I’ve known about James Blish’s Cities in Flight setting for ages but never got around to reading any of the books, save a couple of short stories collected in anthologies. But it was this 1958 novel that won him a Hugo Award. It’s a very short book and unfortunately very much a product of its time in its depiction of the state of society and fears of nuclear weapons. But at its heart is a crisis of faith in Catholicism, arriving at a conclusion that is mind-blowing. This truly is one of the more unique pieces of science-fiction out there and deserves its place in the sci-fi Hall of Fame.

A team of four scientists is sent to the planet of Lithia whose native inhabitants have been found to be intelligent in order to assess if it should be opened to human contact. The Lithians are tall, bipedal reptile-like beings and are both intelligent and peaceful. Among the scientists is Father Ramon Ruiz-Sanchez of Peru, a biologist and also a Jesuit priest. Having learned their language, Ramon is fascinated that there is seemingly no conflict and no crime in Lithian society. He befriends one of them Chtexa and is invited into his home to learn more about them. The next day the four scientists reunite to decide how humanity should approach the Lithians as a whole. The physicist Cleaver cares nothing about the Lithians. He has discovered that the planet is a source of pegmatite which can be exploited by humans to build nuclear weapons. The chemist Michelis has similarly learned their language and advocates for free and open trade. The geologist Agronski is indifferent. Everyone expects Ramon to support Michelis but instead he calls for a full quarantine. Having learned that the planet is seemingly a paradise yet the Lithians have neither knowledge nor need for any religion at all, he has decided that it must be the work of Satan, meant to deceive humanity away from God. As they are about to leave Chtexa gifts Ramon with a vase containing an egg that will birth a Lthian once they arrive back on Earth.

Just as so much of other sci-fi works rely on the precise technical details of some key device or technology, A Case of Conscience rests on an exacting reading of Christian theology. I’m no expert on the fine details of Christian dogma but Blish seems to have done his research. As a preview of how seriously it takes moral dilemmas, Ramon is first shown pondering a complex marital situation in James Joyce’s Finnegans Wake to decide what the Church’s stance on it would be. Later as he lays out his case to his fellow scientists, he goes into detail to explain why the Lithians aren’t just an attack on religion in general but on Catholicism specifically. Even their life cycle, being laid in the sea as eggs to hatch and scramble for survival on their own, passing through multiple stages before resulting in the bipedal intelligent form is interpreted as a mockery of God’s work. Ramon grapples with his own conscience as he is fond of the Lithians and feels affection for his friend Chtexa. Yet reasoning from the facts he has observed, he finds it impossible to escape the conclusion that they have been created by Satan to deceive humanity even if they are themselves unaware of it. He even believes that he will be excommunicated from the Church for this as it amounts to ascribing to Satan the power of creation.

I’m not actually convinced that Blish’s arguments here are correct but it is more satisfying to take them at face value than to pick them apart. The dilemma then is that confronted with what is seemingly a paradise where God is absent, should a believer do his utmost to reject or even destroy it? To an atheist like myself, it’s absurd to even consider that of course. The second part of the novel which describes how human society of that era is a dystopia where almost everyone lives underground as a byproduct of fears of nuclear war makes the contrast even starker. Unfortunately, I’m not a fan of the plot about how Egtverchi, Chtexa’s son, who is forced to grow up on Earth is effectively corrupted and alienated from his heritage. The direction it takes from there is predictable and not really that interesting. The only purpose is to demonstrate how completely decadent and hopeless life on Earth has become. It also makes it obvious that Blish himself agrees with how absurd the dilemma is and so this book is all about taking the teachings of the Catholic Church upon encountering intelligent alien life to its most extreme and fatal conclusion.

Like many others, I found the first part of the book fascinating as we learn about the Lithians and their planet. There’s an appendix giving more information about the planet itself which tells you how much thought Blish put into worldbuilding even though it’s not really relevant to the story. The second part doesn’t add much of value to the central dilemma at all. Overall I wouldn’t say it’s great but it is very unique in the annals of science-fiction and this is one argument against the Catholic Church that I never expected to see. It remains true that the subject of religion is under examined in science-fiction and this is merely the first part of a loose trilogy by Blish about this theme. I might have to track those down one day and read them.