Week #6 - Childhood's End Prediction

 This entry was made a week past its due date, because I was in a funk thanks to medical problems (specifically, migraines) and mental health problems (specifically, depression.) So, not great. I'm catching up with my classwork, though. I suppose it's better to make an entry later rather than never.

Now that I've caught up with Childhood's end, up to Chapter 14, I have two theories about what might happen next for the third section of the novel. 

Theory #1: Jan dies. 

Whether he dies during the flight, as soon as he lands, or while he's interacting with the environment, I'm not sure. I wouldn't be surprised if he died during the flight, because Chapter 13 ends with him falling asleep, but then- "He never heard, far-off and faint through the mighty walls, the protesting scream of Earth's atmosphere, as the ship climbed swiftly back to its natural element. And he never felt the stardrive go on."

I can be a bit of a pessimist, so when I read that for the first time, I automatically assumed that he had died. After reading Chapter 14, though, I'm not sure I was correct; Karellen talked about Jan as if he might still be alive. I don't think the Overlords will kill him, for reasons that I elaborate on in Theory #2, but I don't think Jan will be alive long enough to return to Earth with his discoveries. I predict that the planet which the Overlords hail from is completely unsuitable for humans. 

Sure, Jan has oxygen, and masks, and food; but, according to Karellen, there are no oceans on the Overlords home planet. Humans need water and oxygen to survive, and maybe Jan will run out of both of them. There might not even be any animals to hunt, except for any animals brought back from Earth, unless I'm interpreting things incorrectly, so maybe Jan starves. If Jan takes off his mask for even a second, maybe he will die instantaneously. Up to this point, there's still so much we don't know about the galaxy; so much of my theory is based on "what if"s and "maybe"s. I do know, though, that the planet the Overlords are from is several light years away, is severely advanced, and has no oceans. It might not even have any large bodies of water there in general, or water at all, since the Overlords don't seem to need that to survive; being a alien race that conquered the Earth, they seem above that. I'm assuming that the atmosphere there has to be much thicker than it is on Earth, because I could have sworn I read something about the air on Earth being thin somewhere in Chapter 14, but now I'm having a hard time finding it. 

Maybe Jan returns to Earth, as Karellen expects, during the next ship. But will he return alive? I'll have to read more to find out. 

Theory #2 - Jan is returned before he can make any real progress.

Karellen states that "the stars are not made for Man" after explaining why he believes so. Maybe he is right, but Jan seems very capable when it comes to conducting research and gathering data. Maybe the Overlords don't want him to do this, so they'll send him right back where he came from before he can even get off of the ship. 

I doubt that the Overlords would kill Jan for sneaking onto the ship; I would be genuinely surprised if this happens, because it seems very out of character for a species that is as peace-driven and pacifist-minded as the Overlords. If that did happen, I would be disappointed, and I would consider it to be bad writing. However, it would make sense for the Overlords to just return Jan back to Earth instantly. While they are peace-driven, they are a very secretive group- it took them fifty years to even reveal Karellen's appearance. Obviously, they wouldn't take kindly to Jan figuring out where they come from and exploring that area if they're trying to keep it a secret.