Norstrilia by Cordwainer Smith
"Norstrilia" is a science fiction novel by Cordwainer Smith, set on the eponymous planet inhabited by descendants of Australian sheepherders. The narrative follows Rod McBan, a member of Norstrilia's wealthy property-owning class, who faces threats from a government official and seeks to gain control over Earth through manipulation of financial markets via a family computer. Norstrilia is characterized by its dry, hilly landscape and a unique societal structure that revolves around a life-extending drug called stroon, derived from massive sheep. The inhabitants also engage in controversial population control measures, including mandatory euthanasia for those who fail a crucial test at age sixteen.
The story delves into Rod's struggles with his telepathic abilities, family dynamics, and the challenges posed by powerful figures like Houghton Syme, who harbors animosity towards him. Rod's adventures extend to Earth, where he encounters surgically and genetically engineered beings known as Underpeople, including C'mell, a cat-girl with whom he develops a complex relationship. Their love is complicated by societal restrictions, as they cannot marry. The novel explores themes of power, identity, and the nature of existence, set against a richly imagined interplanetary backdrop.
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Norstrilia
First published: 1975 (as complete novel); first part previously published as “The Boy Who Bought Old Earth” (Galaxy, 1964) and expanded as The Planet Buyer (1964); second half previously published as “The Store of Heart’s Desire” (Worlds of If, 1964) and as The Underpeople (1968)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—future history
Time of work: About c.e. 17,000
Locale: Earth, Norstrilia, and other planets within the Instrumentality of Mankind
The Plot
Although portions of Norstrilia were published during Cordwainer Smith’s lifetime, the complete novel was published only after his death. It is the story of Rod McBan, a native of the planet Norstrilia. In the first half of the book, he is threatened by a government official and fights back by having the McBan family computer manipulate interplanetary financial markets so that he can buy most of Earth. In the second half, he travels to Earth and has a series of adventures and experiences with surgically and genetically engineered animals called Underpeople.
Rod is a member of the property-owning class on Norstrilia, the name of which is derived from Old North Australia. The planet is dry, is hilly but not mountainous, and has gray rather than green grass. Its inhabitants are descended from Australian sheepherders. They are the richest people in the Instrumentality because they have a monopoly on a drug called stroon. Generated by sick, gigantic sheep, stroon can extend life indefinitely. To control population, Norstrilians routinely practice euthanasia. Each sixteen-year-old must undergo a test; failure means death.
Because Rod’s telepathic powers were below the norm for Norstrilians, his parents were afraid he would fail the crucial test. Taking advantage of a Norstrilian law, on three occasions they had Rod’s memory erased before he was to take the test, with the result that Rod went through four childhoods. After his parents die in a spaceship accident, Rod finally takes the test and passes, at the chronological age of sixty-four.
The leading female character is C’mell, an extraordinarily beautiful cat-girl, one of the many varieties of Underpeople. C’mell is a “girlygirl,” a hostess to visiting VIPs. Under penalty of death, she is forbidden from having sex with a human being. She also carries out missions for Lord Jestocost of the Instrumentality. After the Instrumentality disguises Rod by surgically altering him to be a cat-man, she assumes the disguise of his wife. Rod and C’Mell fall in love, but the Lords do not permit them to marry. In compensation, E’telekeli, leader of the Underpeople, allows them to share a dream of life together for a thousand subjective years. Objectively, however, they dream for only half an hour.
Although he makes only one brief appearance in the novel, Houghton Syme’s actions drive much of the story. Syme and Rod were childhood acquaintances during Rod’s first childhood. Syme hates Rod because Syme cannot take stroon; this means that he is limited to a normal lifetime. Taking pity on Syme, the Norstrilians made him Honorable Secretary (Onseck), a powerful government position. After Rod passes his test, Syme plots to have Rod arrested for incompetency, for which the penalty is death. Fortunately, someone tips Rod off before Syme can move. After Rod and his computer buy Earth, Syme attempts to assassinate Rod with a giant sparrow. This attempt causes Rod to leave Norstrilia and travel to Earth.