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''Sixth Column'', also known under the title '''''The Day After Tomorrow''''', is a Science Fiction Novel by Robert A. Heinlein , set in a United States that has been conquered by a foreign invader. Originally published as a serial in 1941 , it was collected as a novel in 1949 . It centers on the activities of a research lab hidden in the Colorado mountains, which is the last remaining outpost of the United States Army after its defeat by the PanAsians. The PanAsians are a combination of the Chinese and Japan ese. The conquerors had absorbed the Soviets after an attack by them and had gone on to amalgamate India as well. The invaders are depicted as ruthless and cruel - for example, they crush an abortive rebellion by killing 150,000 American civilians as punishment. The book is notable for its frank and controversial portrayal of across the face. One character is Frank Mitsui, an Asian American man whose family was Murder ed by the invaders because they did not fit in the new PanAsiatic racial order. The Americans in the novel respond to their conquerors' racism by often referring to them in unflattering terms, such as "flat face", "slanty" (a derisive reference to the Epicanthal Fold s typical of Asian genetics), and "monkey boy". ''Sixth Column'' and '' Farnham's Freehold '', another novel by Heinlein, both center on the issue of race. Whereas some people perceive ''Sixth Column'' as Racist , ''Farnham's Freehold'' turns the tables by reversing the racial stereotypes. The original idea for the story of ''Sixth Column'' was proposed by John W. Campbell , and Heinlein later wrote that he had "had to reslant it to remove racist aspects of the original story line" and that he did not "consider it to be an artistic success." It was written in the same year as the Attack On Pearl Harbor . A more complete discussion of race in Heinlein's fiction is given in the Main Article On Heinlein . PLOT SUMMARY The remote mountain lab is a scene of turmoil as the novel begins. All but 6 personnel have died suddenly, due to mysterious forces generated by an experiment operating within the magneto-gravitic or electro-gravitic spectra. The scientists at the lab soon learn that they can selectively kill people by releasing the internal pressure of their cell membranes. They discover other awesome forces, yet their challenge is this: how can a handful of men throw off an invasion force, when all their communications have been severed and it is a crime to print a word in English? Noting that the invaders have allowed the free practice of religion, the Americans set up a church of their own, and begin acting as Priests of Mota in order to build up a resistance - which Major Ardmore, the protagonist of the book, refers to as the Sixth Column. Notes |
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