HIVE-MINDS

HIVE-MINDS
   A hive-mind is the organizing principle of the community in those insect species of which the basic reproductive unit is the hive, organized around a single fertile female, the queen. The term is used more loosely in some sf stories, often referring to any situation in which minds are linked in such a way that the whole becomes dominant over the parts.Because the organization of social-insect communities is so very different from that of mammal communities, while showing a degree of structural complexity comparable only to human societies, ants and their kindred have always held a particular fascination for sf writers, and the ant-nest is the most obvious model for an ALIEN society. Early expressions of this fascination include "The Empire of the Ants" (1905) by H.G. WELLS, "The Adventures of Professor Emmett" (1939) by Ben HECHT, "The Ant with the Human Soul"(1932) by Bob OLSEN, "Doomsday Deferred" (1949) by Will F. Jenkins (Murray LEINSTER) and "Come and Go Mad" (1949) by Fredric BROWN. Wells's THE FIRST MEN IN THE MOON (1901) was the first of many to depict an alien hive-society. Giant ants and wasps are among the standard figures of menace employed by sf writers; notable examples are found in Ralph Milne FARLEY's The Radio Man (1924 Argosy; 1948), Frank A. RIDLEY's The GreenMachine (1926), Alfred Gordon BENNETT's The Demigods (1939), the film THEM! (1954) and Keith ROBERTS's The Furies (1966). Real-world scares concerning "killer bees" have been reflected in such novels as Arthur HERZOG's The Swarm (1974) and the associated Irwin ALLEN film. "The Empireof the Ants" and other stories portray hive-insects as serious contenders to end human domination of Earth, but Frank HERBERT's The Green Brain (1966) imagines a multispecies insect hive evolving in order to protectthe world's ecological balance against the short-sighted policies of humankind.Most sf novels which imagine hivelike human societies find the idea repugnant, and it is often cited as the ultimate totalitarian DYSTOPIA; examples include The Human Termites (1929 AMZ: 1979) by David H.KELLER, The Riddle of the Tower (1944) by J.D. BERESFORD and Esme Wynne-Tyson and Morrow's Ants (1975) by Edward HYAMS. L. Sprague DE CAMP's wry Rogue Queen (1951) features the revolutionary overthrow of a hivelike state. Some recent sf writers have been more conscientiously ambivalent - examples include T.J. BASS's Half Past Human (1971), Frank Herbert's Hellstrom's Hive (1973) and Robert SILVERBERG's The Queen of Springtime(1989) - but their eventual verdict remains negative. Less hivelike group-minds are not uncommon in sf stories dealing with ESP, and the idea that some kind of group-mind represents the evolutionary destiny of the species crops up frequently; it figures extensively as an image of transcendental social harmony in Olaf STAPLEDON's Last and First Men (1930) and Star Maker (1937), and is memorably developed in TheodoreSTURGEON's More than Human (1953) and "To Marry Medusa" (1958; exp vt The Cosmic Rape 1958) and in Arthur C. CLARKE's Childhood's End (1953). The loss of individuality is, however, still seen as a horrific prospect in such novels as Enemies of the System (1978) by Brian W. ALDISS and Dusha Mira (1964; trans Antonina W. Bouis as World Soul 1978 US) by MikhailEMTSEV and Eremei PARNOV.The ambivalence with which many recent sf stories regard hive-minds derives mainly from the association of group-minds with the notion of transcendent EVOLUTION, but there has also been a tendency for recent sf writers calculatedly to question the assumptions made by their forerunners. Thus, whereas in Starship Troopers (1959) Robert A. HEINLEIN was content to assume that human individualism and alienhive-organization must fight a fundamental Darwinian struggle for existence, Joe HALDEMAN was prepared to suggest in The Forever War (1974) that mankind might be greatly enriched by making peace with the aliens. The alien hive-minds in Barrington J. BAYLEY's "The Bees of Knowledge"(1975) and Keith LAUMER's Star Colony (1981) are treated with some respect, and Orson Scott CARD followed up the genocidal Ender's Game (1977 ASF; exp 1985) with Speaker for the Dead (1986), in which theguilt-stricken hero searches for a suitable home for the last surviving alien queen. The most detailed and sympathetic sf image of an alien hive-society is that in Serpent's Reach (1982) by C.J. CHERRYH; another clever deployment is in Linda STEELE's Ibis (1985), an ironic account of a love affair between an alien female and a human male. The actual genetic politics of hive-organization - revelation of which has been the greatest triumph of the sociobiology of Edmund O. Wilson (1929-) - whereby the misnamed "queen" stands revealed as a helpless sex-slave forced to work to the genetic advantage of her sisters, has not yet found significant reflection in sf.
   BS
   See also: COMMUNICATION; LIVING WORLDS; POLITICS; SUPERMAN.

Science Fiction and Fantasy Encyclopedia. . 2011.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Group mind (science fiction) — A group mind, hive mind or group ego in science fiction is a single consciousness occupying many bodies. Its use in literature goes back at least as far as Olaf Stapledon s science fiction novel Last and First Men (1930).[1] A group mind might be …   Wikipedia

  • Neal Asher — Born Essex, England Occupation Novelist Nationality British Period …   Wikipedia

  • Collective identity — Spectator cards complement a mass dance display, Kaeseong, North Korea The term collective identity may refer to a variety of concepts. In general however, these concepts generally pertain to phenomena where an individuals perceived membership in …   Wikipedia

  • Creature type (Dungeons & Dragons) — In the Dungeons Dragons fantasy role playing game, creature types are rough categories of creatures which determine the way game mechanics affect the creature. In the 3rd edition and related games, there are between thirteen and seventeen… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Doctor Who universe creatures and aliens — This is a list of fictional creatures and aliens from the universe of the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who, including Torchwood, The Sarah Jane Adventures and K 9. It covers alien races and other fictional creatures,… …   Wikipedia

  • Headmaster (Transformers) — Headmasters are a sub group of characters from the Transformers meta series, distinguished by their ability to detach their heads when transforming into their alternate modes, with the heads then transforming themselves into a humanoid form.… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Doctor Who monsters and aliens — This is a list of monsters and aliens from the long running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who . The list includes some races which are not extraterrestrial, but are nonetheless non human. This list is meant to cover alien races and …   Wikipedia

  • Characters in the Deltora Quest series — The Deltora series features a wide line of characters, both important and minor. The series also features many different monsters and creatures that appeared in all of the many different books. This article is a list of the many different… …   Wikipedia

  • List of Deltora Quest characters — The Deltora series features a wide line of characters, both important and minor. The series also features many different monsters and creatures that appeared in all of the many different books. This article is a list of the many different… …   Wikipedia

  • Chaotix — The Chaotix are a group of fictional characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games. They debuted in the game Knuckles Chaotix (simply called Chaotix in Japan). The group, or individual members in it, has since appeared in Sonic the… …   Wikipedia

  • Ancient technology in Stargate — The Ancients (also known as Alterans and Lanteans ) are a fictional advanced race in the Stargate franchise, and are depicted as the precursor to modern day humans. Their most notable creation in Stargate mythology is the entire Stargate network …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”