Picnic on Paradise by Joanna Russ
"Picnic on Paradise" is Joanna Russ's debut novel, set on the resort planet of Paradise, known for its breathtaking beauty yet lacking practical utility. The story follows Alyx, an agent of the Trans-Temporal Authority, who is tasked with guiding a group of eight tourists through a treacherous trek to a neutral base amid a commercial war. The tourists, accustomed to comfort and technological aids in their own world, find themselves unprepared for the physical and emotional challenges they face during the journey, particularly as they must do without their usual drugs that help manage discomfort and emotions.
As the group traverses the snowy mountains, they encounter various hardships that force them to confront deep-seated emotions and vulnerabilities. Alyx, characterized by her strength, intelligence, and combat skills, takes charge of the expedition, but her leadership is tested by the group's personal struggles, including grief, jealousy, and the complexities of relationships, particularly her romantic involvement with a member known as the Machine. Tragedy strikes when members of the party face death and betrayal, leading Alyx to a crisis of identity and emotional turmoil. Ultimately, the journey challenges the perceptions of the tourists and transforms Alyx, who emerges determined to harness her skills and emotions as she transitions to a role as a teacher. The novel explores themes of discomfort, emotional growth, and the human experience against a backdrop of adventure and survival.
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Picnic on Paradise
First published: 1968
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—feminist
Time of work: Around c.e. 3500
Locale: The planet Paradise
The Plot
Picnic on Paradise was Joanna Russ’s first novel and is probably her most accessible. It takes place on the resort planet Paradise, a planet of extreme beauty but no practical use. When Paradise becomes involved in a commercial war, Alyx, an agent of the Trans-Temporal Authority, is brought from ancient Greece to guide eight tourists to a neutral base. The party is given food, supplies, and weapons for the 240-kilometer hike through snowy mountains. To Alyx, who has lived through famine and plague, the trip sounds easy: There are no predatory animals, the distance is not great, the mountains are not high or steep, and the enemy has no reason to care about them. It sounds like a picnic.
The tourists will not find it so easy. In their world, people expect to be comfortable. They do not walk long distances, they can replace defective or unattractive body parts, and they have drugs to keep them joyful. The biggest problem Alyx faces is that the group is being sent out without many of the drugs the tourists are accustomed to having. The tourists therefore will encounter discomfort, danger, and real emotion for the first time.
The party includes Iris, a thirty-six-year-old adolescent; her mother Maudey, withdrawing from rejuvenating drugs; two nuns of the ancient church of consciousness and the All; Raydos, an artist; Gavrily, an important and influential man; Gannon, an amateur explorer; and the Machine, a rebel who wears high-tech headphones to shut out stimuli from outside and who has shut off all feeling inside. Although she knows nothing of the food, the drugs, the technology, or the terrain involved in the trip, Alyx is well equipped to lead. She is intelligent, strong, and a good shot with a crossbow or a thrown knife. She does not hesitate to use force—a slap, a kick in the groin, a weapon—to control humans and androids alike. She is in charge.
For the first sixteen days, the hike is uneventful. Alyx keeps the party moving, allowing only short rests and rationing food. At night the travelers huddle together in the snow for warmth, and Alyx and the men keep watch. The tourists complain mildly but are mostly unconcerned. When they reach their destination, Base B, they discover that it has been destroyed. They must go on to a control embassy, five hundred kilometers away over the unmapped mountains.
During the next forty days, members of the group try to deal with powerful emotions. Maudey dies when a withdrawal seizure hurls her off the mountain. To comfort Iris, the nuns try to give her drugs concealed in their packs, but Alyx fights them off and makes Iris confront her pain. The Machine and Alyx begin a sexual relationship, and although he tries to shut out all feeling, the Machine eventually returns Alyx’s love. Gunnar is jealous of the lovers, and his jealousy leads to the Machine’s death. In vengeance, Alyx brutally murders Gunnar.
After the Machine’s death, Alyx turns to drugs to numb her emotions. For several days she floats in and out of consciousness, hallucinating about the Machine and surrendering her self-possession. She even gives Iris a black eye without realizing it. Somehow they all keep moving until Alyx regains control. Two days later, they reach safety. The surviving tourists return home, seemingly untouched by their experiences. Alyx will become a teacher for other agents; she is determined to retain both her skills and her feelings.