Somnium: The arguably first SF book
No doubt science fiction is a landmark genre of the twentieth century. But you might not know that the roots of SF long precedes 1900. I am not talking about figures like Poe or Vernes here (although they deserve respect). Indeed, the subject is still debated but SF could go as far back as the second century (Lucian‘s A True Story). But arguably the first book to nail all the important elements of science fiction was actually written by Johannes Kepler. That‘s right: the famous German astronomer. It is known as “Somnium“ Today, I propose we explore it together.
Written in Latin, Somnium began as a student dissertation in which Kepler chose to answer what looks like a very conspicuous question: How would the phenomena occurring in the heavens appear to an observer stationed on the moon? In reality, it was quite a shrewd move and a bold one at that. Indeed, Kepler used this apparent curious demeanour to suggest that an observer on the Moon would see Earth move just as clearly as we see the Moon move on Earth. Ergo: Earth moves. That was still an extremely debated notion. The Copernican model was still seen unfavourably if not outright censored. In 1608, he finished the first draft and sent it to his university. But Kepler was caught: that version of the story was never allowed for publishing by the conservative university. In time, Kepler would forget about this failed experiment. It would only come back to his mind nearly 16 years later when it came up during a conversation with a friend. Hooked again, Kepler would dig up his old drafts. Always as handy, he would veil the same views again but behind a strange dream narrative this time. This is what would become the Somnium. That version would also include extensive notes written by Kepler himself to explain further some scientific details mentioned. The Somnium would finally see print in 1634 several years after Kepler‘s death. His son, Ludwig, and an old friend named Jacob Bartsch would do so in his memory. Interestingly enough, many elements in the story are taken straight out from Kepler's own life. So, in a way, it can be considered a biography too!
Anyway, let‘s begin with the story itself.
The narrator calls himself Duracotus, comes from Iceland and starts grimly by telling us of his mother's death. Never knowing his father, he is now parentless - a fact that doesn't seem to bother him at all. In fact, he takes the opportunity of his mother‘s death to start writing, as his mother forbade it in her time.
Duracotus tells us that he once was sent to deliver a letter to a certain Tycho Brahe. That name should be familiar as Brahe was an astronomical superstar and someone Kepler knew intimately. Brahe clearly deserves his own post at some point. In any case, Duracotus ended up stuck with Brahe because of bad sea conditions. During that time, Duracotus learnt Danish and spent some wonderful nights with Brahe's students observing the stars and the moon. Not too bad for a forced retreat in my opinion. When he went back to his mother, she asked to know everything he saw, every country he visited and, strangely, everything he learned about astronomy specifically. Duracotus obliged and, apparently satisfied, his mother proclaimed that she could now die in peace since her son "would inherit her knowledge". At this point, we have to specify that, to Duracotus‘ knowledge, his mother was only selling herb bags for a living. A curious mind, Duracotus asked his mother what knowledge she was talking about. She responded that great spirits hiding in the shadows were responsible for her knowledge of medicine. Those spirits told of a land far away called “Levania“, a land that Brahe apparently talked about with Duracotus (it‘s the moon). The mother then proposes to her son a trip to that mysterious land. She would ask her teacher how to do so. Duracotus agrees. His mother summons the spirit. That spirit, as a voice coming from nowhere, begins its tale.
Levania is an island fifty thousand "German" miles from Earth in the Ether. The road to it is hidden and rarely opened to humans. The spirit explains that spirits from Levania can decide who to bring and are very particular about it. Indeed, they refuse any German or Spaniard and especially like to bring "dried-up old women". Although the island is quite far, the voyage takes no longer than four hours by magical means. This is how the spirit describes the voyage: "[The man to transport,] we seize as a group and all of us, pushing from underneath, lift him up into the heavens[...]". As simple as that. Who needs rockets anyway? Joking aside, Kepler wasn‘t concerned about how to get to the moon. His focus was clearly on explaining what we would find there instead.
Speaking of which, what would a human observer find different between Levania (aka: the moon) and Earth? Well, first, Levania has plenty of caves for the spirits to hide from the sun. And that‘s pretty much all we know of Levania itself. Kepler quickly shifts the focus to astronomical differences. First, the movement and apparent size of planets are different than on Earth. The stars though look the same (again, a nudge to Copernican astronomy). Levania is separated into two hemispheres: Subvolva and Privolva. The first always enjoys the view of "our moon" (Earth) the other doesn‘t. Yes, from the viewpoint of the moon, Earth actually has phases. And, yes, the moon experiences Earth eclipses. Anyway, the demon continues. The moon (let‘s drop pretenses) experiences day and night cycles. This is true in both hemispheres. Yes, the same face of the moon always faces the Earth yet all the surface of the moon experiences days and nights. This is something Kepler clearly proved he knew which few even today realize.
After that, Kepler states that Earth spins 366 times in 365 days as seen on the moon. Kepler is acknowledging the need for leap years here. Interestingly, Kepler describes (or theorizes) that the moon experiences seasons just like Earth. Just less so. I don't know if that is verified or not. I should look it up. Kepler then explains that the principles of mathematical spherical geometry on Earth apply to the moon. I will skip over that extensive section.
Fun fact: Kepler also gives the apparent diameter of Earth compared to the sun as seen on the moon. On the surface of the moon, Earth appears four times larger than the sun. I didn't know that (or if it checks out with reality).
Kepler also takes little time to describe the inhabitants. Just shows that this story is only an excuse to describe astronomical principles. We only learn that the Levianians live in shadows and that their growth/lifespan is extremely short. Still, this is arguably the first description of aliens, however short it is. Somnium is, after all, probably the first science-fiction story ever written.
We have reached the end of our story. Kepler remains ahead of his time to the end. Indeed, he ends the story with a plot twist: the narrator wakes up and acknowledges that everything we heard so far was a dream. Sounds familiar? Overdone cliché today, but probably unknown in Kepler's time.
And so, it is also time for us to wake up and follow along with our day. I hope that this quick dive into a seminal work of early science fiction caught your interest. In any case, I will see you next time.
References
Kepler's Somnium - The Dream, or Posthumous Work on Lunar Astronomy, Translated by Edward Rosen, University of Wisconsin Press, Maidon, Milwaukee, 1967.