The Lovers

The Lovers is a science-fiction novella by American writer Philip José Farmer (1918–2009), first published in August 1952 in Startling Stories. In 1961, the work was expanded and published as a stand-alone softcover novel by Ballantine Books. In 1979, the novel was reissued by Ballantine as a Del Rey Classic in a final revised ("definitive") edition. Hailed by the science fiction community as a bold and pioneering exploration of religion and sexuality, the original version won Farmer the Hugo Award for "Best New SF Author or Artist" in 1953. Plot summary In the 31st century, the military starship Gabriel has arrived at the distant planet Ozagen. Its all-male crew represents the Haijac Union, where the "American" language is spoken. The Union is one of three powers dominating the planet Earth (the others are the Malay Federation and the Israeli Republics) since the Apocalyptic War, hundreds of years ago, decimated the Earth's population through bio-warfare. The Union is an extreme theocracy and religious tyranny in which everyone (including spouses) is expected to inform on one another for the slightest infractions. The true mission of the Gabriel, which is secret, may be "gunboat diplomacy" or worse. The Ozagenians – a sentient, but technologically inferior, arthropod (insect-like) race – are known to the Earthmen contemptuously as Wogglebugs, or Wogs. (This is an explicit reference to L. Frank Baum's character Professor Woggle-Bug, who these aliens are said to resemble.) One crew member on the Gabriel, linguist Hal Yarrow, is happy for a mission that has allowed him to escape an unhappy marriage, but Yarrow finds that the worst of Earth has followed him in the form of Pornsen, his personal minder ("Guardian Angel"), vigilant for any evidence of sinful deeds or even wrong thinking. Conditioned by a lifetime of submission, Yarrow attempts to lose himself in the study of the Ozagen language. On a visit to ancient ruins built by long vanished mammalian humanoids, he encounters Jeannette, an attractive and (seemingly) almost-human fugitive – a remnant of her all but extinct race. For Yarrow's oppressive, puritanical society, unconsecrated contact with any female is forbidden – and the love that he develops for this "alien" is beyond unimaginable. Yarrow covertly harbors Jeannette in his lodgings while secretly spying on the amiably tolerant Wogs.