Shikasta: Re, Colonised Planet 5: Personal, Psychological, Historical… | Objects, Setting & Important Places

Shikasta: Re, Colonised Planet 5: Personal, Psychological, Historical Objects/Places

Rohanda/Shikasta

Rohanda/Shikasta is the colony of Canopus that is the setting of the book. It was always an unstable, quickly-changing planet, even before its corruption. The Canopeans and Sirians colonize it and perform various experiments on its animal, plant and human life. The Canopeans raise the Natives to a higher level of sentience in part through the introduction of the Giants. The Natives and Giants live in harmony for millennia until the flow of SOWF is disrupted by a cosmic disturbance and the Shammat. As the flow of SOWF dries up, the Canopeans call Rohanda Shikasta, "the stricken."

Canopus

Canopus is the central planet of the Canopean Empire, the colonizers of Shikasta and the source of the emissaries, like Johor. They espouse a philosophy of love, harmony and fellow-feeling that they attempt to spread amongst the planets in their empire by way of a "Lock" that syncs up the Planet's energy flows.