Blish's "Conscience" vs. Wolfe's "Fifth Head"

Gerry Quinn · 31 Dec 2005, 14:06 · from rec.arts.sf.written.2005.mbox

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From: Gerry Quinn <gerryq at DELETETHISindigo.ie>
Subject: Re: Blish's "Conscience" vs. Wolfe's "Fifth Head"
Date: Sat, 31 Dec 2005 14:06:29 -0000
Message-ID: <MPG.1e20a0c25ed57a9398a911 at news1.eircom.net>
Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written
References: <1135781723.546189.19520 at g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com> <douf3o$bho$1 at news.datemas.de> <1135795018.842798.188130 at g49g2000cwa.googlegroups.com> <1135804521.649021.27000 at o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com> <1135815134.304806.19780 at g47g2000cwa.googlegroups.com> <MPG.1e1e0926b714556398a8f6 at news1.eircom.net> <1135977318.382507.90100 at o13g2000cwo.googlegroups.com>

> Gerry Quinn wrote:

> > One attempt at improvement that fails hardly says that all attempts are
> > evil.
> 
> True.
> 
> > Nor, if it is evil, does it indicate *why* it is evil.
> 
> In this case, because it's egoistical, I think.
> 
> > Nor, if
> > man cannot be improved, *why* man cannot be improved.
> 
> Because Wolfe is a Roman Catholic and believes in original sin, a human
> flaw that can't be cured.

Even if that is why (and I don't know that it was necessarily the 
reason), having a flaw that cannot be cured does not prove that one 
cannot at least improve!

[And you don't have to be a Catholic to believe in original sin - one 
might draw a similar conclusion from the study of Darwin!]

> > In the novel, cloning is banned on Earth, hence the experiments can
> > only be conducted on a frontier planet.  Presumably cloning tends to
> > cause problems.  That is hardly an exceptional premise for a SF novel.
> > Nor is it especially religious, or even technologically or socially
> > unlikely.
> 
> I think it is religious.  Our hero lives at 666 Rue du Saltimbanque,
> after all.  (I'm not sure about the street name, but I'm sure about the
> Number.)  Another hint is that this gene wolf's name is quite possibly
> Gene Wolfe.  I don't know whether the real Wolfe was saying that all
> human cloning is evil--though if anyone interviews him, I think the
> question would be a good one to ask, now that he probably could be
> cloned--but I think he was at least saying that the Beast or the
> Antichrist or whatever is that close.  Someone much like the author
> could start a project to create it now by making people who are removed
> from the natural process of reproduction--does that mean removed from
> Christian redemption?  The day when "they'll want us" is the beginning
> of the Christian Eschaton.  Rather chilling, even for a non-Christian
> like me if I apply some WSOD.  So I think Galt_57 is on the right
> track, except...

Interesting.  I lent my copy, and I want it back!  Of course Wolfe 
plays with lots of things, and not all the clues need add up to a 
single answer.

- Gerry Quinn

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