Non-Stop by Brian W. Aldiss
"Non-Stop" is a science-fiction novel by Brian Aldiss, exploring the lives of a primitive tribe inhabiting the labyrinthine corridors of a colossal spaceship. The Greene tribe, led by a hunter named Roy Complain, continuously moves through the ship, pushing barricades to access new areas and uncovering artifacts left by an enigmatic race known as the Giants. The narrative follows Complain and his companions, including the priest Marapper, as they embark on a quest to discover the mythical Forwards, a more advanced tribe rumored to exist within the ship.
As the plot unfolds, the characters learn about their true environment: a vessel that had previously transported colonists to the star Procyon and is now returning to Earth after a catastrophic event that affected its crew. The story reveals how genetic mutations and nutrient deficiencies have drastically altered the descendants of the ship's crew, resulting in their diminutive size and shortened lifespans. Tensions rise as Complain and his group confront the realities of their existence, culminating in a shocking conclusion where the ship's structure collapses, leading to a dire fate for its inhabitants. "Non-Stop" presents a compelling blend of adventure, existential themes, and reflections on human survival within a science fiction framework.
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Non-Stop
First published: 1958
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—closed universe
Time of work: Around the year 3000
Locale: A vast starship
The Plot
Brian Aldiss’ first science-fiction novel tells about a primitive tribe that unknowingly inhabits the corridors of a vast spaceship traveling among the stars. Members of the tribe venture into unknown sections of the ship and discover that it has already reached its destination and that they have been watched secretly by the Outsiders, a maintenance crew from Earth. The book was first published in Great Britain and underwent some textual changes before being published in the United States under the title Starship in 1959.
Roy Complain is a hunter for the seminomadic Greene tribe that lives in a place called the Quarters. The tribe constantly moves through corridors by pushing barricades in order to gain new land. Its members find artifacts, presumably left behind by the mysterious race of Giants that built their world. There are legends about the Forwards, a distant region of their world, where a more civilized tribe lives. One day, Complain, the priest Marapper, and three other tribe members set out on an expedition to the mythical Forwards section. Marapper, who believes that the world is in fact a ship traveling through space, owns a book containing a map of the ship. He plans to reach the Control Room and take over the ship.
After various adventures, Complain is captured by the Giants and taken to their secret headquarters. They release him, and he is reunited with his comrades. Soon afterward, the group is captured by the Forwards tribe. Marapper tries in vain to convince the Forwards that the Control Room exists. During the following interrogation, it becomes clear that Fermour, one of the members of the expedition, is in reality an Outsider. Complain and Marapper learn more about the their world from Master Scoyt. They find out that the spaceship had been taking colonists to Procyon, 11 light-years from Earth. After dropping off the colonists, the ship started on its return journey. Something appears to have gone wrong, and twenty-three generations have lived on the ship since.
The diaries of Gregory Complain, first captain of the homeward voyage, reveal that the water taken on board the spaceship Procyon V had contained a new amino acid that disrupted the crew’s genetic sequence. Most of the crew died, and many of the plants and animals on board mutated. Eventually, the Giants reveal to Complain and the Forwards that this disease sped up the surviving crew’s metabolic rate, so that they lived only for about twenty years. The lack of proper nutrients also turned them into dwarves. The ship itself already had reached Earth and was orbiting it, but the World Government was afraid that the crew would not be able to survive beyond the ship. In an apocalyptic ending, Fermour separates the individual levels from one another, so that the ship breaks apart into disk-shaped sections that begin to circle Earth.