History Literature / TheSpaceTrilogy

*** "Hardcastle" is possibly meant as another one. In any case, it's a fitting coincidence (being written decades before him) that her nickname "Fairy" sounds a lot like Stalin's infamous Head of Secret Police Beria -- and she acts the part, too. [[spoiler: Including not only her methods, but apparently also the serial rape of female prisoners.]]

* SpaceColdWar: The rest of the planets of the Solar System and the good eldil that steward have wanted to liberate Earth from demons for a long time, but strict codes of conduct have kept from doing so. They can only fight the demons through human proxies, mostly for fear of their great powers assuring the mutual destruction of the Solar System. This is why they send Ransom to fight the Devil on Venus in book 2 and empower Merlin to destroy N.I.C.E. in book 3.
* SpacePeople: The eldils live in the space between the worlds, watching the Great Dance of the universe with their multi-dimensional vision. There are only eight eldils known to live on planets, and although they are implied to have some servants with them, ''Perelandra'' makes clear that they only manifest on planets for the sake of its inhabitants and don't belong to said planets.

* StarfishAliens: The ''eldil'' do not exist in space as humans do, so that they need to consciously match the speed of the Earth as it rotates on its axis and revolves around itself. They also manifest as completely different beings depending on how "far" they are from you, so they can look like the nightmare about the apocalypse one minute and then appear as a circle of eyeballs just by "moving" slightly. When you live in the space between the planets, weird stuff like that happens to you

* HumanAliens: Since God became human at one point, every sapient race that develops/is created (Pr. Lewis actually argued that there's no need to draw a distinction between the two in other works) from that point in time onward will now, unfortunately, look exactly like humans (although if [[FridgeLogic we were to take this train of thought to it's logical conclusion]], it would mean not only that all ''individual humans'' should have the same ''facial structure'' as Jesus, but also that all sapient races who developed ''before'' that point should be HumanAliens as well, since Pr. Lewis was well aware that Christian Theology holds God to be Atemporal).

* IfJesusThenAliens: Explored in many ways. Both Jesus and aliens appear, but belief in the two is not necessarily linked. Aliens simply exist, and the protagonist meets them on social grounds - he knows aliens exists and doesn't need to "believe" in them. That said, he does also meet actual [[OurAngelsAreDifferent angels]], so he doesn't actually need to ''believe'' in Jesus, either. [[spoiler: ''Then'', in the second book, although Ransom doesn't actually meet God ''face to face'', the two ''do'' have a mental chat; which starts out like a series of sudden inspirations, goes over something more like a religious experience, and finally ends in something almost like a telephone conversation (with ultimately even the occasional image thrown in) as the "connection" gradually gets better and better.]]

*** Ransom, whom Maleldil compares to Himself, as He is "the ransom of the world". An interesting twist: Ransom, being a linguist, knows that his name isn't actually related to the word "ransom" -- but it still seems to be no accident that it is ''his'' name--and it is never stated but still obvious that Maleldil knows (and ultimately controls) every linguistic sound shift on every world ever.

*** Even the ''nickname'' Tinidril gives the protagonist on Perelandra - Piebald - is meaningful: a Perelandrian piebald is a creature almost exactly like a spotted [[CallARabbitASmeerp sheep]], so he's nicknamed "sheep". See the above about the meaning of "Ransom" for two possible meanings of this; as [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} Maleldil]] is both the Good Shepherd (making the name stress that the protagonist is His charge) and the Lamb of God (leading to yet another comparison like "ransom").

*** By contrast, many of the people of Logres have botanical names - Dr. Grace ''Ironwood'', ''Ivy'' Maggs, ''Camilla'' Denniston, ... but it has [[RedHerring no]] deeper significance.
*** "Hardcastle" is possibly meant as another one. In any case, it's a fitting coincidence (being written decades before him) that her nickname "Fairy" sounds a lot like Stalin's infamous Head of Secret Police Beria - and she acts the part, too. [[spoiler: Including not only her methods, but apparently also the serial rape of female prisoners.]]

*** The third book's title "that hideous strength" is taken from an old poem, means "that abominable fortress", and refers to the biblical Tower of Babel. The book is about the construction of the NICE at Bracton - which apart from all the other parallels is [[spoiler: hit with the curse of babel at the end]].

* NoBiologicalSex: In these books' universe, the Oyarsa are sexless, as one would expect from incorporeal spirits that predate the concept of biology itself, but they are not ''gender''less. The Oyarsa of Perelandra (Venus) is feminine, and the Oyarsu of Malacandra (Mars) and Viritrilbia (Mercury) are masculine.

* OurAngelsAreDifferent: Angels are a "military caste" of an alien species that neither breathes nor breeds. They act as guardians over humanity from evil members of this species, although the books never show an actual angel. Instead, the books show us other sub-sets and species of spirits serving God like the six Oyérsu and the solar eldila. These aliens are often compared to pagan gods, but Lewis describes them with angelic images from [[Literature/BookOfEzekiel Ezekiel]] and [[Literature/BookOfRevelation St. John]] that are often forgotten today.

* OurGodsAreDifferent: The gods are in truth incorporeal {{Reality Warper}}s serving under the invisible EvilOverlord of Earth, with each of his servants being a counterpart to {{The Good King}}s of the other planets in the Solar System. Men encountered these corrupted powers over the centuries and created their mythologies ([[Myth/ClassicalMythology Roman]], [[Myth/NorseMythology Norse]], and [[Myth/EgyptianMythology Egyptian]] in particular) around them, never knowing these are only shadows of the true gods (''Oyeresu'' in Old Solar) who continue to serve [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} their Creator]] with love. What [[Creator/CSLewis Lewis]] has done here is combined the Christian tradition that gods are just [[OurDemonsAreDifferent white-washed devils]] with his view that all religions at least hint towards the Truth, however poorly.

* BizarreAlienSexes: In a bizarre case overlapping with NoBiologicalSex, there are apparently ''seven'' genders in this fantasy universe, two of which correspond both to the human sexes and to the genders of the [[CelestialParagonsAndArchangels Oyarsu]] controlling Mercury, Venus, and Mars. The rulers of those three planets have ''genders'', but also have NoBiologicalSex. When the Oyarsu of Jupiter and Saturn show up, their genders are neither masculine or feminine, which contributes to their already-formidible case of YouCannotGraspTheTrueForm.

* {{Deconstruction}}: Lewis deconstructs various popular human fears as found in science fiction. For instance, the notion that aliens -- particularly aliens stronger and smarter than us -- must necessarily have natures [[CosmicHorrorStory antithetical to and hostile towards human beings]]. In point of fact, each alien species is more similar to humankind than they are different -- even the EnergyBeings, who are the most different and powerful by far, love humans more than humans love each other. If there are legions of fallen eldil who plague humanity, it's simply because they ''choose'' not to live in peace with us.

* EarthDrift: Outside of all the aliens, the history of Earth is basically the same as any [[UsefulNotes/{{Christianity}} Christian]] would expect, angels and demons included. ''That Hideous Strength'' delves straight into fantasy and mythology by confirming that the pagan gods all existed, Merlin was a true wizard who began a millennia long-legacy of Arthurian successors, and that a transhumanist conspiracy controlled the course of post-war Britian only to be covered-up by the media.

* EnergyBeings: The ''eldila'' are essentially Christian angels, and some of them (the ones associated with a specific planet) are also the basis for the Olympian pantheon. They are imperceptible energy beings whose forms exist on a radically different wavelength than ours -- for them, gaseous matter doesn't exist, and liquids and solids are gaseous, so the planets of the Solar system are just clouds. To them, light itself is the water through which they swim, and the Sun is their wellspring. "Visiting" a planet means moving into one of those moving clouds and then keeping pace with its orbit to maintain the appearance of standing still, while using some sort of projection to interact with wispy, ephemeral creatures they cannot fully see (ie: ''us'').
* EvilCannotComprehendGood: Played straight with both Professor Weston and the Belbury people, in their assesments of which Christians are most dangerous to them - they peg those most "efficient" and similar to themselves as ones to look out for, and completely neglect the humble doctor Dimble, the only one who actually has the information they need.

* AngelicAbomination: The eldila are rather unsettling and bizarre angels (or at least comrades of the angels), even the good ones. Their very presence causes men to feel the speed and angle of the Earth hurdling through space, and if they choose to manifest more clearly to people, they may take forms of great horror or absurdity through ignorance of what men find aesthetically pleasing.

Everybody and their dog knows about [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia Narnia]], and has probably read it.[[note]]Admit it: depending on at what age that was, considering the plot a lot of people even read it ''to'' their dog.[[/note]] They also probably know about the likes of ''Mere Christianity'' or ''Literature/TheScrewtapeLetters''. But if you ask them whether they realized that Creator/CSLewis wrote science fiction, they'll look at you like you're from another planet. ''The Space Trilogy'' is the unofficial name of his series of PlanetaryRomance and {{Fantasy}} novels, mixing space travel with Medieval cosmology and Christian theology.

Everybody and their dog knows about [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia Narnia]], and has probably read it.[[note]]Admit it: depending on at what age that was, considering the plot a lot of people even read it ''to'' their dog.[[/note]] They also probably know about the likes of ''Mere Christianity'' or ''Literature/TheScrewtapeLetters''. But if you ask them whether they realized that Creator/CSLewis wrote science fiction, they'll look at you like you're [[JustForPun from another planet.]] ''The Space Trilogy'' is the unofficial name of his series of PlanetaryRomance and {{Fantasy}} novels, mixing space travel with Medieval cosmology and Christian theology.

*** The good side's prodigal who is duped by false promises into joining the NICE has the given name "Mark".

*** "Hardcastle" is possibly meant as another one. In any case, her nickname "Fairy" sounds a lot like Stalin's infamous Head of Secret Police Beria - and she acts the part, too. [[spoiler: Including not only her methods, but apparently also the serial rape of female prisoners.]]

*** If that were ''still'' not enough, in the third book he changes his last name from Ransom to [[FisherKing Fisher-King]]. What with all the Arthurian stuff going on in that book ''and'' him being the "keeper" and director of what makes the good side good is quite on the nose. Not to mention his leg is [[WoundThatWillNotHeal hurt]], too. [[spoiler: ''And'' the tiny little land of Logres he rules over in all but name not only gives off the impression of being much more alive and well than the rest of the setting; it's also the only place not affected by the grey fog of depression that settles everywhere else when the villains cut down Bragdon Wood.]]

*** If that were ''still'' not enough, in the third book he changes his last name from Ransom to [[FisherKing Fisher-King]]. What with all the Arthurian stuff going on in that book ''and'' him being the "keeper" and director of what makes the good side good is quite on the nose. Not to mention his leg is [[WoundThatWillNotHeal hurt]], too.

** Ransom, whom Maleldil compares to Himself, as He is "the ransom of the world". An interesting twist: Ransom, being a linguist, knows that his name isn't actually related to the word "ransom" -- but it still seems to be no accident that it is ''his'' name--and it is never stated but still obvious that Maleldil knows (and ultimately controls) every linguistic sound shift on every world ever.
** The protagonist's first name "Elwin" means "elf-friend" in Anglo-Saxon. Considering how much of Tolkien’s writings in the Inklings affected the Space Trilogy. At one point in-universe it's noted that "Elwin" means "eldil-friend", implying that, like his surname, his given name is no coincidence either.
** Even the ''nickname'' Tinidril gives the protagonist on Perelandra - Piebald - is meaningful: a Perelandrian piebald is a creature almost exactly like a spotted [[CallARabbitASmeerp sheep]], so he's nicknamed "sheep". See the above about the meaning of "Ransom" for two possible meanings of this; as [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} Maleldil]] is both the Good Shepherd (making the name stress that the protagonist is His charge) and the Lamb of God (leading to yet another comparison like "ransom").
** Don't forget Frost and Wither, whose names reflect the effects of the N.I.C.E.'s psychological training [[spoiler: and exposure to dark eldila]] on their personalities. Frost's mind was made cold, hard, and sharp, like ice. Wither, on the other hand, just sort of "withered" away. There's also Dr. ''Winter'' and Devine's title is Lord ''Fever''stone. Pretty much everyone at N.I.C.E. has a name that suggest the failure, absence or corruption of organic life.
** "Hardcastle" is possibly meant as another one. In any case, her nickname "Fairy" sounds a lot like Stalin's infamous Head of Secret Police Beria - and she acts the part, too. [[spoiler: Including not only her methods, but apparently also the serial rape of female prisoners.]]
** The good side's prodigal who is duped by false promises into joining the NICE has the given name "Mark".

** Even the ''nickname'' Tinidril gives the protagonist on Perelandra - Piebald - is meaningful: a Perelandrian piebald is a creature almost exactly like a spotted [[CallARabbitASmeerp sheep]], so he's nicknamed "sheep". See the above about the meaning of "Ransom" for two possible meanings of this; as [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} Maleldil]] is both the Good Shepherd and the Lamb of God.

* IronicName: The hedonistic and corruptible Devine is notably far from being divine.\\

** The National Institute of Coordinated Experiments is [[EvilutionaryBiologist not]] [[Ghostapo very]] "nice" [[MadScientist at]] [[StupidJetpackHitler all]].

** The protagonist's first name is "Elwin" means "elf-friend" in the Anglo-Saxon. Considering how much of Tolkien’s writings in the Inklings affected the Space Trilogy. At one point in-universe it's noted that "Elwin" means "eldil-friend", implying that, like his surname, his given name is no coincidence either.

** Even the ''nickname'' [[TheNicknamer Tinidril]] gives the protagonist on Perelandra - Piebald - is meaningful: a Perelandrian piebald is a creature almost exactly like a spotted [[CallARabbitASmeerp sheep]], so he's nicknamed "sheep". See the above about the meaning of "Ransom" for two possible meanings of this; as [[UsefulNotes/{{Jesus}} Maleldil]] is both the Good Shepherd and the Lamb of God.
** Don't forget Frost and Wither, whose names reflect the effects of the N.I.C.E.'s psychological training [[spoiler: and exposure to dark eldila]] on their personalities. Frost's mind was made cold, hard, and sharp, like ice. Wither, on the other hand, just sort of "withered" away. There's also Dr. ''Winter'' and Devine's title is Lord ''Fever''stone. Pretty much everyone at N.I.C.E. has a name that suggest the failure, absence or corruption of organic life ("Hardcastle" is possibly meant as another one).

* IronicName: The hedonistic and corruptible Devine is notably far from being divine.

Everybody and their dog knows about [[Literature/TheChroniclesOfNarnia Narnia]], and has probably read it. They also probably know about the likes of ''Mere Christianity'' or ''Literature/TheScrewtapeLetters''. But if you ask them whether they realized that Creator/CSLewis wrote science fiction, they'll look at you like you're [[JustForPun from another planet.]] ''The Space Trilogy'' is the unofficial name of his series of PlanetaryRomance and {{Fantasy}} novels, mixing space travel with Medieval cosmology and Christian theology.