Embassytown is a novel by China Mieville which falls in the category of sci-fi novels. Present on the planet Arieka, Embassytown resides as a colony in the state of Bremen. It happens to be an important colony due to its trading goods which include precious metals and biotechnology made with the help of aliens. There is a constant struggle between the use of language and the need for communication amongst the people living in Embassytown. There is the concept of the ‘Immer’ which means always, and it is the medium that is used to travel to Arieka as it is a universe which has varying concepts of space and time. Embassytown goes through a transformation whereby the people are plagued with human language infiltrating their society like a virus that spreads and infects everything alien. The Ariekei are addicted to the God-Drug of Ambassador Ezra. The city reacts to the people who use the human language, and it is seen that the buildings grow ears and the walls also open up in reaction. The ears grown by the buildings can flex in emotional reaction, as it is revealed in the novel, “The city would react vividly to us, walls sweating, window-ventricles opening. The ears that each house had grown would flex with expectation.” (Mieville Part 4, 12).
Earlier the relationship between the humans and Areikei has remained harmonious however with the passage of time and with the arrival of the new Ambassador, the people have become so accustomed to the new language that they have adopted it irrespective of context and understanding. So much so that the Areikei have removed their wings and turned themselves deaf. Some people like Avice Cho, are disgusted by human language and taking help from some sympathizing Ambassadors, she succeeds in training some Hosts to use the metaphors and teaches them to speak lies. For example, the saying, “I’m like you, and I am you.” (Mieville Part 8, 26). This is crucial: saying “I am you” is far different from “I am like you.” The first statement is deliberately false, ridiculous, and impossible. The power of language is what reveals the true character of the individuals, and this is the struggle in the novel.
Works Cited
Mieville, China. Embassytown. 2011. Print.
