Lord of Light by Roger Zelazny
"Lord of Light" is a science fiction novel that intertwines themes of mythology and advanced technology within the context of a colonized planet called Urath, a corrupted version of Earth. The narrative follows Sam, a crew member of the spaceship The Star of India, who, along with others, has achieved a form of immortality by transmigrating their consciousness into new bodies across generations. The inhabitants of Urath, who are the descendants of this original crew, exist under the influence of these god-like figures, each adopting identities from the Hindu pantheon and exerting control over the mortal populace.
The plot explores Sam's struggle against the established systems of power and the corrupt Hindu theocracy that he believes oppresses the mortals through a caste system. As he takes on various avatars, including those of significant Buddhist figures, he introduces Buddhism as an alternative path for the people of Urath. The story unfolds through a dual narrative structure, providing both a historical perspective and a mythological interpretation of events. Ultimately, Sam’s journey is marked by rebellion against the gods, alliances with other powerful beings, and a quest for freedom and enlightenment, culminating in his unique fate intertwined with the concepts of life, death, and rebirth.
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Subject Terms
Lord of Light
First published: 1967
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—superbeing
Time of work: An indeterminate time in the future
Locale: The planet Urath
The Plot
Each chapter in Lord of Light is introduced by two headings. The first is unidentified but appears to be an excerpt from a secular history giving a factual, if sanitized, version of events on planet Urath (a corrupted spelling of Earth). The second heading is an excerpt from one of several Hindu holy books, primarily the Upanishads. It relates the same events from the first heading but in mythologized and highly symbolic language. Only after the reader gets two different, but equally valid, perspectives on the story are the events presented in narrative form.
The novel concerns the adventures and quests of Sam, an original crewman of The Star of India, a spaceship that had colonized Urath many generations ago. Using sophisticated machinery, the crew has been able to transmigrate their consciousness for untold generations, achieving a type of immortality via periodic reincarnation into new bodies when their old ones have worn out. They created identities for themselves based on the Hindu pantheon and, using advanced technologies, assumed powers and attributes of godlike proportions.
These manufactured gods live insulated under Celestial City’s protective dome at Urath’s polar ice cap. The rest of the planet is populated by mortals, the flesh-and-blood offspring of the crew’s original bodies, though familial relationships are seldom recognized. The mortals put money into pray-o-mat machines, and if their accounts are healthy at the end of one body’s life span, the gods allow them access to the karma machine and give them another incarnation. The gods keep a close watch on the affairs of their mortal children through temples staffed by a priesthood equipped with communication devices. These priests are allowed to punish mortals for any type of offense by putting them in diseased, ugly, or nonhuman bodies.
Sam is one of the most powerful gods. His attribute gives him control over electromagnetic forces, hence his title, Lord of Light. In the earliest part of the planet’s colonization, he was able to defeat and bind the Rakasha, creatures who perpetuate themselves as stable fields of energy and who inhabited Urath before the arrival of humans. Without Sam’s ability, the demoniac Rakasha would have possessed the original crew and destroyed them.
After helping to secure the planet and build Celestial City, Sam turned his back on the corruptive power and privilege built into the system. He wanders Urath, taking a series of avatars, or identities, and becomes known as Mahasamatman (Great Souled Sam), Lord Kalkin, Maitreya, Manjusri, Buddha, Siddhartha, and Tathagatha. As Siddhartha, Sam makes the conscious decision to introduce Buddhism to Urath. He believes the Hindu theocracy has become too prone to corruption and abuse and that the people need to be freed from the slavish caste system. He gains followers, unbinds the demons, raises an army, and wages an unsuccessful war on Celestial City. He is captured and sentenced to die a real death without reincarnation. The execution fails because the leader of the Rakasha had taught Sam how to maintain his consciousness without benefit of a body. Sam eventually is sentenced to nirvana, a euphemism for being broadcast into the magnetic field.
His release from nirvana begins the novel, so that the story in effect begins in the middle. His vast history is revealed in bits and pieces by way of flashback. Sam continues his quest to overthrow the gods with new and powerful allies—Yama, god of Death; Ratri, goddess of Night; and Tak, an archivist consigned to the body of an ape.