A Case of Conscience
Encyclopedia
A Case of Conscience is a science fiction
novel by James Blish
, first published in 1958. It is the story of a Jesuit who investigates an alien race that has no religion; they are completely without any concept of God
, an afterlife
, or the idea of sin
; and the species evolves through several forms through the course of its life cycle. The story was originally published as a novella
in 1953, and later extended to novel-length, of which the first part is the original novella. The novel is the first part of Blish's thematic "After Such Knowledge" trilogy, followed by Black Easter
/The Day After Judgment
and Dr Mirabilis.
The story is unusual in several respects. Few science fiction
stories of the time attempted religious themes, and still fewer did this with Catholicism. (Compare Walter M. Miller, Jr.'s
Hugo Award winning post-apocalyptic science fiction novel, A Canticle for Leibowitz
.)
Many reacted negatively to the story, but surprisingly few educated Catholics were among them. One even sent James Blish a copy of the actual Church guidelines for dealing with extraterrestrials. These are not detailed, but merely suggest overall strategy based on whether the beings have souls or not, and if they have them, whether they are fallen
like humans, or exist in a state of grace
.
, is a member of a four-man team of scientists sent to the planet Lithia to determine if it can be opened to human contact. Ruiz-Sanchez is a biologist, biochemist, and the team doctor. However, as a Jesuit, he has religious concerns as well. The planet is inhabited by a race of intelligent bipedal reptile-like creatures, the Lithians. Ruiz-Sanchez has learned to speak their language, the better to get to know them.
While on a walking survey of the land, Cleaver, a physicist, has been poisoned by a plant, despite a protective suit, and is in bad shape. Ruiz-Sanchez treats him and leaves to send a message to the others, Michelis, a chemist, and Agronski, a geologist. He is helped by Chtexa, a Lithian whom he has befriended, who then invites him to his house. This is an opportunity which Ruiz-Sanchez cannot pass up. No member of the team has been invited into the Lithian living places before. The Lithians seem to have an ideal society, a Utopia
without crime, conflict, ignorance or want. Ruiz-Sanchez is more than a little in awe of them.
When the team is reassembled, they compare notes on the Lithians. Soon they will have to officially pronounce their verdict. Michelis is open-minded and sympathetic to the Lithians. He also has learned their language and some of their customs. Agronski is more insular in his outlook, but sees no reason to consider the planet dangerous. When Cleaver revives, he reveals that he wants the place exploited, regardless of the Lithians' wishes. He has found enough of the element lithium
, comparatively rare on terrestrial planets, that a tritium
factory could be set up to supply Earth with nuclear weapons. Michelis is for open trade. Agronski is indifferent.
Then Ruiz-Sanchez drops his bombshell—he wants maximum quarantine
. The things Chtexa revealed to him, added to what he already knew, convinces him that Lithia is nothing less than the work of Satan
, a place deliberately constructed to show peace, logic, and understanding in the complete absence of God
. Point for point, Ruiz-Sanchez lists the facts about Lithia that directly attack Catholic teaching. Michelis is mystified, but does point out that all the Lithian science he has learned, while perfectly logical, rests on highly questionable assumptions. It is as if it just came from nowhere.
The team can come to no agreement. Ruiz-Sanchez concludes that Cleaver will probably get his way, and Lithian society will be wiped out. Despite his conclusions about the planet, he has deep affection for the Lithians themselves.
As the humans board their ship to leave, Chtexa gives Ruiz-Sanchez a gift—a sealed jar containing an egg. It is a son of Chtexa, to be raised on Earth and learn the ways of humans.
At this point of departure, the Jesuit solves a riddle which he has been pondering for some time: a complex catechism posed in Finnegans Wake
by James Joyce
. The solution is to recognize that two separate questions of morality are actually involved, to be answered "Yes, and No", with a crucial recognition of a comma. All of this is an epitome of Jesuitical reasoning, and it foreshadows the dilemma at the heart of the novel.
. Earth society is based on the nuclear shelters of the 20th century, with most people living underground. Egtverchi is the proverbial firecracker in an anthill—he upends society and precipitates violence.
Ruiz-Sanchez has to go to Rome to face judgment. His conviction about Lithia is viewed as heresy
, since he believes Satan has the power to create a planet. This is close to Manichaeism
. He has an audience with the Pope
himself to explain his beliefs. The Pope, a logical and technologically-aware Norwegian ruling under the name Hadrian VIII, points out two things Ruiz-Sanchez missed. First, Lithia could have been a deception, not a creation. And second, Ruiz-Sanchez could have done something about it, namely perform an exorcism
on the whole planet. He dismisses Ruiz-Sanchez to purge his own soul, and return to the Church if and when he can.
A violent mass riot breaks out, fomented by Egtverchi and made possible by the psychosis
present in many of the citizens as a result of living in the 'shelter state' (an earlier reference to the "Corridor Riots of 1993" indicates that this is not the first time violence has burst out among the buried cities). During the riot, Agronski dies as a result of being stung by one or more genetically-modified honeybees. Ruiz-Sanchez administers extreme unction
, despite his almost-faithless state. Egtverchi stows away on a ship to Lithia.
Michelis and Ruiz-Sanchez are taken to the Moon, where a new telescope has been set up. This scope is used in conjunction with a form of the Haertel overdrive to view Lithia in real-time, bypassing the delay caused by the speed of light. Cleaver is on Lithia setting up his reactors, but the physicist who invented the telescope technology believes he has found a fault in Cleaver's reasoning. There is a chance that the work will set off a chain reaction
in the planet's rocks and destroy it.
As they watch on the screen, Ruiz-Sanchez pronounces an exorcism. The planet explodes, taking Cleaver, Egtverchi, but also Chtexa and all the things Ruiz-Sanchez admired. It is left unclear whether the extinction of the Lithians is a result of Ruiz-Sanchez's prayer or Cleaver's erroneous calculations.
reviewer Floyd C. Gale concluded that A Case of Conscience was "a provocative, serious, commendable work" and characterized it as "trailblaz[ing]". Anthony Boucher
found Blish's protagonist "a credible and moving figure," and praised the opening segment; however he faulted the later material for "los[ing] focus and impact" and "wander[ing]" to an ending that seems "merely chaotic." In his "Books" column for F&SF, Damon Knight
selected Blish's novel as one of the ten best science fiction books of the 1950s. He reviewed the novel as "resonat[ing] with a note of its own. . . . it is complete and perfect."
in 1959. The original novella won a Retrospective Hugo Award in 2004.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel by James Blish
James Blish
James Benjamin Blish was an American author of fantasy and science fiction. Blish also wrote literary criticism of science fiction using the pen-name William Atheling, Jr.-Biography:...
, first published in 1958. It is the story of a Jesuit who investigates an alien race that has no religion; they are completely without any concept of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, an afterlife
Afterlife
The afterlife is the belief that a part of, or essence of, or soul of an individual, which carries with it and confers personal identity, survives the death of the body of this world and this lifetime, by natural or supernatural means, in contrast to the belief in eternal...
, or the idea of sin
Sin
In religion, sin is the violation or deviation of an eternal divine law or standard. The term sin may also refer to the state of having committed such a violation. Christians believe the moral code of conduct is decreed by God In religion, sin (also called peccancy) is the violation or deviation...
; and the species evolves through several forms through the course of its life cycle. The story was originally published as a novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
in 1953, and later extended to novel-length, of which the first part is the original novella. The novel is the first part of Blish's thematic "After Such Knowledge" trilogy, followed by Black Easter
Black Easter
Black Easter is a Nebula Award-nominated fantasy novel by James Blish in which an arms dealer hires a black magician to unleash all the Demons of Hell on earth for a single day. It was first published in 1968. The sequel is The Day After Judgment. Together, those two short novels form the third...
/The Day After Judgment
The Day After Judgment
The Day After Judgment Is the second of a pair of short novels by James Blish. The first is the novel Black Easter. They have more recently been published as a single book called The Devil's Day.-Plot introduction:...
and Dr Mirabilis.
The story is unusual in several respects. Few science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
stories of the time attempted religious themes, and still fewer did this with Catholicism. (Compare Walter M. Miller, Jr.'s
Walter M. Miller, Jr.
Walter Michael Miller, Jr. was an American science fiction author. Today he is primarily known for A Canticle for Leibowitz, the only novel he published in his lifetime. Prior to its publication he was a prolific writer of short stories.- Biography :Miller was born in New Smyrna Beach, Florida...
Hugo Award winning post-apocalyptic science fiction novel, A Canticle for Leibowitz
A Canticle for Leibowitz
A Canticle for Leibowitz is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by American writer Walter M. Miller, Jr., first published in 1960. Set in a Roman Catholic monastery in the desert of the southwestern United States after a devastating nuclear war, the story spans thousands of years as...
.)
Many reacted negatively to the story, but surprisingly few educated Catholics were among them. One even sent James Blish a copy of the actual Church guidelines for dealing with extraterrestrials. These are not detailed, but merely suggest overall strategy based on whether the beings have souls or not, and if they have them, whether they are fallen
The Fall of Man
In Christian doctrine, the Fall of Man, or simply the Fall, refers to the transition of the first humans from a state of innocent obedience to God to a state of guilty disobedience to God. In Genesis chapter 2, Adam and Eve live at first with God in a paradise, but the serpent tempts them into...
like humans, or exist in a state of grace
Divine grace
In Christian theology, grace is God’s gift of God’s self to humankind. It is understood by Christians to be a spontaneous gift from God to man - "generous, free and totally unexpected and undeserved" - that takes the form of divine favour, love and clemency. It is an attribute of God that is most...
.
Part 1
Father Ramon Ruiz-Sanchez of Peru, Clerk Regular of the Society of JesusSociety of Jesus
The Society of Jesus is a Catholic male religious order that follows the teachings of the Catholic Church. The members are called Jesuits, and are also known colloquially as "God's Army" and as "The Company," these being references to founder Ignatius of Loyola's military background and a...
, is a member of a four-man team of scientists sent to the planet Lithia to determine if it can be opened to human contact. Ruiz-Sanchez is a biologist, biochemist, and the team doctor. However, as a Jesuit, he has religious concerns as well. The planet is inhabited by a race of intelligent bipedal reptile-like creatures, the Lithians. Ruiz-Sanchez has learned to speak their language, the better to get to know them.
While on a walking survey of the land, Cleaver, a physicist, has been poisoned by a plant, despite a protective suit, and is in bad shape. Ruiz-Sanchez treats him and leaves to send a message to the others, Michelis, a chemist, and Agronski, a geologist. He is helped by Chtexa, a Lithian whom he has befriended, who then invites him to his house. This is an opportunity which Ruiz-Sanchez cannot pass up. No member of the team has been invited into the Lithian living places before. The Lithians seem to have an ideal society, a Utopia
Utopia
Utopia is an ideal community or society possessing a perfect socio-politico-legal system. The word was imported from Greek by Sir Thomas More for his 1516 book Utopia, describing a fictional island in the Atlantic Ocean. The term has been used to describe both intentional communities that attempt...
without crime, conflict, ignorance or want. Ruiz-Sanchez is more than a little in awe of them.
When the team is reassembled, they compare notes on the Lithians. Soon they will have to officially pronounce their verdict. Michelis is open-minded and sympathetic to the Lithians. He also has learned their language and some of their customs. Agronski is more insular in his outlook, but sees no reason to consider the planet dangerous. When Cleaver revives, he reveals that he wants the place exploited, regardless of the Lithians' wishes. He has found enough of the element lithium
Lithium
Lithium is a soft, silver-white metal that belongs to the alkali metal group of chemical elements. It is represented by the symbol Li, and it has the atomic number 3. Under standard conditions it is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly...
, comparatively rare on terrestrial planets, that a tritium
Tritium
Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen. The nucleus of tritium contains one proton and two neutrons, whereas the nucleus of protium contains one proton and no neutrons...
factory could be set up to supply Earth with nuclear weapons. Michelis is for open trade. Agronski is indifferent.
Then Ruiz-Sanchez drops his bombshell—he wants maximum quarantine
Quarantine
Quarantine is compulsory isolation, typically to contain the spread of something considered dangerous, often but not always disease. The word comes from the Italian quarantena, meaning forty-day period....
. The things Chtexa revealed to him, added to what he already knew, convinces him that Lithia is nothing less than the work of Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
, a place deliberately constructed to show peace, logic, and understanding in the complete absence of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
. Point for point, Ruiz-Sanchez lists the facts about Lithia that directly attack Catholic teaching. Michelis is mystified, but does point out that all the Lithian science he has learned, while perfectly logical, rests on highly questionable assumptions. It is as if it just came from nowhere.
The team can come to no agreement. Ruiz-Sanchez concludes that Cleaver will probably get his way, and Lithian society will be wiped out. Despite his conclusions about the planet, he has deep affection for the Lithians themselves.
As the humans board their ship to leave, Chtexa gives Ruiz-Sanchez a gift—a sealed jar containing an egg. It is a son of Chtexa, to be raised on Earth and learn the ways of humans.
At this point of departure, the Jesuit solves a riddle which he has been pondering for some time: a complex catechism posed in Finnegans Wake
Finnegans Wake
Finnegans Wake is a novel by Irish author James Joyce, significant for its experimental style and resulting reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the English language. Written in Paris over a period of seventeen years, and published in 1939, two years before the author's...
by James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
. The solution is to recognize that two separate questions of morality are actually involved, to be answered "Yes, and No", with a crucial recognition of a comma. All of this is an epitome of Jesuitical reasoning, and it foreshadows the dilemma at the heart of the novel.
Part 2
The egg hatches and grows into the individual Egtverchi. Like all Lithians, he inherits knowledge from his father through his DNADNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
. Earth society is based on the nuclear shelters of the 20th century, with most people living underground. Egtverchi is the proverbial firecracker in an anthill—he upends society and precipitates violence.
Ruiz-Sanchez has to go to Rome to face judgment. His conviction about Lithia is viewed as heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
, since he believes Satan has the power to create a planet. This is close to Manichaeism
Manichaeism
Manichaeism in Modern Persian Āyin e Māni; ) was one of the major Iranian Gnostic religions, originating in Sassanid Persia.Although most of the original writings of the founding prophet Mani have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived...
. He has an audience with the Pope
Pope
The Pope is the Bishop of Rome, a position that makes him the leader of the worldwide Catholic Church . In the Catholic Church, the Pope is regarded as the successor of Saint Peter, the Apostle...
himself to explain his beliefs. The Pope, a logical and technologically-aware Norwegian ruling under the name Hadrian VIII, points out two things Ruiz-Sanchez missed. First, Lithia could have been a deception, not a creation. And second, Ruiz-Sanchez could have done something about it, namely perform an exorcism
Exorcism
Exorcism is the religious practice of evicting demons or other spiritual entities from a person or place which they are believed to have possessed...
on the whole planet. He dismisses Ruiz-Sanchez to purge his own soul, and return to the Church if and when he can.
A violent mass riot breaks out, fomented by Egtverchi and made possible by the psychosis
Psychosis
Psychosis means abnormal condition of the mind, and is a generic psychiatric term for a mental state often described as involving a "loss of contact with reality"...
present in many of the citizens as a result of living in the 'shelter state' (an earlier reference to the "Corridor Riots of 1993" indicates that this is not the first time violence has burst out among the buried cities). During the riot, Agronski dies as a result of being stung by one or more genetically-modified honeybees. Ruiz-Sanchez administers extreme unction
Anointing of the Sick (Catholic Church)
Anointing of the Sick is a sacrament of the Catholic Church that is administered to Catholics who because of sickness or old age are in danger of death, even if the danger is not proximate...
, despite his almost-faithless state. Egtverchi stows away on a ship to Lithia.
Michelis and Ruiz-Sanchez are taken to the Moon, where a new telescope has been set up. This scope is used in conjunction with a form of the Haertel overdrive to view Lithia in real-time, bypassing the delay caused by the speed of light. Cleaver is on Lithia setting up his reactors, but the physicist who invented the telescope technology believes he has found a fault in Cleaver's reasoning. There is a chance that the work will set off a chain reaction
Chain reaction
A chain reaction is a sequence of reactions where a reactive product or by-product causes additional reactions to take place. In a chain reaction, positive feedback leads to a self-amplifying chain of events....
in the planet's rocks and destroy it.
As they watch on the screen, Ruiz-Sanchez pronounces an exorcism. The planet explodes, taking Cleaver, Egtverchi, but also Chtexa and all the things Ruiz-Sanchez admired. It is left unclear whether the extinction of the Lithians is a result of Ruiz-Sanchez's prayer or Cleaver's erroneous calculations.
Reception
While faulting the novel for "extreme unevenness," GalaxyGalaxy Science Fiction
Galaxy Science Fiction was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by an Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break in to the American market. World Editions hired as editor H. L...
reviewer Floyd C. Gale concluded that A Case of Conscience was "a provocative, serious, commendable work" and characterized it as "trailblaz[ing]". Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher
Anthony Boucher was an American science fiction editor and author of mystery novels and short stories. He was particularly influential as an editor. Between 1942 and 1947 he acted as reviewer of mostly mystery fiction for the San Francisco Chronicle...
found Blish's protagonist "a credible and moving figure," and praised the opening segment; however he faulted the later material for "los[ing] focus and impact" and "wander[ing]" to an ending that seems "merely chaotic." In his "Books" column for F&SF, Damon Knight
Damon Knight
Damon Francis Knight was an American science fiction author, editor, critic and fan. His forte was short stories and he is widely acknowledged as having been a master of the genre.-Biography:...
selected Blish's novel as one of the ten best science fiction books of the 1950s. He reviewed the novel as "resonat[ing] with a note of its own. . . . it is complete and perfect."
Awards and nominations
The novel won a Hugo AwardHugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
in 1959. The original novella won a Retrospective Hugo Award in 2004.