Le Monde of Ā

Le Monde of Ā (original title: The World off No one-HAVe ) is a Romance of Science-fiction, written in 1945 by A.E. van Vogt (Canada) and translated into French in 1953 by Boris Vian (France). The title decides “Le Monde of the non-A”.

The work is regarded as a major work of van Vogt. It has a continuation, the Players of Ā , and belonged to the Cycle of Ā.

The novel is followed of a postface of the author.

Summary

A man discovers that its mental identity was faded without it knowing by which; he leaves then to research his real identity. During this search, he perishes, but his “spirit” réincarne at once in another body similar to his. Examinations will show that this body has additional cerebral matter, from which he will learn how to be useful himself and who will allow him to put in failure a project of invasion of the Venus planet (then colonized) by a hostile galactic civilization.

Comment

The novel of A.E. van Vogt concerns four kinds at the same time: the detective novel, the philosophical test, the mythical tale and the science-fiction novel.

Police officer

It is Damon Knight, the famous criticizes of this novel, which notices that the World of Ā is built like a detective novel. He thinks that van Vogt is condemned by transgressing two rules of this kind: “All the indices which will be used to solve the problem must be given the reader in advance; and all the characters, if fantastic that their acts can appear, must have of the plausible reasons to act thus”.

While being based on such a reasoning, it is easy for him to detect faults in the account. For example, the persons in charge of the Greatest Empire want to destroy the terrestrial capacity at all costs, even that to defy the galactic League, which involves a war of galactic proportions. However, on the Earth even, a “leader of the play” (according to the expression of Knight) opposes these aimings secretly by handling the hero. According to Knight, it is about a nut since Gosseyn should tend to kill the gang leaders on the Earth, which he does not do. However, to do it the history would abruptly have finished.

A such genious detective being opposed to an astute police officer, Jacques Goimard refutes these attacks in numbers 102,103 and 104 of the magazine Fiction . This refutation is published also in the World of the non-A / the Players of the non-A of the Opta editor with the article Tentative of rational interpretation . It takes again the reflection of Knight, while accepting its conclusions. However, it does not stop in way. According to Sadoul, the leader of play affirms that it made errors and that it is a such lady in a cosmic set of failures. For Knight, that proves that the novel is bad, but Sadoul concludes from it that the intrigue serves a third character and that it is necessary to go up until him. It is in fact about Eldred Crang, the detective Ā! Besides Knight regards it as the true hero of the history. If this character is compared with Robert Hedrock of the Cycle of the merchants of weapons, its plans start to make direction.

Van Vogt rejected this interpretation of Sadoul. There are too many elements which are lacking to regard it as a detective novel, style that van Vogt knows well to have read some several being younger. It is not a thriller, because the hero does not return blow for blow. There is also a desire to bring back the intrigue to a detective novel to enigma, way Agatha Christie, which van Vogt considers rather reducing. What appears, it is rather the Los Angeles as seen by the author: light of the City of the plays, soft Venus temperature, etc

It seems that it is rather necessary to be directed towards the atmosphere which emerges. The hero does not know from where it comes, it is generally alone, the Machine of the plays is indifferent to his fate, etc They are rather the indices of a schizophrenic world .

Philosophical

Van Vogt dedicates an admiration without reserve with the general Sémantique stated by Alfred Korzybski, which he discovered when he was established with Los Angeles in 1944. It spends much time to control it, which appears in the continuation of this novel: Players of Ā , where epigraphs underline the projecting points of its report of research.

General semantics derives from the Nominalisme English. To affirm that the immature children and adults identify, it is to say that they confuse the objects (who are always singular) and their representation (which are an abstraction and very often a generalization, which are the fact of the spirit and which remains there). To say that the chart is not the territory, it is to affirm that science is not the world only it describes. The true scientist is that which knows that its knowledge is not total.

The analytical Philosophy Anglo-Saxon, founded by Bertrand Russell and George Edward Moore around 1900, is the source of the knowledge of Korzybski. It attracts Wittgenstein, just like several European thinkers who migrate to the the United States during the Années 1930 to flee the threat Nazi E.

For several, the vocation of the language is to describe the world in a clear way. Some (for example, Russel and Carnap) think that one can arrive there only while using the mathematical language. Others (for example, Wittgenstein and Moore) are more accommodating: they accept that ordinary sentences can carry out work. In this last case, it is necessary however “to fight against ensorcellement of the language” according to Moore.

More than one author of science fiction had certainly heard of work of these academics, without however reading their writings because of their difficult nature. Perhaps this situation encouraged them to make a parallel with the nature of their work: how to speak with the common run of people about unknown things using a known language? At this point in time Korzybski appears and made something whose these academics are unable: it popularizes.

He is engineer of formation and studied the writings of the logician Lukasiewicz. Armed with this luggage, he also emigrates him in the United States and initiates himself with mental pathology under the control of William White of 1924 to 1926. It is shortly after that it creates this curiosity: general semantics.

Being based on modern mathematical logic and analytical philosophy, he criticizes Aristote and his identity principle. The word is not the thing: the word apple tree does not give apples. This identification causes the neurosis. If a person lies once, does one have to join to him the epithet of liar for the remainder of his life? The Institute of general Semantics, founded in 1938, wants to cure these neuroses by eliminating the identification among people.

The authors of the magazine Astounding Stories discuss it between them, undoubtedly at the instigation of the editor John W. Campbell, fond of delicacies of these innovations. For example, Robert A. Heinlein proposes in Campbell a future world where general semantics cures people of their neuroses. More influenced is however van Vogt. In the Fauna of space , published in 1939, it evokes an integrating science, the Nexialisme. It creates Human stronger and the more intelligent. Ā, thanks to the writings of Korzybski, is the version ordinate of the nexialism.

In the novel, the presence of general semantics is very apparent, as well in the account as in the speech. She cures the mentally ills who will be able consequently to go on Venus, the anarchistic Utopia where all the Human ones act in a responsible way. This way of being and of acting enables them to become supermen. For example, the extraterrestrial armies unload on planet and of conquered, it becomes victorious, Venusian Ā being spontaneously formed in militia and attacker of the higher armies of number and in technology.

Mythical

With more than one recovery, atheists show van Vogt to be a spirit of religious nature, whereas it is atheistic. Le Monde of Ā is worth criticisms to him more muscular: while being based on the writings of Alfred Korzybski, it would have poured in metaphysics. However, the critics forget that the science fiction is often speculative and seldom tries to find the truth, but many plausible situations.

Consequently, what could be more natural than to think than Gosseyn is born the empty brain? The next step, for him, is to find which it is. It makes a search of the direction of its life: “It is necessary that I know who I am” (chapter 4). This one is followed of its death, then of its resurrection. It is about a banal initiatory process in more than one religion, just like in various mythologies. This rebirth is besides a shock and for the reader and for Gosseyn.

Who brings back Gosseyn to the life? No one does not know it, but such a character is certainly very powerful, the equal one of a god. Van Vogt gives an unexpected answer to the final chapter, where Gosseyn discusses with a death. It is there that the latter discovers its creator, a man who resembles to him curiously. Gosseyn is thus its own creator. This discovery supplements its search for direction.

Science fiction

This novel can it be science fiction, whereas it is already of triple nature? Yes, if we look it like a hypothetical situation planted in a futuristic decoration (at least, at the time of its drafting). Venus the terraformée , just like the space flight, is not for tomorrow, but it is allowed to dream of such adventures.

Criticisms specialized

The American anthologist Groff Conklin declared in connection with the novel of A.E. van Vogt: “ Le Monde of Ā is undoubtedly one of the most enthralling science-fiction novels which were written, at the same time by its richness and its complexity. ”

French editions

A.E. van Vogt, Le Monde of Ā , translated from American by Boris Vian, Hatchet and Gallimard, coll “the fantastic Ray”, 1953;
A.E. van Vogt, Le Monde of Ā , translated from American by Boris Vian, CHOSE, coll “Club of the book of anticipation”, n°4, 1966;
A.E. van Vogt, Le Monde of Ā , translated from American by Boris Vian, I have Lu, coll “Science fiction”, n°362, 1970 (final edition, republications in 1972,1973,1974,1976,1980,1984,1989,1992,2001);
A.E. van Vogt, Le Monde of Ā , translated from American by Boris Vian, translation revised by Jacques Sadoul, Presses of the City, “Bus” coll, 1990;

Extract published in:

A.E. van Vogt, Le Monde of Ā , translated from American by Boris Vian, Seghers, coll “Anthology-youth”, n°4, 1966;

Traditional of the science fiction

This novel is regarded as a great classic of the Science-fiction in the following reference books:

Annick Beguin, 100 principal titles of the science fiction , Cosmos 2000,1981;
Jacques Sadoul, Anthology of the literature of science fiction , Ramsay, 1981;
Jacques Goimard and Claude Aziza, Encyclopedia of pocket of the science fiction. Guide reading , Presses Pocket, coll “Science fiction”, n°5237, 1986;
Denis Guiot, the Science fiction , Massin, coll “the world of… ”, 1987;
Investigation of Fanzine Carnage society man near his readers, 1989;
Lorris Murail, the Masters of the science fiction , Bordered, coll “Compact”, 1993;
Stan Barets, science-fictionnaire , Denoël, coll “Presence of the future”, 1994.

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