This post is a break from what this blog is usually concerned with – 19th century supernatural fiction. First of all, Star (Psi Cassiopeia) is not so much supernatural as much as extraterrestrial. And, second, this work is a translation from the original – French, no less. This is mid-19th century science fiction!
On the appointed day, Farnozas' sectarians harangued for the last time by their chief, after having successively vociferated formidable curses against the earth, the sea, and the heavens, pushed the old men, women, and children into the gulf with fury, and, in their turn, to the last man hurled themselves from the height of the promontory' cliffs. Ramzuel, overwhelmed with sorrow, soared up to the highest heavens, seeking another world for humanity, dispossessed of the earth! (Page 65)
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C.I. Defontenay's Star (Psi Cassiopeia) written in 1854, was translated into English for the first, and I believe only, time in 1975 for this DAW Books edition.[i]
Defontenay was a medical doctor and a leading pioneer in the field of plastic surgery. Star (Psi Cassiopeia) is the only work of fiction Defontenay wrote (that we are aware of) as he would pass away in 1856, two years after its publication.
Defontenay employs a creative twist to the "found manuscript" plot device by having the manuscript literally fall out of the sky in front of the narrator. There are several possible voices in the text and it was a particular challenge determining just which one I was reading! First and foremost is Defontenay himself, as the author who wrote in French. Second is the narrator/Starian translator who is the principal voice in the text. And finally, there is P. J. Sokolowski who translated this work from French into English. But this rather confusing degrees-of-separation issue must be kept in mind when reading this DAW edition.
In a fascinating side note, this work was almost lost to time. It sat in obscurity until republished in France in 1972. Incredibly, the author of the Introduction to this edition, Pierre Versins, noted that:
. . . this Defontenay novel was completely unknown to the French themselves. Just think—in 1966, when I wrote a long analysis of it, only five copies could be found. Two were stashed in major public libraries and I own one of the remaining three.
Star makes for dry reading. In many ways it has more in common with a modern world history text – informative but not very interesting. However, the true worth of this book lay in what it conveys about the time in which it was written.[ii]
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Due to the unique nature of this work and its presentation, I feel it necessary to provide a more detailed plot summary than is my usual style.
A man, the narrator, is climbing the Himalayan Mountains with his Indian guide when he sees what he calls a "bolide" (an exploding meteor). Falling out of the sky, the meteor strikes a mountain top and crashes, killing his guide. Examining the crash site, the man comes across some kind of wreckage. He comes across a chest filled with papers and books in an utterly unknown language. After two years of diligent work, the unknown language is deciphered and the papers and books translated. The remainder of the work consists of the translation of these items.
The narrator, by means of his translation (and his imagination), guides the reader across interstellar space to the home of the beings that wrote the books, their planet called "Star" and the inhabitants, the Starians. The solar system in which Star was the principal world possessed four suns. Ruliel was the primary and central stellar body. Altéther and Erragror were secondary stellar bodies. The smallest, Urrias, actually orbited Star like one of its four moons.
Following an in-depth discussion of the flora and fauna of the planet Star and the mythological origins of Starian ancient history, the work traced the political and social evolution of the Starian people. After over a thousand years of peace, the "Age of Evil" came to Star – a long period of earthquakes, other natural disasters and famine. At the end of this tumult, came the "Slow Plague," a terrible and slow, degenerating and excruciatingly painful sickness. The plague's torment was so horrendous that the only means to ease the suffering was thought to be suicide.
Very quickly, a cult rose whose prophet claimed that the only way to defeat the plague was for the entire Starian race to commit mass suicide. A Starian named Ramzuel opposed this drastic action and built an interplanetary vessel called an abares. With a few other refugees, they took to the air and left Star after the final mass suicide of the Starian people.
By means of the abares space ships, the few survivors travel to Star's nearest moon, Tassul. Finding a hospitable welcome from the natives and a compatible environment, the survivors settled down.
After several centuries pass, living space grew short with both the natives and the growing population from Star spreading across the moon. So the descendants of the Starian survivors built many more abares ships and journeyed to the second moon of Star, Lessur. As before, another hospitable welcome and a compatible environment lead to a stay of some time. And, as before, space becoming tight, another migration was prepared for the third moon, Rudar. However, this time the attempt failed. The environment of Rudar was too hostile to Starians.
After the attempt to colonize the third moon, Rudar, the explorers pressed on to the last moon of Star, Élier. They find it very hospitable and welcoming. During their time there, they hear rumors of a desire among the other descendants of Starian refugees to reclaim their home world. They leave Élier and return to the other moons and join the endeavor. After ten years of diligent work, thousands of abare vessels were constructed and made available for the great effort.
It had been 800 years since Ramzuel with a few refugees left Star. Now, the descendants of the original Starian refugees have returned home.
The narrator/translator of the Starian manuscripts returns to the narrative at its closing for a brief comment on the origin of the manuscripts and how, he believes, they made their way across space to Earth.
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Frankly, I am in awe of the imagination and creativity of Defontenay. This tale was originally written, in French, in 1854! That is seven years before the start of the American Civil War. Jules Verne's Journey to the Moon was published in 1865. H.G. Wells' First Man on the Moon dates from 1901. Defontenay, not only set his work in an unimaginably distant locale and established the details of the Starian solar system, Psi Cassiopeia, but he also created the entire history of the Starian people including examples of their literature and poetry.
Verne and Wells travelled to the moon, Defontenay journeyed to the stars!
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References
Defontenay, C. I., Translated by P. J. Sokolowski. Star (Psi Cassiopeia). DAW Books, Inc: New York, 1975.
ISFDB. "Star (Psi Cassipeia)." Accessed 01 February 2017. http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?95221
LibraryThing. "Star (Psi Cassiopeia) by C. I. Defontenay." 30 June 2014. Accessed 01 February 2017. http://www.librarything.com/topic/172698#4750663
Silverberg, Robert. "Reflections: Star (Psi Cassiopeia)." Asimov's. October/November 2015, page 7-9. Accessed 14 December 2016. http://www.asimovs.com/assets/1/6/Reflections_Star-OctNov15.pdf
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction. "Defontenay, C I." 14 January 2017. Accessed 01 February 2017. http://www.sf-encyclopedia.com/entry/defontenay_c_i
Vintage Pop Fictions. "Star, or Psi Cassiopeia." 31 December 2012. Accessed 14 December 2016. http://vintagepopfictions.blogspot.com/2012/12/star-or-psi-cassiopea.html
Wikipedia. "C. I. Defontenay." Accessed 01 February 2017. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/C._I._Defontenay
[i] My comments and thoughts are based solely on the translator's work and his words.
[ii] Note: this applies to supernatural horror as well!
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