Excerpt

Excerpt from Out of Time's Abyss, by Edgar Rice Burroughs

She tried to explain; but the nearest he could gather was that she
looked upon the Wieroo almost as supernatural beings. "There is a
legend current among my people that once the Wieroo were unlike us only
in that they possessed rudimentary wings. They lived in villages in
the Galu country, and while the two peoples often warred, they held no
hatred for one another. In those days each race came up from the
beginning and there was great rivalry as to which was the higher in the
scale of evolution. The Wieroo developed the first cos-ata-lu but they
were always male--never could they reproduce woman. Slowly they
commenced to develop certain attributes of the mind which, they
considered, placed them upon a still higher level and which gave them
many advantages over us, seeing which they thought only of mental
development--their minds became like stars and the rivers, moving
always in the same manner, never varying. They called this tas-ad,
which means doing everything the right way, or, in other words, the
Wieroo way. If foe or friend, right or wrong, stood in the way of
tas-ad, then it must be crushed.

"Soon the Galus and the lesser races of men came to hate and fear them.
It was then that the Wieroos decided to carry tas-ad into every part of
the world. They were very warlike and very numerous, although they had
long since adopted the policy of slaying all those among them whose
wings did not show advanced development.

"It took ages for all this to happen--very slowly came the different
changes; but at last the Wieroos had wings they could use. But by
reason of always making war upon their neighbors they were hated by
every creature of Caspak, for no one wanted their tas-ad, and so they
used their wings to fly to this island when the other races turned
against them and threatened to kill them all. So cruel had they become
and so bloodthirsty that they no longer had hearts that beat with love
or sympathy; but their very cruelty and wickedness kept them from
conquering the other races, since they were also cruel and wicked to
one another, so that no Wieroo trusted another.

---

Explanation

Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from Out of Time’s Abyss by Edgar Rice Burroughs

Context of the Source

Out of Time’s Abyss (1918) is the third and final novel in Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Caspak Trilogy, a series of adventure-fantasy stories set in a lost prehistoric land called Caspak, where evolution operates in strange and accelerated ways. The trilogy blends science fiction, adventure, and social commentary, drawing on themes of evolution, civilization, and the dangers of unchecked intellectual or ideological extremism.

The excerpt comes from a conversation between Bradley, a modern man stranded in Caspak, and Ahm, a woman from the Galu (a more advanced human-like race in Caspak). She recounts the history and nature of the Wieroo, a winged, hyper-intellectual, and tyrannical race that once dominated Caspak before retreating to an isolated island.

---

Themes in the Excerpt

1. The Dangers of Dogmatic Ideology (Tas-Ad)

   • The Wieroo’s philosophy of tas-ad ("the Wieroo way" or "doing everything the right way") represents rigid, unquestioning conformity—an extreme form of authoritarianism where deviation is crushed, regardless of morality.
   • This mirrors real-world critiques of totalitarianism, fanaticism, and ideological extremism (e.g., fascism, religious fundamentalism, or even rigid scientific dogma).
   • The Wieroo’s mental development comes at the cost of emotional and ethical regression—they lose love, sympathy, and trust, becoming cold, calculating, and self-destructive.

2. Evolution and Devolution

   • The Wieroo begin as a rival race to the Galu, competing in evolution. Their physical advancement (wings) is paired with mental stagnation—they become intellectually rigid, unable to adapt emotionally or socially.
   • Their self-imposed eugenics (killing those with underdeveloped wings) accelerates their physical evolution but weakens their social cohesion, leading to internal betrayal and distrust.
   • This reflects Burroughs’ (and early 20th-century) fears about eugenics, social Darwinism, and the dehumanizing effects of "progress" without morality.

3. Isolation and Self-Destruction

   • The Wieroo’s cruelty and bloodthirstiness make them universally hated, forcing them into exile on an island.
   • Their lack of trust (even among themselves) prevents them from uniting to conquer others, showing how extreme individualism and paranoia lead to collective weakness.
   • This can be read as a warning about societies that prioritize power over empathy—they may dominate for a time but ultimately collapse from within.

4. The Corruption of Power

   • The Wieroo’s initial superiority (wings, intelligence) becomes a curse because they abuse it.
   • Their war-like nature and disdain for others make them tyrants rather than leaders, leading to their rejection by all other races.
   • This aligns with the classic tragic flaw in literature—hubris (excessive pride) leading to downfall.

---

Literary Devices & Stylistic Choices

1. Legend & Oral History

   • The story is framed as a legend, giving it a mythic, cautionary tone.
   • Ahm’s narration makes the Wieroo seem both real and symbolic—like a dark fable about the dangers of unchecked intellect.

2. Contrast & Duality

   • Physical vs. Mental Evolution: The Wieroo gain wings (physical superiority) but lose humanity (mental and emotional decay).
   • Order vs. Chaos: Their tas-ad (rigid order) leads to internal chaos (distrust, betrayal).
   • Isolation vs. Community: While other races unite against them, the Wieroo cannot even trust each other.

3. Symbolism

   • Wings: Normally a symbol of freedom, but here they represent isolation and tyranny—the Wieroo use them to escape, not to rise.
   • Tas-Ad: A satire of ideological purity—whether political, religious, or scientific. It’s a parody of "progress" that destroys rather than uplifts.
   • The Island: A metaphor for self-imposed exile, where the Wieroo are both prisoners and rulers of their own dogma.

4. Foreshadowing & Irony

   • The Wieroo’s initial superiority is undone by their flaws, foreshadowing their ultimate failure.
   • The irony is that their greatest strength (intellect and wings) becomes their greatest weakness—they fly away from society rather than leading it.

5. Burroughs’ Pulp Style

   • The prose is direct and action-driven, typical of early 20th-century adventure fiction.
   • The moral lesson is unsubtle—Burroughs was writing for entertainment, but he embeds social commentary in his fantastical settings.

---

Significance of the Excerpt

1. Critique of Extremism

   • The Wieroo represent any group that enforces absolute conformity—whether political regimes, cults, or even scientific elitism.
   • Their lack of empathy makes them monsters despite their intelligence, a warning about dehumanizing ideologies.

2. Evolution as a Double-Edged Sword

   • Burroughs plays with Darwinian ideas, suggesting that physical advancement doesn’t guarantee moral or social progress.
   • The Wieroo’s eugenics program (killing the "weak") is a dark reflection of real-world eugenics movements (which Burroughs, like many of his time, had complicated views on).

3. The Failure of Utopian Thinking

   • The Wieroo’s tas-ad is a failed utopia—they believe they are perfecting society, but instead, they destroy it.
   • This echoes dystopian themes later explored in works like Brave New World or 1984, where forced conformity leads to oppression.

4. Relevance to Burroughs’ Other Works

   • Like Tarzan or John Carter of Mars, Burroughs often contrasts "civilized" corruption with "primitive" virtue.
   • The Wieroo are hyper-civilized in the worst way—intellect without wisdom, power without compassion.

---

Line-by-Line Breakdown of Key Passages

"There is a legend current among my people that once the Wieroo were unlike us only in that they possessed rudimentary wings."

• Establishes the Wieroo as a parallel race—initially similar to the Galu, but with a key difference (wings) that becomes their defining (and dooming) trait.

"They called this tas-ad, which means doing everything the right way, or, in other words, the Wieroo way. If foe or friend, right or wrong, stood in the way of tas-ad, then it must be crushed."

• Tas-ad is absolute dogma—no room for debate, morality, or individuality.
• The phrase "the Wieroo way" is Orwellian—it’s not about right or wrong, but pure conformity.
• "Crushed" suggests violent suppression, reinforcing their tyrannical nature.

"Slowly they commenced to develop certain attributes of the mind which, they considered, placed them upon a still higher level and which gave them many advantages over us, seeing which they thought only of mental development—their minds became like stars and the rivers, moving always in the same manner, never varying."

• "Minds like stars and rivers" is poetic but chilling—stars are cold and distant; rivers flow without thought.
• This dehumanizes them—they are predictable, unfeeling, mechanical.
• "Never varying" = no creativity, no adaptability—a fatal flaw in evolution.

"So cruel had they become and so bloodthirsty that they no longer had hearts that beat with love or sympathy; but their very cruelty and wickedness kept them from conquering the other races, since they were also cruel and wicked to one another, so that no Wieroo trusted another."

• Their greatest strength (ruthlessness) becomes their greatest weakness.
• "No Wieroo trusted another"—internal betrayal dooms them, a classic tragic downfall.
• This mirrors real-world tyrants (e.g., Stalin’s purges, Hitler’s paranoia) who destroy their own ranks.

---

Conclusion: Why This Excerpt Matters

This passage is more than just world-building—it’s a warning about the dangers of ideological extremism, unchecked intellectualism, and the loss of humanity in the pursuit of power.

• The Wieroo are a cautionary tale—what happens when a race values dogma over compassion, strength over wisdom.
• Burroughs, though writing pulp adventure, touches on deep philosophical questions:
  • Can progress exist without morality?
  • Does intellect require empathy to survive?
  • What happens when a society loses trust in itself?

The excerpt remains relevant today in discussions about authoritarianism, AI ethics, eugenics, and the dangers of ideological purity. The Wieroo are not just monsters—they are what we could become if we sacrifice our humanity for the sake of power.

Would you like any further analysis on specific aspects, such as comparisons to other works or deeper historical context?

---

Questions

Question 1

The narrator’s description of the Wieroo’s mental development as becoming "like stars and the rivers, moving always in the same manner, never varying" primarily serves to:

A. underscore the paradox of their intellectual advancement leading to cognitive and emotional stagnation
B. illustrate the harmony between their evolved minds and the natural world’s cyclical patterns
C. emphasize the aesthetic beauty of their rigid, unchanging thought processes
D. suggest that their minds achieved a divine, almost celestial perfection
E. highlight the inevitability of their dominance over less disciplined races

Question 2

The phrase "tas-ad" functions most analogously to which of the following concepts in the context of the passage?

A. Utilitarianism, as it prioritizes the greatest good for the greatest number
B. Stoicism, as it advocates emotional detachment in the face of adversity
C. Meritocracy, as it rewards only the most physically and intellectually capable
D. Relativism, as it adapts its principles to the cultural norms of each conquered race
E. Totalitarianism, as it enforces absolute conformity to a single, unquestionable ideology

Question 3

The Wieroo’s eventual exile to an island is portrayed as a consequence of:

A. their physical inferiority compared to the other races of Caspak
B. the self-destructive nature of their ideological rigidity and internal distrust
C. a strategic retreat to consolidate power before a final, decisive conquest
D. the Galus’ superior military tactics, which outmaneuvered the Wieroo’s aerial advantages
E. an environmental catastrophe that forced all winged species to migrate

Question 4

Which of the following best describes the relationship between the Wieroo’s physical evolution (wings) and their social evolution?

A. Their physical advancements were directly proportional to their social cohesion and moral progress
B. Their physical superiority accelerated their ideological extremism, which in turn eroded their social bonds
C. The development of wings was incidental and had no bearing on their societal collapse
D. Their wings symbolized freedom, which paradoxically led to their voluntary isolation from others
E. The other races’ jealousy of the Wieroo’s wings was the primary cause of their mutual animosity

Question 5

The passage’s portrayal of the Wieroo is most critically aligned with which of the following philosophical warnings?

A. The dangers of pursuing intellectual or ideological purity at the expense of ethical and emotional humanity
B. The inevitability of conflict between races competing for evolutionary dominance
C. The necessity of eugenics to ensure the survival of the fittest in any society
D. The superiority of instinctual, "primitive" wisdom over rational, "civilized" thought
E. The cyclical nature of history, where all empires eventually decline due to internal decay

Solutions and Explanations

1) Correct answer: A

Why A is most correct: The simile "like stars and the rivers" emphasizes unchanging, mechanical repetition—stars move in fixed patterns, rivers flow predictably. This contrasts with the dynamism of adaptive intelligence. The Wieroo’s "mental development" is thus paradoxical: they advance intellectually but become cognitively rigid and emotionally barren, which the passage frames as a flaw, not an achievement. The description critiques their stagnation despite progression, aligning with A’s focus on paradox.

Why the distractors are less supported:

• B: The passage does not suggest harmony with nature; the Wieroo’s rigidity is unnatural and destructive, not cyclical or balanced.
• C: There is no mention of aesthetic beauty; the tone is critical, not admiring.
• D: "Divine perfection" is unsupported—the Wieroo are tyrannical and flawed, not godlike.
• E: The passage emphasizes their failure to dominate, not inevitability. Their exile is framed as a result of their flaws, not a strategic pause.

2) Correct answer: E

Why E is most correct: "Tas-ad" is defined as "the Wieroo way"—an absolute, unquestionable standard that crushes dissent, whether from foes or friends. This mirrors totalitarianism, where conformity to a single ideology is enforced violently, regardless of morality or practicality. The passage highlights their suppression of deviation, a hallmark of totalitarian regimes.

Why the distractors are less supported:

• A: Utilitarianism focuses on outcomes (greatest good), but tas-ad is dogmatic, not consequentialist.
• B: Stoicism advocates personal resilience, not imposed ideological conformity.
• C: Meritocracy rewards ability, but tas-ad is about obedience to a rigid system, not merit.
• D: Relativism adapts to context; tas-ad is inflexible and universal in its demands.

3) Correct answer: B

Why B is most correct: The passage explicitly states that the Wieroo’s cruelty and internal distrust ("no Wieroo trusted another") made them unable to conquer others and led to their rejection by all races. Their exile is a direct consequence of their self-destructive ideology, not physical weakness or strategy.

Why the distractors are less supported:

• A: Their wings are a physical advantage, not a weakness.
• C: There is no evidence of a strategic retreat; their exile is forced, not tactical.
• D: The Galus’ tactics are never mentioned; the focus is on the Wieroo’s internal flaws.
• E: No environmental cause is cited; the exile is social and ideological.

4) Correct answer: B

Why B is most correct: The wings symbolize physical superiority, but their development coincides with ideological extremism (tas-ad). This extremism erodes trust and cooperation, leading to social collapse. The passage links their physical evolution directly to their moral and societal decay—their wings enable dominance but their dogma destroys unity.

Why the distractors are less supported:

• A: The relationship is inverse, not proportional—their physical gains undermine social cohesion.
• C: The wings are central to their identity and downfall; they’re not incidental.
• D: The wings do not symbolize freedom—they’re used for escape, not liberation.
• E: While jealousy may exist, the primary cause of conflict is the Wieroo’s tyranny, not envy.

5) Correct answer: A

Why A is most correct: The passage critiques the Wieroo’s pursuit of intellectual/ideological purity (tas-ad) at the cost of empathy, trust, and ethical behavior. Their mental rigidity leads to social and moral ruin, aligning with A’s warning about sacrificing humanity for purity. This is the core thematic concern of the excerpt.

Why the distractors are less supported:

• B: While competition exists, the focus is on internal corruption, not inevitable conflict.
• C: The passage condemns the Wieroo’s eugenics, not endorses it.
• D: The text does not glorify primitivism; it critiques extremism, not civilization itself.
• E: While cyclical decline is implied, the primary warning is about ideological extremism, not historical inevitability.