“He was looking upon the funeral pyre of a world — upon the radioactive aftermath of Armageddon. Across a quarter of a million miles of space, the glow of dying atoms was still visible, a perennial reminder of the ruinous past”
The author draws the reader’s attention to the great nuclear catastrophe and its consequences: long years of exile of mankind, high level of nuclear contamination, the loss of the beautiful planet, human deaths (as the Colony is the only one place to live — others were ruined). This ruinous past is a ruinous reality of the characters' world. The global policy according to the author is to be changed, and individual ambitions should be replaced by altruistic and conscious deeds to keep all people safe. That is also a general appeal of dystopian fiction as a genre.
“It was beautiful, and it called to his heart across the abyss of space. There in that shining crescent were all the wonders that he had never known — the hues of sunset skies, the moaning of the sea on pebbled shores, the patter of falling rain, the unhurried benison of snow”
Marvin was pleased with the appearance of the Earth. He never was there, and he never will be. It makes him very depressed to harbor this thought, but still the planet attracts him. Among the gloomy tints of the Colony surroundings this paragraph can’t be unnoticed. It is not a direct hint, however the author managed to include it. “The beauty is in the eye of beholder”, although it was needed to depict the worst end and the darkest environment so that we see it. We should appreciate our heritage as we are responsible for its preservation. If we won’t — the “silent empty world” may substitute this beauty.
“That was the dream: and one day, Marvin knew with a sudden flash of insight, he would pass it on to his own son (…) he went to rejoin his people in their long exile”
The story has few major events; it is rather focused on the description of the environment — dark isolated world, with only hills and plains and cold sun light — and Marvin’s feelings. But from a few instances we can guess that the boy was quite obedient and able to take a responsibility; he doesn’t complain. Obviously he was in good relations with his father. The author’s message indicates our responsibility and the importance of good relations, especially among the generations.
