#158 Built different: The Rod of Light (1985) by Barrington J. Bayley

A soulful sequel to The Soul of the Robot (1974)

In episode 119, I took a look at The Soul of the Robot from 1974, the best-known novel by the little-known British SF author Barrington J. Bayley. As I continue to explore Bayley's strange, anarchic works, it is time to address his only sequel. Published in 1985, just before Bayley went on a long hiatus, The Rod of Light continues the adventures of the bronze-black robot Jasperodus, the only one of his kind to be blessed - or cursed - with a soul.

For more classic SF reviews and discussion, visit andyjohnson.xyz. To get free weekly classic SF updates, sign up here.

Transcript

A soulful sequel to The Soul of the Robot(1974)

Sequels are an entrenched feature of contemporary science fiction. For publishers, the commercial appeal of sequels and planned trilogies is evident. It can be argued quite persuasively, though, that SF is at its best in the form of the one-off story or novel. Today’s writers must square this circle, and look for ways to extract thematic and narrative interest out of the continuations their publishers - and perhaps readers - are liable to want.

When Barrington J. Bayley was at his peak in the 1970s, it was instead the singleton novel that was strongly dominant. It was not until 1985 that Bayley published his first, last, and only sequel - The Rod of Light. A belated continuation of probably his best-known novel, The Soul of the Robot(1974), it again follows the adventures of Jasperodus, the only truly conscious robot in a neo-feudal era in which small states squabble in the long aftermath of a collapsed global empire.

Perhaps surprisingly, in The Rod of LightBayley finds a way to extend his contemplation of the theme of consciousness - where it comes from, what value it has, and what lengths an intelligent but unconscious being would go to in order to acquire it. 

Soul survivor

In The Soul of the Robot, Jasperodus walked out on his kindly human creators and strode out into a chaotic, post-imperial world. He took on a series of roles from labouring slave to powerful military commander, and sought to restore glory to a shattered world. Over time, his growing awareness about his true consciousness - a gift from his creators denied to all other robots - complicated his mission. An attempt to liberate his robotic brethren from bondage ultimately achieved little, and Jasperodus again struck out alone.

The Rod of Light opens with Jasperodus engaged in a new quest for knowledge. He has become an archaeologist, pursuing an extensive dig together with a number of robot allies. His bid to better understand the rise and fall of civilisations is terminated by an attack by the militaristic Borgors, a nearby human power with a fervent desire to smash all intelligent machines. Unable to save the town of robot exiles he calls home, Jasperodus reluctantly agrees to investigate what he considers to be another doomed cause.

He is introduced to Gargan, a robot of exceptionally high intelligence who has gathered a scientific cult around him. They labour tirelessly on the “Gargan Work”, a bid to identify an ineffable quality which robots lack - true consciousness. Concealing his own conscious nature from Gargan, Jasperodus draws closer to a fateful decision which will threaten either the search for machine consciousness, or the survival of the human race.

“What is it like to be a robot?”

The Soul of the Robot is a fairly episodic, almost picaresque story which sees Jasperodus frequently switch positions within the various societies he visits. Much of Bayley’s first robot novel is about the protagonist’s interactions with humans. The Rod of Lightoperates very differently. This is a much more focused and purposeful novel in which humans play a much smaller role. Here, Jasperodus spends most of his time with other machines, exploring the topic of consciousness from a non-human perspective.

Many of the robots in The Rod of Lightare struggling with the idea of consciousness, and this includes Jasperodus - the only machine to possess it. Bayley often incorporated philosophy into his science fiction, and here he explores extensively the slippery, indefinable nature of conscious self-awareness.

The cult leader Gargan is possibly the most sophisticated robot ever constructed - much more advanced than our hero - but he finds that intelligence only allows him to logically conclude that consciousness must exist. No amount of lightning-fast information processing adds up to self-awareness. This is of course highly relevant to today’s discussions about so-called “artificial intelligence”. One of Bayley’s points is that intelligence and consciousness are radically different things.

The Rod of Light is ultimately a science fiction adventure rather than a philosophical treatise, but it plays engagingly with where consciousness comes from, what kind of physical substrate is necessary to support it, and whether it can be transferred from one being to another. All of these factor into the plot, and to Jasperodus’ great ethical decision, which he alone among machines is qualified to make.

Farewell, Jasperodus

Perhaps surprisingly, Bayley’s only sequel is arguably a stronger novel than its original template. The Rod of Lighttakes many of the strengths from The Soul of the Robot, and then concentrates and focuses them. While Bayley sets Jasperodus on some stirring adventures, the story’s main thrills are in the area of philosophical speculation. The novel takes the robot, one of SF’s most familiar tropes, and employs it as a powerful vehicle for exploring what it means to be consciously self-aware.

The Rod of Light is not one of Bayley’s best-known novels. By the mid-1980s, his career was flagging and he would not publish another novel for 14 years, which was a licensed Warhammer 40,000 book. He had successfully sued his publisher, Allison and Busby, for unpaid royalties on foreign sales, but they went bankrupt before he could benefit from this financially. As his friend Michael Moorcock remarked in his obituary, Bayley’s career was also harmed by the death of Donald A. Wollheim in 1990; the American editor had long championed his work.

Today, Bayley’s work still deserves its champions, as The Rod of Lightshows.