The Lathe of Heaven (1971)
Ursula Le Guin (1929-2018)
184 pages
The problem with unintended consequences is not so much that the consequences were not intended, as that all too often they weren’t even imagined as possibilities, and so come as a complete shock. People tend to remain so focused on what they want to have happen – or, at least, expect to happen – that they don’t give proper attention to the full range of ways things could go wildly wrong.
As the story opens, George Orr has been found in the corridor of his apartment building desperately sick and nearly passing out. A medic arrives, who discovers that Orr has been taking a quantity and combination of medications beyond what the government allows. As a consequence, the authorities require him to submit to psychological treatment; eventually, he ends up in the office of a sleep treatment psychiatrist and researcher, Dr. William Haber.
During their first session, Haber learns that Orr has been taking medications in an attempt to avoid dreaming, as he has been tormented by what he calls effective dreams, which alter reality, with changes only he can notice. Repeatedly witnessing the often horrible consequences that quite naturally tend to result from the manic and uncontrolled nature of dreams – in particular the lives that suddenly disappear, not existing in the new reality his dreams have created – he has been desperate to suppress them.
Assuming Orr suffers from some sort of hallucinations due to lack of sleep, Haber proposes using a new machine he has been developing to monitor Orr’s sleep: he will hypnotize Orr, in order to suggest what he should dream and then put him to sleep, and he will then monitor his brain activity. Grasping at any hope for a cure, Orr submits to the treatment.
Already after the first such treatment, Haber comes to realize that his patient can indeed change the world with his dreams – it turns out that those with Orr when he has an effective dream can, like Orr himself, recognize that things have changed. Haber quickly recognizes the power Orr’s condition makes available, and he cannot resist the opportunity to use it to try and change the world.
Le Guin has set the story in the early 21st century, some three decades ahead when she wrote it. She imagines a bit of a dystopian future, with civilization reeling under the impacts of climate crises, overpopulation, pollution-induced epidemics and wars. Haber seeks to fix these problems through his guidance of Orr’s dreams. Of course, absolute power corrupting absolutely, he doesn’t forgo the opportunity to throw in a few perks for himself along the way.
While Orr realizes, and feels deeply, the lives impacted by his dreams, Haber, in the classic (and too often not inaccurate) stereotype of the idealist, only sees the possible benefits of his goals, convinced that it’s worth whatever cost. What he cannot overcome, however, and cannot ignore, is that his attempts to change the world by guiding the content of Orr’s effective dreams offer only a frustratingly inexact process. In a powerful metaphor for the many ways an idealist can fail to anticipate the eventual outcomes of their best laid plans, Orr’s dreams remain a hazy interpretation of Haber’s hypnotic suggestions, and so, while resulting in a version of what Haber seeks, they never turn out as he plans. Nevertheless, Haber remains undeterred; despite the often dramatic unintended consequences that accompany his desired outcomes, he cannot help but try again and again.
Though the challenge of making sensible use of a genie’s wishes is a common enough theme, Le Guin’s story reminds me most of W. W. Jacobs’ short story, The Monkey’s Paw. The eponymous item comes into a family’s possession with the understanding that it can grant three wishes. Already the first wish the family makes, while seemingly simple and straightforward, leads to dreadful tragedy; and when they try to use the subsequent wish to correct the outcome of the first, the results become only more horrible.
Le Guin traces a fine line in The Lathe of Heaven: as readers, our natural sympathies lie with Orr as he attempts to push back on Haber, even while trapped by his drug conviction into continuing treatment. But many a reader will also feel some connection to Haber – will sympathize with his desire to use this power that has fallen into his lap to make the world a better place. And the danger of that temptation and the recognition that we too might succumb to it in Haber’s place weigh heavy.
Other notes and information:
As a tangent, enjoy the incomparable Laurie Anderson’s musical take on the story The Monkey’s Paw, here.
Have you read this book, others by this author, or even similar ones by other authors? I’d enjoy hearing your thoughts.
Other of my book reviews: FICTION Bookshelf and NON-FICTION Bookshelf
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