Sirius by Olaf Stapledon
Sirius is a fictional sheepdog with human-level intelligence, created through selective breeding and hormonal treatments by the scientist Thomas Trelone, a character affiliated with Cambridge University. The narrative unfolds in "Sirius: A Fantasy of Love and Discord," showcasing Sirius's unique relationships with various characters, including Trelone's daughter, Plaxy. The story is divided into four distinct phases, beginning with Sirius and Plaxy growing up together, where they are intellectual equals. As Sirius learns to communicate and write, he also develops a practical understanding of sheep farming.
The second and third phases of Sirius's life explore different human cultures, as he shifts from being a subject of scientific study in Cambridge to living among the impoverished in London's East End. The backdrop of World War II introduces themes of humanity's darker side, leading to Sirius's regression into primal instincts. Ultimately, the story culminates in a tragic conclusion where Sirius, after experiencing moments of both companionship and aggression, meets his end on the Welsh moors, embraced by Plaxy, who honors him with a eulogy in his unique dog-influenced speech. This multifaceted narrative combines elements of philosophy, social commentary, and the exploration of identity and belonging.
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Subject Terms
Sirius
First published: 1944
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—superbeing
Time of work: The 1930’s and 1940’s
Locale: England and Wales
The Plot
A combination of selective breeding and hormonal injections has endowed the sheepdog Sirius with a human intelligence. He employs his intellect within the family and professional world of the scientist who developed him, engaging in a series of revealing relationships with local farmers, Cambridge scientists, London proletarians, and, above all, his “sister,” the daughter of the scientist. In Sirius: A Fantasy of Love and Discord, as in all of his fiction, Olaf Stapledon’s professional background as a philosopher-teacher makes itself evident.
Thomas Trelone is a “great physiologist” who maintains an affiliation with Cambridge University but performs his experiments with animals in a sheep district of northern Wales, a district familiar to Stapledon. Sirius is his great triumph. By breeding generations of “super-sheep-dogs” and using special hormone injections, Trelone has managed to create Sirius, superior to them all. With his wife, Elizabeth, he raises Sirius as the sibling of their daughter, Plaxy.
Sirius’ life falls into four stages. In the first, he and Plaxy grow to maturity. The two prove to be equal in intelligence. Sirius learns to speak English, with a strong canine accent, and with the assistance of specially designed gloves, he even learns to write. Plaxy’s hands are her most distinct advantage over the dog. Sirius, however, has an advantage in his sense of smell. When the two companions finally are separated by Plaxy’s departure for boarding school, Sirius devotes himself to a practical education in sheep farming.
The second and third major phases of Sirius’ life allow Olaf Stapledon to comment on two English cultures. In the first of these, Sirius is transported to Trelone’s laboratory in Cambridge, where he becomes the object of scientific study and science becomes the object of his canine study. In the next phase, Sirius, desiring a fuller comprehension of human possibilities, travels to London’s East End and resides for a time with Elizabeth’s cousin, the Reverend Geoffrey Adams. Adams himself embodies a Christian ideal; his destitute wards, however, represent the unhappy consequences of the economic system Stapledon opposed throughout his life.
The final phase of Sirius’ life describes the disintegration of Sirius’ man-dog character. It takes place against the dark human catastrophe of World War II. Partly in fulfillment of his canine character (Sirius has always felt the thrill of the hunt) and partly as a reaction against the inhumanity of humans, Sirius experiences moments of regression into a wolf-dog state of bestial aggression. He kills a brutal human overseer in Wales, then kills and eats other animals and men. The return of his beloved Plaxy restores him to a sort of human sanity, and the two of them live peacefully as a couple for a brief time. When the war calls Plaxy away, Sirius reverts for a final time and in the end is shot on the wild Welsh moors. He dies in the arms of Plaxy, who then sings his eulogy in his peculiar dog-English tongue.