The Overlords
The Overlords, with their vast knowledge and incomprehensible technology, are the epitome of scientific rationalism, existing in tension with any form of mysticism. They represent the potential of science to create a better future for…
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The Overmind
The Overmind is Clarke’s vision of a possible transcendent future for humanity, and in the story, functions symbolically as a higher power and a final destination, an alternative for God and his authority and a…
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New Athens
The artist colony of New Athens represents the resurgence of humanism and, as a symbolic counterpoint to the stagnation that humanity experiences while living in a utopia, effectively represents the failure of utopia to foster…
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The Freedom League
The Freedom League operates as a minor symbol of human liberty, and its mere existence serves to demonstrate the degree to which humanity still values that liberty. In the initial decade or so after the…
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Karellen’s One-Way Screen
The viewing screen in the conference room in which Stormgren and Karellen periodically meet functions as a minor symbol of the Overlords’ rule: it is opaque and deceptive, based on illusion and the inclination…
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