A Case of Conscience | A Case of Conscience

At a glance:

Author: James Blish
First Published: 1953
Type of Work: Novel
Type of Plot: Science fiction—apocalypse
Time of Work: 2049-2050
Setting: Lithia, a planet 50 light-years from Earth; New York City; and Vatican City
Genres: Long fiction, Science fiction, Apocalyptic and catastrophe fiction
Subjects: New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, New York City, Extraterrestrial life, Future, Other worlds, Twenty-first century, Devils or demons, Jesuits, Satan or Satanism, Reptiles, Vatican City
Locales: New York, NY, Space, Vatican City

Ramon Ruiz-Sanchez is a Jesuit priest as well as a biologist with the United Nations (U.N.) survey team on the recently discovered planet of Lithia. Lithia, dominated by a species of intelligent reptilians, is an apparent utopia. The Lithians have no crime, no politics, and no religion, and their ethical code (otherwise identical to that of Christianity) is based on pure reason. Despite their planet’s iron-poor crust, the Lithians have developed advanced technologies, including a planetary communications web based on pulses emitted by the gigantic Message Tree, the...

A Case of Conscience | A Case of Conscience

At a glance:

The Plot

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