皮尔兰德拉星 (1943)

皮尔兰德拉星是C·S·刘易斯创作的科幻小说三部曲《空间三部曲》的第二部，另两部是《沉寂的星球》和《黑暗之劫》。在1943年第一次出版。

剧情

《皮尔兰德拉星》讲述了剑桥大学语言学家兰塞姆博士从火星返回地球（《沉寂的星球》结尾）的几年之后，从火星的奥亚撒那里接受了一个使命。他将路易斯即本书的第一人称即作者本人叫到自己的家里，告诉他自己将要前往金星去完成使命。通过刘易斯的帮助，兰塞姆赤裸着蒙着眼睛被装进一个像冰制成的大匣子里面，被传送出地球。一年之后，他返回了地球，与刘易斯相见，对刘易斯讲述了他在金星的经历。

天堂般的皮尔兰德拉星（即金星），那是一片像伊甸园那样美丽的乐土。在那里，他骇然发现旧敌韦斯顿又出现了，并再次将他置于极度危险的处境。兰塞姆发现韦斯顿的身体被邪恶力量所控制，在生死攸关之际，为了拯救纯洁的皮尔兰德拉，兰塞姆卷入了这个星球上的正邪之战。

Perelandra (also titled Voyage to Venus in a later edition published by Pan Books) is the second book in the Space Trilogy of C. S. Lewis, set on the planet of Perelandra, or Venus. It was first published in 1943.

Plot summary

Philologist Elwin Ransom, some years after his return from Mars at the end of Out of the Silent Planet, receives a new mission from the Oyarsa (the angelic ruler) of Mars. Ransom summons narrator-Lewis to his country home. Ransom explains to Lewis that he (Ransom) is to travel to Perelandra (Venus), where he is to counter some kind of attack – details not yet specified – to be launched by Earth's Black Archon (Satan).

Ransom is transported in a casket-like vessel which is seemingly made of ice and contains only himself, unclad, as Oyarsa tells him clothes are unnecessary on Venus. He returns to Earth over a year later and is met by Lewis and another friend, then recounts his experiences. The remainder of the story is told from Ransom's point of view, with Lewis acting as interlocutor and occasional commentator.

Ransom arrives in Venus after a quick journey through interplanetary space. He finds that the surface of the planet is covered in a freshwater ocean which is dotted with floating rafts of vegetation. These rafts resemble islands, to the extent of having plant and animal life upon them, including edible plants and plants large enough to provide shelter. As the rafts have no geologic foundations, they are in a constant state of motion. The planet's sole observable geological feature is a stony mountain called the Fixed Land. The planet's thick atmosphere hides the sun and stars, although like Earth, the planet rotates and has days and nights.

Ransom soon meets the Queen of the planet. She is a carefree being who soon accepts him as a friend. Unlike the inhabitants of Mars in Out of the Silent Planet, she resembles a human in physical appearance with the exception of her green skin. She and her husband the King are the first, and so far the only, human inhabitants of their world. The two of them live on the floating raft-islands and are forbidden, by Maleldil's divine command, to sleep on the Fixed Land. Ransom finds that in the spiritually pure context, the beautiful naked queen arouses no sexual desire or temptation in him, even though the King himself is away elsewhere on the planet.

Professor Weston arrives in a spaceship and lands in a part of the ocean quite close to the Fixed Land. Instead of the strictly materialist attitude he displayed when first meeting Ransom, he now tells Ransom that he has become aware of the existence of supernatural spiritual beings. He pledges his allegiance to what he calls the "Life-Force", which, he says, has been guiding him in extraordinary ways. After an increasingly disturbing monologue, he succumbs to full demonic possession.

Now under demonic control, the possessed Weston finds the Queen and tries to tempt her into defying Maleldil's law by spending a night on the Fixed Land. Ransom realises why the Oyarsa has brought him to Perelandra: to counter the tempter by persuading the Queen to obey Maleldil's prohibition, and to prevent the Perelandran counterpart to the Fall of humanity on Earth. In the Queen's presence, he struggles through day after day of exhausting argument against the demonic Weston, who shows super-human brilliance in debate. Weston's possessed body requires no sleep; this enables him to use methods other than explicit arguments while Ransom sleeps. The tempter tells the Queen many stories of heroic defiance and introduces her to self-gratifying vanities such as clothing, makeup, and mirrors. On occasions when the Queen is sleeping and Ransom is awake, the tempter attacks Ransom's morale by engaging in infantile obscenities and by torturing and mutilating small native animals.