Shadows in the Sun by Chad Oliver
"Shadows in the Sun" is a science fiction novel by Chad Oliver, set primarily in the fictional Texas town of Jefferson Springs, known for its peculiar demographic patterns. The story follows anthropologist Paul Ellery, who becomes increasingly unsettled by the town's transient nature, where no resident has lived there longer than fifteen years. His investigation leads him to discover a nightly shuttlecraft delivering newcomers, hinting at a larger extraterrestrial presence.
As Ellery explores this reality, he learns that Jefferson Springs serves as a colony for advanced cultures from other planets, who utilize Earth as a primitive outpost. Amid his research, Ellery forms a complicated relationship with a colonist named Cynthia, which ultimately reveals the insipidness of the colonists, who seem to lack the vibrancy expected from an interstellar civilization. Ellery is presented with the chance to leave his earthly life behind for a more profound experience among the aliens, but he grapples with the implications of such a choice.
Throughout the novel, themes of cultural identity, colonization, and the nature of progress are explored as Ellery weighs the importance of his own world against the allure of a more advanced existence. Ultimately, he chooses to remain on Earth, motivated by a desire to contribute to its advancement and to prepare for potential future threats from other alien beings.
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Subject Terms
Shadows in the Sun
First published: 1954
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—invasion story
Time of work: The 1950’s
Locale: Jefferson Springs, Texas
The Plot
This second novel by Chad Oliver takes place almost entirely in the mythical Texas town of Jefferson Springs, with a side trip to Austin and several visits to a hovering spaceship. Anthropologist Paul Ellery gradually comes to sense a wrongness about the small town where he has spent two months researching the populace. Not one of its six thousand residents has lived there more than fifteen years. Residents who move elsewhere are replaced with newcomers.
Oliver sets up Ellery’s uneasiness in the first chapter, grounding it in the prosaic reality of the town. By the second chapter, Ellery has observed a nighttime shuttlecraft delivering new arrivals at a ranch on the town’s outskirts. By chapter 4, he has been invited to visit the ship.
His host, a chatty little fat man named John, explains that Earth is one of many planets with human life. Population pressures have forced the more advanced cultures to use primitive worlds such as Earth for colonies, of which Jefferson Springs is one. Luckily, the natives cooperate, gathering in reservations called “cities” and leaving room for the newcomers. Another benefit is that if the natives start a nuclear war, cities would be the targets and the result would be even more room for colonization.
John invites Ellery to spend a few months among the aliens, knowing that the outside world would never believe the truth. Ellery agrees, having some vague idea of finding a weakness among the benign invaders. Instead, he finds Cynthia, a beautiful colonist who all but makes him forget Annie, his romantic interest in Austin. He finds a job writing dull articles for the local paper. He discovers that most of the colonists are a dull lot for an interstellar civilization and concludes that their best and brightest remain among the star worlds rather than being shunted off to backwater planets. Eventually, he finds that his fling with Cynthia stems only from her passing interest in a primitive man to relieve her boredom.
Ellery is allowed to sit in on a conference on board the ship, to which colonists from enclaves all over the world have sent representatives. His guide is Hamilton With-row, a writer who made the same discovery as Ellery about the extraterrestrials and who deems it a privilege to be permitted to exist among them.
Ellery is offered the same opportunity, but it would require a voyage to The Center, where he would be re-educated and emerge a different person. Ellery is tempted. He doubts that he could return to his former life, knowing what a sham it is. By remaining a part of his own culture, he believes that he could help advance his own world to the point that it could someday be viewed as an equal among the other worlds. Another factor is Ellery’s discovery that other, truly alien beings are likely to become a threat to all human worlds in the future and that humans will need every ally they can get. He decides to remain on Earth after all, with Annie, to do his small part to help it advance.