H.G. Wells: The Star

The Star is a true Sci-Fi short story by the father of science fiction. It is an apocalyptic tale of an extra terrestrial threat to the earth. You can find the story here, and my analysis below.

Quick Summary

On the new year day, three observatories reported a displacement of Neptune and its satellite from their orbits, caused due to a 'remote speck of light' in the region. Initially this is only of concern to astronomers and scientists, even when people are able to see it with the naked eye near the constellation of Leo. Even when it is announced in the media that the object is a star that has entrapped Neptune in its gravitational pull, it amounts to only a temporary fad, even if it concerns a larger percentage of the population.

The star continues nearing the Earth, affecting Jupiter and its moons. A mathematician's study is published that explains the gravitational attraction between the Sun and the new star, and the probability of it either hitting or passing in close proximity of the Earth - both leading to catastrophic consequences to the Earth's ecology. Many people worry when the Earth starts having shorter nights due to its second Sun. Cynics quote the panic of the world's end in 1000 AD to refute the claims. The English winter also thaws out in the presence of two suns. The speed of the star becomes apparent as the star comes closer - one day the star is as big as a third of the moon when it crosses England, but is equal to the size of the moon when it passes the United States.

The ice caps naturally start melting under the beating of two suns, causing apocalyptic flooding. The star gets so bright, that hours under the original sun seem darker than those under the star. The crust of the planet starts cracking and magma is released on the surface. With the moon's path also affected, there are tidal waves, leading to further devastation. Most people die, and cities and farms and other resources are rendered unusable across the world. The few survivors get to witness a rare eclipse as the moon interposes the star on its path across to the Sun - this causes it to take a new and longer orbit around the Earth, one where each cycle is four score days apart.

Earth manages to survive the havoc, and life goes on, although in a vastly different manner than before. Greenland for example has thawed and is green and pleasant for living in. People migrate to the poles, where the climate is more temperate, as the other regions are too hot. Martian explorers watch from their posts and report that the survival of Earth has been miraculous, and find that it didn't get damaged too much, except for the loss of whiteness (ice) at the poles.

Analysis

This is a pretty straightforward tale, from the sub genre of science fiction called apocalyptic fiction. The tale reflects the scientific approach taken by humans in studying and preparing for a catastrophic event. It also mocks our ability to be excited by impending peril rather than preparing for it, by noting how the world rushed 'to record this novel astonishing sight, the destruction of the world.' The narrative is kept detached and aloof, rather than focusing in the panic and fear that is caused in the community, or taking interest in the grief or loss of life. This can be read as a parallel to the unbiased and unemotional study of facts required in science, and also, given the ending of the story, read as an analysis of the apocalypse by a alien race, and hence sympathetic rather than empathetic.

The concept of sight and knowledge or comprehension comes here again. The people see the danger coming and are excited by it rather than preparing for it, because even though they see the star in the sky, they do not 'see' the danger, they do not comprehend the seriousness of the situation. The concept of sight is also played with when we talk of the Martians, who see and comprehend the event from a distance, and hence feel that the damage is very minuscule, and that the Earth escaped without much damage. Here the issue is that knowledge is at a very superficial scale, and is completely blind to the existence of life, and the effects on this life, on Earth. In comparison to this, one can see all the lives lost, and the scattering of the remaining population across the globe to the poles as a pursuit for life, and feasible living conditions - a knowledge granted through the ships that reached places like Greenland, now actually green.