CHILDREN OF THE LENS (kids today, honestly..!)

[dochermes]

Comments

[anonymous]

Every time I see a new Sci-Fi film with awesome effects, I say the same thing:

"So what? Big Deal! Where's my Lensmen film?"

[rab62]

Yeah, it's pretty clear what Smith had in mind. If anything, it's shocking in retrospect just how much he was able to get away with in 1947. Robert Heinlein once wrote in an essay that Smith told him what the next story in the series would have been had he not ended it, and that he never intended to write it because he knew it would be unpublishable. Having a diverse group of Lensmen is one thing; turning it into the story of a superior breed of humans with supreme power over the universe because of their carefully maintained genetic purity is something else altogether.

[baron_waste]

I was going to say, this is clearly what Smith was aiming for. And manipulation wasn't limited to the Children:  You may recall, the Arisians set it up so NO one of Kinnison or MacDougall bloodline would feel anything but aversion to one another UNTIL Kimball and Clarissa came along, to prevent premature interbreeding.  And the Lensmen themselves were clearly “genetic heroes” with “the look of eagles,” &c.  Pharaoh-like inbreeding among the Kimball Kids only made sense in that context.

Eugenics was a big thing back then.  It took the Nazi Party's excesses to throw it out - and if they'd won, it might not have lost favor even then.

[moon_custafer]

There's a fanfic where one of the girls attempts an out-breeding program, but her intended isn't interested: Sheldon of the Lens.

[moon_custafer]

That's a fun read--thanks for the link!

WT

[pronker]

LOL about Farmer getting into the story ... and I've not read any of the series, yet think that such a grandiose saga as you've described deserves a movie.

[anonymous]

I want one of those destructive beans mentioned at the end of pargraph 2! I went to a diner once that must have had Lensmen as chefs!