Aleriel, or, A voyage to other worlds : a tale

Aleriel, or, A voyage to other worlds : a tale written by Wladislaw Lach-Szyrma in 1883 is one of the earliest fiction examples of exploration to other planets, including Mars, that I have found. It is the first fiction piece that uses the term 'Martians' to describe the inhabitants of mars. I started reading the book not knowing how far through I would get. Assuming the outdated knowledge and perceptions would make me tire of the story pretty quickly. However, just reading through the preface alone it intrigued me. How could we be so naive to think these things, I thought. Looking back at how much knowledge we have acquired in a relatively short amount of time as a species, it amazes me.

Lach- Szyrma writes in his preface that he thinks, and is a common though of the time, that Earth is in a phase of planetary development that harbours life and that other planets are yet to evolve into a state that can sustain life. Or that life is extinct. Many did believe that life on these planets did exist.

Part one of this book introduced various characters, set the scene and explained the situation and ways of life at the time for these characters. When the tone of the tale changed and descriptions of these un-earthly beings and places were told I too felt as though it was the first recollection of an alien race being told to me. As it was so different from the stories of aliens that we hear today it was like nothing being told to us in modern day Sci-Fi that it was almost more believable, as if this is really how other worlds may interact and perceive us.

"Although our understanding of the physical conditions on the Red Planet has changed radically sinceAleriel’s publication, the allure of Mars as a laboratory for Utopian thinking, against which to measure the successes and failings of earthly civilisation, has continued to the present day."

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