Out of the Silent Planet

Oyarsa speaks to Weston directly. He says that while Weston has made significant scientific discoveries, he remains ignorant about other things. His bent, fearful mind caused him to avoid Meldilorn when Oyarsa only wanted to meet him. Oyarsa is surprised at the extent of the damage the Bent One has evidently done to humanity. He warns Weston that he can easily “unbody” both him and Devine, but he first wants to give them a chance to prove that their minds contain something “besides fear and death and desire” (133). Devine interjects pleadingly that they mean no harm and only want to take gold back to earth with them, but Oyarsa silences him.

Weston, unable to speak the hrossian language satisfactorily, is forced to use Ransom as a translator. He launches into a grandiose speech, asserting that human civilization is superior to the Malacandrian hnau’s “primitive coracles and elementary social structure” (134). He believes that this entitles humanity to “supersede” the hnau and colonize not only Malacandra but “the lower forms of life [on] […] planet after planet” (136) so that humans may live on forever. Weston feels no remorse about the prospect of killing all the hnau of Malacandra and declares that he would even give his own life for the advancement of the human race. Ransom has difficulty translating his violent sentiments into the gentler Malacandrian vocabulary.

Oyarsa finds it strange that Weston has no care for fellow humans like Ransom but that he is obsessed with the idea of humanity’s continued life. He speculates that Weston loves “no completed creature but the very seed itself” (137) and states that he understands now how the Bent One has corrupted humans. The hnau of other planets all know a set of spiritual laws that include empathy, fairness, and love of one’s own, but the Bent One has taught humans only a twisted version of the last law. Love of one’s own has become “a little, blind Oyarsa in [human minds]” (137). Oyarsa then turns to Devine and declares that while Weston is only bent, Devine is broken. “The hnau in [him] is already dead” (138), leaving behind nothing but greed. A bent hnau, though dangerous, can be rehabilitated, but a broken one is useless and can do no more harm on Malacandra than an animal. If they were under his rule, Oyarsa would kill Devine but try to cure Weston.

Oyarsa reveals that Malacandra is closer to its end than Earth, and he will soon return all of his hnau to Maleldil. In time, all worlds will face this fate, but the hnau of these other worlds do not fear death. It is only humans who try to outrun their own end, because the Bent One gave them fear to make them suffer. Weston responds that, in that case, he is on the Bent One’s side. This statement causes Oyarsa to abandon his attempts to help Weston. He advises Weston and Devine to return to Earth immediately. Devine protests that they will never make it to earth in time due to the current position of the planets, and Weston asks that they be killed now rather than suffocating to death on the spaceship. Oyarsa again refuses to kill them. Instead, he makes them an offer: The pfifltriggi will provide them with 90 days’ worth of oxygen and food, but they will alter the ship so that it will be “unmade” after those 90 days are up, leaving them no way to return to Malacandra. If the men are in the ship on the 90th day, they will vanish along with it. Oyarsa then sends Weston and Devine away to speak to Ransom further.

Ransom spends all afternoon talking to Oyarsa. The narrator steps in to explain that he is not allowed to provide details of their conversation. Finally, Oyarsa declares Ransom “guilty of no evil” (142) beyond his fearfulness and judges him worthy of staying in Malacandra if he chooses to do so. Ransom finds the decision nearly impossible. In the end, he decides to obey the law of love for one’s own and return to Earth. Oyarsa praises his choice. To ensure Ransom’s safety, he promises to send eldila along with the ship and confiscate all weapons but one which he will leave to Ransom. Before sending Ransom on his way, Oyarsa asks him to keep an eye on Weston and Devine when he is back on Earth because they may yet pose a danger to Earth and other planets. The current year is prophesied to be a year of great change, and the war between Maleldil and the Bent One may soon be ending, opening up the possibility that Earth may not remain silent for much longer.

The next day, all three men aboard the spaceship. Through the skylight, Ransom watches the receding planet that has been his home for the past few months. As they rise further into the air, stretches of unfamiliar landscape come into view, making him aware of how little he truly knows about Malacandra. He wonders if everything he has learned will become mere mythology when he is back on Earth. Still, he takes down notes on his travels as the journey continues. Ransom feels a great fear as he watches Malacandra shrink in the darkness of space until it is once again only Mars. Days pass on the ship, and Ransom hopes that if he dies, it will be during the ship’s unmaking rather than from suffocation. He finds himself longing to return to the heaven of space. He also becomes acutely aware of the presence of eldila around him and feels that his life is of little importance “against a background of such immeasurable fullness” (146).

The ship grows steadily hotter, making Ransom aware that Weston is steering them dangerously close to the sun in an attempt to shorten their journey. They reach a point where the heat is nearly deadly, but after a few hours the temperature begins to stabilize—they have made it past the sun. On the 60th day of their voyage, Earth appears in the skylight. On the 87th day, however, the men realize that the moon is directly blocking their path to Earth, and they will have to backtrack to navigate around it. The realization that he is going to die fills Ransom with calm, and upon going to his chamber to prepare himself for death, he falls asleep instead. When he wakes up, he hears a drumming sound on the roof of the spaceship: rain. Realizing that they have landed safely on Earth, Ransom exits the ship. Weston and Devine are nowhere to be found. After about a half hour of walking, a bright light and a strong wind come from behind Ransom, and he knows the spaceship has vanished. He continues walking until he finds a small village, where he enters a pub and orders a pint.