- Title:
- Higher Education
- Author:
- Publisher:
- Tor Books, 1996
- ISBN
- 0-812-53890-0
The tradition of bemoaning the sad state of the younger generation is literally ancient. Socrates saw fit to prophesy the end of civilization, 2400 years ago, because kids weren't being taught proper respect for authority. Ironic, really, since he ended up drinking hemlock tea when he was accused of corrupting the youth, himself.
The tradition is ancient, although every generation seems to think that they've invented it anew. None of them seem to think it odd that their discoveries aren't new at all, and that the Earth yet spins on its axis. Possibly it is strangely satisfying to complain. It is certainly safer than actually trying to help raise children.
Charles Sheffield and Jerry Pournelle engaged upon a parable of the near future two years ago, when they published Higher Education: A Jupiter Novel. The Jupiter bit seems to be a kind of Tor Books trade mark, meant to label a series of stories, the latest of which, Starswarm came out this year. In Higher Education there is certainly nary a sign of the big fella (except in a very peripheral manner).
Sheffield and Pournelle paint a picture of Earth - well, of California - fallen into cultural ruin. The blame for this is laid at the feet of women who insist on honorable treatment in the workplace, at the feet of those who fight for the dignity of children, and at the feet of anyone who dares suggest that an education need not be torture.
The story's protagonist, a young man named Rick Luban, finds that the best thing that can happen to a sixteen year-old is to be thrown out of school, and given over to the benevolent attentions of the Vanguard Mining Company. In a series of gripping adventures, young Rick learns that he is capable of more than was ever expected of him. His strengths and qualities unfold, and we all get to be proud of him when in the end he discovers that in the arms of this corporate family he may find his happiness.
Well, it is a parable. In parables, animals speak, foxes serve up meals on plates, and even the planets may talk to people. So I suppose that it is permitted for Sheffield and Pournelle to imagine a benevolent, for-profit corporation. And a high-technology civilization in which children don't learn anything. What troubles me about stories like this is that the fallacies of the authors' assumptions aren't immediately apparent to casual readers, and the intended lessons are seductively obvious.
Higher Education is hardly the first story that arrays Pournelle ideologically with Heinlein. I was a bit surprised to find that Sheffield collaborated with him for this story, but possibly he needed the money. I recommend the story as a fine read: Sheffield and Pournelle are both masters of the blarney. I can only hope that readers try not to get more out of it than a couple of hours of harmless entertainment.
Finally, as a "Jupiter Story" it is an entry in Tor Book's campaign to interest younger readers in science fiction. In this respect, at least, I consider the story to be a success. Compared to Heinlein's stories for Boys' Life magazine, Higher Education is orders of magnitude more pungent: think of a cross of Starship Troopers and Farmer in the Sky, with "90210" thrown in to bring the action up to date.