Ooloi absorbed everything and acted according to whatever consensus they discovered. But the ooloi perceived all that a living being said-all words, all gestures, and a vast array of other internal and external bodily responses. Humans thought the ooloi were promising that they would do nothing until the Humans said they had changed their minds-told the ooloi with their mouths, in words. Humans tended to misunderstand ooloi when ooloi said things like that. It meant as long as I was not more miserable alone with the family than it believed I would be if I were cut off from the family and sent to the ship. Nikanj again makes a promise, this time to Jodahs, to let Jodahs stay with it "for as long as you want to stay." Jodahs interprets: It is undergoing its first metamorphosis, changing from child to subadult ooloi-an unexpected change, and one that may mean exile to the orbiting ship. This abrogation of Lilith's free will and control over her body recurs throughout the series, and is explicitly codified in Imago by Jodahs. Yet ooloi are perceptive to the cellular level, and Nikanj knows that even if Lilith claims that she does not want children, her body wants children. Probably the most potent example occurs at the end of Dawn, when Lilith tells her ooloi mate, Nikanj, that she is not ready to have children with it. The Oankali are terrifying because they are truly alien, and it's impossible for humans to negotiate with them on human terms. It's a deeply seductive, profound, and repulsive SF novel with tentacle sex and mind-blowing orgasms. This isn't a trashy SF novel with tentacle sex and mind-blowing orgasms. She addresses their existence, which may or may not have been obvious to the reader, and then explores the idea of merging with an alien species. Of course, the question remains: is it enough? Can we ever triumph over "the human contradiction" and survive, whether independently or in a merger with the Oankali?īutler doesn't seek answers to these questions. Later, two of Lilith's human-Oankali construct children, Akin and Jodahs, make valuable contributions toward ensuring the future of both humans and the human-Oankali species being born on Earth. This surprises the Oankali, who are continually frustrated by "the human contradiction" of "intelligence and hierarchical society." It takes a human, at first, Lilith, to help the Oankali succeed in their plan to save humanity. Some humans don't like this idea, so they resist. They offer humanity the chance to survive, but at the price of human independence: humans and Oankali would hybridize, their mating supervised and controlled by the third-gendered Oankali ooloi, who can manipulate DNA of individual cells. The Oankali rescue humanity from the brink of total annihilation by global warfare. As I read the book, I found Butler's ideas running up against walls of prejudice and bias I didn't even know I have. After reading Lilith's Brood, especially the first book, Dawn, I'm no longer so sure of my open-mindedness. I believe the Singularity, if we survive long enough, is inevitable-and I welcome it. I like to think that I'm receptive to the idea of drastically alternate human futures. This book blew my mind.Īs a huge fan of science fiction, and as a relatively erudite person, I like to think that I have an open mind. Butler goes beyond that, way beyond, challenging not just what human means but how open-minded I am to such challenges. Good science fiction, good posthuman fiction, challenges the idea of what it means to be human. This is one of the scariest books I have read in a long time.
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