The Power of Outside Influences

Valerian, Blimflim, Ortzog, and Irmgaal were all invited to Simlane to participate in a contest because the leaders of Simlane realize that they need outside influences to bring their planet back to a positive point. However, other people of the population are furious that these men are inserting themselves into Simlane's culture. They yell out derogatory names to the four heroes, including calling them "imposters" (14).

What the general population is not willing to realize is that the planet is in a serious situation. The men of the planet are too old to carry through with rebuilding the planet's population, which means that the planet is in danger of dying off. Without a new influx of children, there will be no young people to carry on with the routine work that has to be done. The evidence of this problem is seen in...