Last and First Men · Chapter
I: The First Martian Invasion explained
The chapter describes the first Martian invasion of Earth, beginning with the appearance of greenish cloudlets in the sky over the Hindu Kush.
What happens
The chapter describes the first Martian invasion of Earth, beginning with the appearance of greenish cloudlets in the sky over the Hindu Kush. These cloudlets, revealed to be living organisms, descend onto a mountain and form a dark, seething mass that moves down a valley, engulfing a village and killing several people. The cloud is eventually dispersed by beam radiation, ending the first invasion.
Themes in this chapter
Humanity and the Other
The Martians are portrayed as alien and incomprehensible, attacking humans without apparent reason, highlighting the theme of encountering the other.
Technology and Its Dangers
The use of beam radiation to combat the Martians shows technology's role in defense, but also its limitations and the danger of advanced alien technology.
Characters to notice
- The Martians
First seen as green cloudlets, they descend and attack a village, killing several inhabitants before being dispersed.
- The Narrator
Describes the events of the first Martian invasion from an observational perspective.
Key passages
“Upon the foothills of the new and titanic mountains that were once the Hindu Kush, were many holiday centres, whence the young men and women of Asia were wont to seek Alpine dangers and hardships for their souls’ refreshment.”
In the foothills of the newly formed, massive mountains that used to be the Hindu Kush, there were many resorts where Asian youth went to find adventure and spiritual renewal through mountain challenges.
Sets the scene and introduces the setting.
“Field-glasses revealed within each fleck of green some faint hint of a ruddy nucleus, and shifting strands of an infrared colour, which would have been invisible to the earlier human race.”
Using binoculars, observers saw that each green speck contained a reddish core and moving strands of infrared light, which earlier humans couldn't see.
Describes the Martian cloudlets' appearance and hints at their alien nature.
“No sooner did they come face to face with it, round a bend in the valley, than the cloud rapidly contracted, till it was no bigger than a house.”
As soon as the young men encountered the cloud around a bend, it shrank to the size of a house.
Shows the cloud's reactive behavior and danger.
“Powerful beam radiation was now poured into the cloud from all the neighbouring installations. Its destructive activity slackened, and once more it began to disintegrate and expand.”
The nearby facilities directed intense beam radiation at the cloud, which slowed its attacks and caused it to break apart and spread out.
Describes the method used to repel the invasion.