James White (1) (1928–1999)

I first read Jim White's 'Sector General' stories, about a gigantic multi-species hospital in a distant part of the Galaxy, back in the early 1970s in John Carnell's 'New Writings in SF' anthologies. I was just discovering science fiction; everything was new to me then. I had hardly seen them since, but remembered them fairly clearly, especially the very first story, 'Medic', about a disgraced construction worker on the (then) unfinished Sector General having to care for an orphaned and show more injured alien, and figuring out for himself what to do. I also recollected the four-character species classification employed in the hospital, and one of the supporting characters, who was a giant empathic insect.

Time, however, has erased many of the details, so I was a bit in anticipation to see what I'd find when I went back into these stories. I needn't have worried. Certainly, the majority of the stories in this first volume are quite old - 'Hospital Station' dates from 1961 (and was a 'fix-up' novel from earlier short stories) and 'Star Surgeon' from 1962 - and in places it shows. Dialogue is firmly in mid-Atlantic, and some attitudes firmly in the 1960s, almost to the point where it begins to sound like a pastiche of itself (be prepared to come across the phrase "your pretty little head"; my mouth rather dropped open at that one). (Now, if Dr Conway had used it to address an alien nurse, that would have been a) funny, b) science-fictional, and c) probably more ironic than Jim usually managed.) And although the human medical staff acknowledge that women can be medical professionals, in this volume at least, none make their appearance until the third novel, 'Major Operation' (1971), where the main human character's love interest, a nurse (described in quite chauvinistic terms in the earlier books) is promoted to pathologist - I suspect that this may have been as much to keep her in the books when her man flies off to strange new worlds to tackle increasingly odd medical crises. And indeed, the empathic alien insect doctor I mentioned earlier, Prilicia, turned out to my surprise to be male, and not female as I remembered the character! (I don't know if that says more about me than it does about the books...)

Other aspects of the books are equally dated: the Educator Tapes (which implant knowledge about alien species directly into the minds of medical staff) are just that, tapes; the Translator computers are massive, single-purpose and centralised; the spaceships are distinctly rocket-shaped.

None of this matters. Because the overwhelming theme of the books is the focus on the medical profession, its ethics and its principles - "do no harm", "save life wherever possible" and "all sentient life is worth saving". This is so clear from the outset that it overrides all other considerations; indeed, the main point-of-view character, Doctor Conway, has more alien friends than human ones through the appreciation of alien viewpoints due to his use of the educator tapes (the catch is that they don't just impart knowledge, they are full personality recordings of top alien surgeons and physicians, so anyone using the tapes has the benefit of thinking and feeling like an alien whilever they have the tape implanted). These viewpoints make the whole 'Sector General' series a most refreshing and different take on the entire space opera subgenre.

This even extends to the extended Galactic Federation that Sector General is a part of. The military arm of the Federation, the Monitor Corps, is actually founded on the same basis as the medical service, and only acts as a police force rather than a military force of conquest. In 'Star Surgeon' and 'Major Operation', the Corps actually acts in subordination to Conway and the medical teams; any objections lodged by Monitor officers are operational, not ideological.

White also points out that running a hospital is a matter of a bigger and better bureaucracy, and there are times when the action consists of Conway reading reports, or co-ordinating plans for treatment with colleagues, or discussing the progress of cases. But don't run away with the idea that this is action-lite, worthy and dull story-telling. By this time, the reader is fully engaged in the intellectual problems of finding cures for aliens who haven't been encountered before and who we might not be able to communicate with. And some of these aliens are perhaps as strange as any you might come across in any other fiction . Dismiss any thoughts you might have of aliens as humanoids with rubber masks. Creatures of all shapes and sizes, breathing all sorts of atmospheres and taking in nourishment in a range of different ways all present their own problems. And given the scope for misunderstanding in any first contact situation, it should not come as a surprise when such first contact deteriorates into a shooting war. Later, in 'Major Operation', the medical treatment itself is hard to differentiate from a shooting war. Action abounds.

Almost fifty years since I first encountered them, and sixty years after some of them were first written, these three novels held me captivated. Yes, I cringed at some things that we just don't do now; and in a few instances, I mentally inserted my own witty ripostes to some of the comments passed by characters. (I met Jim White on a few occasions. He was a charming man, and I'm sure he would have approved.) But I emerged from this reading with a feeling of elation, that this is what science fiction is about - challenging viewpoints and exposing the reader to something new and different. Recommended. show less

James White’s Sector General series should be required reading for ANYONE assigned to first contact missions. Note in the first paragraph below (from Alien Emergencies), the inclusion of specialists in communications, philosophy, and psychology. Note the exclusion of specialists in any of the hard sciences. And the military. (Note also, the more effective way.)

“The Cultural contact people were the elite of the Monitor Corps, a small group of specialists in e-t communications, philosophy show more and psychology. Although small, the group was not, regrettably, overworked …

“… During the past twenty years,” O’Mara went on, “they have initiated First Contact procedure on three occasions, all of which resulted in the species concerned joining the Federation. I will not bore you with the details of the number of survey operations mounted and the ships, personnel and materiel involved, or shock you with the cost of it all. I mention the Cultural Contact group’s three successes simply to make the point that within the same time period this hospital became fully operational and also initiated First contacts, which resulted in seven new species joining the Federation. This was accomplished not by a slow, patient buildup and widening of communications until the exchange of complex philosophical and sociological concepts became possible, but by giving medical assistance to a sick alien.”

I can’t recommend White’s work enough. Finally, an intelligent approach to alien life. (Because yes, pretty much every novel I’ve read, and every movie I’ve seen, to date, has been embarrassing for its UNintelligent approach to alien. Why haven’t we discovered intelligent life out there? Because we’re too stupid to visit.) show less

Hewlitt is a healthy young man without a care in the world... except when he's not. Used to hearing his ailments have "a psychological element" he manages to get sent to Sector General to once and for all nail down what is wrong with him. Can a multi species hospital help a xenophobic hypochondriac?
I didn't like Hewlitt at first but as I got to know him and learned his history, he grew on me. The quandary of a hypochondriac at Sector General is an interesting one to explore and I think the show more story was well told. show less

I found this surprisingly good. I can see where others may have found it a bit slow-paced or sometimes lacking a bit of adventure. But this is not a pulp, really. This is an exploration of leadership and survival. I think White did a heck of a job on this one and I am glad that I read it.