The First Men in the Moon
Encyclopedia
The First Men in the Moon is a 1901
scientific romance
novel by the English author H. G. Wells
. The novel tells the story of a journey to the moon
undertaken by the two protagonists, the impoverished businessman Mr Bedford and the brilliant but eccentric scientist
Dr. Cavor. On arrival, Bedford and Cavor find the moon inhabited by an extraterrestrial
civilization
the two refer to as "Selenites".
As they discover when some is prematurely produced, cavorite shields the air above from Earth's gravity, making that air weightless, and then shoots off into outer space by the pressure of the air below. Bedford tells Cavor of the financial possibilities of this. Cavorite is later used to build a small spherical spaceship, which they use to travel to and land on the Moon
.
At the Moon, the two men at first discover a desolate landscape, but as the sun rises, the thin atmosphere
of the Moon, frozen out overnight, begins to melt and vaporize. Soon strange fast-growing plants start to grow in the landscape, producing a very thorny vegetation called "bayonet
scrub". Bedford and Cavor leave the capsule, but they get lost in the rapidly growing jungle, where strange creatures can be seen. Growing hungry, the pair sample native flora, described as fungus
. Soon after ingestion a hazy euphoric state overtakes them, and they wander drunkenly, speaking gibberish, before falling unconscious.
They are captured by the insectoid lunar natives (referred to as "Selenites", after Selene
, the moon goddess), who have formed a relatively advanced society underground. After some time in captivity, Bedford and Cavor manage to flee. They discover that gold is a common mineral here, seeing their chains are made of gold. They are able to kill several of their captors and numerous other Selenites due to their superior strength that results partly because of previously having lived in the Earth's stronger gravity. They find some Selenites carving up Mooncalves, a large creature they farm, in another cave and fight their way past them. When Bedford and Cavor reach the surface, they devise a plan to locate their spaceship, which involves them separating. Bedford finds his way back to the spaceship and returns to Earth while Cavor becomes injured and is unable to escape recapture by the Selenites, although Bedford finds a note from him.
Back in Britain, Bedford undertakes to publish the details of the story, including some additional material from Cavor received through one-way radio
transmission from the Moon. Apparently, Cavor had enjoyed a period of relative freedom in the Lunar society, during which a few of their number learned English
. He also manages to build or gain access to a radio transmitter, which he uses to tell the story of his time inside the Moon using Morse code
.
Cavor recounts near everything that happened to him after being re-captured, but some pieces of his story are not received due to curious "interference" with the radio signal. Through these messages, Bedford learns of Cavor's meeting with the "Grand Lunar", who is the ultimate ruler of the Selenites and the Moon. At this meeting, Cavor inadvertently portrays humanity as predatory, delighting in war, and with little redeeming value. In response, the Grand Lunar decides to cut off all contact with the Earth. Cavor's transmissions end in mid-sentence as he is trying to say how to make cavorite, and his fate is never revealed.
The influence of Wells's book is especially visible in Out of the Silent Planet
, the first book of Lewis' Space Trilogy
. There, too, a central role in the story line is played by a partnership between a worldly businessman interested in the material gains from space travel (and specifically, in importing extraterrestrial gold to Earth) and a scientist with wider cosmic theories.
Also in Lewis' book, the two quietly build themselves a spaceship in the seclusion of an English country house, and take off into space without being noticed by the rest of the world (both Wells and Lewis, like virtually all Science Fiction writers until the 1950s, grossly underestimated the resources needed for even the smallest jaunt outside Earth's gravitational field). Moreover, like Wells's book, Lewis' reaches its climax with the Earth scientist speaking to the wise ruler of an alien world (in this case Oyarsa, the ruler of Malacandra/Mars) and blurting out the warlike and predatory nature of humanity.
However, in Lewis' book the businessman-scientist pair are the villains of the piece. Moreover, his scientist, Professor Weston
, has a philosophy diametrically opposite to Cavor's, being an outspoken proponent of human colonization of other planets, up to and including extermination of "primitive natives". The role of the positive protagonist is given to the philologist Ransom, a Christian believer willing to act on his beliefs, "the kind of choice which Wells obviously would not have made".
argues this is the first alien dystopia. The book could also be considered to have launched the science fiction
sub-genre depicting intelligent Social Insects, in some cases a non-human species such as the space-traveling Shaara "bees" in the future universe of A. Bertram Chandler
, in others (such as Frank Herbert
's Hellstrom's Hive
) humans who evolved or consciously engineered their society in this direction. Nigel Kneale
co-adapted the screenplay (with Jan Read) for the 1964 film version; it is reasonable to assume that Kneale's familiarity with the work may have inspired the idea of the Martian hives which feature so significantly in Quatermass and the Pit
, one of Kneale's most-admired creations.
Cavorite was featured as a major plot device in the first volume
of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
, and Cavor (given the first name of Selwyn) also appears in the volume and is mentioned in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier
. In The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century
, the Selenites will be featured as enemies of the nude lunar amazons
.
Cavorite also is used as a minor plot device in Warehouse 13
, with its gravity blocking properties used by Wells to make a trap.
Cavorite and Cavor also play a major role in the end of Scarlet Traces: The Great Game, with the Selenites also briefly depicted.
The video game Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne
was based both on Wells' The First Men on the Moon, along with Jules Verne
's From the Earth to the Moon
and Around the Moon
.
Cavorite, Cavor, and the Selenites are a large factor in The Martian War
, where Cavor's ship takes Wells, his wife, and T.H. Huxley first to the Moon, then to Mars
. In the story, the Selenites have been enslaved by the Martians, used as food creatures and slaves to build the canals and invasion fleet.
In the short story "Moon Ants" by Zinaida Gippius
, the narrator is attempting to understand the reason for a sharp increase of local suicides and for the suicide mindset in general. At one point he recollects Wells's novel and eventually decides that mankind, or just Russia in general, has become much like the Selenites in its decadent, self-destructive culture. Like the Selenites, man is seemingly tough on the outside but easily knocked aside, to crumple up and die, by the rigors of life .
1901 in literature
The year 1901 in literature involved some significant new books.-Events:* First Nobel Prize for Literature awarded, to French poet Sully Prudhomme; many are outraged when Leo Tolstoy does not win...
scientific romance
Scientific romance
Scientific romance is a bygone name for what is now commonly known as science fiction. The term is most associated with early British science fiction. The earliest noteworthy use of the term scientific romance is believed to have been by Charles Howard Hinton in his 1886 collection...
novel by the English author H. G. Wells
H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells was an English author, now best known for his work in the science fiction genre. He was also a prolific writer in many other genres, including contemporary novels, history, politics and social commentary, even writing text books and rules for war games...
. The novel tells the story of a journey to the moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
undertaken by the two protagonists, the impoverished businessman Mr Bedford and the brilliant but eccentric scientist
Scientist
A scientist in a broad sense is one engaging in a systematic activity to acquire knowledge. In a more restricted sense, a scientist is an individual who uses the scientific method. The person may be an expert in one or more areas of science. This article focuses on the more restricted use of the word...
Dr. Cavor. On arrival, Bedford and Cavor find the moon inhabited by an extraterrestrial
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
civilization
Civilization
Civilization is a sometimes controversial term that has been used in several related ways. Primarily, the term has been used to refer to the material and instrumental side of human cultures that are complex in terms of technology, science, and division of labor. Such civilizations are generally...
the two refer to as "Selenites".
Plot summary
Mr. Bedford is an English businessman with many financial problems. He is working on a play to bring in some money. He rents a small countryside house to get some peace while writing the play. However, every day a scientist passes by his house, making odd noises. After two weeks Bedford questions the scientist, Dr. Cavor, about his odd behaviour. It turns out that Cavor is developing a new material, cavorite, which is supposed to shield off gravity.As they discover when some is prematurely produced, cavorite shields the air above from Earth's gravity, making that air weightless, and then shoots off into outer space by the pressure of the air below. Bedford tells Cavor of the financial possibilities of this. Cavorite is later used to build a small spherical spaceship, which they use to travel to and land on the Moon
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
.
At the Moon, the two men at first discover a desolate landscape, but as the sun rises, the thin atmosphere
Atmosphere
An atmosphere is a layer of gases that may surround a material body of sufficient mass, and that is held in place by the gravity of the body. An atmosphere may be retained for a longer duration, if the gravity is high and the atmosphere's temperature is low...
of the Moon, frozen out overnight, begins to melt and vaporize. Soon strange fast-growing plants start to grow in the landscape, producing a very thorny vegetation called "bayonet
Bayonet
A bayonet is a knife, dagger, sword, or spike-shaped weapon designed to fit in, on, over or underneath the muzzle of a rifle, musket or similar weapon, effectively turning the gun into a spear...
scrub". Bedford and Cavor leave the capsule, but they get lost in the rapidly growing jungle, where strange creatures can be seen. Growing hungry, the pair sample native flora, described as fungus
Fungus
A fungus is a member of a large group of eukaryotic organisms that includes microorganisms such as yeasts and molds , as well as the more familiar mushrooms. These organisms are classified as a kingdom, Fungi, which is separate from plants, animals, and bacteria...
. Soon after ingestion a hazy euphoric state overtakes them, and they wander drunkenly, speaking gibberish, before falling unconscious.
They are captured by the insectoid lunar natives (referred to as "Selenites", after Selene
Selene
In Greek mythology, Selene was an archaic lunar deity and the daughter of the Titans Hyperion and Theia. In Roman mythology, the moon goddess is called Luna, Latin for "moon"....
, the moon goddess), who have formed a relatively advanced society underground. After some time in captivity, Bedford and Cavor manage to flee. They discover that gold is a common mineral here, seeing their chains are made of gold. They are able to kill several of their captors and numerous other Selenites due to their superior strength that results partly because of previously having lived in the Earth's stronger gravity. They find some Selenites carving up Mooncalves, a large creature they farm, in another cave and fight their way past them. When Bedford and Cavor reach the surface, they devise a plan to locate their spaceship, which involves them separating. Bedford finds his way back to the spaceship and returns to Earth while Cavor becomes injured and is unable to escape recapture by the Selenites, although Bedford finds a note from him.
Back in Britain, Bedford undertakes to publish the details of the story, including some additional material from Cavor received through one-way radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
transmission from the Moon. Apparently, Cavor had enjoyed a period of relative freedom in the Lunar society, during which a few of their number learned English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. He also manages to build or gain access to a radio transmitter, which he uses to tell the story of his time inside the Moon using Morse code
Morse code
Morse code is a method of transmitting textual information as a series of on-off tones, lights, or clicks that can be directly understood by a skilled listener or observer without special equipment...
.
Cavor recounts near everything that happened to him after being re-captured, but some pieces of his story are not received due to curious "interference" with the radio signal. Through these messages, Bedford learns of Cavor's meeting with the "Grand Lunar", who is the ultimate ruler of the Selenites and the Moon. At this meeting, Cavor inadvertently portrays humanity as predatory, delighting in war, and with little redeeming value. In response, the Grand Lunar decides to cut off all contact with the Earth. Cavor's transmissions end in mid-sentence as he is trying to say how to make cavorite, and his fate is never revealed.
Influence on C.S. Lewis
C.S. Lewis explicitly stated that his science fiction books were both inspired by and written as an antithesis to those of H.G. Wells. Specifically, he acknowledged The First Men in The Moon to be "the best of the sort [of science fiction] I have read...." (From a letter to Roger Lancelyn Green).The influence of Wells's book is especially visible in Out of the Silent Planet
Out of the Silent Planet
Out of the Silent Planet is the first novel of a science fiction trilogy written by C. S. Lewis, sometimes referred to as the Space Trilogy, Ransom Trilogy or Cosmic Trilogy. The other volumes are Perelandra and That Hideous Strength, and a fragment of a sequel was published posthumously as The...
, the first book of Lewis' Space Trilogy
Space Trilogy
The Space Trilogy, Cosmic Trilogy or Ransom Trilogy is a trilogy of science fiction novels by C. S. Lewis, famous for his later series The Chronicles of Narnia. A philologist named Elwin Ransom is the hero of the first two novels and an important character in the third.The books in the trilogy...
. There, too, a central role in the story line is played by a partnership between a worldly businessman interested in the material gains from space travel (and specifically, in importing extraterrestrial gold to Earth) and a scientist with wider cosmic theories.
Also in Lewis' book, the two quietly build themselves a spaceship in the seclusion of an English country house, and take off into space without being noticed by the rest of the world (both Wells and Lewis, like virtually all Science Fiction writers until the 1950s, grossly underestimated the resources needed for even the smallest jaunt outside Earth's gravitational field). Moreover, like Wells's book, Lewis' reaches its climax with the Earth scientist speaking to the wise ruler of an alien world (in this case Oyarsa, the ruler of Malacandra/Mars) and blurting out the warlike and predatory nature of humanity.
However, in Lewis' book the businessman-scientist pair are the villains of the piece. Moreover, his scientist, Professor Weston
Professor Weston
Professor Weston is arguably one of C. S. Lewis's greatest satanic characters. An eminent physicist on earth, he first appears in Lewis’s Out of the Silent Planet, which is the first in Lewis’s Space Trilogy...
, has a philosophy diametrically opposite to Cavor's, being an outspoken proponent of human colonization of other planets, up to and including extermination of "primitive natives". The role of the positive protagonist is given to the philologist Ransom, a Christian believer willing to act on his beliefs, "the kind of choice which Wells obviously would not have made".
Other influences, references and adaptations
Brian StablefordBrian Stableford
Brian Michael Stableford is a British science fiction writer who has published more than 70 novels. His earlier books were published as by Brian M. Stableford, but more recent ones have dropped the middle initial and appeared under the name Brian Stableford...
argues this is the first alien dystopia. The book could also be considered to have launched the 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...
sub-genre depicting intelligent Social Insects, in some cases a non-human species such as the space-traveling Shaara "bees" in the future universe of A. Bertram Chandler
A. Bertram Chandler
Arthur Bertram Chandler was a British-Australian science fiction author. He also wrote under the pseudonyms George Whitley, George Whitely, Andrew Dunstan, and S.H.M....
, in others (such as Frank Herbert
Frank Herbert
Franklin Patrick Herbert, Jr. was a critically acclaimed and commercially successful American science fiction author. Although a short story author, he is best known for his novels, most notably Dune and its five sequels...
's Hellstrom's Hive
Hellstrom's Hive
Hellstrom's Hive is a science fiction novel written by Frank Herbert. It is about a secret group of humans who model their lives upon social insects, and the unsettling events that unfold after they are discovered by a deeply undercover agency of the US government.-Inspiration:David L...
) humans who evolved or consciously engineered their society in this direction. Nigel Kneale
Nigel Kneale
Nigel Kneale was a British screenwriter from the Isle of Man. Active in television, film, radio drama and prose fiction, he wrote professionally for over fifty years, was a winner of the Somerset Maugham Award and was twice nominated for the British Film Award for Best Screenplay...
co-adapted the screenplay (with Jan Read) for the 1964 film version; it is reasonable to assume that Kneale's familiarity with the work may have inspired the idea of the Martian hives which feature so significantly in Quatermass and the Pit
Quatermass and the Pit
Quatermass and the Pit is a British television science-fiction serial, originally transmitted live by BBC Television in December 1958 and January 1959. It was the third and last of the BBC's Quatermass serials, although the character would reappear in a 1979 ITV production simply entitled Quatermass...
, one of Kneale's most-admired creations.
Cavorite was featured as a major plot device in the first volume
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume I
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume One is a comic book limited series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, published under the America's Best Comics imprint of DC Comics. It is the first story in the larger League of Extraordinary Gentlemen series...
of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is a comic book series written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill, publication of which began in 1999. The series spans two six-issue limited series and a graphic novel from the America's Best Comics imprint of Wildstorm/DC, and a third miniseries...
, and Cavor (given the first name of Selwyn) also appears in the volume and is mentioned in The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen: Black Dossier is an original graphic novel in the comic book series The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill. It was the last volume of the series to be published by DC Comics. Although the third book to be...
. In The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century
The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Volume III: Century is the third volume of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, written by Alan Moore and illustrated by Kevin O'Neill. Co-published by Top Shelf Productions and Knockabout Comics in the US and UK respectively, Century will be published in...
, the Selenites will be featured as enemies of the nude lunar amazons
Amazon Women on the Moon
Amazon Women on the Moon is a 1987 American satirical comedy film that parodies the experience of watching low-budget movies on late-night television...
.
Cavorite also is used as a minor plot device in Warehouse 13
Warehouse 13
Warehouse 13 is an American fantasy television series that premiered on July 7, 2009 on the Syfy network.Executive-produced by Jack Kenny and David Simkins, the dramatic comedy from Universal Media Studios has been described as borrowing much from 1980s television series Friday the 13th: The...
, with its gravity blocking properties used by Wells to make a trap.
Cavorite and Cavor also play a major role in the end of Scarlet Traces: The Great Game, with the Selenites also briefly depicted.
The video game Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne
Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne
Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne is a point-and-click adventure game with pre-rendered graphics, developed by Kheops Studio and published by The Adventure Company for the PC in 2005...
was based both on Wells' The First Men on the Moon, along with Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
's From the Earth to the Moon
From the Earth to the Moon
From the Earth to the Moon is a humorous science fantasy novel by Jules Verne and is one of the earliest entries in that genre. It tells the story of the president of a post-American Civil War gun club in Baltimore, his rival, a Philadelphia maker of armor, and a Frenchman, who build an enormous...
and Around the Moon
Around the Moon
Around the Moon , Jules Verne's sequel to From the Earth to the Moon, is a science fiction novel continuing the trip to the moon which left the reader in suspense after the previous novel...
.
Cavorite, Cavor, and the Selenites are a large factor in The Martian War
The Martian War
The Martian War: A Thrilling Eyewitness Account of the Recent Invasion As Reported by Mr. H.G. Wells is a 2006 science fiction novel by Kevin J. Anderson . It is a retelling of H.G...
, where Cavor's ship takes Wells, his wife, and T.H. Huxley first to the Moon, then to Mars
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
. In the story, the Selenites have been enslaved by the Martians, used as food creatures and slaves to build the canals and invasion fleet.
In the short story "Moon Ants" by Zinaida Gippius
Zinaida Gippius
Zinaida Nikolaevna Gippius, was a Russian poet, playwright, editor, short story writer and religious thinker, regarded as a co-founder of Russian symbolism and seen as "one of the most enigmatic and intelligent women of her time in Russia"....
, the narrator is attempting to understand the reason for a sharp increase of local suicides and for the suicide mindset in general. At one point he recollects Wells's novel and eventually decides that mankind, or just Russia in general, has become much like the Selenites in its decadent, self-destructive culture. Like the Selenites, man is seemingly tough on the outside but easily knocked aside, to crumple up and die, by the rigors of life .
Film adaptations
The First Men in the Moon has been adapted to film four times:- A Trip to the Moon, was jointly adapted from Jules VerneJules VerneJules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
's From the Earth to the MoonFrom the Earth to the MoonFrom the Earth to the Moon is a humorous science fantasy novel by Jules Verne and is one of the earliest entries in that genre. It tells the story of the president of a post-American Civil War gun club in Baltimore, his rival, a Philadelphia maker of armor, and a Frenchman, who build an enormous...
. - The second adaptationThe First Men in the Moon (1919 film)The First Men in the Moon is a black-and-white silent film from 1919, directed by Bruce Gordon and J.L.V. Leigh. The film is based on H. G. Wells' 1901 science fiction novel The First Men in the Moon. This, the 1919 version, is the original film; there have since been many other adaptations of the...
was made in 1919. - The third adaptation was made in 1964.
- The fourth adaptationThe First Men in the Moon (2010 film)The First Men in the Moon, also promoted as H.G. Wells' The First Men in the Moon is a 2010 made for TV drama written by Mark Gatiss and directed by Damon Thomas. It is an adaptation of H. G. Wells's science fiction novel The First Men in the Moon...
was made for TV in 2010. - The fifth adaptation, in 3D3-D filmA 3-D film or S3D film is a motion picture that enhances the illusion of depth perception...
, by David Rosler, was in production from 2009-2010.