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The New York Times Bestselling NovelEDUCATORS’ GUIDE

“Battlefield Earth hasmore than establishedits position as one ofthe most prominentscience fictionnovels of all time.”–Dr. David PowersABOUT THE BOOKBattlefield Earth is a swashbucklingscience fiction saga of adventure, daringand courage, when man is an endangeredspecies and the future survival of what’sleft of the human race is at stake.In the year 3000 ad, man has beensavagely ruled for a thousand years by aspace-plundering race of nine-foot high,gas-breathing conquerors from the planetPsychlo.One of the Psychlos, the villainous Terl,enslaves a man-creature and forces himto mine Earth gold. Terl’s plan: to teleportthe gold to Psychlo, where he can thenreturn wealthy beyond the dreams ofavarice.The slave emerges in the form of JonnieGoodboy Tyler, a member of the dwindlingcommunity of only 35,000 humansurvivors. However, Jonnie has plansother than to make Terl wealthy—namely,to free mankind from alien tyranny—andcause the ultimate destruction of thePsychlo invaders.But is Jonnie’s fight to save humanityfrom these gigantic and technologicallysuperior monsters a losing battle? Or willhumans regain the Earth once more?Now, discover the fate of our worldfor yourself in L. Ron Hubbard’s pulsepounding novel Battlefield Earth: A Saga ofthe Year 3000!

Pulp Fiction through the 1930s and ’40s,he is further among the most influentialauthors of the modern age. Indeed, fromRay Bradbury to Stephen King, there isscarcely a master of imaginative tales whohas not paid tribute to L. Ron Hubbard.ABOUT THE AUTHORWith 19 New York Times bestsellers andmore than 350 million copies of his worksin circulation, L. Ron Hubbard is amongthe most acclaimed and widely read authorsof our time. As a leading light of AmericanIn celebration of his fiftieth anniversaryas an author, he again returned to theforefront of popular literature with hismonumental epics Battlefield Earth and theten-volume Mission Earth series. Together,these titles dominated internationalbestseller lists for more than 200 weeks,and still remain among the all-time classicworks of modern science fiction.INTRODUCTIONThe use of science fiction, whether books,audio or film is an innovative approachto teaching social studies and English.While such materials will never replacethe teacher, they can be a valuable asset.Some works lend themselves muchbetter for classroom study than others.Teachers have to consider what the mostappropriate author or media would be fortheir particular subject or topic. Whilethere are many outstanding sciencefiction authors recognized by curriculumspecialists, it is not an easy task to findthe one special book that will cover amultitude of concepts. It can also beexpensive if you try to build a classroomlibrary and at the same time have copiesfor every student.The novel Battlefield Earth: A Saga ofthe Year 3000 by L. Ron Hubbard is onebook that will meet the requirementsfor what could be considered a completelearning experience for the student anda complete teaching experience for theteacher. It is one that covers a numberof themes and may be used for coursesin government, history (American andworld), sociology, economics, English andadvance placement. It is perhaps the mostcomprehensive science fiction novel everwritten covering such a broad base.Either the book or the audio programmay be used and will work equally wellfor large or small groups. It also would beof great benefit for independent studies.For each section there is an objective, abrief commentary, suggested questionsfor discussion or writing and an activitythat will require research.–Fred R. Eichelman, Ed.D.

LIST OF CHARACTERSBittie MacLeod: A young adventurer whohas deputized himself as Jonnie GoodboyTylers’ squire.Dunneldeen MacSwanson: One of thefirst members of the human rebellion, andace fighter pilot.Brown Limper Staffor: Raised in thesame village as Jonnie. He is clubfootedand has harbored a hatred for Jonniethat has festered over many years.Climbs the ranks from village councilmember to the Council of Earth,much to the detriment of the humanrebellion.Jonnie Goodboy Tyler: The protagonist, ayoung man of twenty who was raised in asmall dying village in the mountains nearDenver. He leads the human rebellionagainst the alien Psychlo invaders.Chirk: Secretary to the Psychlo securitychief Terl. Acquired for her decorativelooks, ability to shuffle off callers, and amental incapacity which prevents herfrom being a menace to Terl.Ker: Small Psychlo that befriends Jonnie andteaches him how to use Psychlo machinery.Termed a “geysermouth” for his incessantchattering, he has no Psychlo friends.Lord Schleim: Emissary from the Tolneprace. A formidable enemy against thehuman race.Chrissie: Emotionally devoted to JonnieGoodboy Tyler. She leaves her villagein the mountains to find Jonnie after heleaves on a quest to find a great “manvillage.”Lord Voraz: Central Director, ChiefExecutive Officer and Overlord of theGalactic Bank located in the GredidesSystem. His power spans sixteenuniverses—including Earth.Colonel Ivan Smolensk: A descendantof the Red Army detachment. Combinesforces with the Americans and Scots in astrategic alliance.Mr. Tsung: Chinese advisor to Jonnie.Educates him in the art of politics anddiplomacy.Dries Gloten: Selachee branch managerof the Galactic Bank for the sixteenthuniverse, which includes Earth.Numph: Psychlo Planetary Directorof Earth. A seemingly bumbling andincompetent leader that Terl manipulatesto accomplish his ends.Glencannon: A daredevil and fiercewarrior. One of the expert combat pilotsof the human rebellion.Pattie: Younger sister to Chrissie.Captured and used as leverage againstJonnie to get him to mine gold for Terl.

Sir Robert the Fox: A veteran of manywar raids and scouts, he plays a majorrole in advancing the human rebellion.Terl: Psychlo security chief on a planetwithout insecurities—Earth. Terl capturesJonnie, and uses him to perpetrate anunderhanded scheme to mine gold for hisown personal wealth and power.VOCABULARYHere is a listing of terms that will be found in the story to aidyour students as some words may be new to them.Blast Gun: A common Psychlo weaponused for self-defense and hunting. Comesin a hand-gun and rifle-like size.composed of symbols, sounds and wordsto create an incredibly fast method ofstraight picture learning.Flying Mine Platform: With rudimentarycontrols, the flying platform servesminers in difficult positions, such as nearcliff tops or in ravines and valleys.Mark II Ground Car: With minimal armorand firepower, the Mark II serves as a lowcost solution to short-range personneltransport needs of Psychlos.Gas Drone: A juggernaut of a ship, the gasdrone is used by Psychlos during heavyoffensive attacks. Requiring no pilots andequipped with fifteen giant canisters oflethal gas, it has the capacity to wipe outentire cities within minutes.Picto-Recorder: Picto-recorders aresmall camera-like tools that are used torecord motion pictures onto discs for easyplayback.Kerbango: Popular with Psychlo workersand executives, Kerbango is the favoreddrink of their race. Similar in effect to thealcohol consumed by humans.Kill-Club: A wooden cudgel, effective inhunting wild animals for food, stunningpredators and in ground combat. Used byJonnie.Learning Machine: A machine thatuses a system of cross-association drills,Psychlo: Home planet of the strongestalien force across the universes. ThePsychlo inhabitants are physically large,about nine feet tall, weigh somewherenear a ton and have sharp talons and furon their bodies.Transshipment Rig: The single mostvaluable tool in the Psychlo empire.Using a secretly guarded system ofteleportation, the transshipment rig isable to move materials, equipment andpersonnel across vast distances virtuallyinstantaneously.

PERCEPTIONSPART IA. The objective of this unit is to create anappreciation for both the similarities anddifferences that exist among cultures.B. The beginning of Battlefield Earth is aview of our planet in 3000 ad through theeyes of two different observers. The story’smajor protagonist, Jonnie Goodboy Tyler,is one of the last surviving humans onEarth. On the other side is Terl, one of thePsychlos who controls Earth, the leadingmining colony in an empire that spanssixteen universes. Jonnie is the “animal,”Terl is the demon monster. Jonnie is Terl’spersonal slave, an experiment to see if this“animal” is trainable for certain tasks. Terlis eventually used by Jonnie to learn moreabout his world and how it was conquered.By the end of the book he will be facedwith not one, but many cultures fromthroughout the universes.C. 1. Contrast and compare the attitudesJonnie and Terl have about each other andtheir respective cultures.2. Which attitudes seem to be based moreon prejudice than honest observation?Explain.D. Think of yourself as an alien from outerspace who has no concept of what humansare like. Write a report about a day at yourhome as it would be seen by such an alien.PREPARATIONPart IIA. The objective is to illustrate how lessonsfrom the past may prepare us for the future.B. For Jonnie Goodboy Tyler to regainfreedom for Earth he was in need ofinformation. He went through the mostintense period of education ever describedin a novel, both under Terl and mostimportantly on his own. Later as he wasgranted more responsibility he recruitedother humans to his cause and these toowere required to study both history andmodern technology. Learning did not endwith the revolution as all through the bookJonnie and his followers found themselvesforced to assimilate and use new ideas.C. 1. Jonnie’s thirst for knowledge seems tobe never ending. This is largely because hehad a set goal for his life. How importantcan goal setting be to success as a student?You may use yourself as an example.2. At the end of the book what type ofeducation did Jonnie’s son have and whatdid he want his son to learn? Explain.

D. The rate of advancement from primitiveconditions to high tech in a few shortyears may seem at first glance incredible.We do have cultures becoming economicpowers in less than half a century. Selectone and describe how it compares to therebirth of Earth as described in the book.REVOLUTIONPART IIIA. The objective is to trace the developmentof revolutionary movements.B. In their preparation to overthrowthe Psychlos and Intergalactic Mining,Jonnie and his friends make use of thearsenal of atomic weapons they findleftover from old Earth. They also takeadvantage of alien technology such asthe transshipment platform and Psychlovehicles. It is only later that they find outhow far reaching their destruction hasbeen and the effect it has on the rest of theinterstellar civilizations.C. 1. After every war there is anexamination after the fact over whethercertain weapons and tactics should havebeen used. Today the debate continuesover the morality of atomic weaponsand the use of atomic power. Whatjustification would you make for the useof atomic power on this new Earth?2. It has been said that a “successfulrevolution does not end when the fightingstops.” Explain.D. Describe the type of people it takes tomake a successful revolution. You maydraw upon the American, French or otherrevolutions. Then see how these peoplecompare with the leading revolutionariesin Battlefield Earth.FOUNDATIONS OF GOVERNMENTPART IVA. The objective is to investigate thedynamics involved in the creation of anew government.B. The absence of government is anarchyand once the rule of the Psychlos on Earthwas replaced by human rule, organizationwas needed. A federation was formed andsystems developed for currency exchangeand other activities we associate withself-rule. By the end of the book newresponsibilities and challenges caused thegovernment to expand its operations.