Bewilderment

The Byrne Alien Field Guide is an index of imagined planets that Theo has created. Each entry in the index describes a planet where life may have formed. These planets differ wildly, but a foundation of data and research underlies them all. The assortment of planets in Theo’s index comes to symbolize the infinite possibilities of the universe. As Theo explains to Robin, the universe is so impossibly large and difficult to imagine that this wide an array of planets can theoretically exist. Each planet symbolizes a different conception of life. Humans aren’t unique or privileged simply because they exist. As the index of planets shows, life can emerge in many ways, each just as miraculous as the next. Theo’s index symbolizes the different worlds that humans can only barely imagine.

In addition, the planets have a more personal meaning. Theo shares his imagined planets with Robin as a form of bedtime story. Each night, they sit together and imagine a new planet. Sometimes, they invent wild stories and explanations for events on these planets, and often these explanations are rooted in their relevant problems. When Robin is unable to make friends, for example, he imagines a dark and impenetrable planet. The way in which father and son share these planets with each other symbolizes their bond. Instead of having only a biological link, they connect through their imaginations. Both Robin and Theo can imagine new worlds, and each planet that they create becomes a symbol of the emotional bond between them.

Theo isn’t the only scientist searching for life on other planets. He’s part of a group that wishes to fund research and equipment to scour the universe in search of planets that may contain life. Though they ultimately don’t receive the funding, the shared desire to look for these planets symbolizes a mutual understanding that humanity must broaden its conception of the universe. That so many scientists want to search for Theo’s planets shows that they believe in the possibility of other worlds beyond Earth. Each of the planets in the index symbolizes the endurance of life and the resilience of nature—even if this nature is extraterrestrial. The search for Theo’s planets symbolizes the belief that humanity needs to look beyond its own world to better understand itself.