The Godwhale
A far-future Earth novel of genetic engineering and a cyborg whale.
The Godwhale, a 1974 science fiction novel by American author T. J. Bass, follows his earlier work Half Past Human. It earned a Nebula Award nomination that same year. The story explores genetic and biological innovations, presented with an unusual, mystical quality.
Set on a far-future Earth, nearly all non-human life has been wiped out by extreme overpopulation. Most humans have been genetically engineered into weak, docile, small beings, heavily dependent on automation and artificial intelligence. Bass’s writing is dense with biochemical and medical language, and many scenes are clinically graphic.
The protagonist, Larry Dever, suffers a severe injury requiring a hemicorporectomy—removal of his lower body. He receives intelligent mechanical legs and is placed in suspended animation until his tissue can be regrown. When he awakens, cloning technology can restore his legs, but at a cost: years earlier, a clone or "bud child" was created and now exists as a young, language-less boy. Unwilling to let the child be sacrificed for his own body, Larry returns to suspension. His clone, Dim Dever, is chosen by the global computer Olga to carry Larry’s ancient genes to a potential colony on a planet orbiting Procyon.
Larry wakes again in a nightmare future. Technology has decayed, and a population of 3.5 trillion humans fills underground shaft cities. All freely breeding species are extinct except for five-toed neolithic humans, considered garden pests. The "Hive" of four-toed Nebish humans, supported by computers, ruthlessly hunts and recycles anyone who consumes their crops—including the five-toed Benthic Beasts living in abandoned underwater domes.
As Larry adapts to life without most of his body, accompanied by Big Har, a genetic defect who escaped destruction as an infant, an ancient, half-derelict cyborg awakens: the Godwhale. This enormous "rake" is an ocean-going biota harvester built from a genetically modified blue whale. Named Rorqual Maru, it initially tries to rejoin civilization but eventually teams up with a genetically modified clone of Larry called ARNOLD, Larry himself, and other misfits. Together, they seek the source of marine life returning to sterile oceans, while a small group of outcasts and their cyber deities survive amid the bungling of the Class One computer managing humanity.
The Godwhale was a finalist for the 1974 Nebula Award.
Quick Facts
- Author
- T. J. Bass
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Series
- The Hive series
- Genre
- Science fiction novel
- Publisher
- Ballantine Books
- Release Date
- 1974
- Media Type
- Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
- Pages
- 281 pp
- Isbn
- 0-345-31095-0
- Preceded By
- Half Past Human
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The Godwhale presents a view of a far-future Earth in which almost all non-human life has been exterminated due to rampant overpopulation, and most human beings have been transformed into weak, docile, diminutive creatures via genetic engineering and extensive reliance on automation and artificial intelligence. Bass utilizes extensive biochemical and medical terminology in the narrative, and many scenes are quite clinically graphic. The protagonist, Larry Dever, is gravely injured resulting in a radical surgical procedure, a hemicorporectomy, in which tissue below the waist is removed. He is outfitted with a set of intelligent mechanical legs, a 'mannequin', and is placed into suspended animation until the damaged tissue can be restored. He wakes at a time when cloning technology can replace his legs, although for a price. Years before he was awakened, a clone, or 'bud child', was created and is now a thriving young boy without language. Horrified by the prospect of his child being sacrificed to provide him with a new lower body, Larry opts to return to suspended animation. His child, Dim Dever, is selected by the guiding world computer, called Olga, to carry his ancient genes to a possible new colony on a planet orbiting Procyon.
Reader's Guide
The Godwhale is significant as a nominee for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1974, reflecting its impact within the science fiction community. The novel explores themes of overpopulation, genetic engineering, and the degradation of technology and science in a far-future Earth where a human population of 3.5 trillion lives in underground shaft cities. It features a unique cyborg, the Godwhale, built from a genetically modified blue whale, which teams up with misfits and refugees against a controlling computer. Reception was mixed: Lester del Rey called it 'a complex and fascinating novel' and 'a fine example of what science fiction is all about,' while Theodore Sturgeon simply declared it 'Good.' Conversely, James Nicoll called it 'not a good novel' with 'characters (who) are thin when they're not implausible,' but praised it as 'a vivid attempt to imagine how a world with trillions of humans might work.' The novel's legacy lies in its vivid, clinically graphic depiction of a biologically and socially dystopian future, and its influence on discussions of dysgenics and underwater science fiction.
Did You Know?
- The Godwhale is the sequel to Half Past Human.
- The Godwhale is an enormous cyborg 'rake' built in part from a genetically modified blue whale.
- The human population in the novel reaches 3.5 trillion, living in underground shaft cities.
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