Babel-17 – by Samuel R. Delany

A science fiction book featuring linguistic theories as a main plot point? How come I haven’t read it earlier? Never mind, sign me in.

Synopsys

The intergalactic Alliance to which the Earth belongs is under attack from an alien enemy force only known as the Invaders. When a number of indecipherable radio broadcasts are picked up concurrently with several sabotage attacks, Rydra Wong is enlisted by the military to help them crack the code, provisionally named Babel-17.

Rydra soon realises that Babel-17 is a fully fledged alien language; determined to find out more, she gathers up a ragtag crew and heads towards the most likely target of the Invaders’ next attack.

After barely surviving the fight, she ends up joining forces with an even more colourful crew of space privateers, and developing an especially close relationship with a former convict known as the Butcher, who doesn’t know how to use the word “I”, and as a result struggles with the very concept of self.

Meanwhile, Rydra has figured out there must be a traitor among her mates. Getting deeper and deeper in her study of Babel-17, Rydra realises its unique properties are inducive of a vastly different way of thinking – one that can prove incredibly effective in terms of strategic analysis, but that also affects her thoughts and volition way beyond what she had expected.

It turns out, simply by learning Babel-17, she had ended up thinking and acting like the Invaders, unwittingly becoming a traitor as a result.

Analysis

Style – While entirely focused on Rydra as uncontested protagonist of the story, the third-person narration switches between multiple points of view for a dramatic effect: at first, in fact, we’re not made privy to the main character’s thoughts and inner life, and instead we see her through the eyes of secondary characters, at the same time preserving a sense of mystery and offering a few first-hand examples of the strong impression she tends to make on other people. Later on, when we have access to Rydra’s own point of view, we get acquainted with her linguistic speculations, as well as with the way the process of learning Babel-17 is affecting her own thoughts, even though the full implications will only become clear – to us as well as to Rydra – at the very end of the book.

The prose is rich and vibrant, even luxuriant in its imagery, in a way that may perhaps be perceived as overindulgent, but that’s certainly very creative and memorable. While many classic SF authors treated language as means to an end, adopting a perfunctory style not to steal any glimpse of attention from the content, Delany seems to be equally devoted to sharing thought-provoking concepts and to crafting pieces of luscious beauty.

Plot Structure – Babel-17 is divided in five parts, each named after a significant character or location; the first sequence works as an introduction to both the main character and setting at large, as well as laying out the mystery Rydra is asked to unravel; the following three have the story move forward, and the enigma only get puzzling with each subsequent tableau; while the final part comes with a very deserved resolution.

For all its undeniable philosophical bent, the book has no shortage of daring action, from underground fights to space battles, embracing its own pulpy side with no embarrassment whatsoever. The “mystery” itself, while somehow abstract in its nature, is gripping enough to keep the reader invested, especially as the additional threat of an elusive traitor is added to the mix.

Setting – Babel-17 is set in a futuristic world where humans have mastered space travel to the point of being involved into intergalactic trade, politics, and warfare. Alien species exist and are involved in both amiable and antagonistic relationships with humankind, and belong to two opposing coalitions that are currently at war. While later in the book we’re offered some additional detail on the unique traits of at least some of these alien societies, the intergalactic landscape is generally painted in broad strokes, mainly providing a functional backdrop to the main plot.

On the other hand, we get a closer look at human society, or at least at some facets of it. As Rydra ventures out to hire her crew, in fact, we are made aware of the distinctions between Customs and Transport; which are namely work designations, but that actually come with larger implications: Transport, that is to say people directly involved in hyperspace travel, have developed their own subculture, which involves extensive and often bizarre body modifications and less conventional relationship structures (for instance, polyamorous triads are common, and even functional to the way crew members have to bond and cooperate on a spaceship).

Characters – Rydra Wong, our main character, is an intergalactically acclaimed poet, a genius linguist and polymath, a capable space pilot, and likely a telepath. In the past, she’s been in a polyamorous relationship with two men, and she mentions she’d be open to add a woman to the mix next time. Wherever she goes, people tend to either fall in love with her, or at least to be somehow in awe of her writings and fame.

If you’re thinking that this screams of shameless wish fulfillment – well, it’s because to an extent it does. Her characterisation, however, comes with some additional layer of complexity that saves her from obnoxiousness: for all her hypercompetence, she still faces doubts and insecurities, not to mention that she ends up falling straight into the Invaders’ linguistic trap. And while she doesn’t fail to act bravely, she does so despite the her fears – as exemplified by the childhood memory of rescuing her mentor’s myna bird, despite being terrified by its mindless speech.

Around her move a variety of secondary characters, more or less developed, but all functional to display some nuance of the world they belong to.

Some of them serve as additional points of view on the events: this is the case of easily lovestruck General Forester; of perpetually puzzled Customs Officer Daniel D. Appleby; and of psychiatrist Dr. Markus T’Mwarba, who took care of young Rydra to these days is still her close advisor and confidant.

Others are the motley crew of spacefarers Rydra meets in her quest: from pilots with a penchant for wrestling, to discorporate minds and reanimated corpses; from the gaggle of young kids who are in charge of the routine tasks on her ship, to the space pirates (pardon, privateers) she ends up teaming up with.

Among the latter is Butcher, a brutal criminal with amnesia and no sense of self because of the effects of Babel-17, which prevents him from even thinking the words “me” and “I”), who fits the double role of Rydra’s love interest and of a plot device to further explore the relations between language and though.

All in all, most characters end up being interesting more because of their quirks than because of their depth, but they do build a fascinating ensemble, as well as occasionally introducing more thought-provoking themes.

Themes – Babel-17 is, first and foremost, a literary exploration of linguistic relativity, also known as Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, which suggests that the structure of a language influences its speakers’ thoughts, to the extent of shaping their very perceptions of the world.

Such a theory, which in its weaker form is supported by empirical evidence, is however largely discredited in its stronger formulation, which implies that not only language influences our worldview, but that linguistic categories entirely determine and limit the speaker’s cognitive abilities.

Academic disputes, however, do not stop linguistic determinism from being an excellent subject for speculative fiction, and Babel-17 is a perfect case in point. The idea of a weaponised alien language is intriguing in its own right, but it also provides an opportunity to reflect on the more nuanced – albeit less dramatic – ways in which speech and thought do in fact influence each other; for instance, the fact that both parties at war refer to the other with names that inherently designate their adversarial status, may or may not count as determinism, but it’s certainly charged with implications that stand in the way of any non-disruptive interaction.

Babel-17 also uses its worldbuilding as means to touch upon a number of additional themes; its portrayal of Transport and its people, for instance, hints to a world where relationships other than heterosexual and monogamous are normalised, as well as their very creative approach to body image.

Delany weaves the campiest elements from various subcultures with some genuinely bizarre hypotheses (such as virtual ghosts serving aboard spaceships), creating a scenario that doesn’t even try to be a rigorous prediction of the future, but that, by embracing its own weirdness, manages to feel fresh and intriguing even several decades later.

This is not to say Babel-17 hasn’t got its share of obviously outdated bits: describing someone’s features as oriental does sound jarring to the modern reader, not unlike the casual revulsion in describing an overweight character. As for the reference to young Rydra being described as “near-autistic” as a result of trauma and disease… it’s not even about being good or bad representation, it’s more that I’m not sure what it was supposed to mean. Nitpicking aside, however, Babel-17 is still impressively and spontaneously diverse, both for the standards of its times and in general terms.

Overall Thoughts – Despite its short length, Babel-17 is a fairly intense read: both because its flowery language, and because of the themes it discusses. It’s not always a smooth ride, but it’s truly brilliant, even more so in its outlandishness, and I love how it combines whacky action and highbrow scholarly themes.