The First Men
Encyclopedia
"The First Men" is a 1960 science fiction
short story
by Howard Fast
. It was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in February of 1960. It was later printed bundled with "The Martian Shop" (1959) in The Edge of Tomorrow. It is now freely available online.
and unlock natural telepathy
. The also excel at physical endeavors, such as sport
s and break numerous physical records
.
Their controlled environment, an isolated compound in California
comprising 8000 acres (32.4 km²), is a government sponsored facility granted for the raising of the children. The scientists were given fifteen years, later extended by three more years and a few weeks, to experimentally raise the children. By a very early age, the children surpass their teachers' knowledge.
Jean and Mark convince the US government to sponsor an experimental program to raise 40 children in a controlled environment, tailored to allow them to reach their full potential. The children in question, all babies when arriving at the government-sponsored compound, are all to be naturally gifted. The compound the government grants them is a secluded 8000 acres (32.4 km²) compound in California
. The researchers are given 15 years to raise the children.
Next she sends Harry to find a Professor Hans Goldbaum who, before World War II
, had written a paper about how he had discovered a set of characteristics in babies that would determine whether or not they would grow to be mentally gifted. Finding him, Goldbaum agrees to join their project and he and Harry set out to find a diverse set of gifted babies (orphan
s and those they could buy) for the compound.
After delivering the children, Harry has no more involvement with the project.
About eighteen years later, a White House
operative, Eggerton, summons Harry and inquires him on his knowledge of the work in the compound. He truthfully tells them that he has no inside knowledge of the project, save what his sister told him in the project's beginnings, which he hadn't disclosed to anyone due to its secrecy.
Harry is told that the compound was about to be visited for the first time since its beginning and, as they were about to enter, promptly vanished. It was replaced by a great, gray impenetrable barrier.
In hearing this, Harry produces a letter he had received almost a year earlier from his sister. In it, they find an informal report on their progress in the experiment.
Jean and Mark had recruited a group of educators, married couples only, to live and teach at the compound. All the educators, Jean and Mark included, acted as teacher/parents to all the children: no one child had one parent, no one teacher had one child.
They then immersed the children in a knowledge-rich atmosphere. Since they were predetermined to be mentally gifted, they all progressed rapidly in knowledge and abilities. By the time they were five, the children were discovering their telepathic abilities.
Jean relates that the children usually walk about nude, openly make love with one another, and possess unmatched knowledge in all academic and physical areas. They also share one mindset. With their advanced telepathic abilities, they constantly think as one, no verbal communication is necessary between them. When meeting with the researchers, who they love, but pity (due to their inferior intelligence and lack of telepathic abilities), only one child is necessary since all can hear and speak through the single representative's mind.
Several children are born to the researchers while living at the facility. While these children are of normal intelligence, they flourish under the tutelage of the older children and become almost as gifted as them.
Near the end of the fifteenth year, realizing that their experiment is about to be investigated, Jean worries what may happen to the children, now young adults, when the government discovers them. The experiment was a success—too much of a success. Not only have they raised mentally gifted people, they have given rise to a new race of super-intelligent demigod
s. Jean fears—correctly—that the government will react with fear and destroy the advanced super-race. The children, though incredibly advanced, are incapable of violence, even in self defense.
Jean is able to obtain a three year extension, and then another of a few weeks when the three years expires. In that time, the children, now able to telepathically reach the entire Earth's population, build a defense mechanism which resulted in the gray barrier Eggerton described. Jean reveals that the barrier is based on time: the Earth outside the shield is a fraction of a millisecond in the future. They can pass outside without any difficulty. And though they can also get back in, Jean doesn't disclose how this is done.
While cut off with the shield, the children are summoning other gifted children telepathically. Passing secretly outside the shield, they are to bring them into the compound to be raised like the others. Hopefully, given time, they would be able to construct more secret compounds to raise more super-intelligent humans. By doing this, perhaps they could turn the tide of humanity. This all depends, of course, on the security provided by their shield.
At the conclusion of the letter, Eggerton says that now that they know the basis of the shield, the "egghead
s" will find a way in. And when they do, they'll eradicate "the disease."
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
short story
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
by Howard Fast
Howard Fast
Howard Melvin Fast was an American novelist and television writer. Fast also wrote under the pen names E. V. Cunningham and Walter Ericson.-Early life:Fast was born in New York City...
. It was first published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction in February of 1960. It was later printed bundled with "The Martian Shop" (1959) in The Edge of Tomorrow. It is now freely available online.
Plot overview
Fast's story is about how a group of scientists and educators, through a controlled environment, succeed in raising naturally gifted children into "man-plus"—people who possess comparatively super-human abilities. They possess unparalleled understanding of all technical subjects such as math, physicsPhysics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
and unlock natural telepathy
Telepathy
Telepathy , is the induction of mental states from one mind to another. The term was coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Fredric W. H. Myers, a founder of the Society for Psychical Research, and has remained more popular than the more-correct expression thought-transference...
. The also excel at physical endeavors, such as sport
Sport
A Sport is all forms of physical activity which, through casual or organised participation, aim to use, maintain or improve physical fitness and provide entertainment to participants. Sport may be competitive, where a winner or winners can be identified by objective means, and may require a degree...
s and break numerous physical records
World record
A world record is usually the best global performance ever recorded and verified in a specific skill or sport. The book Guinness World Records collates and publishes notable records of all types, from first and best to worst human achievements, to extremes in the natural world and beyond...
.
Their controlled environment, an isolated compound in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
comprising 8000 acres (32.4 km²), is a government sponsored facility granted for the raising of the children. The scientists were given fifteen years, later extended by three more years and a few weeks, to experimentally raise the children. By a very early age, the children surpass their teachers' knowledge.
Plot
The story begins as a series of communiqués between a sister, Jean Arbalaid, and her brother, Harry Felton, recently retired from the military. Jean and her husband, Mark, are renowned and well-connected psychologists. Since he is unemployed, Jean sends Harry on a series of trips to investigate some extreme cases of feral children. His reports back to her confirm her hypothesis that children are a result of their environment.Jean and Mark convince the US government to sponsor an experimental program to raise 40 children in a controlled environment, tailored to allow them to reach their full potential. The children in question, all babies when arriving at the government-sponsored compound, are all to be naturally gifted. The compound the government grants them is a secluded 8000 acres (32.4 km²) compound in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. The researchers are given 15 years to raise the children.
Next she sends Harry to find a Professor Hans Goldbaum who, before World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, had written a paper about how he had discovered a set of characteristics in babies that would determine whether or not they would grow to be mentally gifted. Finding him, Goldbaum agrees to join their project and he and Harry set out to find a diverse set of gifted babies (orphan
Orphan
An orphan is a child permanently bereaved of or abandoned by his or her parents. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents is called an orphan...
s and those they could buy) for the compound.
After delivering the children, Harry has no more involvement with the project.
About eighteen years later, a White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
operative, Eggerton, summons Harry and inquires him on his knowledge of the work in the compound. He truthfully tells them that he has no inside knowledge of the project, save what his sister told him in the project's beginnings, which he hadn't disclosed to anyone due to its secrecy.
Harry is told that the compound was about to be visited for the first time since its beginning and, as they were about to enter, promptly vanished. It was replaced by a great, gray impenetrable barrier.
In hearing this, Harry produces a letter he had received almost a year earlier from his sister. In it, they find an informal report on their progress in the experiment.
Jean and Mark had recruited a group of educators, married couples only, to live and teach at the compound. All the educators, Jean and Mark included, acted as teacher/parents to all the children: no one child had one parent, no one teacher had one child.
They then immersed the children in a knowledge-rich atmosphere. Since they were predetermined to be mentally gifted, they all progressed rapidly in knowledge and abilities. By the time they were five, the children were discovering their telepathic abilities.
Jean relates that the children usually walk about nude, openly make love with one another, and possess unmatched knowledge in all academic and physical areas. They also share one mindset. With their advanced telepathic abilities, they constantly think as one, no verbal communication is necessary between them. When meeting with the researchers, who they love, but pity (due to their inferior intelligence and lack of telepathic abilities), only one child is necessary since all can hear and speak through the single representative's mind.
Several children are born to the researchers while living at the facility. While these children are of normal intelligence, they flourish under the tutelage of the older children and become almost as gifted as them.
Near the end of the fifteenth year, realizing that their experiment is about to be investigated, Jean worries what may happen to the children, now young adults, when the government discovers them. The experiment was a success—too much of a success. Not only have they raised mentally gifted people, they have given rise to a new race of super-intelligent demigod
Demigod
The term "demigod" , meaning "half-god", is commonly used to describe mythological figures whose one parent was a god and whose other parent was human; as such, demigods are human-god hybrids...
s. Jean fears—correctly—that the government will react with fear and destroy the advanced super-race. The children, though incredibly advanced, are incapable of violence, even in self defense.
Jean is able to obtain a three year extension, and then another of a few weeks when the three years expires. In that time, the children, now able to telepathically reach the entire Earth's population, build a defense mechanism which resulted in the gray barrier Eggerton described. Jean reveals that the barrier is based on time: the Earth outside the shield is a fraction of a millisecond in the future. They can pass outside without any difficulty. And though they can also get back in, Jean doesn't disclose how this is done.
While cut off with the shield, the children are summoning other gifted children telepathically. Passing secretly outside the shield, they are to bring them into the compound to be raised like the others. Hopefully, given time, they would be able to construct more secret compounds to raise more super-intelligent humans. By doing this, perhaps they could turn the tide of humanity. This all depends, of course, on the security provided by their shield.
At the conclusion of the letter, Eggerton says that now that they know the basis of the shield, the "egghead
Egghead
In the slang of the United States, egghead is an anti-intellectual epithet, directed at people considered too out-of-touch with ordinary people and too lacking in realism, common sense, virility, etc. on account of their intellectual interests. The British equivalent is boffin...
s" will find a way in. And when they do, they'll eradicate "the disease."
External links
- The full text of "The First Men"
- The First Men by Howard Fast, a review, from BestScienceFictionStories.com