Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
"Childhood's End" by Arthur C. Clarke is a seminal science fiction novel set in the aftermath of World War II, focusing on humanity's encounter with benevolent alien overlords who arrive to guide Earth into an era of peace and prosperity. The story unfolds in three parts, beginning with the arrival of the Overlords, who, under the leadership of Karellen, restrict human space exploration and abolish international conflicts, while also enforcing social reforms. Over the next fifty years, humans experience a golden age, marked by stability and the gradual acceptance of the Overlords, whose frightening appearance evokes ancient terrors yet fails to deter the people's trust in their intentions.
As the narrative progresses, the Overlords' influence leads to a profound transformation among the youngest generation of humans, who begin to evolve into a collective consciousness, ultimately merging with a higher energy being known as the Overmind. This evolution signifies a departure from physical form, resulting in the destruction of Earth as the children transcend into a new state of existence. The novel not only explores themes of evolution and the human condition but also reflects on the nature of authority and the quest for understanding in the face of the unknown. "Childhood's End" remains a pivotal work within the golden age of science fiction, notable for its philosophical depth and its ability to challenge readers' perspectives on humanity's future and its place in the universe.
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Childhood's End by Arthur C. Clarke
First published: 1953
Type of work: Science fiction
Themes: Family, politics and law, religion, and science
Time of work: The second half of the twentieth century
Recommended Ages: 15-18
Locale: Earth
Principal Characters:
Rikki Stormgren , secretary-general of the United NationsKarellen , an Overlord, the Supervisor of the EarthJeffrey and Jenny Greggson , the first children to begin the next evolutionary stepGeorge and Jean Greggson , Jeff and Jenny’s parentsJan Rodricks , a stowaway on an Overlords’ ship returning to their home planet
The Story
Childhood’s End is set in the period immediately following World War II. In postwar Russia and America, German scientists head separate programs to begin to explore outer space. Both programs are within weeks of launching their first rockets when enormous alien ships appear in the skies over Earth’s major cities. For the first third of the novel, “Earth and the Overlords,” the aliens remain in their ships, and their leader, Karellen, the Overlord who is designated Supervisor of the Earth, will deal directly only with Rikki Stormgren, the secretary-general of the United Nations. The aliens maintain that they are too frightening to show themselves and that they will remain in their ships for fifty years—a period they feel will allow humans to grow accustomed to them and their benign intent. The Overlords interfere with Earth’s affairs in only two ways. First, they refuse to allow any kind of space program that might lead to human exploration of other planets. Second, they abolish all international rivalries, leaving governments to handle only local (internal) affairs. The Overlords do take a few specific actions. They force South Africa to end its divisive racial policies, and they also force the Spanish to abolish bullfighting.
The middle third of the novel, “The Golden Age,” takes place after fifty years have passed; the Overlords have come out of their ship (it seems as if there was only one all the time), and Earth has had almost three generations of peace during which the resources that would have been spent on international rivalry have been used constructively. The Overlords’ appearance is, indeed, frightening. They look similar to the creatures that Western civilization has always called devils, with their leathery wings, horns, and barbed tails. Still, fifty years of their benevolent rule—and the peace and prosperity resulting from it—have given everyone enough time and enough evidence of the Overlords’ peaceful intentions that their outward appearance causes only a momentary flutter of what author Arthur C. Clarke calls the “ancient terror.”
Within this peace and prosperity, however, are several irritants. There are some who resent the Overlords’ control, as they would resent any control, and there are others who believe that humankind should be completely free to pursue its destiny— especially in regard to outer space. Jan Rodricks is one of those frustrated space explorers, and he finds a way (hiding within an exhibit to be sent to the Overlords’ home planet) to travel in space and to find out more about the Overlords as well.
The last section of the novel, “The Last Generation,” depicts humans taking the next evolutionary step. Ironically, it is only children below the age of ten who can take that step. Jeff Greggson is the first child to have the strange dreams that signal the beginning of the end of dependence upon the physical body; his younger sister, with less to “unlearn” about the body, develops, among other things, telekinetic powers. The change is especially difficult on the parents, as they can only stand and watch while their children become more and more self-absorbed. These children increasingly are focusing inward and becoming more aware of the single energy being into which they are developing as a group. As they coalesce, they draw all of the energy out of the Earth, destroying it as Jan Rodricks, back home now, describes the event to the Overlords, who are aboard their ship and leaving. The being that the children have become will join a pure energy entity called the Overmind.
Context
Because it deals with both the future of the human race and the nature of a supreme being, Childhood’s End fits in with many of Clarke’s other works, especially short stories such as “The Sentinel” and “The Nine Billion Names of God” and the more recent Rama novels. Childhood’s End also stands in the background of the film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and its sequels. Although Clarke certainly seems to enjoy technological speculation and the possibilities of extraterrestrial life, he seems much more interested in using those aspects of science fiction as a means to explore the nature of the creatures that humans might be becoming.
Childhood’s End is also a part of what has been called the golden age of science fiction, that period from the very late 1930’s to the early 1950’s, which saw the publication of a great many works now considered classics in the genre. Isaac Asimov’s Foundation trilogy (1951-1953), many of Robert A. Heinlein’s “Future History” novels and short stories, Charles L. Harness’ “The Rose,” and the “The New Reality,” Olaf Stapledon’s Star Maker (1937), and other works of that period seem to be much more interested in the exploration of theoretical ideas than in the human versus alien wars that were a major part of previous science fiction and that continue to characterize the genre.
Within the context of both Clarke’s work and the other science fiction of the period, Childhood’s End is a special book. It clearly demonstrates the potential of science fiction to be more than simply popular entertainment, and it also is an example of the way in which science fiction can explore important ideas in ways that realistic, mainstream fiction cannot. It is the science fiction context that has made this book accessible to and popular with young readers. Furthermore, Clarke’s own awareness of the genre allows him to play upon the reader’s expectations so that what appears at first to be a cliched, alien-invasion-of-Earth plot takes unexpectedly original turns. Although it was published almost forty years ago, Childhood’s End shows no signs of age; the writing style does not date it, and the ideas it treats are still important.