However, while many know Lewis as a Christian apologist and writer of fantasies, fewer seem to aware of the fact that he also wrote science fiction. In fact, he wrote a science fiction trilogy, consisting of Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra, and That Hideous Strength. The protagonist in the first two books is the philologist Ransom, who also appears as a major character (though not the protagonist) in the third book. (For those who are unfamiliar with the term, a philologist is a scholar who studies human languages)
In Out of the Silent Planet, Ransom is kidnapped by the physicist Weston and his associate Devine (a wealthy businessman) and taken by spacecraft to the planet Mars. There Ransom becomes acquainted with the various intelligent creatures living on the planet, and meets Oyarsa, an angel-like being who is the ruler and guardian of the planet. Weston's and Devine's plans to exploit Mars for their own purposes are thwarted by Oyarsa, who sends them and Ransom back to Earth, called the "Silent Planet" because it has been cut off from communication with other planets due to the evil that exists there.
In Perelandra, Ransom is transported to the planet Venus, where he again encounters Weston. Weston becomes possessed by a devil and tempts the Green Lady (the "Eve" of the planet) to disobey Maleldil, the Creator. Ultimately, Weston is vanquished by Ransom, who then returns to Earth.
In That Hideous Strength (the title comes from an old poem about the Tower of Babel), a group of scientists associated with the (fictional) National Institute of Coordinated Experiments (NICE), is attempting to impose radical social engineering on Britain, while being--unwittingly--under the power of demonic forces. They have discovered that the great magician Merlin of Arthurian legend is in fact not dead, but merely awaiting a resuscitation after centuries' of sleep. They hope to recruit Merlin to their side in order to use his magical powers to achieve their own aims. They are opposed by a small band of Christians led by Ransom. As it turns out, Merlin is in fact a Christian and he consequently joins forces with Ransom and his associates. He is sent to NICE as an instrument of angelic powers, who ultimately destroy it.
I first started reading Lewis' science fiction trilogy when I was a teenager. A number of years before, I had read a number of the science fiction/fantasy stories of H.G. Wells, and the first book in the trilogy--Out of the Silent Planet--at the time reminded me somewhat of a Wells' story, with its depiction of futuristic technology and a strange world (like Wells' The Time Machine). However, what made it quite different from a Wells' story (and more appealing to me as a Christian) was its theological underpinnings. I went on to read Perelandra and finally That Hideous Strength, which became my favorite of the three books. I remember staying up to one or two o'clock in the morning as a college student reading it!
In earlier posts, I talked about Alice Maynell's poem "Christ in the Universe" and Madeleine L'Engle's novel A Wrinkle in Time as examples of the Christian imagination being applied to the genre of science fiction. Although these two works are in many ways quite different from each other and from Lewis' novels, a common element can be identified in all of these works--each author seeks to place the Christian worldview within a cosmic context. For example, in her poem, Maynell imagines Christ traversing the universe, resulting in a "million alien gospels." Similarly, in Perelandra, Lewis imagines the story of Adam and Eve taking place on another planet (and with a different result from the original story). Both L'Engle and Lewis portray the struggle between Good and Evil as occurring on an interplanetary scale.
Science fiction has not traditionally been a genre in which Christian writers have gained fame. In fact, some might argue that the typical themes of science fiction--such as life on other planets--do not fit well into the Christian worldview and even pose a challenge to it. However, as I hope my series of posts on this topic have demonstrated, this is not necessarily the case. Gifted authors like Maynell, L'Engle, and Lewis have shown that such biblical themes as the conflict between God and Satan and the good news of salvation through Christ can be convincingly depicted on a cosmic canvas.
Image of C.S. Lewis from Wikipedia.org