Oankali: The Trilogy Is About An Alien Species
The Xenogenesis trilogy is a one-volume novel entitled, "Lilith's Brood," in 2000 written by Octavia Butler (1989). It is composed of "Dawn," published in 1987; "Adulthood Rites," published in 1988; and "Imago," published in 1989. The trilogy is about an alien species, called Oankali, which come in three sexes, namely, male, female and the ooloi. The ooloi is a third gender that mixes and manipulates the genetic material and constitution of the male and the female. The first novel is about Lilith Iyapo, an African American woman, who is restored to life by the Oankali after a nuclear war that brings near extinction to humanity on earth. The aliens want to colonize the earth and fill it with Oankali-human creature hybrids. The second novel is about Lilith's half-human and half-Oankali son, Akin, who is kidnapped by the resisting and sterile human remnants. The third and last novel is about Lilith's full ooloi child, Jodahs, who integrates human and alien societies (Butler). Akin is an offspring, called construct, of five parents: a human mother, a human father, an Oankali father, an Oankali mother and a sexless ooloi (Butler 1989). On the outside, Akin looks like a normal human boy. The aliens rescue the rest of humanity at a
Hence, they cannot choose the second alternative of living comfortably but without the capability to reproduce. In their new form, human beings must relate with lower organisms, such as bacteria, in lieu of intimate human relations. They do not only lose their very humanity but they are also subjected to slavery (Talbot 1996). Resisting human remnants reject the offer of the Oankali, who seize and arrogate upon themselves the role of the original creator (Grohol 2006). Their obsession for difference starkly contrasts with the very human dread for it (Grohol). In the pursuit of the objective of retaining their vanishing species, they must let these hybrid children become whole and to forcibly reject their alien aspects. The second novel is a sequel of the first, where the Oankali arrive after a world war on earth, which could have completely destroyed civilization, if they had not come at the nick of time (Butler). The aliens severe and destroy their genetic structure, cultures and freedom. They lose their independence and privileged dominance in sexual activities and in their other social roles. Akin is born in this setting where resisting and hostile human survivors kidnap him. When these survivors wake up, they are made to choose between cooperating with the Oankali in creating a new race or being and returning to a primitive Earth with a longer live but without the ability to reproduce. The most basic difference between humanity and the Oankali is their perception of difference (Grohol 2006). In the hands of the Oankali, human beings are experimental animals and pets, awaiting their time for tampering while in suspended animation. These survivors find their longevity meaningless without children giving meaning to their lives. Human beings fear and repel it, while the Oankali seek it.
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