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The Making of the Representative
for Planet 8

by Doris Lessing

The Making of the Representative for Planet 8 by Doris Lessing is the fourth book of the Canopus Archives Series. This book is about the threat to the life balance of a planet called Planet 8. Planet 8 is a small planet under the care of the galactic empire Canopus. During their time under the direction and care of Canopus, the inhabitants of Planet 8 live a peaceful and surreal life, until their world is plunged into an ice age.

A Series of Unfortunate Events

Planet 8 is a warm planet with a temperate climate, simple living and an abundance of resources. One day Canopus instructs them to build a wall around the girth of the planet. Once the wall is constructed, the leaders of the planet’s main disciplines, are informed about unfortunate interstellar re-alignments that will thrust Planet 8 into an unavoidable ice age. A promise is made by Canopus, that they will rescue the inhabitants of Planet 8 and take them to Rohanda, another planet they are colonizing.

The Planet Soul

After a while the predicted global change overtakes Planet 8. The temperatures drop and the climate changes. Glaciers advance to the wall and resources begin to diminish. Conflict breaks out among the villagers, and the affects of the climate change makes the sign of the times upon the planet, increasingly obvious to its inhabitants. All the while, the inhabitants have the hope that Canopus will save them once Rohanda has reached a certain level of development.

For the Tropic of Freedom Books Finders Keepers:
What we are ready for is what we will take action to become! That is what this book taught me.

When going for ‘the more’ in our lives, we often find ourselves being challenged, with that which seems to be beyond our capacity to cope. However, there are those who, even when they feel they have reached their limits; somehow they find the internal strength to just keep pushing on. Those who cannot cope with the challenges they face, simply slip off into a world of dreams that is not real. This book is a brilliant representation of this concept.

What is the key underlying quality that feeds the fire of the internal strength of the Representatives of Planet 8?

The answer to this question is the key quality that will assist you, through any challenge you face, when you start stretching for more in your life.

This key quality is also illustrated in the book ‘Even Eagles need a Push’.

For other freedom books by Dorris Lessing
Shikasta
The Sirian Experiments
The Sentimental Agents of the Volyen Empire