The World of Null-A by A. E. van Vogt
Null-A Thinking
Grandmaster A. E. Van Vogt was one of the giants of the Golden Age of
classic SF, the 1940s. Of his masterpieces, The World of Null-A is most
famous and most influential. It was the first major trade SF hardcover ever,
published in 1949, and has been in print in various editions ever since. The
careers of Philip K. Dick, Keith Laumer, Alfred Bester, Charles Harness,
and Philip Jose Farmer were created or influenced by The World of Null-A.
It is required reading for anyone who wishes to know the canon of SF
classics.
Personal Review: The World of Null-A by A. E. van Vogt
The World of Null-A (1948) is the first SF novel in the Null-A series. The
Earth has been gradually influenced by the principles of General
Semantics over several centuries under the direction of the Semantic
Institute and the Games Machine. Those who show the greatest
comprehension of these principles are transported to Venus to live in a
Non-Aristotelian society. Those who don't score high enough to be
allowed on Venus are awarded with high offices on Earth.

In this novel, Gilbert Gosseyn has traveled to the city of the Machine to
participate in the annual Games. Joining the local self-protection group,
his identity is challenged by a resident of his home town. A lie detector
confirms that he is not Gilbert Gosseyn, but states that his true identity is
not known within his mind.
Ejected by the hotel staff into the crime filled night, Gilbert is bewildered by
these events. Without any warning, a young woman runs into him and
almost knocks them both off their feet. The woman claims to be pursued
by two men, but Gilbert doesn't see them.
Teresa Clark tells him that she has been evicted from her boarding house
and lacks a place to spend the night. Gilbert finds them a vacant lot and
they settle down amidst the bushes. During their discussion, various
things she says and does contradict her story. The next day, he learns
that she is actually Patricia Hardie, the woman that he had believed to be
his dead wife.
In this story, Gilbert meets various members of a group that has taken over
the government of Earth and Venus. Patricia's father is the President of
Earth. Thorson is the personal representative of the leader of the Greatest
Empire. Elred Crang is the commander of the local Greatest Empire
forces and John Prescott is his vice-commander. Dr. 'X' is a gravely
injured Earth scientist whose personality has been distorted toward
megalomania.
They all seem to be interested in his brain. After his interrogation and
examination, Gilbert is carried down, still bound to his chair, into a
dungeon and locked up. Later, Patricia releases him and they escape to
her room. Then guards come searching for him and he slips out the
window. As he is approaching the Games Machine, cars come out of the
trees and attack him. He is shot by projectile weapons and burned by
energy guns, quickly passing out from the blood loss.
Later, Gilbert wakes up on Venus. He doesn't have any scars or other
signs of the wounds and burns, but he still has all his memories, including
those of extreme pain. He visits the house of Prescott and Crang, but is
then captured and returned to Earth. There he is shown the corpse of
Gosseyn I. Apparently he is Gosseyn II, alive and well after the death of
his previous body.
This story has several themes, one of which is the practice of General
Semantics. This approach to mental discipline, based upon the theories of
Alfred Korzybski, is claimed to provide greatly stability and adaptation to
change. An introduction to this approach can be found within Science and
Sanity, first published in 1933.
Another theme is the transportation of objects by causing them to become
similar to within twenty decimal places. Supposedly, such similarity will

cause the greater to bridge space to the lesser. Although such transits
take finite time, the bridging occurs at speeds much greater than
lightspeed. Thus, this principle provides a practical way to travel among
the stars.
This novel is first of three in the series. The next volume is The Pawns of
Null-A (also entitled The Players of Null-A). Enjoy.
Highly recommended for van Vogt fans and for anyone else who enjoys
tales of high adventure, political intrigue, and strange talents.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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