An ambitious story from Stephen Baxter, which uses a number
of big ideas, such as an end of the world prophecy, super-intelligent
children being born around the world, communications from the future, and
genetic manipulation of squid to produce intelligence, to name but four.
The book is readable, certainly, but elements made me a trifle uneasy.
My greatest concern is with the Carter Prophecy - that the Human Race will
be extinct in 200 years. According to the book, the prophecy is supposedly
irrefutable, and expressed in the universal language of numbers. In his
afterword, Baxter acknowledges that the idea came from John Leslie in 'The
End of the World'. The argument goes that "we are alive now because
if there is a near-future extinction, it is overwhelmingly likely that we
find ourselves alive within a few centuries of the present day. Simply
because that is the period when most humans who ever lived, or who will
ever live, will have been alive. Ourselves among them."
Baxter claims in the story that this is supposedly an argument that
"is impossible to prove, but hard to refute". However, my
feelings are that with one or two noted wobblers (such as the Black
Death), mankind has had steady if not exponential population growth since
the first proto-human stood up and smashed open his first carcass skull
for the meat inside. So, surely the same argument could be raised at any
time in mankind's past (or future for that matter)? The reason for the
relevance of this prophecy to Baxter is that he uses it to drive the heros
to go travelling round the Solar System, when a coded message from the
future turns up amid the cosmic background noise of the Big Bang.
Reid Malenfant, a NASA drop-out and entrepreneur is the likeable hero. He
diverts his entire space enterprise (building space craft from second hand
NASA parts) to find out what the message means. The message gives the
co-ordinates of the asteroid Cruinthe, which is circling Earth in a
strange orbit. Soon, Malenfant, his ex-wife, a super-intelligent child and
a disturbed mathematical genius are on their way to Cruinthe to find out
what is there.
What of the genetically manipulated intelligent squid - the heroine is
called Sheena 5? They are a nice idea, which is well developed as she
trail blazes a way to Cruinthe. However, disappointingly the squid are
neglected for a large portion of the book. It would have been nice to see
them take a larger part in the story.
And what is found on Cruinthe? Nothing less than a revelation - the secret
reason for human and other life in this universe. But does this knowledge
save the human race? You'll have to read the book to find out. All in all,
a flawed book which is worth reading for the ideas - an investment in
time? (sorry!) |