Just throwing it out there because I'm not even sure of my own opinion.
What I get from this is that Karellen and his race are essentially religious fanatics following the whim of an advanced alien creature that has decided to play God with the universe.
Yea or nay?
Well, he's a scientist, not specifically a religious nutjob, but kinda yea, in that he's carrying out the orders of what he seems to believe is an all powerful,superior being/entity that controls the workings (creation and destruction) of the universe, among other things. Could one attribute god-like status to such a being? Carry on.
shareNo. The overlords helped our species transition from children into adults.
What happened to Humanity would have always happened unless we managed to make ourselves extinct before hand...as inevitable as life's transition from the ocean onto land and into the air, but it would have been far more messy without the intervention of the overlords.
But isn't that evolution what is inevitable according to the Overmind? In other words, an alien being (who stopped humans from progressing scientifically and obtaining interstellar travel - I can't remember the exact words, but it felt very patronising and controlling), said that is what humans were going to evolve into. Only God himself, or a creator, would know the inevitable outcome. Setting aside that and believing that there is no plan, science can predict all that it wants, but there is no certainty. A single alien being helping our species transition into what it considers adults seems like another form of religion, or at least oppression. Like an alien being playing God. Making all the decisions for the human race because that's what it thinks is best.
Deciding what is best for humans and taking away all their choice. Oppressing them (even though that's not what it feels like), taking away their future and their hope, destroying their world.
And the Overlords are fanatics who believe what they are told.
Like an alien being playing God.
No. This is something that is lost in the translation from the book. The evolution wasn't impacted by the overlords in any way. Humanity would have evolved that way either way. The overlords are there to make the transition smoother, because if it is not eased into, the evolved human collective would be damaging to the overmind.
The overlords are in a way somewhat religious about the overmind, but in the novel, it is explained that they have reached the end of their evolutionary path and are unable to become a collective. They assist the overmind to help understand what they lack that allows over races to ascend. They don't mistake the overmind as having divinity. In the novel, the character of Milo (Jan) is asked to stay to help transmit information to the overlords so that they can attempt to understand why they are unable to evolve. It actually has a very sad tone to it.
Again, the overlords did not destroy Earth or take away the future. It would have happened naturally, they just eased the transition.
The other point is that while it seems like they overlords are destroying humanity, they are actually fostering the development of the next stage of humanity. Individualism is gone, but the collective of humanity is now able to transcend Earth.
So Jennifer or someone like that would have been born anyways and destroyed earth?
Is it explained what actually happens and why earth has to be destroyed?
Why don't the children (that Jennifer seems to have absorbed) just leave and keep the earth alone? If they only followed the overmind for 100.000 years then they didn't create earth and didn't have a hand in human evolution, so the destruction of a life supporting planet is a terrible crime even worse than the genocide of all humans.
It all feels pretty new-agey to me, instead of religion you get neo-religious ideas that this path and this path only is the one forward. It's pretty clear that humanity will splinter into many different forms and ways to live and exist and think in the far future. And that is totally fine as long as they are cooperating. But the collective mind idea is something like fascism.
I'm just curious if the book has to offer something more interesting to say on that topic, or if it leaves it mystical. Because I find the conclusion that humanity will suddenly evolve into a single collective consciousness obviously flawed and illogical.
It's not necessarily religion. They are following what they always have followed. One can say that is religion, but what about soldiers following their captain. It's not a religion, but a belief.
shareSo, The Overlords Are Religious Nutjobs?
They could also be compared to the Silver Surfer who feeds his master, Galactus, with new planets (energy).
I, personally, liked the movie ending a lot more than the book ending which was kind of an esoteric kumbaya. Even Arthur Clarke wrote in the preface to the 1989 edition of his book that he did not like the book ending anymore.
Bittersweet feelings about the children joining the Overmind and nostalgia for the world before the Overlords are great. But (and I have to point out that I mostly liked the miniseries) they left many people unfamiliar with the book unclear as to the point of what was going on.
It would be easy based on the miniseries alone to get the idea that the Overlords were evil beings who went from planet to planet harvesting their children and blowing up the place. The real idea was that some species evolve toward union with the Overmind and need help getting there.
The change was on it's way, but could go very wrong without intelligent, enlightened guides and a peaceful environment. Or the species could exterminate itself before realizing it's destiny.
If people are seeing the Overlords as a more sophisticated version of the aliens from V, the show makers wrote certain scenes wrong or didn't work in enough exposition. Or maybe, as cool as everything looked, there was too much of a sinister atmosphere which gave the wrong impression.
Ha, this is exactly what I took from the story. Karellen is herald for the Overmind (Galactus) who finds planets of intelligent life to eat. Just with a twist of said life ascending into a hive mind.
"I said no camels, that's five camels, can't you count?"
Is it explained in the book why earth needs to be destroyed for this unifying process? Jennifer and the evolved kids are destroying earth, right?
shareI think they're doing the opposite: it's supposed to be false christ (anti christ) that does 3 things: i) unite mankind by solving critical problems that are impossible for current technologies. ii) Combine all religions into one & be worshiped by all mankind. iii) Killed and rise again in three days and be declared God.
But showing a false prophet will offend Christians & piss off those working on this plan since forever?! Thus they do the politically correct figure (satan).
well, the fact alone that they destroy earth since mankind no longer exists, reminds me of the anthropocentric monotheist religions that don't really care about the other species.
At least these aliens made a zoo to keep some specimens. Oh, wait. That's what we do also!!!
well, the fact alone that they destroy earth
Actually, the Overlords didn't destroy Earth, it was destroyed as part of the process of the children becoming part of the Overmind. The Overlords were simply observing because they knew it was going to happen and couldn't do anything to prevent it. So, it's actually the Overmind that couldn't care less about other species, not the Overlords.
Is it explained in the book why earth needs to be destroyed for this unifying process? Jennifer and the evolved kids are destroying earth, right?
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