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City Question 6: Jovian Bliss
Was the idea of most of humankind eventually choosing to become "Lopers" on Jupiter a reasonable one? Do you think that that many humans would have been convinced to do something as "final" as that, through the use of the "kaleidoscope" or would there have been a lot more who would have resisted? Or would ANY have been truly able to resist if becoming a Loper was as good as it was claimed to be? How was Fowler able to resist, even for a short time, to try and bring the rest of humanity to Jupiter? Does that imply that there is some sort of relational aspect on Jupiter, where having others there also adds value to the experience?
Comments
Yes, this was a curious spin on events which I hadn't anticipated. I guess for "Jupiter" you could insert any number of drug or experiential lures away from the "real world". Maybe a more recent author would have had cyberspace here rather than the planet Jupiter, and I think any number of similar specific lures could have served the purpose.
My willing suspension of disbelief was removed at this point, but apparently not fictional humanity's suspension of disbelief. On the word of one witness everyone mass moves to Jupiter and converts their body? Really? Has Simak ever met any humans? Let alone the concept of Jupiter having a 'surface'...
I mean, until one has loped, don't judge a loper, I guess.
yes... hence my point that the specific lure is kind of irrelevant and could have been any number of things, so I don't think the astronomical features of Jupiter are the main thing in focus here
I think Simak's idea was that that sympathetic understanding and empathy was so mind blowing that everything else was seen as not worthwhile. Which I kind of think is a good thing.
Also, if reality is an emergent shaped by mind, then Jupiter can have a surface.
@clash_bowley I get you're grumpy today, but I don't think all those many Mars stories from the late 19th and first half of the 20th century are crap because there are no canals - THERE ARE NO CANALS! As you and I both know, they are crap for other reasons. That said, I agree with you there is a real question of what humans Simak knew, and what they were like. Kind of scary I think. Does anyone know if he wrote any horror?
@BarnerCobblewood - your posts are helping me to understand this book. Thank you.
He's most famous for City (1944-1952) and Waystation (1963). Another book, Ring Around the Sun (1953) is included in Pringle's Science Fiction: The 100 Best books.
Some of his other titles sound intriguing. Destiny Doll sounds like it might have some element of horror. But most seem to tread on typical SF and philosophical ideas - alien invasions, alien interventions, immortality, space colonization, etc.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1801698.Destiny_Doll (1971)
https://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/ea.cgi?55
I see most of his novels were written after the final stories in City. He was writing up until the mid 80's and died in 88.