves had a lot to answer for!" Adam Hart Davis (2004) talking science Wiley ISBN 0-470-09302-1