childhoods end study

who is the author

Arthur C. Clarke

When was Childhood's End written?

1953

when is the prologue set?

late twentieth century, Soviet Union and United States are in a race to create the first spaceship with a nuclear drive

who is Reinhold?

the main scientist in the U.S.

who is Konrad Schneider?

USSR main scientist

what happens as Reinhold and Schneider are both poised for success?

giant alien spaceships appear and land over every major world city

When is the first chapter set?

five years after the prologue

What do the humans call the aliens?

The Overlords

What happens after six days of the aliens hovering over the cities?

the voice of the being that humans would come to call the Supervisor, Karellen, was relayed across every radio frequency. Speaking perfect English, Karellen informed all of Earth that its affairs were being taken over. Instantly, nations realized their sovereignty was at an end.

Which government refused to accept the Overlords' demands?

The Republic of South Africa

What happened after the Republic of South Africa refused to end their discrimination policy?

the overlords blotted out the sun for half an hour to demonstrate their power

What happened after the overlords enacted their policies?

life steadily improved for humanity

how do most of the overlords commands are transmitted?

text messages

who is the human liaison to Karellen?

Stormgren, the secretary general of the united states

How does Stormgern meet with Karellen?

he is sent up to the spaceship in a small, egg shaped spaceship, and they meet through a blank screen

Who does Stormgren meet with?

Wainwright, a clergyman and leader of the Freedom League

What is the Freedom League?

an organization that opposes the domination of the Overlords, despite the Overlords' so-far friendly attitude. The Freedom League objects to the "coddling" of the Overlords, meddling in human affairs. They don't like the idea of the World Federation, the Overlords' plan for a world government. Even more importantly, they object to the fact that the Overlords will not reveal what they look like.

How does Karellen already know about Stormgren's meeting with Wainwright?

the overlords have listening devices all over Earth

What does Karellen say about Wainwright and the Freedom League?

he points out that he is a threat to men like Wainwright because he is a threat to the world's religions, he also says he will ask his superiors if he can reveal the way he looks

What does Stormgren realize he is becoming obsessed with?

what Karellen might look like

Who captures Stormgren?

Joe, who lives in an underground bunker where he claims no spying devices can reach them and is part of a radical part of the Freedom League

What do the radicals want from Stormgren?

they want to know about Stormgren's meetings with Karellen

What does Stormgern try to persuade the radicals?

Karellen has good intentions- has implemented good rules like banning cruelty to animals, and that the radicals' cause is futile because the overlords are almost omniscient

What does Stormgren find out about his capture by the rebels?

Karellen set it up so that he can locate and track the rebels

Why does Stormgren meet a scientist?

the scientist agrees to make a tiny device that could investigate the conference room where he meets Karellen

What does Karellen tell Stormgren at their next meeting?

that in 50 years, the overlords will reveal their appearance, which will satisfy most who follow the Freedom League, if not the league itself

What conclusions does Stormgren's scientist friend come to?

Karellen is standing directly behind the "viewscreen," or rather, the one-way glass

What does the scientist give Stormgren for his last meeting with Karellen?

a powerful flashlight that he can use to see Karellen

why is it his last meeting with his Karellen?

he is retiring as secretary general

What does Karellen tell Stormgern on their last meeting?

Karellen tells him that when the Overlords reveal themselves, the human race will suffer a brief "psychological discontinuity" but they will recover, since the humans of that age will be more stable and used to the Overlords. Karellen also admits that the Overlords have "had failures" in shepherding other races, but he won't say anything more.

is Stormgern able to see Karellen at their last meeting?

yes, but he lies in the interview because he understands why the Overlords must wait to reveal themselves.

50 years later, why is there only one ship left- Karellen's over new york?

the others all turned out to projection

How does Karellen reveal himself?

he invites two children to come up and meet him, and comes out carrying them

What does Karellen look like?

a medieval drawing of the Devil

what is the reaction to Karellen's appearance

To the credit of the Overlords' work on Earth, only a few humans faint at the sight of this ancient legend come to life.

How have the overlords changed the government in the past 50 years?

the Overlords have created a single world government

What does Karellen think is the right use of power?

For instance, if a dictator chose to lead his nation in defying the Overlords and their power, Karellen would not simply destroy the country with weapons. Instead, he would slowly drive the leader mad with whispers in their head, preventing them from sleeping or thinking clearly. With these subtle, psychological methods, the Overlords were able to achieve peace on Earth.

What does the narrator suggest is the reason for some people still being frightened when they see an overlord?

"racial memory," the idea that humans may have had a disastrous contact with the Overlords in the past, and so they had developed an instinct to fear the appearance of the Devil

do the overlords come to Earth often?

no, for the gravity of Earth is too strong for them, and the sunlight too harsh.

How is Earth doing after the overlords have been there 50 years?

By the standards of all previous ages, Earth is now a utopia. Every man is guaranteed food, water, and comfortable shelter, even if they choose not to work. War and violence are a thing of the past; when the resources are spread out evenly everywhere, there is no desire for theft. The rising standards of living have also contributed to rising intelligence and psychological stability. Production is almost entirely automatic, handled by robots and automated factories. Humans work for the sake of luxury items only. The pace of life has also slowed down; people have more time to meditate and contemplate. They spend much of their time in pursuits of leisure, such as playing sports, watching television and films, or going to school.

What is the status of religion 50 years later?

Religion has been almost eliminated due to a device given to scientists by the Overlords. It allows a person to look at any instant in time over the last five thousand years, although there are occasionally gaps in the timeline. But this allowed people to see the true lives of people like Christ and Muhammed, and it did much to eliminate religion as an influence.

What are the downsides of this world?

with the end of strife comes an end to the passion for art, and the works of the current generation do not come close to those of the past. No one is worried about this but a few philosophers. Earth has yet to suffer from the greatest danger to a utopia: boredom. But most importantly, while Earth may be a utopia, no one knows what the Overlords' ultimate plans for Earth are.

What new characters do we meet in chapter 7?

a couple- George Greggson and Jean Morrel , a "super veterinarian"- Rupert Boyce, an overlord- Rashaverek, Boyce's brother in law- Jan Rodericks

What happens at Rupert Boyce's dinner party?

Boyce has recently gotten married, and George is clearly attracted to the new wife, but Jean pulls him away to explore the house, they find an overlord in the library, all three of them head back to the party where Rashaverek causes quite a sensation, George goes out to get some air and meets Jan Rodericks- who is the brother of Boyce's new wife

Who is Jan Rodericks?

a young man of twenty-seven. He has spent most of his life studying physics and astronomy. He is a restless man, not willing to be content under the utopian rule of the Overlords.

What does Jan Rodericks believe?

He feels it is no coincidence that the Overlords arrived at the very moment mankind was about to step into space. He believes the Overlords, whatever their reasons, are deliberately preventing man from ever conquering space as they have done. Jan has watched many Overlord supply ships come and go from Earth, but neither he nor any other scientists have been able to decipher the technology the Overlords use.

What do the stragglers do after Boyce's party ends?

Boyce suggests holding a seance, the ouija board replies with "I am all", the board tells them lots of correct answers, as well as the name of the Overlords' sun

what is the name of the overlords sun?

NGS-549672

What happens in Karellen's meeting with Rashaverek

reports on his observations at Rupert Boyce's party. Rashaverak tells him that Boyce himself is rather uninteresting and that, while Boyce has the world's largest library of paranormal research, he is as much a skeptic as any scientist. This is important to the Overlords; they are about scientists actively exploring things like telepathy and telekinesis. It turns out that the Ouija board was correct: the star of the Overlords homeworld is NGS 549672.

Why do they think Jean Morris is where the information came from or the vessel?

she fainted

Who asked the question about the star at the seance?

Jan Rodericks

What happens after Jean's fainting spell?

George has been shaken by Jean's fainting spell. He realizes how much he loves her, and so he proposes they join in a marriage contract. Jean agrees

What does Jan find out when researching the star?

He discovers that it is exactly in line with the direction the Overlord ships take when they leave the solar system. His biggest problem now is figuring out what he can do with this information.

What small problems are emerging on Earth?

boring headlines, professional sports are all but eliminated because so many people are good at them, humanity cannot help but wonder "where do we go from here?"

Who does Jan go to for help in reaching the stars?

Sullivan the doctor, who is a friend of Boyce

What does Sullivan agree to help Jan with?

sneaking aboard an Overlord ship

What does Jan say in his letter to his sister?

explaining that due to time dilation at the speed of light, the trip will only seem to take a few months to him, but to her it will seem like many years, and she will probably be long dead when he returns.

What is Jan's plan?

His plan is to hide himself away inside the sperm whale model that Sullivan is preparing for the Overlords. Inside a little capsule in the whale, Jan will inject himself with a drug that will put him to sleep for six weeks--most of the trip to the Overlords' homeworld. At that point, he will give himself up and, hopefully, get a chance to see the Overlords' planet before he is shipped back to Earth, returning eighty years after he left it.

What does Karellen say in his press conference?

He first reveals that a human stowaway has made it onto an Overlord supply ship. He provides Jan Rodricks' name, but he will not say how Jan snuck onto the ship. Karellen notes that many people have become restless to get into space and are wondering why the Overlords will not allow them to. Karellen assures them it is more for their own good than anything else. He gives the analogy, "what if a Stone Age human found himself in a modern city?"