''October the First is Too Late'' is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

novel by astrophysicist

Fred Hoyle Sir Fred Hoyle FRS (24 June 1915 – 20 August 2001) was an English astronomer who formulated the theory of stellar nucleosynthesis and was one of the authors of the influential B2FH paper. He also held controversial stances on other sci ...

. It was first published in 1966. The novel describes an extraordinary temporary phase through which the world passes, eventually presenting a civilization of the distant future and history leading to that future. The events are made plausible as one of the main characters, a

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate caus ...

, thinks aloud as he tries to interpret, according to his scientific awareness, the events that unfold.

Plot summary

The story is set in 1966. The main characters are the narrator (Dick), who is a composer, and John Sinclair, a physicist; they were at school and at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

together. They happen to meet at London airport as Dick returns home after conducting a premiere of a composition of his in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

, which got a mixed reception. John suggests going on a mountaineering expedition in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

, as they had once planned. Odd events happen during their excursion: John disappears for several hours and does not remember what happened during his disappearance: Dick takes a nap and more time passes than he expects; bathing in a mountain lake, Dick notices that a birthmark John used to have has disappeared. The holiday is abandoned after John makes a phone call; there is a development concerning research he is involved with. Detectors in space are detecting unexpected radiation; John has to travel to America and wants Dick to come with him. In

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

John meets other scientists in the project; it seems the space probe is detecting

modulated In electronics and telecommunications, modulation is the process of varying one or more properties of a periodic waveform, called the ''carrier signal'', with a separate signal called the ''modulation signal'' that typically contains informatio ...

radiation, i.e. signals, coming from the Sun. At a party, Dick begins an affair with Lena whom he meets there; it is part of a world which will soon be lost to him. John and Dick go to

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...

, where there is the

radiotelescope A radio telescope is a specialized antenna and radio receiver used to detect radio waves from astronomical radio sources in the sky. Radio telescopes are the main observing instrument used in radio astronomy, which studies the radio frequency po ...

which receives the data from the space probe. There are more discussions with scientists in the project; they have found that the Sun is beaming an enormous amount of information into space and they wonder what that information is. John, later talking about this with Dick, is interrupted by news that

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

has been destroyed; this is assumed to be so because radio signals from there have ceased. John and Dick join passengers in an aeroplane which is to travel over the USA; they see no sign of civilization - they guess it is about 1750 there - and, finding nowhere to land, travel on to Europe. They land in England; it is the present day there (although a month later than expected) but in France it is 1917, and the British government is trying to stop

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. John thinks that the Sun was sending information in order to make copies of parts of the world; the odd events during their holiday were when he and Dick were replaced by copies. John and Dick join an aeroplane excursion: in Russia, they find only a flat glass surface; Greece is in classical times. They later realize that the glass surface they found was the world long after all life was extinct. Dick, without John, joins an expedition by sea to

Ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

. They get to know a Greek family and, having brought a piano, Dick plays to them. Composing music in a temple, he meets a priestess who suggests a musical competition. He agrees; the priestess's music has a strange quality. After the decision that it is a draw, Dick and the priestess spend the night together. He later wakes alone in a futuristic room; John is there and explains that they are in a part of the world (

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

) which is in the distant future; the priestess, Melea, is part of this civilization. Melea has a machine for Dick which sounds like a piano (which he plays) and a large metal disc which, when placed in a device, plays a realization of the music he composed in the temple. Dick and John are shown a

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

, covering the thousands of years since 1966, during which there were several crises where humanity became almost extinct, followed by a re-emerging civilization. The USA which they thought was in 1750 was actually in a period of collapse after one of the crises. The present civilization, aware of this history, no longer want progress. Dick and John have to decide soon whether to go back to the England of 1966 or stay in this non-progressing world; they are aware that the present phase, in which parts of the world are in various times, will end, and to stay will mean living permanently in this future world. Dick decides to stay, and John returns. The story concludes as Dick, two years later, considers his new life as a composer in this new civilization.

The pigeon-hole theory

After meeting some government ministers in the London of 1966 who are considering how to deal with the situation in the France of 1917, which is in the midst of World War I, John Sinclair (in the last few pages of Chapter 7) talks to Dick about his theory that might explain what has happened. He considers each moment of time as a state represented by a pigeon-hole; the sequence in which they might be accessed might not be in time sequence. "A sequence is a logical concept in which time doesn't really enter at all," he says. "... Our consciousness corresponds to just where the light falls, as it dances about among the pigeon-holes... What is this light? ... My strong hunch is that it's the spot of light that permits decisions which lie outside the laws of physics." He considers that there might be more than one set of pigeon-holes, but only one light. "For every different person, you need a separate set of pigeon-holes. But the consciousness could be the same." John thinks that their new situation, a world made of parts of the old world, might be due to a new set of pigeon-holes, made of some of the pigeon-holes in the other system. (This pigeon-hole theory is similar to and predates the one developed by

Julian Barbour Julian Barbour (; born 1937) is a British physicist with research interests in quantum gravity and the history of science. Since receiving his PhD degree on the foundations of Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity at the University of ...

in his book '' The End of Time'', as Barbour himself acknowledges.Barbour J., ''The End of Time'' (paperback); Phoenix Books; 2000; p.358)

References

* ''October the First is Too Late'': Penguin edition of 1968

External links

*{{Isfdb title, id=12090 1966 British novels 1966 science fiction novels British science fiction novels Novels by Fred Hoyle Heinemann (publisher) books

Plot summary

The pigeon-hole theory

See also

References

External links