Atherton: The House of Power
Encyclopedia
Atherton: The House of Power is a novel
written by Patrick Carman
. Set in the future, it is about Edgar and Samuel, two boys who live on the fictional world of Atherton: an artificial planet created by the child prodigy scientist Dr. Harding. Atherton's purpose was to provide a new haven for the people of Earth
(now known grimly as "the Dark Planet"), whose pollution and overpopulation problems have come to an extreme. Those who wished to live on Atherton were transported there by unknown means, and had their memories of previous life on Earth erased. Carman has stated that he drew on stories such as Frankenstein
and The Turn of the Screw
for inspiration for Atherton. This book is part of a trilogy.
is closely knit to its physical geography
. Unlike other planets, Atherton is not shaped like a sphere. Rather, it is shaped roughly like an elongated birthday cake, with each layer having less circumference than the one below it. Atherton has three layers: the Flatlands, the bottom and most barren layer; Tabletop, the middle and most widely-populated layer; and the Highlands, the highest layer where governmental figures reside in the House of Power.
The Flatlands are a barren wasteland devoid of human life. All of Atherton's waste is thrown into the Flatlands, and is then disposed of by Cleaners, organisms that resemble oversized centipedes, that eat anything in their path. Because of the Flatlands' largeness, its bottom provides the force of gravity for the pseudo-planet and sustains its orbit around Earth.
People who dwell on Tabletop are viewed as peasants. They live in three villages: the Village of Sheep, the Village of Rabbits, and the Grove, where Edgar resides. It is the responsibility of Tabletop-dwellers to pay regular taxes to the Highlands in the form of figs
and rabbits, which are carried to the Highlands via buckets on pulleys. In return, the ruler of Atherton (Lord Phineus during the time of the story) keeps the water supply to Tabletop regular.
People who dwell in the Highlands are Atherton's upper class. Almost all of them reside in the House of Power, a large castle that has many courtyards filled with vegetation, giving it the appearance of having fused with nature. Atherton's system of government, a monarchical Lord advised by a board of Knights, rules literally over the people of Tabletop. By unknown means, the Lord of Atherton is able to control the flow of the three waterfalls that provide water to Tabletop. Should the people of Tabletop pay inadequate taxes, or begin to stir up feelings of anarchy, the Lord could slow or completely stop the water supply, effectively putting any rebellion to a quick halt. Due to this immense power, Atherton is becoming more or less a dictatorship
.
Samuel - A Highlands-dweller. He encounters and makes friends with Edgar after Edgar cilimbs to the Highlands in search of someone who can read the book he found to him. His father, one of the Knights in the House of Power, died in a supposed accidental falling from the cliff, but events suggest he was actually murdered.
Isabel - One of Edgar's friends in the Grove. She is heavily influenced by Edgar and enjoys spending time with him, though Edgar views her as a nuisance. She is a strong leader, and organizes the rebellion against the Highlands.
Mr. Ratikan - The owner of the Grove. He oversees the picking of figs to pay the Highlands' taxes. He is very irritable and mean to the workers, especially Edgar, who often causes mischief. He is in league with Lord Phineas in a secret project with nasty results.
Lord Phineus - The ruler of Atherton. He is a tyrant
, and uses his board of two people Sir Emerick and Sir Philip to enforce his evil laws. He is working on a project with Mr. Ratikan to further increase his power.
Dr. Kincaid - A doctor who secretly lives in the Flatlands to supervise the terrible events to occur in Atherton. He traveled to Atherton without losing his memories. He was Dr. Harding's colleague, but now views him as a mad scientist
.
Dr. Harding - The creator of Atherton. He was discovered by Dr. Kincaid and his fellow scientists as a child and soon displayed unparalleled genius. While creating Atherton, he delved into insanity
, perhaps developing a god complex
.
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by Patrick Carman
Patrick Carman
Patrick Carman is an American author of the The Land of Elyon series, the Atherton series, the Elliot's Park series, the Skeleton Creek Saga, and the fifth 39 Clues book. His books have been translated into approximately two dozen languages.-Biography:Patrick Carman was born on February 27, 1966,...
. Set in the future, it is about Edgar and Samuel, two boys who live on the fictional world of Atherton: an artificial planet created by the child prodigy scientist Dr. Harding. Atherton's purpose was to provide a new haven for the people of Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
(now known grimly as "the Dark Planet"), whose pollution and overpopulation problems have come to an extreme. Those who wished to live on Atherton were transported there by unknown means, and had their memories of previous life on Earth erased. Carman has stated that he drew on stories such as Frankenstein
Frankenstein
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus is a novel about a failed experiment that produced a monster, written by Mary Shelley, with inserts of poems by Percy Bysshe Shelley. Shelley started writing the story when she was eighteen, and the novel was published when she was twenty-one. The first...
and The Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw
The Turn of the Screw is a novella written by Henry James. Originally published in 1898, it is ostensibly a ghost story.Due to its ambiguous content, it became a favourite text of academics who subscribe to New Criticism. The novella has had differing interpretations, often mutually exclusive...
for inspiration for Atherton. This book is part of a trilogy.
Atherton Geography and Society
Atherton's societySociety
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
is closely knit to its physical geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
. Unlike other planets, Atherton is not shaped like a sphere. Rather, it is shaped roughly like an elongated birthday cake, with each layer having less circumference than the one below it. Atherton has three layers: the Flatlands, the bottom and most barren layer; Tabletop, the middle and most widely-populated layer; and the Highlands, the highest layer where governmental figures reside in the House of Power.
The Flatlands are a barren wasteland devoid of human life. All of Atherton's waste is thrown into the Flatlands, and is then disposed of by Cleaners, organisms that resemble oversized centipedes, that eat anything in their path. Because of the Flatlands' largeness, its bottom provides the force of gravity for the pseudo-planet and sustains its orbit around Earth.
People who dwell on Tabletop are viewed as peasants. They live in three villages: the Village of Sheep, the Village of Rabbits, and the Grove, where Edgar resides. It is the responsibility of Tabletop-dwellers to pay regular taxes to the Highlands in the form of figs
FIGS
FIGS is an acronym for French, Italian, German, Spanish. These are usually the first four languages chosen to localize products into when a company enters the European market....
and rabbits, which are carried to the Highlands via buckets on pulleys. In return, the ruler of Atherton (Lord Phineus during the time of the story) keeps the water supply to Tabletop regular.
People who dwell in the Highlands are Atherton's upper class. Almost all of them reside in the House of Power, a large castle that has many courtyards filled with vegetation, giving it the appearance of having fused with nature. Atherton's system of government, a monarchical Lord advised by a board of Knights, rules literally over the people of Tabletop. By unknown means, the Lord of Atherton is able to control the flow of the three waterfalls that provide water to Tabletop. Should the people of Tabletop pay inadequate taxes, or begin to stir up feelings of anarchy, the Lord could slow or completely stop the water supply, effectively putting any rebellion to a quick halt. Due to this immense power, Atherton is becoming more or less a dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
.
Characters
Edgar - An orphaned Tabletop-dweller who works in the Grove. He enjoys climbing the hazardous cliffs that form the edge of the Highlands layer. While climbing, he finds a book that plunges him into adventure about the true nature of Atherton, and the crisis threatening to turn his world inside out.Samuel - A Highlands-dweller. He encounters and makes friends with Edgar after Edgar cilimbs to the Highlands in search of someone who can read the book he found to him. His father, one of the Knights in the House of Power, died in a supposed accidental falling from the cliff, but events suggest he was actually murdered.
Isabel - One of Edgar's friends in the Grove. She is heavily influenced by Edgar and enjoys spending time with him, though Edgar views her as a nuisance. She is a strong leader, and organizes the rebellion against the Highlands.
Mr. Ratikan - The owner of the Grove. He oversees the picking of figs to pay the Highlands' taxes. He is very irritable and mean to the workers, especially Edgar, who often causes mischief. He is in league with Lord Phineas in a secret project with nasty results.
Lord Phineus - The ruler of Atherton. He is a tyrant
Tyrant
A tyrant was originally one who illegally seized and controlled a governmental power in a polis. Tyrants were a group of individuals who took over many Greek poleis during the uprising of the middle classes in the sixth and seventh centuries BC, ousting the aristocratic governments.Plato and...
, and uses his board of two people Sir Emerick and Sir Philip to enforce his evil laws. He is working on a project with Mr. Ratikan to further increase his power.
Dr. Kincaid - A doctor who secretly lives in the Flatlands to supervise the terrible events to occur in Atherton. He traveled to Atherton without losing his memories. He was Dr. Harding's colleague, but now views him as a mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
.
Dr. Harding - The creator of Atherton. He was discovered by Dr. Kincaid and his fellow scientists as a child and soon displayed unparalleled genius. While creating Atherton, he delved into insanity
Insanity
Insanity, craziness or madness is a spectrum of behaviors characterized by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity may manifest as violations of societal norms, including becoming a danger to themselves and others, though not all such acts are considered insanity...
, perhaps developing a god complex
God complex
A god complex is an unshakable belief characterized by consistently inflated feelings of personal ability, privilege, or infallibility. A person with a god complex may refuse to admit the possibility of error or failure, even in the face of complex or intractable problems or difficult or impossible...
.