The Voyage of the Space Beagle

 

I’d never read A.E. Van Vogt. I was aware of him, though. I recall being of the opinion that his stories were largely Space Operas. Where I’d heard this escapes me. Perhaps it is because of this very “novel.” I place that word on quotation marks because a great many of Vogt’s novels are what he called “fix-ups.” A fix-up was his habit of taking a number of his published short stories and rewriting them, linking them together into novel form. How successful he was in this is open to interpretation.

Maybe I ought to introduce A.E. Van Vogt. He was Canadian, later residing in California. He was primarily a short story writer, a regular contributor to Astounding Science Fiction magazine during the Golden Age of Science Fiction, and has been cited as being of profound influence to a great number of SF writers who followed after him: Philip K. Dick, Harlan Ellison, Robert Sawyer, to name a few. He “was the first writer to shine light on the restricted ways in which I had been taught to view the universe and the human condition", declared Ellison. A great many others concur, it would seem, from what I've read of him; but recognition was a long-time coming. That might be because his prose had a fragmented, and sometimes bizarre narrative style. Or it may be because of his bizarre beliefs, and his short-lived involvement in L. Ron Hubbard’s Dianetics. Who knows why some authors bask in notoriety, and others languish in relative obscurity; why some are buried under awards and praise, and others not.

I submit that Vogt was denied praise for so long may be because his output, however imaginative, was uneven. In turns out that Vogt was in the habit of recycling his stories a lot. Indeed, as I noted above, this novel is one such example. The Voyage of the Space Beagle is actually a collection of four short stories, “fixed up” into what is presented here. Those stories are/were “Black Destroyer” (1939), “War of Nerves” (1950), “Discord in Scarlet” (1939), and “M33 in Andromeda” (1943). Although mostly the same as the originals, there are differences: In “Black Destroyer,” for instance, there is no mention of Beagle’s central character, Elliot Grosvenor, nor his scientific pursuit of Nexialism, Vogt’s all-encompassing meta-system prevalent throughout. Grosvenor’s role is taken up by the ship’s commander (later Director), Morton. Archeologist Korita is present, as is Chief Chemist Kent, and Biologist Smith; but not Nexialist Grosvenor. Nor is he (or Captain Leeth) or his field of expertise in “Discord in Scarlet,” either. This might be why …Beagle feels uneven, at times, why Grosvenor’s expertise feels forced. Shoed in. Nexialism feels like an impossibility, really. That someone should know just enough about every other field of study and able to make sweeping conclusions about every possible outcome of a crisis with limited input is a stretch, at best; impossible, in reality, to my mind.

The Coeurl - from "Black Destroyer"

What is far more possible is that Beagle (a reference to Charles Darwin’s voyage, his ship, and his book) is very possibly an inspiration for Star Trek. The Space Beagle is primarily an exploration vessel. Both Darwin’s voyage and Kirk’s Enterprise were both on a five-year mission (the Space Beagle’s mission length is not actually mentioned, but is in the order of years) to explore strange new worlds; to seek out new life and new civilizations; to boldly go where no man has gone before! (Well, maybe not Darwin’s…) Indeed, it ultimately leaves our Wilky Way galaxy, plunging into Andromeda. Along the way, it explores the ruins of a dead civilisation, encountering the Coeurl, a starving, intelligent and vicious cat-like carnivore with tentacles on its shoulders (suspiciously identical to D&D’s Displacer Beast), that kills a number of “red shirts” on the ship.

Ixtl - from "Discord in Scarlet"

The Beagle then encounters a telepathic race whose communications plunge the crew into homicidal madness. It must then survive the Ixtl, another “monster of the week,” that lays its eggs in the hollows of human cavities to reproduce. In the last story, the Beagle encounters a will-o’-the-whisp encompassing the whole of Andromeda, that unless overcome, will surely consume all life in the Milky Way in time. One cannot definitively conclude that Beagle did inspire Gene Roddenberry, but one cannot dismiss the similarities. What is conclusive is that “Discord in Scarlet” did inspire Ridley Scott’s 1979 film, Alien, however O’Bannon (the author of the screenplay) might deny it (he does), but there was enough similarity that Twentieth Century fox settled Vogt’s lawsuit, out of court, in the order of $50,000. One imagines that where’s there’s smoke there’s fire.

Illustration from "Discord in Scarlet"

The Voyage of the Space Beagle is an interesting study, if not a fabulous book. I found it dated. It might imagine an epic future for humanity, but its tech is firmly rooted in the 20^th Century. They still use atomic energy, paper, and there is a postal system aboard the ship, despite their having computers, and communicator “plates” (screens). The crew’s choice of language is a little cringe-worthy, too, referring to the Coeurl as “pussy.” I doubt they'd have been so dismissive of an obviously dangerous creature, however feline it appeared.

My greatest complaint is how clumsy Vogt’s writing is. It ain’t High Lit! His descriptions of tech sometimes left me baffled. So too descriptions of rooms. I found myself going over passages a number of times, thinking, “what are you saying!” Not a good thing. Also, why refer to video screens as "plates," when TVs existed, albeit in their infancy? Or Lazer weapons as Flame-throwers, regardless their being “atomic,” just because the beams were hot enough to melt the walls, literally?  And if they had Lazer weapons, why should the crew carry handheld “vibrators”? I expect they emitted tightly confined emitted vibrations. But can one tightly confine vibrations? One wonders whether they were merely a salacious inside joke....

My reservations aside, I’m pleased I read this time-capsule. If only that it was a precursor to Star Trek and Alien. It was a harbringer of what was to come.