# V: Downfall explained — Last and First Men > Chapter companion for Last and First Men by Olaf Stapledon. ## What happens The collapse of the first world-civilization is precipitated by the exhaustion of coal supplies, leading to a desperate adherence to ritualistic flight and the false divine secret of Gordelpus. As resources dwindle, the populace's faith wavers, scientists fail to find solutions, and civil unrest escalates into global catastrophe, culminating in the spread of the 'American Madness' and the near-total destruction of civilization. ## Themes in this chapter ### Society and Collective Identity The chapter explores how a society's collective identity, rooted in ritual and blind faith, can lead to its downfall when faced with crisis. ### The Limits of Knowledge The scientists' failure to discover the 'forgotten talisman' and their reliance on false miracles highlight the limits of human knowledge and the dangers of ignorance. ### Suffering and Redemption The widespread suffering and the futile attempts at redemption through religious devotion and sacrifice ultimately lead to annihilation, not salvation. ## Character check-ins ### The First Men The First Men, in their final stages, are depicted as helplessly continuing their ritualistic behaviors despite doubt and desperation, ultimately leading to their downfall. ### Gordelpus The divine figure Gordelpus is used by the scientists to perform 'miracles' that suppress dissent, but the hoax is eventually exposed, contributing to the collapse. ### The Americans The American government's use of microbes leads to the 'American Madness' plague, which devastates the continent and later spreads globally. ### The Jews A prominent Jew publicly reveals the lie of the divine secret, and later, certain Jews attempt serious organization amidst the chaos. ### The Chinese Chinese agriculturists strike for power and are killed by Gordelpus's 'evil atmosphere'; later, China declares itself a free national state. ## Key lines > Like those little rodents whose migration became barred by an encroachment of the sea, so that annually they drowned themselves in thousands, the First Men helplessly continued in their ritualistic behaviour; but unlike the lemmings, they were human enough to be at the same time oppressed by unbelief, an unbelief which, moreover, they dared not recognize. The First Men, like lemmings, continued their destructive rituals despite knowing they were futile, but unlike lemmings, they were conscious of their own disbelief and suppressed it. _This simile emphasizes the tragic automatism of the First Men and their psychological repression._ > The scientists were by now panic-stricken. Nothing had come of their researches, and it was evident that in future all wind- and waterpower must be devoted to the primary industries. The scientists were desperate because their research had failed, and they realized that all power had to be redirected to essential industries. _This highlights the failure of science and the impending crisis._ > Immediately the hideous truth, which few hitherto had dared to admit even to themselves, was blurted out upon the ether by a prominent Jew: the whole hoary legend of the divine secret was a lie, else why were the physicists temporizing? A prominent Jew publicly revealed the long-suppressed truth that the divine secret was a lie, questioning why physicists were delaying. _This moment of revelation triggers widespread rage and civil unrest._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters/v-downfall - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/last_and_first_men_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/last_and_first_men_se/chapters