Essay Questions

How is defeat brought out in this novel?

When the invincible lands on Regis III in search of their sister ship, the Condor, the members of the crew find the existence of a life form that is rather shocking. Because of the varied nature of these creatures with a capability to work as a team with a collective ‘brain,’ they are quite dangerous having been one of the reasons why the members of the Condor crushed. Deeming them as enemies, the crew of the warship (invincible) launch attacks on these robotic creatures, however, because of their advanced state, the crew realizes that they cannot win the fight since doing this would have to involve the destruction of the whole planet. The crew realizes their defeat. In a way, this aspect can be argued as the writer’s way of presenting the ideology of defeat and how it can be tackled in life.

How was Rohan able to venture into enemy territory and emerge unharmed?

After the members of The Invincible warship become aware of the futility of their attempts in raging a war against the robotic creatures inhabiting Regis III, Rohan takes on himself the responsibility to carry out an investigation into the disappearance of the members of the Condor. Even though both Rohan and Horpach are aware of the futility of the action, they also understand just how important it is, on moral grounds. In order to carry out the investigation and perhaps unravel what happened to the crew members who went missing with the lost sister ship, Rohan has to venture into enemy territory, and he manages to collect samples and find the bodies of some of the men. Because of a device that has the effect of reducing his brain's electric functioning, he manages to escape unharmed.

Why does the Invincible warship land on Regis III?

The invincible warship sets off into its adventurous journey as part of a search for its sister ship, the Condor. In this quest, the warship lands on Regis III, another planet where the events of this novel unfold. For instance, the crew of the warship is able to discover a new life form on that planet, an aspect which is rather quite fascinating for the crew members. Because of the high intellectual capacity of these creatures and their ability to collectively work together to wreak havoc, they launch attacks on them, a war which they ultimately lose. The reason for the ship landing on Regis III is however the need to find out what happened to the sister ship, condor, as well as its crew members.