Those Who Watch Over the Earth

Dave Jenkinson is Associate Dean of the Faculty of Education at the
University of Manitoba.

Boy genius Marc Alix, 15, is already studying master’s-level courses
at the Montreal Polytechnical School when a congenital heart defect that
limits his life expectancy to age 20 is discovered. Because Marc’s
father and stepmother have little time for him, he finds a parental
substitute in his uncle and godfather, Dr. Horace Guillon, a research
scientist in a privately run organization specializing in neurological
research. Working as his uncle’s research assistant, Marc participates
in the development of a kappa, an electromagnetic wave that can help
epilepsy sufferers. Fearing that the police or military could also use
this discovery to control the population through mood alteration,
Guillon decides to discontinue his research program and to destroy his
notes. Telling Marc the location of one last hidden set of microfiche
notes, Guillon instructs his nephew to destroy them should something
“happen” to the older man. Guillon’s subsequent sudden death (by
“heart attack”) places Marc in jeopardy when the Canadian armed
forces and the RCMP become convinced that the boy has knowledge about
the wave.

Overlaid on the “wicked government versus noble scientist” theme is
a science-fiction tale involving Erymeans, members of a human society
who live on one of the asteroids between Mars and Jupiter, whence they
“watch over the Earth.” Half a century more advanced than
Earthlings, the Erymeans maintain a surreptitious surveillance on Earth,
hoping to prevent world wars, nuclear confrontations, and ecological
disasters. The Erymeans also recruit “promising” humans to join them
in their “task.” Marc is so chosen, but he dies while attempting to
destroy the microfiche. The book concludes flatly, with Marc’s being
given a new biosynthetic heart, contemplating his future on Erymede.

Sernine introduces numerous social themes that deserve further
exploration. Unfortunately they are submerged in facile explanations of
Erymean technology and social evolution. Erymeans have, of course,
already solved such problems as overpopulation, overconsumption, and
hostile race relations. Though designed for middle-school readers, this
book will not appeal to most science-fiction fans, especially those
favoring an H.G. Wells style of social criticism, for Sernine spends too
much time “telling” rather than “showing.”