43 pages • 1 hour read
Michael CrichtonThe Andromeda Strain
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1969A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
The Great Unknown
The characters in The Andromeda Strain are all experts in their field. Stone, Leavitt, Burton, and Hall are chosen for the Wildfire Project because of their outstanding credentials, though there are additional considerations in the case of Hall. Additionally, men like Manchek have risen through the ranks to positions of importance by demonstrating their competence. These men represent the sum total of human accomplishment. They are skilled professionals lauded for their understanding of the world. However, they run into a big problem. A mysterious extraterrestrial organism arrives and shows them that there is a realm of knowledge far beyond their understanding. The men’s efforts to understand the Andromeda Strain teach them how little they actually know about the universe.
The novel uses scientific theories and data to outline every single possibility that might explain the Andromeda Strain’s presence on Earth. The book uses graphs and tables to add a sense of authenticity to the scientific information, while the end of the book provides a list of references and citations to illustrate that the fictional account draws from real scientific theories. One of these is the Messenger Theory, which suggests that the organism may be an attempt by an alien race to communicate with the rest of the galaxy. The key part of the Messenger Theory is that it is, ultimately, a theory. The idea of the messenger alien organism is a desperate attempt to explain the unexplainable. The scientists latch on to any idea to explain why their data defies their understanding. The Messenger Theory is never confirmed, only hinted at. The lack of confirmation shows that humans are a long way from truly understanding the great unknown.
The great unknown is an important theme in the book that represents the infinite breadth of knowledge still beyond humanity’s reach. The alien organism defies the fundamental rules and expectations that science uses to explain life on Earth. The defiance of such rules shows how much more there is still to be understood about the universe. By the end of the novel, the scientists still do not understand the alien organism, but they have begun to comprehend how little they know about the universe.
The Limitations of Science
Science is not an all-powerful force in The Andromeda Strain. There is a clear contrast between the scientists’ plans and what actually happens. The origins of the Wildfire Project suggest that alien organisms have always been understood to be a threat, one the government has foolishly sought out. Scientists have diligently planned for this eventuality and made a state-of-the-art lab with detailed contingency plans. When the event actually occurs, these plans are exposed as demonstrably inadequate. The narrative is a detailed examination of how humanity’s best-laid plans fail to counter the realities of the alien threat.
A key element of this theme is science versus bureaucracy. The scientists and bureaucrats exist in different worlds. The scientists run their experiments in the deepest levels of the lab, while the bureaucrats write reports and send messages from their offices. The scientists do not receive these messages, and the bureaucrats do not follow through on the scientists’ orders. Both sides betray their trust in one another. The bureaucrats do not implement Directive 7-12, even though the scientists requested the destruction of Piedmont, but the scientists do not receive the message saying the order failed to go through. Both sides are at fault because they fail to communicate with one another. The scientists versus bureaucrats dilemma reveals the true limitations of science as practiced by humans. There will always be errors and unpredictable elements, as humanity is only ever as strong as its weakest link.
The true limitations of science are revealed in the defeat of the humans at the novel’s end. The alien organism escapes into the atmosphere above Los Angeles, and the scientists cease their efforts to control and analyze it. Science’s limitations are revealed by the failure to achieve the Wildfire Project’s single stated goal: controlling the alien organism. The Andromeda Strain is allowed to exist in the air above a major city, and rather than contain it, the powers that be ground all spaceflights, write a detailed investigation into their own failures, and leave the future up to the organism. Rendered humble and passive, humanity has no choice but to accept its limitations.
Human Determination
The Andromeda Strain presents a unique challenge to the scientists and eventually proves them to be failures, but the novel portrays determination as a key human trait. The members of the Wildfire Project push themselves to the limit to understand the nature of the alien organism. Stone is dragged away from a party and leaves his wife confused and annoyed, providing just one example of how the men are stripped from comfortable lives and thrown into an impossible situation. Stone accepts his fate and, along with his colleagues, he pushes his body to the limit to comprehend the crisis at hand. The men exhaust themselves in pursuit of an explanation. Their mistakes come from their physical depletion, and they endure pain and suffering without complaint in hope they can achieve their goal. Although they fail, their lack of success is not due to a lack of determination. In fact, determination proves to be as much as foible as a virtue.
One example of this is Leavitt. He suffers from epilepsy and experiences blackouts. He knows this is a problem for the mission, particularly in an environment with flashing lights and considerable stress. However, Leavitt also knows the importance of the project. He subjects himself to physical pain and professional embarrassment to support the team. He is determined to help at any cost, and he pays the price for this when his condition is revealed to the other scientists. Rather than criticize Leavitt, they understand his determination. Leavitt shows that the team and humanity in general are determined to overcome every limitation in the pursuit of knowledge, even when success is not guaranteed—and sometimes even despite massive risk. Leavitt keeps secrets to support his colleagues, but this also endangers them by jeopardizing the mission. This parallels how raw determination leads the whole team to work themselves to exhaustion, at which point they make mistakes and poor decisions, endangering all humanity.
The most successful of the scientists is Hall. He begins the novel as something of a joke. He is chosen because the Odd Man Hypothesis demands an unmarried man be part of the mission. The hypothesis is not even true, and Hall’s place on the team is built on a foundations of lies and mistruths. He did not earn his place like the other scientists, and he seems to lack their determination, as evidenced by his failure to read all the files pertaining to the project. However, Hall works hard. He begins to understand the nature of the crisis, developing a better understanding than everyone else. While Leavitt struggles to overcome his physical failings, Hall successfully overcome his personality failings. When his determination to succeed saves the entire facility from destruction, Hall emerges as the true hero of the novel and as an embodiment of human determination at its best.
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By Michael Crichton
