REVOLT IN 2100

Reviewed 3/21/2018

Revolt in 2100, by Robert Heinlein
Cover art by John Melo
REVOLT IN 2100
Robert Anson Heinlein
Henry Kuttner (Intro.)
New York: Baen Books, September 1986

Rating:

5.0

High

ISBN 0-671-65589-2 336pp. HC $3.50

The Way of the Prophet is a hard road. Intrigues are everywhere, seeking to tempt the faithful from obedience. Chief among them is the Cabal; it is most active on the West Coast, but is suspected of having infiltrated the very Temple in New York City — that is, New Jerusalem. The Temple is guarded, of course, by well-trained warriors armed with swords and spears as well as blasters and paralysis bombs. John Lyle is such a guard. Six years in the service of the Prophet have given him an exemplary record for piety as well as performance. But John chances to fall in love with a Virgin named Sister Judith, and determines she must not be given to the Prophet. Escape with her is his only option — a difficult feat in a place where electronic monitors are everywhere, and the staff of the Grand Inquisitor have mastered the sciences of psychometrics and "persuasion."

Judith shrank away from her, but Magdalene pressed her with words. 'Listen to me, Judith. I know how you feel—and once I was as horrified as you at the idea of anyone opposing the Church. Then I learned—as you are learning—what really lies behind this sham we were brought up to believe in.' She put an arm around the younger girl. 'We aren't devil worshippers, dear, nor do we fight against God. We fight only against this self-styled Prophet who pretends to be the voice of God. Come with us, help us fight him—and we will help you. Otherwise we can't risk it.'

Judith searched her face by the faint light from the portal. 'You swear that this is true? The Cabal fights only against the Prophet and not against the Lord Himself?'

I swear, Judith.'

Judith took a deep shuddering breath. 'God guide me,' she whispered. 'I go with the Cabal.'

– Page 37

Luckily for John, the rumors are true: the Temple is infiltrated by Cabal members; his roommate Zeb and his guard captain are among them. Still it is a tricky prospect. He manages to rescue Judith without implicating himself, but is still subjected to the Question. Preparation by the Cabal and his own toughness get him through. He is rescued by the Cabal and recuperates in a safe house. There he learns that Judith has been spirited away to Mexico. But he and Zeb are now deserters from the U.S. Army; every cop in the country will be after them to earn the reward.

His goal is to reach Cabal GHQ somewhere in the Southwest. The plan is that he will travel in disguise, using normal transportation. He is given the identity of a textile salesman and follows his route. He gets as far as Kansas City, where a blood test reveals his deception. By quick action and a whole lot of luck, he escapes and makes it to GHQ, where the Cabal is working toward a nationwide revolution culminating in a go-for-broke assault on the Temple — a very hard target.

This is the concluding volume in Heinlein's "theocratic America" series. Stranger in a Strange Land hints at the beginnings of it with "Bishop Digby." There are links to it in other works of Heinlein. But the novel depicting the rise of Nehemiah Scudder was never published in Heinlein's lifetime. Discovered in 2004, it saw print under the guidance of Spider Robinson. Revolt is expanded from the 1940 novella "If This Goes On—" which won the 1941 Retro-Hugo for best novella at the 2016 Worldcon.

The tale is well-written; as Henry Kuttner says in his Introduction, Heinlein is a master story-teller. It does have some anachronisms: information is passed as filmstrips rather than digital streams, and cigarette smoking is common. In the final battle, commands are passed by telepathic "sensitives" as well as by radio. Also, there are elements poorly developed, like John's marriage to Maggie, who had earlier vowed never to marry him, and the throwaway scene in which John meets the real textile salesman. But all in all this is a gripping story, with few passages to sunder the suspension of disbelief.

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This page was last modified on 21 March 2018.