It is as natural for a "child" to develop as it is for an idiot endowed with telepathic talents and sensitivities. Hence, Hip's reduction to a childlike state is a rich source of developmental incidents. His first step forward is when he shows concern for Janie's well-being and has her eat the breakfast which she had prepared for him, thus exhibiting an "adult" independence and sense of responsibility. We have already noted the expansion of his "world," which may be looked on as development from circumscribed foetus to "space-binding" (Korzybski' s term) adult. On a structural note, when Hip gains recall of his memories the same phrase is used which had terminated the passage about him in Part One: "It was on the anti-aircraft range that he found an answer, a dream, and a disaster."

Still on the subject of development, it is a logical development to Hip that Homo Gestalt should have evolved. He becomes more mature, and develops an understanding of Man as an ethical creature. (The book's development of the idea of Man reflected in gestalt being is quite neat: Lone is the tool-user, Gerry the environment-conqueror, and Hip the giver of laws). Hip explains what he calls the "ethos" to Gerry, and the penultimate step in the development of the Gerry-gestalt is accomplished in the incorporation of Hip as the "still, small voice." Almost immediately, the ultimate step is accomplished: they are incorporated into the community of gestalts. As a final touch to the development pattern, Gerry learns that the über-gestalt (which considers itself a part of humanity) is responsible for many of the acts of human progress. "Here was one who had whistled a phrase to Papa Haydn, and here one who had introduced William Morris to the Rossettis . . . [and he saw] a drowsy Ford with his mind suddenly lit by the picture of a line of men facing a line of machines." (p. 232)

A quotation above suggests a connection between the forming of "alliances" and the process of development--the Prodds took in Lone and became "something different;" Lone took in the kids and became "something different"; the use of "took in" is quite suggestive itself. The culminating alliance, or taking in, is the incorporation of the Gerry-gestalt into the über-gestalt. The theme of development is abetted, however, by a series of shifts of alliances--with anything around that happens to be wearing pants, for instance. Others are helpful, though partial, expedients--Janie, and the twins' running away, for instance. The very number and the progression of the alliances furnish a forceful picture of the process of development: First were Lone and Evelyn, ill-fated but a start for Lone toward further alliances; after being beaten by Mr. Kew, Lone is taken in by the Prodds; Lone eventually becomes aware of a sense of membership with them; Lone takes in the twins and Janie, then Baby; he learns from Baby about the desirability of the idiot-innocent merger; finally, for Lone, there is the alliance with Alicia Kew wherein she furnishes him with information, and he furnishes her with physical gratification (the alliance with Gerry is told by Gerry, hence not too important in the Lone scheme). Hip's alliance with the Army turns out to be unsatisfying, but Janie's with the twins is the first one in the book which leads to a feeling of happiness for the allies. Gerry forms a temporary alliance with Stern, which proves to be a curative one; the gestalt he reveals himself to be is, of course, the alliance which leads to the best end, and was even good when Lone, the kids, and Gerry were in the woods "bleshing". ("Lone said maybe it was a mixture of 'blending' and 'meshing,' but I don't think he believed that himself. It was a lot more than that." p. 94) The kids' alliance with Alicia is dangerous to them, mainly because she is so selfish--wanting them to "be" her children; even worse was the brief telepathic alliance Gerry formed accidentally with Alicia, which led to his "Baby is three" occlusion. Finally, Janie takes Hip in, and Hip is cured; then the gestalt takes Hip in and it is cured. The culmination has been mentioned, the grand alliance of gestalts.

The merger of Hip into the Gerry-gestalt has been prepared for skillfully by means of a Gerry-Hip parallel which operates in terms of both form and content. They were introduced at the same time in Part One, and both dropped after one passage, each to receive a whole part about him subsequently. Both were rescued from dirt and hunger. (They both even get sick after being fed the first time by Janie.) Both have mental occlusions. Hip learned when he was a child that "I was useless and the things I wanted were by definition useless" (p. 213); Gerry just wanted to do what comes naturally--both lacked "values." Janie wanted to show Gerry how Hip had decayed, rather than living up to his brightness and promise; when Gerry went manic-depressive (the term is used by Janie and Hip), the same process of decay was taking place. Finally, Hip draws the parallel overtly:

Listen to me, orphan boy, I am a hated boy too. You were persecuted; so was I ... Listen to me, Miss Kew's boy, you lost yourself for years until you went back and learned again. So did I. Listen to me, Gerry. You discovered that no matter how great your power, nobody wanted it. So did I. You want to be wanted. You want to be needed. So do I. [p. 228]

"Multiplicity is our first characteristic; unity our second" Gerry learns at the end. The unity is, of course, achieved through the process of what I have called alliances or mergers. In a sense, the process is "physicalized" through touching, or physical contact; e.g., if the idiot and the innocent "so much as touch" they will be changed. Instead of listing all the touch images, I shall merely mention one, and note that the rest can all be considered to be the mechanism for various of the mergers. The call Evelyn "sends" to Lone is worth mentioning. It becomes, to him, " Touch me, touch me." The importance of touching is played up through a song Evelyn sings (p. 11) about touches which horrifies Alicia, the fact that the Kews "don't touch one another," and the whipping Lone gets as a result of his having touched Evelyn. The emphasis and repetition of touching are a cue; they would not, it seems, be there unless there were some necessity in terms of the work as a whole--and necessity there is, as explained just above.

Another group of elements relating to the theme of development are those pertaining to communication. Lone develops the power of communication with the Prodds, enabling him to become "human." Janie can communicate with Baby, enabling the gestalt to form. The psychiatric process is accomplished through Gerry's communicating his problems to Stern, and in overcoming his occlusion he is able, in a sense, to regain communication with his memory. Stern, by the way, notes at some length the human failing of inability to communicate. Miss Kew wouldn't even talk to Gerry until he mentioned Lone. Hip thinks at Gerry, and communicates to him his conclusions about morality. And finally, on the incorporation with the über-gestalt, there is "happy and fearless communion." (p. 231)

The concept of morality is not sprung upon the reader at the end of the development of the communication. It, too, undergoes a form of development in the incidents relating to moral issues. For instance. when Gerry and Lone were stealing food and Gerry took a bright yellow ball point pen, Lone made him put it back, saying "We only take what we need." (p. 96) There is a rudimentary sense of morality here, but Gerry does not comprehend: "morality" must be a conscious thing, and in his case a learned one. Stern's explanation of Gerry's loneliness is in terms of Gerry's lack of morality, and once again Gerry does not understand what is meant. With Hip the case is altogether different. His very name, which we finally learn is from Hippocrates, suggests the rather highly developed moral code of the Hippocratic oath. Also, he is called prissy on numerous occasions and quotes Scripture at least once. The merging of the amoral Gerry and the over-moral Hip is an instance of the dialectic process (which is the form of most of the communication: question, answer, new question ...): embarassment with unconcern into a proper outlook.

Janie brought Hip to Gerry so that Gerry might learn to be ashamed, so that he might see how Hip's original brightness and promise have been prostituted. The parallel between Gerry and Hip suggests, of course, that this is the same thing which has happened to the gestalt. Hip understands what Janie wants. He realizes that "Morals: they're nothing but a coded survival instinct!" (p. 220) But they apply to an individual in a society. What Gerry needs, having at this stage no society of which to be a member, is what Hip defines as an "ethos," a code for species survival. He over-comes Gerry physically, with the help of the twins. However, he realizes that the moral act of killing a "monster" is superseded by the ethical act of allowing the species to progress in the "superman." He then frees Gerry and places himself in his power. Gerry extracts his thoughts and is ashamed. This accomplished, the über-gestalt is able to contact Gerry and explain to him the final stage of the development--the humanistic ethic which regards the gestalts as a part of humanity, revering humanity as its parent, and a partner in the progress of the human race.

The final area of development suggested by incidents is that of "authority," or power. Kew loses his authority to Lone, who in turn loses his temporarily to the Prodds. The Prodds lose their authority to Lone, who also gains authority over the kids (who had usurped authority from their respective parents). Due to Lone's, and later Gerry's, weakness, Baby is actually the boss of the gestalt in its initial phases. Alicia's attempt to take over causes Gerry to kill her, but before he can assert himself he must temporarily cede the authority to Stern. Janie rebels against Gerry's misuse of his authority, and enables Hip to become dominant. Hip's tenure is brief, but useful; and when he relinquishes the power to Gerry, Gerry immediately acknowledges the authority of the über-gestalt. But the über-gestalt is guided by the ethos, so the final authority rests where it should, with the philosophical sanction of humanism.

In terms of images, the theme of development is implemented in three major areas. First is Nature and natural images, which are linked throughout with growth and shelter. The drives mentioned earlier are an example. Also, Prodd's being a farmer, a grower of things, relates to his developing Lone. Lone waits in the woods for completion, and the original dwelling of the gestalt was a covered-over hut-cave in a mountain. Hip's investigation of "natural" phenomena (the strange behavior of proximity fuses over the area which turned out to have the anti-gravity device in it) leads him to Gerry. These and other instances of natural images culminate in the description of the über-gestalt as "a laughing thing with a human heart and a reverence for its human origins, smelling of sweat and new-turned earth rather than suffused with the pale odor of sanctity." (p. 233) The major theme of development or completion is a natural process, and in the context of the book, Nature is a good thing.

A second area of imagery which suggests development is that of animal images. Lone's progression from description as animal to description as human being has already been noted. Throughout, the animal nature of people is treated as a bad thing. Alicia makes sounds like a goose's honking. Gerry lived like a sewer rat. Janie describes the gestalt's lot as being like living on a desert island with a herd of goats. She felt human when she thought of Hip as a big glossy stallion or a bantam rooster when she first saw him, suggesting that the divorcement is between humanity and low animality but that proud and noble animals have something in common with what humans should be. There are many other uses of animal imagery; as a matter of fact, probably more than any other type. However, the only other instance I should like to cite is the death of Prodd's horse: Let us note that its death impels Lone to build the anti-gravity generator which in turn brings Hip into the picture. That is, it serves as a very important causal link in the overall process of development.

The anti-gravity device and its importance suggest the final area of imagery I shall note here: technological images. Hip's attempts to progress through making various electronic gadgets are failures. Lone's helping Prodd push the truck out of the mud causes Prodd to call him a hydraulic jack. Baby is like an adding machine. The initial description Lone offers Alicia of the gestalt is in terms of radio transmitters and receivers. For the most part I believe that a negative value (because the descriptions are among the group of faulty assumptions) is being attached to dehumanized technology. Lone needs an ax with which to build a shelter, and this is all right; but when Hip plays games with an elevator's control panel, he gets in trouble.

At first blush, it may appear surprising to find technology cast in a bad light in a science fiction story. Having read Chapter I, the reader will not, I hope, be shocked. The point is that a view of "hardware" technology as possibly inimical to humanity is both philosophically plausible, and biologically necessary in the scheme of hypotheses which underlies More Than Human, which is not at all guilty of the charges of Scientism or plumping for technological progress at all costs. It is, rather, a concrete instance of the humanism of which I believe modern science fiction is "guilty." The "technological impact upon Society" definition of science fiction cuts both ways, and the possibility that technology may be biologically bad (for the mind should be used rather than the gadget) is just as valid a basis for a work as are the sociological ills which technology abets in Brave New World, 1984, or The Big Ball of Wax. And to the reader who actively agrees with humanism, More Than Human is more satisfying than the satires just mentioned which endorse a humanistic approach only passively, through condemning the opposite approach of one form or another of tyranny.

To return from the digression, I believe that any further enumeration of objective factors from the novel would be of little purpose. The aspect of Complexity could be further traced out, to be sure, but the major inter-relations have been indicated, and further attempts on my part to point out complexities would take us into the area of personal opinion and "free association," thus irritating rather than enlightening the reader. To sum up before turning to a discussion of Beardsleyan Affective Reasons for liking More Than Human, we have seen that it is quite tightly unified, and highly complex. The unity of the book lies in its major theme of Development to Completion (which is unification itself, as a matter of fact)--which arises from the interplay of the opposed themes of Incompleteness and Progress. Further, the unity is supported by the formal aspects of the book, for instance the method of incomplete revelation as supporting and adding to the theme of Incompleteness.

on to next segment

back to toc

©2003 Michael A. Padlipsky. All rights reserved.