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Sphere (novel)
Encyclopedia
Sphere is a science fiction
novel written by Michael Crichton
and published in 1987. It was made into the film Sphere
in 1998.
The novel follows Norman Johnson as a psychologist
who is engaged by the United States Navy
to join a team of scientists assembled by the U.S. Government to examine an enormous spacecraft discovered on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean
. The depth of coral
covering the craft suggests that it has been lying there for over 300 years and so could only be of alien
origin.
The novel begins as a science fiction
story, but quickly transforms into a psychological
thriller, ultimately exploring the nature of the human imagination
.
Norman Johnson, mathematician
Harry Adams, biologist
Beth Halpern, and astrophysicist Ted Fielding, along with Navy personnel, are dispatched to a deep sea habitat at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean
to explore a crashed spacecraft.
To their surprise, they discover the spacecraft is not alien, but an American
spacecraft constructed fifty years in the future and apparently sent through time, crashing 350 years before its creation. On further exploration, the team discovers a mysterious spherical artifact, clearly of extraterrestrial origin, which quickly becomes the focus of their attention. Harry becomes quite certain that, because the ship's future constructors didn't seem to learn their ship had already been discovered, the members of the team aren't likely to survive. At this point a Pacific storm traps the scientists on the ocean floor without contact or support from the Navy on the surface for over a week.
The crew soon focuses on asking questions about the sphere and then on attempting to open it and learn about its nature, contents, and origin. Harry eventually succeeds in opening it and goes inside. Upon returning, he has a terrible headache and he remembers little about what happened inside or how he opened it.
As they continue to theorize, they are contacted by an intelligent, seemingly friendly life form which calls itself Jerry, apparently from within the sphere. It first contacts them via a code of seemingly strange number series, which Harry translates. But while they struggle to communicate with Jerry, increasingly bizarre and deadly events occur, including the appearance of sea creatures that Beth claims don't exist, and soon Jerry tells them he is "manifesting" the creatures. Members of the team start to die in various attacks by sea life and a new form of giant squid
, and the dwindling survivors struggle to placate the unthinkably powerful, childlike, and temperamental Jerry.
Norman suddenly has an important role as he realizes he must use psychology
to keep the surviving team (now only himself, Beth, and Harry) alive by placating Jerry. Translating the original code himself, though, Norman discovers that Jerry is actually Harry: by entering the sphere, Harry acquired the power to manifest his subconscious thoughts into reality. As Harry noted his childhood fears of squid and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
, he has unconsciously created them as an enemy.
Beth and Norman tranquilize Harry with a powerful mixture of sedative
s and wait for contact to be reestablished with the surface. However, although Harry is sedated, the manifestations continue. Beth accuses Norman of having entered the sphere and gaining access to the power. Though unable to recall this incident, Norman is close to yielding until he watches a security video of Beth entering the sphere herself. Concluding that Norman is a threat to her, Beth irrationally plants potent explosives around the spacecraft and habitat and then attempts to suffocate Norman with the habitat's climate systems. Norman escapes to the spacecraft and, figuring out at last how to open it, enters the sphere. Norman begins to ascend by himself in the submarine, but realizes that he could never leave the others to die (previously Norman, attempting to thwart Beth's plan, had accidentally started the explosives' countdown). Now with the same power of thought as Harry and Beth, Norman fights Beth and brings both Harry and Beth to the escape submarine before the explosives destroy the site.
Afterward, while in a surface decompression chamber, the three survivors ponder what to tell the Navy about what happened. Realizing they could not control the power, they decide to use the power to remove it from themselves and their memories simultaneously, replacing it with memories of a technical failure. Afterwards, as Harry and Norman mourn the colleagues lost to this scenario, Beth only smiles.
of the story and is probably the most important in terms of story revelation. Despite physically being the least fit to be in the underwater habitat
, he is arguably the most level-headed of the group, though even he exhibits moments of irrationality. Nonetheless, Norman is usually working to make everyone get along with one another. Norman often wonders why he was called down into an underwater habitat where he seems to have very little impact, despite occasionally butting heads with the others about why it was important to have a psychologist on the team.
Harry Adams — Harry is a young, intelligent mathematician
. However, he is also very arrogant, unsympathetic, disdainful, and often uncooperative with the others. Harry tends to be the most thought-provoking character in the story, often mentioning concepts that encourage readers to think about certain issues (some which remain solely within the context of the story and some which do not). While very secure intellectually, Harry tends to be lacking emotionally due to his isolation. Harry was a genuine mathematical prodigy growing up and living in ghettos. He was often picked on as a child because of his lack of athletic talent.
Theodore Fielding — Though good-natured, Ted is portrayed as an annoyingly enthusiastic opportunist. His pretentiousness tends to inhibit his relationships with the others, despite his good intentions. It is revealed later that his annoying nature is due to his drive to do something that will make him famous, and the reality that (in his eyes) the time for him to do that is running out.
Elizabeth Halpern — Beth is both gentle and caring while at the same time fierce, combative, and confrontational. Being the only female scientist, she sees herself being dominated by the male scientists — though some of these times only in her mind. As evidenced later, she is arguably the most out of touch with her emotions. It may have been indicated that Beth did not rid herself of the power, as during the novel, she used the power to gain beauty. In the end, Norman compliments Beth, saying that he just realized how beautiful she was.
Harold Barnes — Harold (Hal) is the one in charge of the underwater scientific investigation. Given that he's more of a military man than a scientific one, his interests tend to conflict with the other main characters. His manner is usually brusque, impatient, and distrustful. He also has a tendency to withhold crucial information from his crew and follow his own hidden agenda at their expense.
Tina Chan — Tina is a female Navy crew member that is also in the habitat. She develops somewhat of a strong relationship with Beth throughout the book. She survives for most of the book, but is killed when the giant squid manifested by Harry attacks the habitat.
Teeny Fletcher — The Navy engineer in charge of maintaining the habitat. A heavily built woman, she is friendly, and despite Norman's initial skepticism, extremely competent.
in 1998, directed by Barry Levinson
, with a cast including Dustin Hoffman
(Norman Johnson, renamed Norman Goodman), Samuel L. Jackson
(Harry Adams), Peter Coyote
(Harold Barnes), Liev Schreiber
(Ted Fielding), and Sharon Stone
(Beth Halpern, renamed Halperin). The film largely follows the novel, although there are many differences between the novel and film.
The New York Times's Robin McKinley said "Part of the fun of Sphere is that it keeps you going even when you're pretty sure of what will happen next."
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 written by Michael Crichton
Michael Crichton
John Michael Crichton , best known as Michael Crichton, was an American best-selling author, producer, director, and screenwriter, best known for his work in the science fiction, medical fiction, and thriller genres. His books have sold over 200 million copies worldwide, and many have been adapted...
and published in 1987. It was made into the film Sphere
Sphere (film)
Sphere is a 1998 science fiction psychological thriller film, starring Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, and Samuel L. Jackson. Sphere was based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park and The Lost World...
in 1998.
The novel follows Norman Johnson as a psychologist
Psychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
who is engaged by the United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
to join a team of scientists assembled by the U.S. Government to examine an enormous spacecraft discovered on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
. The depth of coral
Coral
Corals are marine animals in class Anthozoa of phylum Cnidaria typically living in compact colonies of many identical individual "polyps". The group includes the important reef builders that inhabit tropical oceans and secrete calcium carbonate to form a hard skeleton.A coral "head" is a colony of...
covering the craft suggests that it has been lying there for over 300 years and so could only be of alien
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
origin.
The novel begins as a 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...
story, but quickly transforms into a psychological
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
thriller, ultimately exploring the nature of the human imagination
Imagination
Imagination, also called the faculty of imagining, is the ability of forming mental images, sensations and concepts, in a moment when they are not perceived through sight, hearing or other senses...
.
Plot summary
A group of scientists, including psychologistPsychologist
Psychologist is a professional or academic title used by individuals who are either:* Clinical professionals who work with patients in a variety of therapeutic contexts .* Scientists conducting psychological research or teaching psychology in a college...
Norman Johnson, mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
Harry Adams, biologist
Biologist
A biologist is a scientist devoted to and producing results in biology through the study of life. Typically biologists study organisms and their relationship to their environment. Biologists involved in basic research attempt to discover underlying mechanisms that govern how organisms work...
Beth Halpern, and astrophysicist Ted Fielding, along with Navy personnel, are dispatched to a deep sea habitat at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
to explore a crashed spacecraft.
To their surprise, they discover the spacecraft is not alien, but an American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
spacecraft constructed fifty years in the future and apparently sent through time, crashing 350 years before its creation. On further exploration, the team discovers a mysterious spherical artifact, clearly of extraterrestrial origin, which quickly becomes the focus of their attention. Harry becomes quite certain that, because the ship's future constructors didn't seem to learn their ship had already been discovered, the members of the team aren't likely to survive. At this point a Pacific storm traps the scientists on the ocean floor without contact or support from the Navy on the surface for over a week.
The crew soon focuses on asking questions about the sphere and then on attempting to open it and learn about its nature, contents, and origin. Harry eventually succeeds in opening it and goes inside. Upon returning, he has a terrible headache and he remembers little about what happened inside or how he opened it.
As they continue to theorize, they are contacted by an intelligent, seemingly friendly life form which calls itself Jerry, apparently from within the sphere. It first contacts them via a code of seemingly strange number series, which Harry translates. But while they struggle to communicate with Jerry, increasingly bizarre and deadly events occur, including the appearance of sea creatures that Beth claims don't exist, and soon Jerry tells them he is "manifesting" the creatures. Members of the team start to die in various attacks by sea life and a new form of giant squid
Giant squid
The giant squid is a deep-ocean dwelling squid in the family Architeuthidae, represented by as many as eight species...
, and the dwindling survivors struggle to placate the unthinkably powerful, childlike, and temperamental Jerry.
Norman suddenly has an important role as he realizes he must use psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
to keep the surviving team (now only himself, Beth, and Harry) alive by placating Jerry. Translating the original code himself, though, Norman discovers that Jerry is actually Harry: by entering the sphere, Harry acquired the power to manifest his subconscious thoughts into reality. As Harry noted his childhood fears of squid and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a classic science fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne published in 1870. It tells the story of Captain Nemo and his submarine Nautilus as seen from the perspective of Professor Pierre Aronnax...
, he has unconsciously created them as an enemy.
Beth and Norman tranquilize Harry with a powerful mixture of sedative
Sedative
A sedative or tranquilizer is a substance that induces sedation by reducing irritability or excitement....
s and wait for contact to be reestablished with the surface. However, although Harry is sedated, the manifestations continue. Beth accuses Norman of having entered the sphere and gaining access to the power. Though unable to recall this incident, Norman is close to yielding until he watches a security video of Beth entering the sphere herself. Concluding that Norman is a threat to her, Beth irrationally plants potent explosives around the spacecraft and habitat and then attempts to suffocate Norman with the habitat's climate systems. Norman escapes to the spacecraft and, figuring out at last how to open it, enters the sphere. Norman begins to ascend by himself in the submarine, but realizes that he could never leave the others to die (previously Norman, attempting to thwart Beth's plan, had accidentally started the explosives' countdown). Now with the same power of thought as Harry and Beth, Norman fights Beth and brings both Harry and Beth to the escape submarine before the explosives destroy the site.
Afterward, while in a surface decompression chamber, the three survivors ponder what to tell the Navy about what happened. Realizing they could not control the power, they decide to use the power to remove it from themselves and their memories simultaneously, replacing it with memories of a technical failure. Afterwards, as Harry and Norman mourn the colleagues lost to this scenario, Beth only smiles.
Main characters
Norman Johnson — Norman is the protagonistProtagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
of the story and is probably the most important in terms of story revelation. Despite physically being the least fit to be in the underwater habitat
Underwater habitat
Underwater habitats are underwater structures in which people can live for extended periods and carry out most of the basic human functions of a 24-hour day, such as working, resting, eating, attending to personal hygiene, and sleeping...
, he is arguably the most level-headed of the group, though even he exhibits moments of irrationality. Nonetheless, Norman is usually working to make everyone get along with one another. Norman often wonders why he was called down into an underwater habitat where he seems to have very little impact, despite occasionally butting heads with the others about why it was important to have a psychologist on the team.
Harry Adams — Harry is a young, intelligent mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
. However, he is also very arrogant, unsympathetic, disdainful, and often uncooperative with the others. Harry tends to be the most thought-provoking character in the story, often mentioning concepts that encourage readers to think about certain issues (some which remain solely within the context of the story and some which do not). While very secure intellectually, Harry tends to be lacking emotionally due to his isolation. Harry was a genuine mathematical prodigy growing up and living in ghettos. He was often picked on as a child because of his lack of athletic talent.
Theodore Fielding — Though good-natured, Ted is portrayed as an annoyingly enthusiastic opportunist. His pretentiousness tends to inhibit his relationships with the others, despite his good intentions. It is revealed later that his annoying nature is due to his drive to do something that will make him famous, and the reality that (in his eyes) the time for him to do that is running out.
Elizabeth Halpern — Beth is both gentle and caring while at the same time fierce, combative, and confrontational. Being the only female scientist, she sees herself being dominated by the male scientists — though some of these times only in her mind. As evidenced later, she is arguably the most out of touch with her emotions. It may have been indicated that Beth did not rid herself of the power, as during the novel, she used the power to gain beauty. In the end, Norman compliments Beth, saying that he just realized how beautiful she was.
Harold Barnes — Harold (Hal) is the one in charge of the underwater scientific investigation. Given that he's more of a military man than a scientific one, his interests tend to conflict with the other main characters. His manner is usually brusque, impatient, and distrustful. He also has a tendency to withhold crucial information from his crew and follow his own hidden agenda at their expense.
Tina Chan — Tina is a female Navy crew member that is also in the habitat. She develops somewhat of a strong relationship with Beth throughout the book. She survives for most of the book, but is killed when the giant squid manifested by Harry attacks the habitat.
Teeny Fletcher — The Navy engineer in charge of maintaining the habitat. A heavily built woman, she is friendly, and despite Norman's initial skepticism, extremely competent.
Film
The book was made into the film SphereSphere (film)
Sphere is a 1998 science fiction psychological thriller film, starring Dustin Hoffman, Sharon Stone, and Samuel L. Jackson. Sphere was based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Michael Crichton, author of Jurassic Park and The Lost World...
in 1998, directed by Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson
Barry Levinson is an American screenwriter, film director, actor, and producer of film and television. His films include Good Morning, Vietnam, Sleepers and Rain Man.-Early life:...
, with a cast including Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Hoffman
Dustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor with a career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He has been known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and vulnerable characters....
(Norman Johnson, renamed Norman Goodman), Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor and film producer. After becoming involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then films. He had several small roles such as in the film Goodfellas before meeting his mentor,...
(Harry Adams), Peter Coyote
Peter Coyote
Peter Coyote is an American actor, author, director, screenwriter and narrator of films, theatre, television and audio books. His voice work includes narrating the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics and Apple's iPad campaign. He has also served as on-camera co-host of the 2000 Oscar...
(Harold Barnes), Liev Schreiber
Liev Schreiber
Isaac Liev Schreiber , commonly known as Liev Schreiber, is an American actor, producer, director, and screenwriter. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s, having initially appeared in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywood films, including the Scream trilogy of...
(Ted Fielding), and Sharon Stone
Sharon Stone
Sharon Vonne Stone is an American actress, film producer, and former fashion model. She achieved international recognition for her role in the erotic thriller Basic Instinct...
(Beth Halpern, renamed Halperin). The film largely follows the novel, although there are many differences between the novel and film.
Reception
Reviews were mostly positive for the novel.The New York Times's Robin McKinley said "Part of the fun of Sphere is that it keeps you going even when you're pretty sure of what will happen next."