Title: Homage to
Luxenben,
Subtitle: Adventures on a Utopian Planet
Author: Dan
HurwitzWebsite: www.homagetoluxenben.org
Genre: literary science fiction
ISBN: 978-0-615-59517-7
REVIEW OF “HOMAGE TO
LUXENBEN,
ADVENTURES ON UTOPIAN PLANET”
ADVENTURES ON UTOPIAN PLANET”
Rebellious, highly
erratic, nineteen-year-old Neuman carries the world’s miseries on his
shoulders. And, as a fervently religious teacher of Hebrew, he is likewise
dismayed by the way his fellow Jews regularly violate the demanding rituals of
Talmudic law. In his daily prayers, the troubled Neuman implores God to help
him reconcile these abominations with his proclaimed love for mankind. But to
no avail. God remains immutable and the conundrum continues to haunt the young
man. Then, quite by accident, he stumbles upon the following classified ad in
his Sunday paper.
EMPLOYMENT,
MISCELLANEOUS
FULL-TIME
SPECIMEN WANTED
Male
human being between ages of fifteen and twenty-one wanted for display in
Luxenben’s prestigious zoological garden. DUTIES: During working hours,
specimens are simply required to stroll about the zoo’s extensive grounds and
make themselves visible to the zoo’s visitors. When directly encountering
visitors, specimens may be called upon to exchange pleasantries, to pose for
pictures, and/or graciously accept little bags of nuts when proffered. Mondays
and Tuesdays off aside from occasional evening viewings for zoo benefactors.
Participation in animal-act performances strictly voluntary. First class food
and lodging. Rapid promotion to trustee possible. Among trustee privileges are
guided tours providing first-hand exposure to the flawless workings of
Luxenben’s utopian civilization. QUALIFICATIONS: Good moral character rooted in
religious belief. Sociable disposition, natural rapport with children, and
ability to relate to fellow inmates of dramatically diverse physiologies.
Desirous of quiet, comfortable lifestyle, liking for solitude, and unmarried.
Reply to Box E-19 with current photo.
From this single post,
Neuman jumps to a number of improbable assumptions: One, the ad was the
response from God that he had been praying for. Two, he was among the first to
learn that God, being fed up with mankind’s scurrilous behavior and
disappointed by the lapses committed by his chosen people, had decided to
abandon humanity in favor of a more civilized and obedient population. Three,
Neuman’s mission was to go to Luxenben to lay the groundwork for God’s
relocation there by converting the natives to Judaism, God’s one and only true
faith. Four, the conundrum that so puzzled him was now explained, or, more
accurately, demolished. Earthquakes, tidal waves, wars, and so on were
obviously God’s way of cleaning house prior to his
departure.
Neuman applies for the
job advertised and, as he expected, succeeds in winning it. He is given
directions to a secluded site where he is to procure transportation. A slipup
occurs, however, when the spacecraft sent to pick up Neuman inadvertently sweeps
up an uninvolved observer as well, the middle-aged, conservative businessman,
Stelzer. When the two men arrive at Luxenben, a second inexplicable turn of
events takes place. It is Stelzer who is comfortably quartered in the zoo,
whereas Neuman is whisked off to the Research Campus of Space Ventures, Inc.,
the planet’s largest interplanetary trading company. There Neuman is held
incommunicado within its Product Development Division.
Thanks to his native
skill at assimilation, Stelzer rapidly accomodates himself to life in the
Zoological Garden devoted to Semi-intelligents such as himself. He is promoted
to trustee, abides contentedly in his apartment, and, out of natural curiousity,
studies how the planet functions. He is soon impressed by its coherent
political, economic, social, and religious systems all based on a bedrock
philosophical premise—i.e., the recognition that intelligent beings, no less
than other animals, are subservient to the rule of nature. Accordingly,
Luxenben’s political system is modeled on the workings of the mammalian brain
with its separate autonomic and voluntary circuitry. Proposals for new laws
percolate from the bottom tiers of society upward until being finally vetted by
a rotating panel of experts—all without the necessity of legislative or
executive involvement. Likewise, the planet’s economic, social, and religious
institutions bear little resemblance to their counterparts on earth—that is to
say, the planet’s efficacious systems lead to happiness and prosperity for all
its inhabitants.
Neuman, meanwhile,
emerges from Research mysteriously altered, but as messianic as ever. Despite
their differences, he and Stelzer become close friends. Neumna marries a native
girl and seems set for a normal family life when Space Ventures, at its annual
meeting, announces that it has selected the young man to lead an expedition to
instill Luxenben’s nature-based religion on earth. The company hopes that this
first attempt to rationalize a Semi-intelligent planet will make it legally
eligible to buy Luxan advanced technology. If successful, the experiment, when
repeated elsewhere, will enable the firm to expand its sales territory and
fatten profits. But Stelzer fears the campaign will prove highly dangerous for
his friend and the book ends in a cascading series of surprises as the older man
valiantly attempts to thwart the launch.
Not your usual science
fiction.
~Author Dan Hurwitz also blogs at writersnotebook.org .
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