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Chapter 12
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Childhood’s End, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Science and Mysticism
Benevolent Dictatorship and Freedom
Utopia and Creative Apathy
Individuality, Globalization, and Progress
The Fate of Humanity
Summary
Analysis
Jan visits Sullivan as they are building the frame of the sperm whale and Sullivan reveals that they are not giving the Overlords a real whale at all, only a convincing replica, since it is much easier to handle. Jan briefly thinks that if they are only getting a replica, the Overlords should have just built it themselves on their homeworld, rather than shipping a fake. On the other hand, a 60-foot whale will take up little space in such a massive and powerful spaceship, so perhaps it would make little difference to them.
Jan’s consideration highlights once more the disparity in power and capability between humanity and the Overlords. For human beings, shipping a massive mounted whale even across the globe would be a large and costly endeavor. For the Overlords to transport such an item across the galaxy, however, is simple, like carrying a small package on an airplane
Themes
Later, Sullivan is surveying the finished display. With the sperm whale and giant squid put together, impressively locked in mortal combat, the piece is over 90 feet long. A clerk finds Sullivan and announces that they have been given a high honor; Karellen is coming to see the display before it is delivered to the Overlords and shipped off.
Although unnecessary, Karellen’s desire to visit once again seems to indicate a certain fondness for humans, especially those, such as Sullivan, who despite the utopian state of the world have continued to extend humanity’s reach. He admires what Sullivan has done, even though, for the Overlords, obtaining a sperm whale would assumedly be a very simple task.
Themes
During his visit, Karellen is studying the whale that is about to be loaded. Sullivan is watching him, but cannot tell if Karellen suspects anything or not. Karellen explains to Sullivan that the Overlords’ home does not have any creatures so large because their planet does not have any oceans, which surprises Sullivan.
As secretive as the Overlords are, Karellen is often in the habit of revealing small details about their past to humans that he seems to feel an affinity for, telling Sullivan that their planet has no oceans, piquing his interest as a scientist. This reinforces the complexity of Karellen’s character: he is immensely secretive, but occasionally reveals details that he thinks might stimulate certain individuals, seemingly just because he cares for them.
Themes
Although it is impossible to tell by looking at the whale that a compartment for Jan is concealed inside it, Sullivan can’t help but wonder if Karellen is toying with them somehow. Karellen even asks about the story of Jonah, which obviously parallels Jan’s exploit. Sullivan replies that, while it is difficult to believe, he thinks it is technically possible for a man to survive inside a whale for so many days. Satisfied, Karellen moves on to looking at the squid and Sullivan breathes a silent sigh of relief.
In the same way that Karellen allowed Stormgren to catch a glimpse of him during their last meeting, it is quite possible that he also knows of Jan and Sullivan’s plan and is choosing to let them get away with it while keeping up the appearance of being a firm governor. The parallel of Jan’s plan to Jonah is also particularly apt—Jan will hide in a whale’s stomach to escape the watchful eye of the Overlords (standing in for God, now that religion has ceased) and to travel to a new land.
Themes
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Six hours before delivery, Sullivan expresses the stress he experienced during Karellen’s visit, and tells Jan that this is his last chance to change his mind. Jan thanks Sullivan for his help, promising to dedicate a book about his adventure to Sullivan if he ever makes it back alive. Sullivan points out that he’ll have been long dead by that point and realizes that he is sad to see Jan leave: he has grown to like the young scientist and fears that he is doing nothing more than aiding a bizarre suicide. Nevertheless, he helps Jan climb into the jaws of the whale and into the hidden compartment. As Sullivan walks back to his office, he reflects on the fact that if Jan should survive and return to this very place, it will be no less than 80 years from now.
In the process of preparing their plan, Jan develops his closest relationship to another human being that is seen in the text, assumedly over their shared passion for science and dissatisfaction with utopia. This is, in a way, a tragic development of Jan’s character, since his underlying loneliness seems to have briefly been answered, but he sacrifices his friendship with Sullivan to his ideals of exploration and discovery.
Themes
Inside the hidden compartment, Jan closes the airlock and runs a final check to make sure he has everything he needs, including food and oxygen masks. After an hour of checking, he lays back on the couch, prepares a syringe full of the tranquilizer (a drug that induces a state of suspended animation, similar to animals in hibernation), injects himself, and sleeps. Hours later, while he is unconscious, the whale and its stowaway passenger are loaded into the Overlords’ ship. The ship rises from Earth’s atmosphere, sets its course, and engages its interstellar engine.
Though humanity has already been to the moon, Jan becomes the first human being ever to leave Earth’s orbit. At this point, he is still the classic science fiction hero, sacrificing everything to see new worlds.
Themes
