Stranger in a Strange Land

While Patricia’s boa constrictors and cobras are merely props for her sideshow act, they symbolize religion’s inherent duality, its good and evil. The serpent in the Garden of Eden—the evil one, according to institutionalized religion—is vilified for bringing knowledge to humankind. Knowledge, however, would likely be considered by Smith to be a “goodness,” especially knowledge of the self. Smith’s message of the divine within all creatures is a clear rebuttal to the dogma of the Church, which teaches that God is someone or something outside, a divine presence to be worshipped and before whom all creatures must humble themselves. Many of the Gnostic gospels reaffirm the idea of an inner God. It’s apt that Patricia should carry with her these paradoxical symbols of knowledge and evil, for she more than any other character personifies both sides of the debate. Deeply religious, she nevertheless revels in her nudity and sexual pleasure. She sees no conflict between morality and pleasure—unlike the Christian Church—and her serpents symbolize that contrast. They also serve as guardians of the Church of All Worlds headquarters, keeping out the fundamentalist mob who, wrapped in a veil of moral fervor, stone to death a prophet of love.

One of Heinlein’s nods to futurism—alongside the flying cars and “jump tubes”—is the stereo tanks, future versions of television. One of the running themes in the narrative is The Spectacle of the Other, and stereo tanks are the primary platform for the delivery of spectacle—including that of the “Martian” Valentine Michael Smith. They are used to broadcast New World Networks newscasts, Heinlein’s satire of the commercialization of news (Harshaw refers to it as the “babble box”). Newscasters are purveyors of sensationalism, taking breaks only to plug the corporate sponsor. Heinlein is prescient, foreshadowing sensationalist news programs like 20/20 and Inside Edition. Heinlein makes a distinction, however, between print journalism—practiced by honest muckrakers like Ben Caxton—and broadcast news (Happy Holiday’s provocative coverage of Smith’s death, for example). As a visual medium, television lends itself more readily to sensationalism. Images do speak louder than words. While journalism is the primary path to an informed electorate, what often passes for journalism—in the narrative and the real world—is little more than an infomercial hosted by a cheap entertainer.