Stanley Weinbaum
ALIEN IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER
Abstract
Stanley Weinbaum and Frederic Brown wrote stories that broke new ground in science fiction. In the stories “A Martian Odyssey” and “Arena,” they created aliens that had nothing that was physiologically or motivationally similar to human beings. The aliens in these stories had capabilities that were, in some ways, superior to humans. However, the struggles that characterize these stories are recognizably human, displaying as they do human fears and shortcomings.
Keywords: Stanley Weinbaum, Frederic Brown, “A Martian Odyssey,” “Arena.”
ALIEN IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER
Stanley Weinbaum
The great science fiction author Ray Bradbury once said, “The function of science fiction is not to predict the future but to prevent it.” As such, great science fiction stories hold up a mirror in which people may recognize things about themselves that are not readily apparent. In many such stories, human actors interact with aliens that are either humanoid in form or shockingly monstrous beings mindlessly seeking the destruction of a beleaguered human protagonist. Both are recognizable plot lines that speak to humanity’s struggle to overcome the self-destructive aspects of its own nature, or that remind us of mankind’s tenuous hold on life itself. It is a rare science fiction story indeed that represents a radical departure from the usual narrative “formula” by creating an alien that is intrinsically non-human. Such is the case in Frederic William Brown’s “Arena” and Stanley G. Weinbaum’s “A Martian Odyssey,” stories in which central human characters are confronted by life forms that are profoundly non-human, both in form and motivation. And yet the conflicts in these stories describe recognizably human struggles.
In “Arena,” Carson is taken by an unknown force that intervenes as humans and an unknown alien race prepare to destroy each other. The human protagonist is brought to an alien world to do battle with an alien known to Carson as the “Roller.” The Roller represents a life form that is profoundly alien to humankind, one that manifests its presence in an entirely mental form of communication that the human finds overwhelming. Carson finds the Roller “utterly alien, horribly different,” a representation of homo sapiens’ natural suspicion and
ALIEN IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER
antagonism toward anything that appears fundamentally different (Brown, 1976, 15). In Martians and Misplaced Clues: The Life and Work of Frederic Brown, Jack Seabrook notes that “Arena,” as well as Brown’s other stories, are centrally concerned with an ingrained human fear of the unknown. “The single threat running through these works is the suggestion that any aliens we meet will probably be superior to us, if not indifferentand that most likely we will have more difficulty dealing with their differentness than they will have dealing with ours” (Seabrook, 1993, 149).
Carson is struck full force with the Roller’s horrific capacity for hate and the power with which the alien channels that hate. It is interesting that Carson should be so taken aback by the alien’s hatred, an all-too-human trait with which he should be quite familiar. A modern-day reader would find much with which to identify in the struggle against blind, red-hot hatred and the violence it manifests. Such violence is familiar to people the world over in the form of terrorism. By comparison to Weinbaum’s cart creatures and pyramid builders in A Martian Odyssey, aliens with their own singular and inscrutable purposes and motives, the Roller is motivated by pure hatred and the irresistible urge to kill. Carson’s confrontation with his nemesis is purposeful, a duel ordained by a mysterious, omnipotent force in order to preserve one race and annihilate the other. In a fight to the death, or to extinction, it is easy to overlook the fact that hatred is bred by fear and misunderstanding. In this, we may see the Roller’s hatred as a reflection of the human predilection for reactionary xenophobia. Brown’s alien is dead-set on killing its human counterpart, while Weinbaum’s main protagonist discovers that alien contact may reveal humans to be objects of little more than indifference to any but themselves.
ALIEN IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER
On an exploratory mission, Dick Jarvis crashes 800 miles deep into the Martian desert. With no help at hand, he determines to try and walk out of his predicament. Along the way, he comes across a bird-like alien form fighting for survival against a tentacled creature. Having helped the bird-like alien escape, Jarvis discovers that its name – apparently – is Tweel, an evidently intelligent being which decides to accompany Jarvis on his trek. Interestingly, though Jarvis is unable to make sense of Tweel’s language, the alien is able to understand some English, a relationship that is fundamentally different from “Arena,” in which the Roller’s apparently sole form of communication is hatred and violence. Weinbaum’s human character is, if anything, the barbarian in the equation, the representative of a less intelligent form of life trying to impose itself on a world populated by inscrutable and exotic creatures. It remains for the reader to see whether Jarvis will exhibit those behavioral patterns that incline humans to obey their worse impulses.
Jarvis and Tweel come upon silicon-based life forms that create open-ended pyramids, and barrel-shaped beings identified as “cart creatures,” whose mysterious comings and goings are almost frustratingly incomprehensible to Jarvis. In a “human” moment, Jarvis interposes himself in front of the creatures, refusing to move, only to have the creatures identify themselves as “v-r-r-riends,” another example of an incomprehensible alien life form capable of communicating in a human language (Weinbaum, 2008, 112). Jarvis again proves incapable of understanding an alien creature, one that, like Tweel, appears to represent a more intelligent form of life than humans. Jarvis belongs to a race that lacks the mental acuity to understand even the rudiments of the aliens’ languages. Yet the humans are sufficiently technologically advanced to
ALIEN IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER
pose a threat (Jarvis was able to use force to save Tweel from the tentacled creature), and certainly aggressive enough to be dangerous. There is an interesting juxtaposition in relation to Brown’s story, in which the non-human entity, the Roller, is the less intelligent, more aggressive species.
Human curiosity proves dangerous to the aliens, leading as it does to an intrusion that the cart creatures are entering and leaving a series of underground tunnels. Upon investigation, Jarvis finds that they are concerned with a special crystal that is capable of destroying damaged tissue while leaving healthy tissue undamaged. Unable to leave well enough alone, Jarvis obeys his human impulse and takes the crystal, upon which he is attacked by the creatures. Now firmly in the position of “aggressor,” the story is flipped in comparison to traditional science fiction stories, and certainly in comparison to “Arena.” The creatures attack Jarvis, who is only saved by the timely intervention of his crew. The creatures are destroyed when Jarvis’ colleagues impose themselves into the situation. Upon reflection, Jarvis notes that the creatures were, after all, reacting to his taking the crystal. “This story depicts one common thought in Science Fiction that Aliens are very intelligent creatures that are able to comprehend the human language” (Alien Languages, 2013).
Here is the primary difference between “Arena” and “A Martian Odyssey.” Both Tweel and the cart creatures can understand enough of Jarvis’ language to communicate with him, though he cannot reciprocate. In “Arena,” Carson is aware only of his foe’s intense hatred and its powerful mental capabilities; in other words, its savagery. Both stories focus on the repercussions of human-alien interactions, as seen through different perspectives. However,
ALIEN IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER
comparisons between the two stories point to the subjectivity inherent in notions of superiority and to the danger of such a presumption.
ALIEN IN THE EYES OF THE BEHOLDER
References
“Alien Language.” DePauw University, 2013. http://academic.depauw.edu/
Brown, F. (1976). The Best of Frederic Brown. Garden City, NY: Nelson Doubleday, Inc.
Seabrook, J. (1993). Martians and Misplaced Clues: The Life and Work of Frederic Brown.
Bowling Green, OH: Bowling Green State Univ.
Weinbaum, S. (2008). A Martian Odyssey: Stanley G. Weinbaum’s Worlds of If. Wildside
Press.
