History Literature / SixthColumn

''Sixth Column'' is a ScienceFiction novel by Creator/RobertAHeinlein, first published in 1949.

''Sixth Column'' tells the story of six surviving US soldiers after Pan-Asian invaders conquer America. Having recently invented a DoomsdayDevice that confers its wielder powers not much unlike omnipotence, the surviving Americans begin plotting to free their country using this new technology.

* ImperialJapan: [=PanAsia=] is very much like Imperial Japan.

* AuthorAppeal: More like Editor Appeal. The story was a reworked version of Creator/JohnWCampbell's unpublished ''All''. Campbell was adamantly of the opinion that Northern Europeans were the best of races. Campbell was the editor of ''AstoundingScienceFiction'' and at the time thoroughly dominated the field of Sci Fi. Heinlein was uncomfortable with the racism and published Literature/FarnhamsFreehold sixteen years later, inverting racist tropes. Given that Heinlein was of the opinion that [[FairForItsDay he had removed the racist aspects of the story]], consider what the story [[UpToEleven originally must have been]].

* HolyHalo: One of the "powers" of the staves is to project a holographic halo above the heads of the priests, for psychological effect.
** Actually, the halo is projected by a separate apparatus concealed in the priest's turban: "The turbans had originally been intended simply to conceal the mechanism which produced the shining halo which floated above the heads of all priests of Mota. The turban and the halo together made a priest look about seven feet tall with consequent unfavorable effect on the psyche of the Asiatics."

* AuthorAppeal: More like Editor Appeal. The story was a reworked version of Creator/JohnWCampbell's unpublished ''All''. Campbell was adamantly of the opinion that Northern Europeans were the best of races. Campbell was the editor of ''AstoundingScienceFiction'' and at the time thoroughly dominated the field of Sci Fi. Heinlein was uncomfortable with the racism and published FarnhamsFreehold sixteen years later, inverting racist tropes. Given that Heinlein was of the opinion that [[FairForItsDay he had removed the racist aspects of the story]], consider what the story [[UpToEleven originally must have been]].

* ChinaTakesOverTheWorld / JapanTakesOverTheWorld: [=PanAsia=], an amalgamation of Asian cultures, uses the opportunity of a severely isolationist American foreign policy to develop superweapons and make a surprise invasion.

''Sixth Column'' is a novel by Creator/RobertAHeinlein, first published in 1949.

* FairForItsDay: Heinlein, reportedly, believed that he removed the racist elements of the Campbell's story. Imagine [[UpToEleven what the original was then]].

* AuthorAppeal: More like Editor Appeal. The story was a reworked version of Creator/JohnWCampbell's unpublished ''All''. Campbell was adamantly of the opinion that Northern Europeans were the best of races. Campbell was the editor of ''AstoundingScienceFiction'' and at the time thoroughly dominated the field of Sci Fi. Heinlein was uncomfortable with the racism and published FarnhamsFreehold sixteen years later, inverting racist tropes. Given that Heinlein was of the opinion that he had removed the racist aspects of the story, consider what the story [[UpToEleven originally must have been]].

* AllAsiansAreAlike: The entire Asia has amalgamated to a massive nation of [=PanAsia=], with most elements resembling Japanese culture.

* AGodAmI: All of the main characters have near-omnipotence thanks to their weapons, but Calhoun is the one who eventually goes crazy about it and actually thinks he's a divine in their scam religion.

* AdaptationExpansion: The original didn't bother to explain the racial bioweapons, and Heinlein had to come up with some sci-fi {{Hand Wave}}s and TechnoBabble. Surprisingly it works fairly well and is even mildly plausible.

* HolyHalo

* AuthorAppeal: More like Editor Appeal. The story was a reworked version of Creator/JohnWCampbell's unpublished ''All''. Campbell was adamantly of the opinion that Northern Europeans were the best of races. Campbell was the editor of ''AstoundingScienceFiction'' and at the time thoroughly dominated the field of Sci Fi. Heinlein was uncomfortable with the racism and published FarnhamsFreehold sixteen years later, inverting racist tropes. Given that Heinlein was of the opinion that he had removed the racist aspects of the story, consider what the story [[UpToEleven originally must have been]].

* MediaAdaptationTropes: Heinlein adapted the novel from an unpublished work of not-so-much-science-fiction into slightly harder mostly-science-fiction.
** PragmaticAdaptation: Heinlein did what he could to tone down the racism of the original story.
** AdaptationExpansion: The original didn't bother to explain the racial bioweapons, and Heinlein had to come up with some sci-fi {{Hand Wave}}s and TechnoBabble. Surprisingly it works fairly well and is even mildly plausible.

* AuthorAppeal: More like Editor Appeal. The story was a reworked version of JohnWCampbell's unpublished ''All''. Campbell was adamantly of the opinion that Northern Europeans were the best of races. Campbell was the editor of ''AstoundingScienceFiction'' and at the time thoroughly dominated the field of Sci Fi. Heinlein was uncomfortable with the racism and published FarnhamsFreehold sixteen years later, inverting racist tropes. Given that Heinlein was of the opinion that he had removed the racist aspects of the story, consider what the story [[UpToEleven originally must have been]].

** AdaptationExpansion: The original didn't bother to explain the racial bioweapons, and Heinlein had to come up with some sci-fi HandWaves and TechnoBabble. Surprisingly it works fairly well and is even mildly plausible.

[[caption-width-right:200:some caption text]]

A novel by Creator/RobertAHeinlein, '''Sixth Column''' tells the story of six surviving US soldiers after Pan-Asian invaders conquer America. Having recently invented a DoomsdayDevice that confers its wielder powers not much unlike omnipotence, the surviving Americans begin plotting to free their country using this new technology.

!!''Sixth Column'' provides examples of:

* AllAsiansAreAlike: Very literally - the entire Asia has amalgamated to a massive nation of [=PanAsia=], with most elements resembling Japanese culture.

* SuperWeaponAverageJoe: The Americans have a weapon that allows them to do pretty much anything with ease.

* BackFromTheBrink: America is almost completely held by [=PanAsians=], and the main characters are pretty much everything that remains of the United States Army. They do survive, though.
* ChinaTakesOverTheWorld / JapanTakesOverTheWorld: [=PanAsians=].

* InvadedStatesOfAmerica: United States is taken over by Asians.
* LaResistance: The eponymous Sixth Column
* OldShame: The novel is actually a version of Creator/JohnWCampbell's ''All'' with the racism toned down. Heinlein considered Sixth Column an Old Shame that he wrote to garner the favor of the racist but influential Campbell.

A novel by RobertAHeinlein, '''Sixth Column''' tells the story of six surviving US soldiers after Pan-Asian invaders conquer America. Having recently invented a DoomsdayDevice that confers its wielder powers not much unlike omnipotence, the surviving Americans begin plotting to free their country using this new technology.

* OldShame: The novel is actually a version of Creator/JohnWCampbell's ''All'' with the racism toned down. Heinlein considered Sixth Column an Old Shame that he wrote to garner the favor of the racist but influential Campbell.

* OldShame: The novel is actually a version of JohnWCampbell's ''All'' with the racism toned down. Heinlein considered Sixth Column an Old Shame that he wrote to garner the favor of the racist but influential Campbell.

* BackFromTheBrink
* BrownNote
* ChessMotifs
* ChinaTakesOverTheWorld / JapanTakesOverTheWorld
* DayOfTheJackboot
* EfficientDisplacement
* ImperialJapan
* InvadedStatesOfAmerica
* {{Hobos}}
* LaResistance
* NoPlansNoPrototypeNoBackup

* OvernightConquest
* PigLatin
* ReversePolarity

* SimpleStaff
* SlashedThroat
* SmartPeoplePlayChess
* SuperWeaponAverageJoe: The Americans have a weapon that allows them to do pretty much anything with ease.
* TokenEnemyMinority
* WorldWarThree
* {{Yellowface}}
* YellowPeril

* BoardGames

* FairForItsDay

* UnfortunateImplications

* AGodAmI: All of the main characters have near-omnipotence thanks to their weapons, but Calhoun is the one who eventually goes crazy about it and actually thinks he's a divine in their scam religion

* SuperWeaponAverageJoe: The Americans have a weapon that allows them to do pretty much anything with ease.