Tunnel in the Sky
Encyclopedia
Tunnel in the Sky is a science fiction
book written by Robert A. Heinlein
and published in 1955 by Scribner's
as one of the Heinlein juveniles
. The story describes a group of students sent on a survival test to an uninhabited planet. The themes
of the work include the difficulties of growing up and the nature of man as a social animal.
on Earth has been averted by the invention of teleportation
, called the "Ramsbotham jump
", which is used to send Earth's excess population to colonize other planets. However, the costs of operating the device mean that the colonies are isolated from Earth until they can justify two-way travel. Because modern technology requires a supporting infrastructure, more primitive methods are employed — for example, horses instead of tractors (which cannot reproduce themselves).
Rod Walker is a high school student who dreams of becoming a professional colonist. The final test of his Advanced Survival class is to stay alive on an unfamiliar planet for between two and ten days. Students may team up and equip themselves with whatever gear they can carry, but are otherwise completely on their own. They are told only that the challenges are neither insurmountable nor unreasonable. On test day, each student walks through the Ramsbotham portal and finds him or herself alone on a strange planet, though reasonably close to the pickup point. Rod, acting on advice, chooses to equip himself with hunting knives and basic survival gear rather than high-tech weaponry, on the grounds that the latter is dependent on the infrastructure required to maintain it and can easily become a crutch. The last advice the students receive is to "Watch out for stobor."
On the second day, Rod is ambushed and knocked unconscious by a thief. When he wakes up, all he has left is a spare knife hidden under a bandage. In his desperate concentration on survival, he loses track of time. Eventually he teams up with Jacqueline "Jack" Daudet, a student from another class whom he initially mistakes for a male. When she tells him that more than ten days have elapsed without contact, he realizes that they are stranded.
They start recruiting others for the long haul and Rod becomes the de facto leader of a community that eventually grows to around 75 people. Although Rod is a born Captain, he has no taste for politics or administration, and is happy to have Grant Cowper, an older college student and born politician, elected "mayor". Grant proves to be much better at talking than getting things done. Rod disagrees with Grant's policies, but loyally supports the man who beat him. Grant ignores Rod's warning that they are living in a dangerously hard-to-defend location and that they should move to a cave system he has found. When a species previously thought harmless suddenly changes its behavior and stampedes through their camp, the settlement is devastated and Grant is killed. Rod is subsequently placed back in charge.
Heinlein tracks the social development of this village of educated Westerners deprived of the rudiments of technological civilization, followed by its abrupt dissolution when contact with Earth is reestablished. After nearly two years of isolation, the culture shock
experienced by the survivors becomes a metaphor for the pain and uncertainty of becoming an adult.
All of the students go back willingly, except for Rod, who has great difficulty reverting from being the head of a sovereign state to a teenager casually brushed aside by the adult rescuers. However, his teacher (and now brother-in-law) and his sister persuade him to change his mind. His teacher also informs Rod that his warning against "stobor" ("robots" spelled backwards) was just a way of personalizing the dangers of an unknown planet - to instill fear and caution in the students.
Years later, Rod achieves his heart's desire; the novel's ending finds him preparing to lead a formal colonization party to another planet.
, which had been published a year earlier, isolation reveals the true natures of the students as individuals, but it also demonstrates some of the constants of human existence as a social animal. Some of the students fall victim to their own foolishness, and others turn out to be thugs. The numerous political crises of the fledgling colony illustrate the need for legitimacy in a government appropriate for the society it administers. In both its romanticization of the pioneer
and its glorification of Homo sapiens as the toughest player in the Darwinian
game, it presages themes developed further in books like Time Enough for Love
and Starship Troopers
. Unusual for science fiction at the time, the novel portrays several competent and intelligent female characters. Additionally, it is implied that the lead character is black.
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...
book written by Robert A. Heinlein
Robert A. Heinlein
Robert Anson Heinlein was an American science fiction writer. Often called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was one of the most influential and controversial authors of the genre. He set a standard for science and engineering plausibility and helped to raise the genre's standards of...
and published in 1955 by Scribner's
Charles Scribner's Sons
Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing a number of American authors including Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, Robert A. Heinlein, Thomas Wolfe, George Santayana, John Clellon...
as one of the Heinlein juveniles
Heinlein juveniles
"Heinlein juveniles" are the 12 novels written by Robert A. Heinlein and published by Scribner's between 1947 and 1958. The intended readership was teenage boys, but the books have been enjoyed by a wide range of readers...
. The story describes a group of students sent on a survival test to an uninhabited planet. The themes
Theme (literature)
A theme is a broad, message, or moral of a story. The message may be about life, society, or human nature. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and are almost always implied rather than stated explicitly. Along with plot, character,...
of the work include the difficulties of growing up and the nature of man as a social animal.
Plot summary
A Malthusian catastropheMalthusian catastrophe
A Malthusian catastrophe was originally foreseen to be a forced return to subsistence-level conditions once population growth had outpaced agricultural production...
on Earth has been averted by the invention of teleportation
Teleportation
Teleportation is the fictional or imagined process by which matter is instantaneously transferred from one place to another.Teleportation may also refer to:*Quantum teleportation, a method of transmitting quantum data...
, called the "Ramsbotham jump
Interstellar teleporter
An interstellar teleporter is a hypothetical technology appearing in science fiction, typically in hard sci-fi, which teleports people and/or other objects over interstellar distances instantaneously...
", which is used to send Earth's excess population to colonize other planets. However, the costs of operating the device mean that the colonies are isolated from Earth until they can justify two-way travel. Because modern technology requires a supporting infrastructure, more primitive methods are employed — for example, horses instead of tractors (which cannot reproduce themselves).
Rod Walker is a high school student who dreams of becoming a professional colonist. The final test of his Advanced Survival class is to stay alive on an unfamiliar planet for between two and ten days. Students may team up and equip themselves with whatever gear they can carry, but are otherwise completely on their own. They are told only that the challenges are neither insurmountable nor unreasonable. On test day, each student walks through the Ramsbotham portal and finds him or herself alone on a strange planet, though reasonably close to the pickup point. Rod, acting on advice, chooses to equip himself with hunting knives and basic survival gear rather than high-tech weaponry, on the grounds that the latter is dependent on the infrastructure required to maintain it and can easily become a crutch. The last advice the students receive is to "Watch out for stobor."
On the second day, Rod is ambushed and knocked unconscious by a thief. When he wakes up, all he has left is a spare knife hidden under a bandage. In his desperate concentration on survival, he loses track of time. Eventually he teams up with Jacqueline "Jack" Daudet, a student from another class whom he initially mistakes for a male. When she tells him that more than ten days have elapsed without contact, he realizes that they are stranded.
They start recruiting others for the long haul and Rod becomes the de facto leader of a community that eventually grows to around 75 people. Although Rod is a born Captain, he has no taste for politics or administration, and is happy to have Grant Cowper, an older college student and born politician, elected "mayor". Grant proves to be much better at talking than getting things done. Rod disagrees with Grant's policies, but loyally supports the man who beat him. Grant ignores Rod's warning that they are living in a dangerously hard-to-defend location and that they should move to a cave system he has found. When a species previously thought harmless suddenly changes its behavior and stampedes through their camp, the settlement is devastated and Grant is killed. Rod is subsequently placed back in charge.
Heinlein tracks the social development of this village of educated Westerners deprived of the rudiments of technological civilization, followed by its abrupt dissolution when contact with Earth is reestablished. After nearly two years of isolation, the culture shock
Culture shock
Culture shock is the anxiety, feelings of frustration, alienation and anger that may occur when a person is emplaced in a new culture.One of the most common causes of culture shock involves individuals in a foreign country. Culture shock can be described as consisting of one or more distinct phases...
experienced by the survivors becomes a metaphor for the pain and uncertainty of becoming an adult.
All of the students go back willingly, except for Rod, who has great difficulty reverting from being the head of a sovereign state to a teenager casually brushed aside by the adult rescuers. However, his teacher (and now brother-in-law) and his sister persuade him to change his mind. His teacher also informs Rod that his warning against "stobor" ("robots" spelled backwards) was just a way of personalizing the dangers of an unknown planet - to instill fear and caution in the students.
Years later, Rod achieves his heart's desire; the novel's ending finds him preparing to lead a formal colonization party to another planet.
Themes
As in Lord of the FliesLord of the Flies
Lord of the Flies is a novel by Nobel Prize-winning author William Golding about a group of British boys stuck on a deserted island who try to govern themselves, with disastrous results...
, which had been published a year earlier, isolation reveals the true natures of the students as individuals, but it also demonstrates some of the constants of human existence as a social animal. Some of the students fall victim to their own foolishness, and others turn out to be thugs. The numerous political crises of the fledgling colony illustrate the need for legitimacy in a government appropriate for the society it administers. In both its romanticization of the pioneer
Settler
A settler is a person who has migrated to an area and established permanent residence there, often to colonize the area. Settlers are generally people who take up residence on land and cultivate it, as opposed to nomads...
and its glorification of Homo sapiens as the toughest player in the Darwinian
Darwinism
Darwinism is a set of movements and concepts related to ideas of transmutation of species or of evolution, including some ideas with no connection to the work of Charles Darwin....
game, it presages themes developed further in books like Time Enough for Love
Time Enough for Love
Time Enough for Love is a science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published in 1973. The work was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1973 and both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 1974.-Plot:...
and Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers
Starship Troopers is a military science fiction novel by Robert A. Heinlein, first published as a serial in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction and published hardcover in December, 1959.The first-person narrative is about a young soldier from the Philippines named Juan "Johnnie" Rico and his...
. Unusual for science fiction at the time, the novel portrays several competent and intelligent female characters. Additionally, it is implied that the lead character is black.