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Stranger in a Strange Land (book)
From Lostpedia
Stranger in a Strange Land is a science fiction novel by Robert Heinlein. The novel tells the story of a human, Valentine Michael Smith, who is raised by Martians on Mars until his young adulthood, at which time he returns back to Earth. The plot revolves around Valentine's interaction with earth culture.
Contents |
Synopsis
Smith is a child of astronauts who were part of an ill-fated expedition to Mars, of which he was the only survivor. His situation has given him fame, money, and power. He is the heir to all the astronauts, who were generally well-to-do and savvy investors. His mother invented an extremely efficient spaceship engine that can be expected to generate significant royalties. In addition, according to the Larkin Decision, a judicial ruling that determined colonization rights for Earth's Moon, he is the sole owner of Mars and therefore owns all the rights to colonize it. Not surprisingly, when he is brought "home" to Earth, he is effectively imprisoned in a government hospital.
Smith's Martian tutelage has given him many strange abilities, including the ability to control his metabolic state, heart rate, and rate of breathing. He also has telekinetic powers and can make things "no more" by turning them 90° from every angle. Most significantly, raised as a Martian, he thinks of himself as a Martian more than a human.
Later in the book, Valentine also creates his own church in an attempt to assist human culture in ridding itself of indignities and suffering.
In Lost
- This novel shares its title with Season 3's episode 9, "Stranger in a Strange Land".
Trivia
- The title of the book is taken from the Bible passage Exodus 2:22: "And she [Zippo'rah] bare him a son, and he called his name Gershom: for he said, I have been a stranger in a strange land."
- Jack's tattoo, according to Isabel, means "He walks among us, but he is not one of us." The novel's protagonist is in the same circumstances.
See also
External links
