The [Widget], the [Wadget] and Boff can be read as Theodore Sturgeon's manifesto; it represents the summation of his motto, “Ask the next question,” and dives deep into his common themes of love and compassion. While reading it, I could easily picture Sturgeon channeling himself through two of novella's main characters, Sam and Bitty Bittleman.
The Bittlemans are the owners and operators of a boarding house populated by a small group of human live-ins. I make the distinction of the occupants being “human” because Sam and Bitty are not. The Bittlemans are a kind of synthetic alien life, one a [Widget] and the other a [Wadget], sent to the Earth to study a condition known as Synapse Beta Sub Sixteen, supposedly possessed by all beings.
Synapse Beta Sub Sixteen is akin to a social inner-ear, a “reflex of reflexes,” allowing an individual to “reflexively adjust when imbalanced in his sociocultural matrix.” This synapse allows for cultures to evolve as a single unity, to rise up and work together during times of great crises; without this synapse, no culture stands a chance at prolonged survival. While humanity must logically possess this synapse, the Bittlemans have discovered that it is either a dormant biological trait or that we have chosen to ignore it - both possibilities equally problematic.
Sturgeon introduces his reader to many characters in the novella - perhaps too many. It is a lot to juggle, but Sturgeon gives each of the characters a unique voice. While the importance of each of their quirks and idiosyncrasies is not, at first, apparent, it becomes clear that each of these characters represents a less desirable facet of humanity: guilt, greed, presumptuousness, callousness, depression and so on.
However, Sturgeon neither condemns his characters, nor uses them to pass judgment on humanity. He simply presents a vertical slice of their lives and allows them to exist, hopefully to learn. As the narrative progresses, each character becomes more fully realized, and yet I never thought that any of them became fully developed characters. They are, instead, used to represent Sturgeon's ideas. This is not a character piece, but rather it is didactic in nature. Sturgeon writes with a strong agenda in mind, and every convention is used to illustrate his theme.
We do seem to be a somewhat socially-maladjusted species. At times of great crisis we often turn to war, violence, and selfishness rather than to compassion, understanding, and selflessness. We seem to be on a path towards a more fractured existence rather than one of unity. To more fully understand this phenomena, the [Widget] and the [Wadget] are used to probe the minds of a select group of human test subjects in hopes that their experiment will allow humanity to more easily listen to this social inner-ear.
I believe, like Sturgeon did, that humanity has an amazing capacity for love and compassion. However, it appears that we often forget these aspects, and it might take an outside force to remind us of our capacity for kindness. To me, this is what religion and spirituality are all about: the maps designed to get us back on the right road, the one paved with our positive qualities.
Somewhere along the way (the idea of original sin, perhaps?) we have been conditioned to turn to selfishness which leads us to acts of violence and inhumanity towards our brothers and sisters. We have forgotten the voice of our social inner-ear, and whether this voice is spiritual (a conscience) or biological (a synapse) is not the point. Like an expert musician trains his ear to hear and decipher pitch, so too must we train ourselves to hear this inner voice; we will be damned if we do not.
Like most of his work, the more I think of The [Widget], the [Wadget] and Boff, the more I like it. Sturgeon's writing has a way of crawling under my skin and sneaking up on me. And once there, it stays with me for a very long time. He is so unlike any other science fiction author I've ever read. Reading his stuff is almost like reading the religious works of C.S. Lewis or Thomas Merton, two of my favorite theologians.
When I read Lewis and Merton, I get the sense that they had a deep understanding and empathy for humanity. I read their words and my spirit gets charged with something good. I feel the same when I read Sturgeon. When I read some authors, I want to write, but when I read Sturgeon, I want to live and love.
