This is the final article in the series inspired by The Guardians, John Christopher’s dystopian science fiction novel. The young hero Rob Randall's story has been told and elements in common with other books described, but there is still something to say about some issues that The Guardians raises, serious issues that have wider applications.
The people in The Guardians live in either the urban Conurbs or the rural County, places with complementary lifestyles. Rob Randall experiences life first in the Conurbs then in the County. He decides for reasons of conscience to relinquish his comfortable and privileged life and return to the Conurbs, where he will live secretly as part of an underground resistance group that is working to destroy the evil, oppressive system that controls both societies. This will entail a life of hardship and great danger - if he is caught he will be killed - but Rob sees dissidence as his only acceptable option.
The role of the Guardians
The Guardians run the show. They conspire to secretly manipulate, condition and control the inhabitants of both the Conurbs and the County and perpetuate the status quo. The people in the two areas are kept apart by a huge fence and psychological control mechanisms.
We get an indication of how the Guardians operate when Sir Percy Gregory, Lord Lieutenant of the County, wants to know why Rob decided to cross over. The discovery that his mother had been born in the County was a factor. Sir Percy says this to Rob:
“Would the discovery in itself be enough to allow an enterprising youngster to break the conditioned taboos against the County, or did she, even without saying anything, unconsciously predispose you in that direction? Worth bringing up at the next meeting of the Psychosocial Committee.”
Dealing with dissidence
The aristocrats in the County rule over the masses in the Conurbs, but they are equally brainwashed. Only a few dissidents there realise that they are not free and that a life of idleness and pleasure-seeking is not worthwhile. There are even fewer dissatisfied people in the Conurbs. Both societies are conditioned to be contented with their lives.
Dissidence is not acceptable. The Guardians are on the look out for it; they crack down hard on it.They operate a kill, crush or co-opt policy.
Dissidence in the Conurbs is dealt with by killing off anyone who is a threat. Rob Randall's Conurban father was a rebel, and he paid for it with his life.
Sir Percy tells Rob this:
“We guardians are not limited by the moralities we lay down for others...”
He also shows how ruthless the Guardians are:
“We are constantly on the alert for trouble. The Conurb is easier to control than the County in that respect. Anyone showing creative intelligence and initiative stands out conspicuously from the mob and can be dealt with.“
The most intelligent and able people of the County are seen as Guardian material and are co-opted into this elite and powerful group. Any County dissident who will not give up his views must have a small brain operation that makes him lose any inclination to rebel.
Devil's advocates
Perhaps the Guardians are a force for good. They perpetuate stability. Rob's friend Mike Gifford, who was considered as a potential recruit for the Guardians at one point, says this before he starts to think for himself:
“...if both lots do feel that way it's just as well, isn't it? Each satisfied with what they have and despising the others. A good arrangement all around.”
He changes his ideas when he hears the views of dissidents and learns about the brain operations.
Sir Percy makes a good, persuasive pitch when he is trying to recruit Rob Randall for the Guardians. Here is part of his case:
“For the first time in human history we have peace, plenty, the greatest happiness for the greatest number...In the Conurbs the masses are better fed and cared for - more contented - than they have ever been. In the County we have a leisured class who can enjoy a truly aristocratic way of life.”
Rob does fall for this at first and agrees to become a Guardian, but the brain operations become the deal-breaker for him.
A metaphor for life in this world?
Sir Percy's sinister words and the Guardians' evil actions have some relevance to this world. People who criticise the system and try to change things for the better find out the hard way what they are up against. People who rock the boat bring the troops down on themselves. Look what happens to whistle-blowers: the attack-dogs come out in force.
Suppression of dissidence is only to be expected in a world that seems like one vast cult, a world that according to C. S. Lewis is enemy-occupied territory. Evil is in the ascendant; people on the good side have to operate as part of an underground resistance movement if they want to survive.
Acceptance of the status quo is the path of least resistance. Cattle and sheep that stay in the centre of their field may never learn that it is surrounded by an electric fence to prevent escape; it is much the same for people who never think for themselves or step out of line. As in The Guardians, people who go along with everything and never question or say anything against the status quo or the views of the people around them are no threat so they are left alone - apart from having the barriers put into their minds. They are not worth bothering with; their lives are not worth sabotaging.
The elite group of dedicated men
Sir Percy tells Rob Randall this about the Guardians and the covert control they exercise:
“It must appear natural because people cannot be contented unless they believe their lives to be natural. But to do this and to keep everything in balance requires intelligence and planning. It requires a special group of dedicated men who will act as guardians over the rest...Not only that - we have psychologists to help us mold people into proper courses of action.”
This raises the question of who the this-world equivalent of the Guardians are. Their corrupted and co-opted agents are obvious - politicians, bureaucrats, public opinion influencers and politically-correct social justice warriors for example - but who are the puppet-masters, the 'special group of dedicated men' who run the show from behind the scenes?
This is a good point at which to call it a day for The Guardians. For anyone who would like to read more about the people of the County and the Conurbs and what they think of each other and the system they live under, there are copies of this little book available on eBay and Amazon.
Another depiction of the County and the Conurbs:
