“What does Solaris want from us?”
“Why do you think it has to want something?”
An excerpt from the 2002 film remake of Stanisław Lem’s original novel Solaris, this short dialogue between scientists Kris Kelvin and Gibrarian represents the book’s plot quite poetically. Presenting a constant battle between an entirely alien being and mankind’s search for rationality in it, Solaris is what one could consider the perfect cross between science fiction and a philosophical documentary.
Solaris is a novel set around the events surrounding the eponymous planet, Solaris. The planet is presumed to be completely covered in something that can only be explained as a massive ocean-like being. This setting is later explained in Lem’s book Fantastyka i Futurologia (Science Fiction and Futurology) to be an intentional choice, stating that it was to avoid anthropomorphic personification. This ties in as an integral part of the plot, as the constant effort and eventual failure in uncovering the meaning behind Solaris’ existence seems to be a central theme of the novel.
The plot starts off with Kelvin arriving on Solaris Station, a research station in a low orbit above Solaris. After a dangerous experiment with the planet involving previously untested methods, the scientists experience strange effects. Simulacra, at first believed to be mere hallucinations caused by the planet’s poisonous gas, start appearing within the station. Kelvin’s simulacrum, his now-dead partner Rheya, takes on a central part of the story. The interactions between Kelvin and Rheya leads Kelvin deeper and deeper into confusion as he slowly realizes that while the Rheya in front of him truly believes herself to be Rheya, only Kelvin himself recognizes her as a creation of Solaris. This revelation throws Kelvin into further disarray, as Sartorius, another member of the crew, mentions the various inconsistencies spotted throughout Solaris’ experiment on them.
As Snow, one of the other two scientists on board, puts it, “it might be worth our while to stay. We’re unlikely to learn anything about it, but about ourselves.” This one sentence portrays what exactly is off about the attitude both the novel’s scientists and mankind in general take towards objects outside the realms of known logic. Whilst it is clear that these unexpected visitors are part of a conscious effort on Solaris’ end, there is no visible logic behind the action. It may be a hostile reaction, a present of some sort, or even a message uninterpretable to mankind.
The reason why Solaris’ manifestations can be interpreted in multiple ways is precisely to reveal to the reader the utter impossibility in reaching out for contact with it. Kelvin refers to this concept as an imperfect god, representing an omnipotent being that is both capable of manipulating matter to its will, but simultaneously lacking said will. Almost like a baby that has yet to reach intellectual maturity, Solaris, the Imperfect God, simply can not acknowledge the reasons behind its own actions.
Book Information
Title: Solaris
Author: Stanisław Lem
Publication Year: 1961
Publisher: Faber & Faber
Pages: 214