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By Root 5381 0

initial dream-like curiosity leads first to frustration, then to a nightmare running out of control, it gradually emerges that the cylinder had originated from Mars. A civilisation threatened with extinction had used the spaceship to colonise the earth, by `possessing from within' the prehistoric ancestors of mankind. The final 'nightmare stage' begins when Quatermass realises that most human beings are still unwittingly influenced by this `Martian element' buried in their unconscious, and that this is now being activated by the unearthing of the buried space capsule. The Martian cylinder dissolves into a towering vision of a creature looking like the Devil and London is thrown into chaos, as crazed mobs launch a `Wild Hunt, tracking down to kill any `outsider' who has somehow escaped its influence. Finally, with half the city burning, Quatermass works out that the only way to destroy the monster is to short-circuit its electrical energy with a steel cable. He throws this earthing device into the heart of the spectral vision, there is a mighty electrical discharge, the vision disappears and its malign force ceases. Once again, thanks to our wise and indomitable hero, mankind has been saved in the nick of time from what looked like certain destruction.

Yet the underlying five-stage pattern of all these stories is only too familiar. As each of them begins with the arousal of curiosity, then continues with frustration as the monster's true deadly nature becomes apparent, leading to a `nightmare stage' when catastrophe seems inevitable, finally ending in the `miraculous escape, their pattern is exactly the same as that which we first came across in some of the simplest stories of our childhood, such as jack and the Beanstalk or Little Red Riding Hood or Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Star Wars

As a last example, to underline just how fundamental a pattern to storytelling this is, we may look at what became the most successful science fiction film ever produced by Hollywood, George Lucas's original Star Wars (1977).

The story is set `long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away, the many planetary worlds of which are ruled by one government. For centuries this had exercised benevolent sway as `the Republic', with the aid of the brave and honourable Jedi Knights. But the government has now been seized by a conspiracy of powercrazed politicians, bureaucrats and corporations, headed by a shadowy `Emperor'; and no-one, it seems, wields greater power in this tyrannical new `Empire' than the ruthless `Dark Lord' Darth Vader, once himself a Jedi knight, now, like Lucifer, a `fallen angel'. Scattered across remote reaches of the galaxy dispossessed supporters of the old order, `the rebel Alliance', are hoping one day to overthrow the dark Empire, to reclaim the universe for the forces of light.

The story opens with a rebel spaceship being attacked by an `Imperial cruiser' captained by the terrifying Vader, whom we only see hidden in menacing black armour. As his Imperial forces take over the rebel ship, a tiny spacecraft escapes, containing See Threepio and Artoo Deetoo, two `androids' or humanised computers, who land safely on the surface of a nearby planet, Tatooine. Still on the rebel ship is the beautiful Princess Leia, daughter of the leader of the rebel Alliance, whom Vader takes prisoner.

We thus begin with the familiar image of a Princess falling into the clutches of the `monster'. But the one thing the `Dark Lord' is desperate to discover is the whereabouts of the rebel organisation's secret headquarters, so he can destroy it, thus making the victory of the Empire complete. What he does not realise is that the resourceful Princess has programmed Artoo Deetoo with this vital information, along with an urgent appeal for help, before the androids bail out. By the fatal mistake of allowing them to escape, because he thinks their little craft is unmanned, the arrogant Vader has revealed a first `blind spot'.

Only now do we at last meet the young hero of the story, Luke Skywalker, who lives with his uncle and aunt on a lonely