A friend was allegedly acquainted with Robert Wise and others involved with the screenplay for TDTESS. (Our conversations took place in the '80s IIRC).

I tend to trust that he was not embellishing or fantasizing; nothing is certain of course - when a homo-sap uses Language, unless the Word is Help !!!. It seems that there was indeed meant.. a more subtle metaphysical message, likely [then] associable with a sect whose leader was called 'The Maitreya' (never mind the obv. translation). I had imagined ~this before I heard these specifics. It wasn't just space opera, natch - McCarthyism was a boil not yet fully festered - and folks were Sooo naive and xenophobic! (Righteous goes without saying, so I won't)

Have to remember this was 1951! and very few Muricans had any foggiest notion that there was such a concept as 'metaphysics', and the only folks who knew about Europe (let alone India) were the WW-II kids who found they weren't in Kansas anymore.

Even those who availed selves of the GI Bill [perhaps the Finest provision ever forced against the reactive reptilian Repo-mindset.. and made actual! for all these youth] - didn't hear much of other than Xian theology, even in University.

Still, and aside from whatever is true about the Maitreya influence, merely the overt message re 'survival on a small planet' appears as timely in '02 - such has been our umm Progress.


Ashton
Klaatu Lives!
in the hearts of those too old for Santa Claus and too young for Siva