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Xenogenesis and the Technical Legal Subject

Kieran Tranter

in Living in Technical Legality: Science Fiction and Law as Technology

This chapter argues that a detailed reading of Octavia E. Butler’s ‘Xenogenesis’ series clarifies how, notwithstanding the challenges to its being and its agency by technical legality, responsibility ... More

This chapter argues that a detailed reading of Octavia E. Butler’s ‘Xenogenesis’ series clarifies how, notwithstanding the challenges to its being and its agency by technical legality, responsibility to becoming can allow the technical legal subject to live well in the present. The technical legal subject is revealed as a node within the networks, a blob of natureculture, a nexus point for biopolitical operations. Through Butler’s narrative of Lilith and her monstrous, hybrid human-alien children possibilities for the technical legal subject to be ‘embodied’ within a ‘location’ and ‘navigate’ the networks of the present emerge. Not only is agency empowered, notwithstanding the weight of the technical networks and the inclination to automation, but so is a form of ethics. Butler’s afrofuturism present a powerful affirmation that knowing and acting well to nurture life remains ever present, even in technical legality.Less

Childfinder (1947–1971)

Gerry Canavan

in Octavia E. Butler

This chapter discusses Octavia E. Butler's early life and writing career, focusing on her two short stories, “Crossover” (1971) and “Childfinder” (completed 1971, published 2014). It first provides a ... More

This chapter discusses Octavia E. Butler's early life and writing career, focusing on her two short stories, “Crossover” (1971) and “Childfinder” (completed 1971, published 2014). It first provides a background on Butler's birth and childhood, her family, and her early interest in fantasy and science fiction before considering her early works, favorite authors, and social anxiety. It then analyzes “Crossover” and “Childfinder” in greater detail. “Crossover” is the story of a blue-collar woman with a bad job and a worse relationship history, and is interesting for the troubling world of hopelessness, addiction, and (perhaps) incipient psychosis it suggests. “Childfinder” contains many of the important themes that would come to define Butler's later writing, including the persistence of race and racism, the lengths a person will go to survive, and the extremes a mother will endure to protect her children, and how terrible and intoxicating power is. The chapter concludes with an assessment of Butler's views on politics, particularly racial politics.Less

Psychogenesis (1971–1976)

Gerry Canavan

in Octavia E. Butler

This chapter discusses Octavia E. Butler's writing career during the period 1971–1976, focusing on her early Patternist books, Patternmaster (1976), Mind of My Mind (1977), and Survivor (1978), along ... More

This chapter discusses Octavia E. Butler's writing career during the period 1971–1976, focusing on her early Patternist books, Patternmaster (1976), Mind of My Mind (1977), and Survivor (1978), along with the unpublished “The Evening and the Morning and the Night” [I] (1970s). The chapter begins with an overview of Butler's career struggles, her early interest in fantasy and science fiction, her initial foray into commercial fiction, and her love of comic books. It then considers Butler's preference for novel writing, her professional frustrations, and her depression and self-criticism before analyzing her Patternist series in greater detail. It also examines the theme of power that pervades Butler's stories.Less

God of Clay (1989–2006)

Gerry Canavan

in Octavia E. Butler

This chapter discusses the two novels in Octavia E. Butler's Parables series, published between 1989–2006: Parable of the Sower (1993) and Parable of the Talents (1998). The Parables series ... More

This chapter discusses the two novels in Octavia E. Butler's Parables series, published between 1989–2006: Parable of the Sower (1993) and Parable of the Talents (1998). The Parables series represents prophecy rather than fantasy, prediction rather than escapism. In Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents, global warming, economic depression, and neoliberalism's accelerative hollowing-out of the public sphere have conspired to leave America in a state of near-total collapse. This chapter examines the post-apocalyptic tone of Parable of the Sower and the unfairness of God's justice in Parable of the Talents. It also considers three other Parables books that were not published: God of Clay (alternate and fragmentary versions of Parable of the Sower) (ca. 1989–1993); abandoned sketches, alternate scenes, and discarded drafts from original versions of Parable of the Talents (ca. 1993–1996); and Parable of the Trickster (ca. 1989–2006).Less

Beginning at the End

Gerry Canavan

in Octavia E. Butler

This book examines the life and work of Octavia E. Butler. Butler, who died on February 24, 2006, at the age of 58, left behind an impressive literary legacy of twelve novels and nine short stories ... More

This book examines the life and work of Octavia E. Butler. Butler, who died on February 24, 2006, at the age of 58, left behind an impressive literary legacy of twelve novels and nine short stories as well as thousands of pages of unpublished work and unfinished sequels. Writing in a genre that since its inception had been, as she put it, “nearly all white, just as until recently, it's been nearly all male,” Butler was a transformative figure in the history of science fiction and stood for decades as the genre's sole prominent black female voice. Drawing on archival material from Huntington Library, this book traces Butler's career biocritically and holistically: her false starts, her alternative, abandoned drafts, her frustrations and her triumphs. Each chapter focuses on some of her major works published between 1947 and 2006, including the early Patternist series, Kindred, Blindsight, Clay's Ark, the Xenogenesis and Parables series, Fledgling, and the short stories. This introduction provides an overview of Butler's early career, depression and self-criticism, and scholarly works about her.Less

Unexpected Stories

Gerry Canavan

in Octavia E. Butler

This chapter examines Octavia E. Butler's literary and cultural legacy. Aside from her novels, interviews, and essays, Butler has contributed to the flourishing of diversity in science fiction from ... More

This chapter examines Octavia E. Butler's literary and cultural legacy. Aside from her novels, interviews, and essays, Butler has contributed to the flourishing of diversity in science fiction from the 1990s onward. Her act of writing herself in transformed the science fiction genre in ways that are still being felt today. When she began her career she was one of only a handful of African American authors writing science fiction, and for the bulk of her career she was the only black woman anywhere earning her living doing so. But since her career began, the genre has been utterly transformed, and she has inspired many African and African American writers in the field, including Nalo Hopkinson, Tananarive Due, Nisi Shawl, Nnedi Okorafor, and Sofi Samatar. This chapter concludes with a discussion of Butler's novella “A Necessary Being,” published in 2014 and part of Unexpected Stories along with the short story “Childfinder.”Less

To Keep Thee in All Thy Ways (1976–1980)

Gerry Canavan

in Octavia E. Butler

This chapter discusses Octavia E. Butler's writing career during the period 1976–1980, focusing on her published works Kindred (1979), “Near of Kin” (1979), and Wild Seed as well as the unpublished ... More

This chapter discusses Octavia E. Butler's writing career during the period 1976–1980, focusing on her published works Kindred (1979), “Near of Kin” (1979), and Wild Seed as well as the unpublished Canaan (c. 1975–1976). The chapter first provides an overview of Butler's formal education and commercial success as an author before analyzing her works in greater detail, along with the themes of survival and reproductive futurity that pervade them. Butler said she saw “Near of Kin” as originating in her study of the Bible during her Baptist childhood, and in particular on the way she “read avidly” on biblical “stories of conflict, betrayal, torture, murder, exile, and incest.” With regards to Kindred, she did not think of it as science fiction, and instead referred to it as a “grim fantasy.” Wild Seed provides the “origin story” for the events in the Patternist series, while Canaan is the alternate version of Kindred, set in Patternist universe.Less

The Training Floor (1987–1989)

Gerry Canavan

in Octavia E. Butler

This chapter discusses the three novels in Octavia E. Butler's Xenogenesis series, published between 1987 and 1989: Dawn (1987), Adulthood Rites (1988), and Imago (1989). Dawn begins in the aftermath ... More

This chapter discusses the three novels in Octavia E. Butler's Xenogenesis series, published between 1987 and 1989: Dawn (1987), Adulthood Rites (1988), and Imago (1989). Dawn begins in the aftermath of a nuclear war and follows the story of Lilith, one of the war's few survivors, who has been captured by aliens called the Oankali. Adulthood Rites is the story of Akin, Lilith's only son who is part man part alien. Imago extends the narrative of Lilith's family into the unexpected arrival of a human-ooloi construct child, Jodahs. In all three books, Butler provides examples of how genetics work: the cancer gene that Lilith and others carry, Tate's Huntington's disease, and the neurofibromatosis of the reproducing humans encountered by Jodahs. This chapter also considers Butler's use of Ronald Reagan as inspiration for Adulthood Rites, her views on nuclear war as expressed in Dawn, and her attitude regarding utopian science fiction.Less

Blindsight (1980–1987)

Gerry Canavan

in Octavia E. Butler

This chapter discusses Octavia E. Butler's works published between 1980 and 1987, focusing on both her published and unpublished works. It first provides an overview of Butler's career struggles as ... More

This chapter discusses Octavia E. Butler's works published between 1980 and 1987, focusing on both her published and unpublished works. It first provides an overview of Butler's career struggles as well as her views on children before proceeding to analyze her works in greater detail. These include the novels Clay's Ark (1984), Blindsight [I] (abandoned ca. 1981), the Black Futures anthology (abandoned 1982), Blindsight [II] (abandoned ca. 1984), and Doro-Jesus. The chapter also examines the short stories “Lost Races of Science Fiction” (1980), “Speech Sounds” (1983), and “Bloodchild” (1984) and concludes with a look at Butler's travels to other countries such as Peru and the Soviet Union.Less

Paraclete (1999–2006)

Gerry Canavan

in Octavia E. Butler

This chapter discusses Octavia E. Butler's published and unpublished works during the period 1999–2006. Butler's published works include the short stories “Amnesty” (2003) and “The Book of Martha” ... More

This chapter discusses Octavia E. Butler's published and unpublished works during the period 1999–2006. Butler's published works include the short stories “Amnesty” (2003) and “The Book of Martha” (2003) as well as the novel Fledgling (2005); her unpublished novels are Parable of the Trickster (ca. 1989–2006), Paraclete (alternate title: Mortal Words) (ca. early 2000s), Spiritus (alternate title: Bodhisattva) (ca. early 2000s), and the Fledgling sequel (usual title: Asylum) (ca. 2005). The chapter first considers Butler's emergence as a public intellectual and a celebrated futurist in the last years of her career before turning to Fledgling, with particular emphasis on its alternate versions and possible sequels. It also recounts Butler's last months and death.Less

Home of the Extraterrestrial Brothers: Race and African American Science Fiction

in Solar Flares: Science Fiction in the 1970s

The fifteenth century saw the emergence of complex notions of race, essentially coinciding with European exploration of the Americas. Rather than delve into existing material conditions, science ... More

The fifteenth century saw the emergence of complex notions of race, essentially coinciding with European exploration of the Americas. Rather than delve into existing material conditions, science fiction prefers to use metaphor to deal with race. Jewish-American writers, from Jack Dann to Isaac Asimov, Robert Silverberg, Carol Carr, Harlan Ellison and Avram Davidson, have made significant contributions to science fiction, but their ethnic or racial identity is not evident in the presumed socio-economic location of most of readers, writers, and editors. Most African Americans have been seemingly absent from American science fiction. This chapter explores some of the novels by Samuel R. Delany and Octavia E. Butler, the two most significant African American science fiction writers from the 1970s. It also considers some of the African American science fiction music and films of the period. The chapter first examines science fiction's attempt to tackle race relations through metaphor or indirectly in novels by Silverberg, Philip K. Dick and Gardner Dozois, as well as in the Planet of the Apes movies.Less

Staying Mobile in Postapocalyptic Cli-Fi

Jeremy Withers

in Futuristic Cars and Space Bicycles: Contesting the Road in American Science Fiction

This chapter examines how the rising popularity since the 1990s of works of postapocalyptic cli-fi (i.e. climate change fiction) has provided science fiction writers a convenient opportunity to ... More

This chapter examines how the rising popularity since the 1990s of works of postapocalyptic cli-fi (i.e. climate change fiction) has provided science fiction writers a convenient opportunity to explore issues of mobility and transportation. After first examining an early postapocalyptic cli-fi work from the 1990s by Octavia E. Butler, the chapter then advances this book’s chronological analysis to some twenty-first century works of science fiction. In its discussion of a novel by Paolo Bacigalupi and one by Benjamin Parzybok, this chapter shows how more restrained modes of transport play a vital role during times of apocalypse in keeping a society functioning and keeping us as individuals from slipping into disempowerment.Less