The Cloud Walker by Edmund Cooper
"The Cloud Walker" unfolds in a dystopian future where technological advancement is shunned due to past catastrophes that devastated earlier civilizations. Set in England, a Luddite church enforces strict anti-technology laws, resulting in a society that has regressed to a peasant economy under the control of a fragmented nobility. The protagonist, Kieron, dreams of creating a flying machine and is mentored by an artist named Master Hobart. However, Kieron's defiance of social norms and his tumultuous relationship with Lord Fitzalan's daughter, Aylwin, lead him into conflict with the church.
As Kieron's inventive spirit persists, he faces severe consequences, including imprisonment, after a disastrous attempt at flight. When pirates attack his town, Kieron seizes the opportunity to become a hero by constructing a dirigible that he uses to thwart the invaders. His actions challenge the church's anti-science stance, ultimately leading to his rise as a legendary figure in aeronautics. The narrative concludes with Kieron's legacy as he becomes a prominent leader in international ballooning, celebrated for his pioneering contributions to flight. This story explores themes of innovation, rebellion against oppressive forces, and the quest for knowledge in a repressive society.
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The Cloud Walker
First published: 1973
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Fantasy—medieval future
Time of work: During the time of the Third Man
Locale: Arundel, Sussex, England
The Plot
After the technological catastrophes that ended the civilizations of both the First and Second Men, the world turned away from science and machines. In England, the reigning Luddite church—named after Ned Ludd, a nineteenth century textile machinery saboteur— punishes the heresies of experimentation and technical innovation with death. More broadly, the country has returned to a medieval, peasant economy with a loose federation of nobles controlling the disunited nation and skilled trades governed by a rigid apprenticeship program.
Kieron, the protagonist, is taken on by Master Hobart, the artist serving the local ruler, Lord Fitzalan. Kieron’s dream is to construct a flying machine. Hobart sympathizes with Kieron but counsels patience and circumspec-tion. It is not his scientific penchant, however, but his dislike of the caste system that first leads Kieron to trouble. When Lord Fitzalan’s spoiled daughter Aylwin, whom Kieron is assigned to sketch, repeatedly and publicly humiliates him, he loses his temper and spanks her. He is imprisoned, and only Aylwin’s intervention spares him worse treatment. Aylwin, in truth, has fallen in love with the boy and becomes his ally, protecting him against the church when his building of manned kites is discovered.
Even Aylwin cannot protect Kieron, however, when his next creation, a hot-air balloon, explodes over the castle. It seems that nothing can save him from the Inquisition until two events occur. To save Kieron, who already has made Hobart immortal by affixing his master’s name to a painting of Aylwin done by the student, the master hangs himself, leaving a note assuming the blame for the balloon. Soon afterward, while Kieron is still in prison, the town is attacked by pirates, who burn down the jail. Escaping the hulks, Kieron finds the town in ruins and Aylwin, her father, and most of the other inhabitants slain.
Making his way into the surrounding countryside, Kieron finds a survivors’ encampment, where he learns that the buccaneer Admiral Death has landed a fearsome armada. Kentigern, formerly a castle bailiff, is in charge of the camp, but when his calls for help to neighboring lords are met lukewarmly, he can conceive of no alternative strategy. Kieron proposes to build an offensive dirigible. It is towed near the anchored pirate fleet and allowed to drift over the boats, so that Kieron and a helper can pour fire on the ships. They sink five vessels and kill Admiral Death, driving off the invaders and making Kieron a legend.
The church’s antitechnological doctrines have been badly discredited; however, the priests, called neddies, make one last attempt to repulse science by kidnapping Kieron. Kieron’s wife, Petrina, comes to his rescue, arousing the town to save him and kick out the churchmen.
Here the story ends, except for a double coda. First, the tale leaps ahead many years to show Kieron as head of an aeronautics school. It then moves to the time of his death, when he is the éminence grise of the international balloon fraternities, who honor him at a ceremony for the man who started the world flying.