Saturday, November 25, 2017

Gregory Benford: "White Creatures"

Gregory Benford
"White Creatures"
a short story
from The Best of Gregory Benford

The story begins:  

The aliens strap him in.  He cannot feel the bindings, but he knows they must be there; he cannot move.  Or perhaps it is the drug.   They must have given him something because his world is blurred, spongy.   The white creatures are flowing shapes in watery light.  He feels numb. the white creatures are moving about him, making high chittering noises. 

This appears to be an alien abduction story.   However, it isn't as straightforward as that.  The story has two narratives: one is of Merritt's experiences as a prisoner of the aliens and the second, of his memories that one would expect may explain what caused or led to his abduction.

When the second narrative begins we learn that Merritt is on Puerto Rico and is a technician involved with a seti project (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence), probably at the Arecibo Observatory, although I don't remember it being mentioned in the story. 

While the two narratives alternate between the inexplicable things being done to Merritt and Merritt's memories, something doesn't seem right.  His memories cover a considerable passage of time, decades possibly, from his affair with Erika, the seti project's director's wife, to his resignation and subsequent employment at NASA where he becomes immersed in the study of other star systems, searching for those which approximate earth-like conditions.  

He is totally dedicated to his work, and the only personal relationship he has is with Erika, the now ex-wife of the project director.  She has created a career out of conducting guided tours of  young, wealthy businessmen, and whenever she is in town, they get together.  Her charm and attractiveness are her strengths, but as the years pass, these begin to fade.  Finally she decides on the long sleep, to be awakened when effective rejuvenation techniques are developed.  


Merritt doesn't understand her.  They live in two worlds:  she in the physical here and now, while he in essence lives in the future, absorbed in searching the universe for answers.   Centuries ago Merritt might have been a theologian or philosopher searching the heavens for answers to the perennial questions.   Or, perhaps a priest/astrologer searching the heavens for signs of or hints from a divinity or divinities.  Is his now scientific search for signs of life in the universe that different?   What is also surprising is that Merritt never considers going for the long sleep, to be awakened when there is definite proof of intelligent life on other planets.  I wonder if, for Merritt, the search is what is important, not the result.

Some years later, seeking something, he visited the Krishna temple. . .they led him through a beaded curtain to the outside.  They entered a small garden through a bamboo gate, noisily slipping the wooden latch.  A small man sat in lotus position on a broad swath of green . . . Merrick explained his feelings, his rational skepticism about religion in any form.  He was a scientist.  But perhaps there was more to these matters than met the eye, he said hopefully.

The teacher picked up a leaf, smiling, and asked why anyone should spend his life studying the makeup of this leaf.  What could be gained from it?

Any form of knowledge has a chance of resonating with other kinds, Merrick replied.

So? the man countered.

Suppose the universe is a parable, Merrick said haltingly.  By studying part of it, or finding other intelligences in it and discovering their viewpoints, perhaps we could learn something of the design that was intended.  Surely the laws of science, the origin of life, were no accident.

The teacher pondered for a moment.  No, he said, they are not accidents.  There may be other  creatures in this universe, too.  But those laws, those beings, they are not important.  The physical laws are the bars of a cage. The central point is not to study the bars, but to get out of the cage.  

Merrick could not follow this.  It seemed to him that the act of discovering things, of reaching out, was everything.  There was something immortal about it.

The small man blinked and said, it is nothing.  This world is an insane asylum for souls.  Only the flawed remain here.

Merrick began to talk about his work with NASA and Erika.  The small man waved away these points and shook his head.  No, he said.  It is nothing.

(The italicized part above was actually one paragraph which I broke down) 


Merrick can not understand the teacher's dismissal of the physical universe just as he didn't understand Erika's immersion in it.  He seemed to be somewhere in the middle: the physical universe was important as something to study and learn from.  While he went beyond Erika's immersion in the physical universe, he could not leave it behind as the teacher had insisted that he must.

Later, he encounters a woman in the street whom he thinks is Erika.  However, when their eyes meet, she shows no reaction, and Merrick realizes that his interest is purely intellectual.  That part of his life was over, for he hadn't been with a woman in years.

It is ultimately a sad story, for Merritt has grown old, but he refuses to believe it.  He hadn't noticed the years passing by because of his obsession.  He doesn't even have the satisfaction of having his abduction prove the existence of aliens, for those white creatures are doctors and nurses, and in his drugged state he doesn't recognize an operating room.

Perhaps I'm going too far here, but it seems to me that differing attitudes to life and existence are presented here.  At one end of the spectrum is Erika's immersion in the physical world, while at the other end is the teacher's dismissal of it as unimportant, "it is nothing."  Merrick would seem to be in the middle somewhere: the physical world is important, not in itself, but as a means of finding its purpose, its design.   But, while it appears that three views are presented,  I can't see any conclusion to be drawn from them as to which would be the most fulfilling one.

I am unhappy with my reading of the story.  I wonder what I have missed or misread.  I shall have to return to this tale sometime to see how it has "changed."



23 comments:

  1. Great commentary on this book. It sounds really good. I love science fiction explorations into what I consider "big" subjects. I like them even better when they touch on philosophy.

    I have read a little Gregory Benford. He is a skilled science fiction writer.

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    1. Brian, yes, for a short story Benford manages to pack a lot in.
      This story is found his recent anthology, _The Best of Benford_, which is an excellent introduction to his short works.

      Benford is one of my favorites, which may account for the nineteen posts on him on my blog.

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  2. nice choice for a post... naturally, me being zen oriented, i glommed onto the meditator in the courtyard; what he said is the basis for haiku, and is illustrated by "the finger pointing at the moon"... but the journey Benford takes covers the gamut of human knowledge and experience, it sounds like; from one pov, anyway... somehow, your description partakes a little of Gene Wolfe; i usually see some zennie possibilities poking through his writings...

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    1. Mudpuddle, I figured you would glom onto him. That haiku (and also a short poem by one of the hermit poets of China) would fit his point of view. I wonder if it's an coincidence that Gene Wolfe is another of my favorite writers today.

      He does cover the range of POVs and does it mostly by showing, not telling.

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  3. Fred, your excellent posting is seductive enough that my next library excursion will include two names on my wish list: Benford and Wolfe. I have a vague notion that I’ve encountered one or both previously but cannot now remember specifics. Well, thanks for a superb review and posting.

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    1. R.T., both Benford and Wolfe have written a number of short works, so it's possible that you may have read some of them.

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  4. I rather like your analysis. I wrote that story in one afternoon, BTW, trying to compress the tension I felt between my own Zen practice at the time (hi Mudpuddle!) and karate and astrophysics, all together. Astronomers know they are mayflies compared to what they study. I wanted to catch that contrast.

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    1. Gregory, one afternoon? That's a very complex tale, and it took me several readings to get a feel for what was going on.

      The first paragraphs had me locked into the "alien abduction" scene, and while I realized somewhere in the middle that I was off on the wrong track, I still couldn't get beyond that scenario.

      Thanks for stopping by and commenting.

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  5. This is an interesting story. There are two kinds of people, those in the here and now and those who look beyond, although I think we are all a mix of both.

    It's a question of purpose and meaning, I believe. Some avoid the question by staying rooted in the present, or at least that is my observation. I could be wrong.

    Great review!

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    1. Sharon, I agree. Merrick is drawn to both Erika and to the zen master, even though he rejects both for his own POV. What about those rooted in the past and the future?

      It's a complex issue.

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    2. That's a good question. I suppose it would depend on the reasons why they are rooted in the past or future. There could be healthy reasons but also unhealthy ones.

      A healthy one is to live with hope and optimism and also to enjoy remembrance of joyful past experiences.

      But there are unrealistic expectations and rooting one's whole sense of well being on what might never come to pass in this world (an inheritance for instance).

      Then there are people who live inside their past tragedies. A case of arrested development.

      Since actual reality is only mili seconds long. We are mostly living in the abstract but it all needs to be connected: past, present, future. If we lose that connection, I think, is when we are no longer grounded.

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    3. Sharon, yes, a complex issue, probably unique to each person. I read somewhere that we need to know the past, to understand where we are now, and we need to know the present to get some idea of where we are going.

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  6. I wrote it by dictation, too. Was busy setting up the high energy density lab at UCI, under pressure from a $1 million grant in 1975...

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    1. I gather that you don't usually write by dictation.

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    2. Yes, dictated for only a year or so... then back to my manual typewriter, long abandoned now for computer.

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    3. Gregory, do you think dictation made any difference in your stories?

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    4. Dictation made me compress more, as I recall. Maybe I should try it again...tho write few short stories any more.

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  7. Just recalled that I also dictated one of my more popular stories, "Doing Lennon," about a week later than this story. Sent it to Analog & new editor Ben Bova bought it--very atypical Analog type, he remarked.It and "White Creatures" were both in some BEST OF anthologies, a good break for me.

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    1. Gregory, Yes very different from what Analog usually handles. I suspect the BEST OF anthologies are now the most common way readers get to read short stories. I subscribe only to F&SF Magazine and none of my SF friends subscribe to any mags.

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  8. Fred, I loyally get ALL the sf mags, even Interzone... but few online ones. I want the mags to survive. Just had another story picked up for one of the BEST OFs, the best way to gain readership, & where I suppose most short story readers go, not the mags.

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    1. Gregory, all? I know a few from online discussion groups who subscribe to one, like me, but not more. Is there any particular BEST OF volume that select your short stories?

      Yes, it's probably the BEST OF volumes and the BEST OF (AUTHOR) volumes that most readers go for. I read somewhere that readership in the mags is declining. Sad. I love short stories. My first real acquaintance with SF was with short story anthologies way back when--the Grof Conklin collections. I think I still have a few old decaying copies around here somewhere.

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  9. Yes, all. This year Clarke's BEST OF took my story from the ExTRASOLAR volume. Haven't heard from any other; last year was in Dozois. I have only a few stories/year now so nice to be in at all.

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    1. Gregory: Congratulations! I always enjoy the Dozois series. Unfortunately I fell behind in my reading and haven't kept up with them lately.

      By the way, how many short stories are there that are set in the Galactic Center universe? I have read two so far: one is in Far Horizons (mantis and art) and Aspects. Are there any others?

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