The Book That Saved the Earth

Summary

This is a science fantasy. This imaginary story is set in the twenty-fifth century. A historian is giving a talk to the audience about the twentieth century and telling the audience that the twentieth century was often called the Era of the Book. Then she talks of the Martian invasion of the earth that took place in the year 2040, but, in fact, the invasion never took place. She says that one old book of nursery rhymes saved the world from a Martian invasion. Then in the twenty-fifth century, they resumed contact with Mars and they became friends.

Comprehension Questions Answer the following questions in 30-40 words: 

1. Who tried to invade the earth in the twenty-first century? 

The Martians tried to invade the earth in the twenty-first century in 2040. Their supreme commander was Think-Tank. He was the most intelligent creature in the whole universe. Other crew members were also with him in the Mars Space Control. Everything was being watched in a magical mirror by Think Tank. They had planned to attack the planet called Earth.

 

2. Think-Tank thinks that Earthlings are after him. What is the reason? 

Think-Tank crew read about Humpty-Dumpty’s fall in the rhyme and showed the picture to Think-Tank. Think-Tank’s head resembled that of Humpty-Dumpty. This makes Think-Tank feel that earthlings were planning to invade Mars and capture him. 

3. How did a book change Think-Tank’s opinion about the Earthlings? 

This book is totally misunderstood by the Martians. The Martians thought that earthlings were planning to invade Mars. So, they cancelled their invasion of Earth and went back. Think-Tank totally misunderstands the book. Phrases like ‘shell’, ‘silver’, ‘garden’ gave him a false idea that earthlings grew silver and weapons. He starts thinking that earthlings are very advanced technologically. 

4. What different guesses were made by the Martians about what books are? 

In the process of Martian invasion on earth, they landed in a library. They took the books as sandwiches and tried to understand the meaning of the code. And for that, they had to take vitamins given by the chemical department. They thought it would increase their intelligence. 

5. Why books referred to as a man’s best companion? Which book saved the Earth from Martian invasion? 

Books are our best friends and companions. They are never demanding but always giving knowledge and pleasure. They give us company. The book that saved the Earth from Martian invasion was ‘Mother Goose.’ 

6. Why does Think-Tank declare that these sandwiches are not for ear communication but for eye communication? 

They don’t hear any sound coming from the sandwiches. Noodle says that a cloudy piece of information is twirling around in his head. Think-Tank asks to twirl it out. Noodle clarifies that the Earthlings don’t listen to the sandwiches but open and watches them. Think-Tank finds it correct and declares that those sandwiches are not for ear-communication but they are for eye communication. 

7. Think-Tank thinks that Earthlings are after him. What is the reason? 

Oop read about Humpty-Dumpty’s fall in the rhyme and showed the picture to Think-Tank. Think-Tank’s head resembled that of Humpty-Dumpty. This made Think-Tank feel that earthlings were after him and planning to capture Mars Central Control and him.

Answer the following questions in 100-120 words:

1. In what ways does Think-Tank misinterpret innocent nursery rhymes as a threat to the Martians?
The old, dusty book of nursery rhymes was ‘Mother Goose’. Think-Tank wanted to invade Earth. He had sent Probe One to get more information about the Earthlings. The crew enters a library. There, after taking vitamins, they take out ‘Mother Goose’ and decipher the rhymes.
The rhymes are misinterpreted as threats by Think-Tank. After listening to the first rhyme, ‘Mistress Mary,’ he concluded that Earthlings had discovered how to combine agriculture and mining. The second rhyme, ‘Hey Diddle, Diddle’, seemed to suggest to him that the Earthlings might be launching an interplanetary attack on millions of cows. The third rhyme, ‘Humpty Dumpty’ wherein Humpty had a great fall and its picture that resembled him threatened him and his planet Mars. He got so scared that he dropped the idea of invading Earth, and escaped to Alpha Centauri. Thus a book of nursery rhymes saved Earth from Martian invasion.

2. What is the message or the lesson that `The Book That saved the Earth’ gives to the readers? Elucidate it.
There is nothing more dangerous than half-baked knowledge. Truth is not skin-deep. And so is knowledge. We have to take a comprehensive view of things. We have to go deep into the details before coming out with sweeping generalisations. Sweeping statements are never good. Sometimes misinterpretation of things leads to disasters. Think-Tank symbolises how a half-baked mind could have led to an invasion of another planet. When they saw books they could not identify what they were. He jumped to one conclusion after the other. He interpreted them as sandwiches. He misinterpreted the words ‚had a great fall’ to his own downfall. He screamed and at once ordered to evacuate the entire Mars immediately. He felt that Mars was being invaded soon. He decided to escape without delay in a space shuttle. He told that they could go a hundred million miles away from Mars.

3. Explain how books help you in preventing a catastrophe in light of the lesson ‘The Book that Saved the Earth’.
According to the Historian, the twentieth century was called the Era of the Book. Books taught people how to, and when to, and where to, and why to. They illustrated, educated, punctuated and even decorated. A book of nursery rhymes also saved the earth from Martian invasion of 2040 for the Martians had misunderstood the meaning of the poems and got frightened of them. So they left the earth in a hurry and even evacuated Mars and headed over to Alpha Centauri. Even in our day to day life, we get most of the solutions to our problems from books. We also get knowledge which makes us wise and therefore we can also prevent a lot of problems from happening. Hence, we can say that books help us in preventing a catastrophe.

Questions from the textbook. Thinking about the Text

1. Noodle avoids offending Think-Tank but at the same time, he corrects his mistakes. How does he manage to do that?
Think-Tank is the Commander-in-Chief. He is considered as the most powerful and intelligent of all the creatures in the universe. Noodle can’t afford to displease him. At the same time, he manages to correct his mistakes very humbly and subtly. He talks and suggests very respectfully and humbly. He never tries to find out his mistakes. When Think-Tank calls the books sandwiches and asks Omega to eat a part of them, he doesn’t oppose him. Noodle suggests that they (the books) are for communication. Then Think-Tank again makes a mistake and orders captain Omega to hear it. But then, Noodle suggests very humbly that they are for eye-communication and not for ears. At last, when Omega can’t read the language, Noodle suggests giving all the space people vitamins to increase their intelligence.

2. If you were in Noodle’s place, how would you handle Think-Tank’s mistakes?
I think Noodle walks on a tight rope and succeeds in maintaining the balance. Perhaps, I would have followed Noodle but with a little difference. I wouldn’t have resorted to pure flattery and humming a fool like Think-Tank. After all, Think-Tank was the Commander-in-Chief and he was supposed to be the most intelligent of all the Martians. If I had tried to oppose him directly, I would have provoked him. I would have handled him by being polite and humble. If I had given him some suggestions, I would have used a very subtle and diplomatic language to deal with such a man.

3. Do you think books are being replaced by electronic media? Can we do away with books altogether?
With the advancement of science and computers, a new phenomenon has started. Books have been replaced by electronic media. E-books are trying to replace the conventional books printed on papers. It is argued that paper books would be phased out like typewriters. But it seems that doing away with books altogether may not be possible. Books are still our constant companions and trustworthy friends. It is very difficult to do away with printed books completely in the near future.

4. Why are books referred to as a man’s best companion? Which is your favourite book and why? Write a paragraph about the book.
Definitely, books are referred to as a man’s best companions. Right from the ancient times, they have been instrumental in imparting education and knowledge to generation after generations. Right from the Vedas, they have not only been the source of knowledge but also have remained man’s best friends and most trustworthy companions. Even today, one can find a person holding a copy of Shakespeare’s Hamlet in his hand while travelling by train. Poetical works of Keats, Omar Khayam and Kalidas still find a place of honour in our shelves. Tolstoy, Tagore and Premchand are still widely read. Munshi Premchand’s masterpiece Godan is my favourite book. The book describes the miserable condition of small peasants in 1930s in rural India. Hori represents the typical Indian farmer who tries to meet both ends by working hard and sweating in the fields. Like millions of small farmers who own just a few ‘bighas’ of land, Hon has to become a constant victim of the Zamindar and the moneylenders. From a petty farmer, he is reduced to landless labourer.

Practice Questions

Q1 Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each. 

(a) What is Think-Tank’s second guess about books? 

Think-Tank’s second guess about books is that they are communication devices. He orders Omega to listen to them (books). He puts a book to his ears and tries hard to listen. Think-Tank asks Omega if he can listen to something from them. Omega replies that they may not be on the correct frequency. 

(b) What is the time and place of the story at the beginning?

This is a science fantasy. This imaginary story is set in the twenty-fifth century. The place is the Museum of Ancient History. Department of the Twentieth Century. There is a historian sitting at a table. There is a movie projector on the table. 

(c) Why was the twentieth century called the ‘Era of the Book’? 

The twentieth century was often called the ‘Era of the Books’ because in those days there were books for everything from anteaters to Zulus. Books taught people how to, when to, where to and why to. They illustrated, educated, punctuated and decorated. 

(d) How did one old book of nursery rhymes save the Earth from a Martian invasion? 

This book is totally misunderstood by the Martians. The Martians thought that earthlings were planning to invade Mars. So, they cancelled their invasion of Earth and went back. Think-Tank totally misunderstands the book. Phrases like ‘shell’, ‘silver’, ‘garden’ gave him a false idea that earthlings grew silver and weapons. He starts thinking that earthlings are very advanced technologically.

Q2 Answer the following questions in in 100 -120 words. 

(a) The play, The Book That Saved the Earth’ conveys the message that misunderstanding of cultural differences between various races can cause confusion and conflict. Based on your reading of the play, write how such confusion and conflicts can be checked so that peace and harmony is maintained.
The confusion in the mind of Think-Tank occurred due to the literal interpretation of the nursery rhymes in the book-‘Mother Goose’. To ensure that conflicts are checked so that peace and harmony are maintained, cultural differences should be sorted out by initially sending mature and wise people from one culture to the other to establish contact before deciding to wage war. Think-Tank had sent an initial probe, but the crew members of the probe were not sufficiently intelligent or mature to understand Earth’s culture. That is why they literally interpreted the nursery rhymes and caused misunderstanding in the mind of Think-Tank. 

(b) Compare and contrast the characters of Noodle and Think-Tank.
Noodle and Think-Tank have contrasting characters. Think-Tank likes to be called the ‘Great and the Mighty’. He orders and commands. He is the ruler of Mars, but has no intelligence. He thinks books to be sandwiches. He is wrong about everything. He demands that the crew obey him. He likes to pass on other’s idea as his own. He is a coward who simply boasts about his power. Noodle, his apprentice, is very clever and wise. He corrects the mistakes of the ruler (Think-Tank) very gently. He never takes credit for his ideas. But he offers them to the ruler very gently. Think-Tank makes them his own.