Tar Daddoo
8/4/2013
What is the Science Fiction Premise?
A Case of Conscience is primarily a first contact story. It begins with the deliberations of four men who have been sent from Earth to a distant planet, Lithia, to study the native population and offer a recommendation regarding further interaction with the planet. Though biologically different from humans, the natives are intelligent, social, and possess science and technology. This commission's decision is partly a matter of science, but also one of ethics or morality.
A secondary story centers on the state of Earth society. It has developed into city states that live predominantly underground in what the author refers to as the shelter economy. (It helps to remember that A Case of Conscience was written in 1958 at a time when nuclear disaster and bomb shelters were fresh in people's minds.) The commissioners bring a Lithian egg back to Earth, which grows into an adolescent Lithian living in this future Earth society.
Is the science of the premise explored?
On Lithia, there is a lot of discussion about the physics and biology of the planet. There is also a discussion about the Lithian society, to the extent that it can be understood.
Since the commissioner we follow most closely is a Jesuit priest, there is also much discussion about his religious perspective on the Lithians and how to deal with them. As this discussion unfolds over the course of the book, it is as complex, deep, and thorough as any scientific discussion that we might expect to find in a Science Fiction novel.
There is also some discussion about how earth changed from the world we know into the unfamiliar and rather unappealing shelter society. This discussion is not particularly persuasive, especially since it did not even come close to happening. (The book takes place around 2050.) As a modern reader, it is necessary to project the story a bit further into the future than the author thought was necessary.
Finally, the book is disappointingly quiet on how faster-than-light travel and communication is possible or came into existence.
Is the impact of the premise on an individual explored?
Our primary glimpse of the impact of first contact, comes from the young Lithian's reaction to Earth society.
As for the impact of the shelter society, we do not see it in any individual as much as in everyone.
Is the impact of the premise on society explored?
The first contact premise plays out over the full course of the novel. We see it in the commissioner's deliberations. in the young Litthian's reaction to Earth, in Earth's reactions to the young Lithian, and in the Jesuit's priest's ruminations about what to do.
The shelter society is less well integrated into the book. It is not even introduced until at least one third of the way through the book when the commissioners return to Earth. At that point it is mostly described to us.
How well written is the story?
The book reads well, but it has some awkward aspects.
The most awkward thing is the shelter society. My guess is that most of the author's points about the Lithian's and first contact could have been made without introducing the shelter society. I think it would have been wise to maintain our attention on the First Contact story without distracting us with a changed Earth Society. Indeed, the Lithian's reaction to a familiar Earth society could have been more profound leaving us less room to dismiss it as not applying to ourselves.
The other awkwardness was the focus on religion. As a reader who keeps his science and religion in different boxes, it was disconcerting to find myself contemplating church teachings as deeply and as seriously as I might consider Einstein's equations. It was difficult to know how seriously to take these concerns. It was also difficult to know how seriously the author was taking them.
Can I recommend the book?
A Case of Conscience is one of those books that makes you think. Despite the poorly developed and probably unnecessary shelter society, the book challenges us to consider the ethical basis for intelligent alien beings to meet and interact.
Upon completing the book, I was frustrated; I wasn't sure I understood the author's point. Nevertheless, I found I kept thinking about the book and wondering which of the many perspectives was correct. Perhaps, the author's perspective is discernible, but it is hidden among the ambiguous alternatives.
So... Can I recommend the book? Yes! I like to think.