In its own way, both quantum mechanics and post-structural linguistics have catapulted the notion that the nature of reality (or meaning) is in some way elusive, based on mere nothingness, into the forefront of western thought. Both disciplines have invalidated a mere mechanistic view of the universe, and made our reality dependent on choice, consciousness and language. This confrontation with nothingness, a fundamental absence, is, for me, the important question facing human civilization since the early 20th century, and can be seen to operate in every aspect of society. (But then, agreed, it is probably the case simply because I observe it). Central to it, for me anyway, are the questions it raises regarding our responsibility for the universe our consciousness shaped.
No wonder therefore that this notion recurs in Science Fiction to the extent that it does. I have not made a list, but Greg Bear’s Blood Music springs to mind, where towards the end it functions handily to snub a few missiles from the air, and more sublimely, M. John Harrison’s Light , where it is treated with more artistic and philosophical depth, and permeates every aspect of the novel. And off course, the novel I have just completed and that set me off on this trail of thought, Ian Watson’s The Jonah Kit. Unlike Bear, Watson relies on the trope that reality is determined by consciousness for more than a mere plot device, while like Harrison, he seriously investigates the moral consequences thereof. But Light and The Jonah Kit are two completely different novels, and although Christopher Priest is correct in describing The Jonah Kit as “complex and brilliant”, it never approaches the complexity of Harrison’s masterpiece.
In The Jonah Kit Watson not only builds a compelling and gripping story around the discovery that ‘nothing’ lies at the heart of existence, and that reality is determined by consciousness, but further investigates the impact that has on us as moral beings. The novel demands an answer to the fact that we are responsible for the reality we inhabit, and illuminates that it is both an individual and a collective responsibility. Dr. Paul Hammond is responsible for the choice he made to observe the universe in a certain manner emphasizing the emptiness of matter and the absence of God. But more than merely the choice made by the observer, Dr. Paul also chooses to use specific language and imagery to give meaning to his observations (there is of course no scientific validity in the reference to God), as well as carefully orchestrate the media spectacle of its dissemination and acceptance. As his motives are purely egotistical, in fact he is a downright scary megalomaniac, his responsibility is almost criminal in nature – his direct responsibility for the death of Danny certainly is. Yet he gets away with it in the end, doesn’t he?
The responsibility for the way our consciousness shapes reality cannot rest solely with the powerful and influential, how malicious they may be. Hammond’s wife and colleagues stand by and allow his view of the universe to take shape with no more resistance than mere distaste while struggling with their own demons and absences. The greatest individual responsibility in the novel lies perhaps with Richard Kimble, as he is instrumental in presenting the scientific ideology of Dr. Paul to an alien consciousness as well. Morelli’s musings that the whales chose to reject Dr. Paul’s reality seems empty when faced with the extinction of the whole species. The whales may have left for a different universe, perhaps the same one Dr. Paul thought God actually intended, but what is left is carnage and absence.
Watson refuses to resolve the issue of responsibility. No human is ever really held accountable, and we are left with a greater sense of collective responsibility. But off course we all get away with it in the end as well, don’t we? Oh we do have our little existential crisis’s, our moral anguish, famine here and there, some riots, police brutality, disease and epidemics, political machinations and corruption, but we go on from one day to the next, never making the choice for a different reality, forming our little romantic liaisons and pursuing our empty careers. As if moral discomfort is sufficient reaction to the shape we have given our world …
The Jonah Kit is an excellent and brilliant novel, among the best Science Fiction has to offer. Granted, some aspects of the science is dated: we have since 1975 observed the seconds immediately following the Big Bang, and we did not even see an absent God. We have already become so used to the idea of nothingness that it did not lead to riots at all, in fact its reception was almost indifferent. Likewise the Cold War aspects of the novel, although the novel can be said to take place in an alternative 1970’s. The depiction of Soviet and Japanese perspectives in the novel also functions to present alternative ways in which consciousness and cultural models can deal with reality and nothingness, and forms a bridge to the alien whale consciousness. Despite its age, the novel remains directly relevant to our lives, as we daily face choices determining how our society and reality will appear.
Perhaps my only criticism lies with gender issues. The novel was published in the same year as Joanna Russ’ The Female Man, yet lacks any awareness of gender issues. All three the female characters are relatively weak (though Ruth Hammond could be an exception to some degree), and sexual difference is nonexistent. Which is a pity as the relationship between sexual consciousness and reality is closely related …
Which brings me to a side track, although there is still a lot that can be said about The Jonah Kit, namely Science Fiction authors that also wrote erotic fiction. I am an absolute Delany fan based as much on Hogg and The Mad Man as on Dhalgren or Stars in my Pocket …. I also know that Robert Silverberg, another of my favourite authors, wrote some erotica, though I somehow do not expect Silverberg to share Delany’s take on sexuality J. And now I realize that Ian Watson is also the author of Orgasmachine, which unfortunately seems to be available only in Japanese. Maybe I should pursue the intersection of Science Fiction and erotica some more …