How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
"Europe was a cultural and geographic entity. The world is not—that is the difference."
"To the Overlords," replied Stormgren sarcastically, "the Earth probably is a great deal smaller than Europe seemed to our fathers—and their outlook, I submit, is more mature than ours." (2.21-22)
This here is foreshadowing, Shmoopers, and not even of the subtle variety. The world will transform into a World State. The writing is on the wall, er, treaty.
Quote #2
It might be, too, that [Stormgren] was beginning to identify himself with the Overlords and thus to become detached from humanity. (3.1)
Stormgren's transformation is a bit subtle, but you can see clues that he is transforming into an Overlord of sorts (not physically, though, because that would be weird). Notice how Stormgren thinks and acts in a highly rational and scientific way. Now, who else acts like that in the novel… hmm?
Quote #3
And Stormgren hoped that when Karellen was free to walk once more on Earth, he would one day come to these northern forests, and stand beside the grave of the first man ever to be his friend. (4.164)
We don't get to see things from Karellen's point of view very often, but this quote poses an interesting question. Karellen spends his time transforming humanity—Stormgren on a personal level, and mankind on a grand evolutionary scale. But does Karellen transform based on his interaction with people?
Quote #4
As no laws or edicts of the Overlords could have done, the ubiquitous little aircars had washed away the last barriers between the different tribes of mankind. (6.27)
Aircars transformed the world more than microwave dinners and the infield fly rule. And, yes, we totally believe they would. So when do we get our aircars?
Quote #5
"IAMALL," spelled the plate, and returned to its point of equilibrium.
"'I am all,'" repeated Rupert. "That's a typical reply. Evasive, yet stimulating. It probably means that there's nothing here except our combined minds." (8.49-50)
This foreshadowing is way more subtle than what we looked at a few quotes back. Here, the novel hints at the true nature of the Overmind and mankind's ultimate transformation. Check out the "Symbols" section for more on the Overmind.
Quote #6
It came from the storm-scarred flanks of the Andes, from the bodies of a billion living creatures, from the dust of meteors that had wandered through space for ages and had come at last to rest. Here in the eternal night, it was laying the foundations of the lands to be. (11.44)
Nothing stays the same, transformation happens all the time and to everyone. Even the oceans, which seem pretty darn eternal by human standards, are always changing and evolving, even if we can't see it by just looking at the waves on the beach.
Quote #7
Even at the worst, I'll have proved that man can't be kept in quarantine forever. I'll have created a precedent that will compel Karellen to take some action. (12.32)
The word precedent means any act or decision that guides future actions. If you've ever been to a trial or watched a court drama on television, then you've heard this word brought up a lot. But every precedent starts with some sort of change to the way things were before it became the norm.
Quote #8
The history of the cinema gave the clue to their actions. First sound, then color, then stereoscopy, then Cinerama, had made the old "moving pictures" more and more like reality itself. (15.59)
The transformation of the human species can be seen parallel to the evolution of art. Caveman drawings become canvas paintings become photography becomes moving pictures. Notice the connection to technology as well.
Quote #9
"It had to happen to someone. There is nothing exceptional about you, any more than there is about the first neutron that starts the chain reaction in an atomic bomb. It simply happens to be the first." (18.77)
Can we even add to this quote? It kind of stands alone. From the smallest atom to the largest planet, once change starts, nothing else in the system remains the same. It's like one of those universal laws or something...
Quote #10
At the end of one path were the Overlords. They had preserved their individuality, their independent egos: they possessed self-awareness and the pronoun "I" had a meaning in their language. […].
And at the end of the other path? There lay the Overmind, whatever it might be, bearing the same relation to man as man bore to amoeba. Potentially infinite, beyond morality, […]. (23.27-28)
Humanity's change makes it something that isn't human anymore. The Overlords transformed from their earlier species as well, but can the Overlords still transform, or have they reached a dead-end of evolution? And if they have, does that mean they'll eventually fizzle out of existence?