Asimov doesn't usually write about aliens. Also, Asimov doesn't usually write about sex. Well, this book, Asimov's favorite and Hugo and Nebula winner for 1972 is mostly about aliens with quite a bit of sex thrown into. It is mostly the aliens that have sex, though. Humans have a go at it, in the last line of the novel, but we're left out of the details.
The novel consist of three parts; part 1 happening on Earth, part 2 in the ParaWorld, and part 3 on the Moon. In Part 1 a mediocre scientist, Hallan, discovers that a certain material in his lab is getting exchanged with a radioactive isotope that cannot exist in our universe, with its strong and weak nuclear forces as they are. He soon discovers that aliens from a parallel universe (ParaWorld) are exchanging the materials, each of which becomes radioactive in the other universe and emits free energy until it stabilizes. This is used by Earth people to construct "Electron Pump" stations which provide free, clean, unlimited energy, obfuscating all other sources of energy. Hallan becomes the most famous scientist on Earth and grows into vindictive, vicious fellow who destroys anyone who questions his authority, as is the case with a scientist historian who claims that it was actually the ParaMen who invented the pump, and Hallan has only been their puppet. The historian also claims that the pump can destroy our universe (or at least our part of the Galaxy) because it is subtly changing the natural laws.
In the second part we learn about the ParaMen who exist in a universe where matter is not as tightly woven together and the creatures on the ParaWorld can 'meld' with each other, which is how they propagate, and some can also 'meld' into solid rock, being able to turn themselves into almost a mist. The ParaMen have three sexes, left, right and middle, and a child can only be produced if all three sexes meld. The ParaMen are worried because the sources of energy in their universe are disapearing, since all their suns are getting smaller, which is why they invented the "Positron Pump", but some of them have actually discovered the dangers of changing the natural laws, and the destruction that could follow. One 'Middle' alien, Dua, tries to communicate the danger to the humans in the other universe, and even manages to spell FEER (fear) figuring out the language of the humans.
The third part is the weakest. Happens on the moon, where Loonies and Immis live, and dislike the Earthies from the home planet. Halans assistant from the original discovery moves to the moon to experiment on his theories that the Pump can destroy the universe, but doesn't have to, if he can construct a 'safety valve' of sorts. The assistant meets a Loonie tour guide, who is actually an "Intuitionist" (coined by Asimov, intuitive scientist) who joins him in his research, despite being a member of an underground Loonie movement that seeks to remove the Moon from the Earth's orbit and leave the Solar system. Eventually the experiment is successful, the universe is saved, Hallan's reputation destroyed, and the assistant and the tour guide are just about to have sex when the book ends.
Like most Asimov's books, it can be read as a scientific treatise and the science insights are stunning, however the characters and plot are paper-thin, and only serve to explain the amazing scientific conjectures.
Friday, October 21, 2016
Friday, October 7, 2016
"Flowers for Algernon" by Daniel Keyes
This book is called science (or speculative) fiction, but that's far from the central theme which is about human relations, compassion, meaning of life and the justness of the world.
A developmentally challenged individual, Charlie Gordon, 32, has an IQ of 68 and works as a janitor in a bakery, but has an enormous wish to learn and become 'smart.' He is recommended by his teacher at Beekman College school for retarded individuals, Alice McKinney, for an experimental surgical enhancement of his intelligence. The researchers at Beekman College already performed the surgery and enzyme therapy on a mouse named Algernon, and he outperformed any mouse in the lab.
After the experiment, eventually, Charlie gets a genius IQ of 185 and even starts doing research on the topic himself (and writes a piano concerto), but is abandoned by his old friends and circles, as they only used him to make fun of him and feel themselves smarter in comparison. His memories from childhood traumas come back and he has problems emotionally integrating them, as well as starting romantic relationships.
Eventually he discovers that his condition will revert and he will go back to IQ 68 or even lower - and writes a scientific paper to prove this. His attempts to start a relationship with Alice eventually works, but when he sees his IQ dropping precipitously, he sends her away. Eventually he reverts ack to his old IQ, but now finds that he cannot resume his previous life and job, so he commits himself to the Warden Institute for retarded individuals. The mouse Algernon dies, in a harbinger of the reversal of the condition that later happens to Charlie, and Charlies last words are not to forget to put fresh flowers on Algernon's grave.
A touching and powerful book about choices, ethics and the human condition. Several publishers tried to force a happy ending on the author, but the sad ending makes the story much more powerful.
A developmentally challenged individual, Charlie Gordon, 32, has an IQ of 68 and works as a janitor in a bakery, but has an enormous wish to learn and become 'smart.' He is recommended by his teacher at Beekman College school for retarded individuals, Alice McKinney, for an experimental surgical enhancement of his intelligence. The researchers at Beekman College already performed the surgery and enzyme therapy on a mouse named Algernon, and he outperformed any mouse in the lab.
After the experiment, eventually, Charlie gets a genius IQ of 185 and even starts doing research on the topic himself (and writes a piano concerto), but is abandoned by his old friends and circles, as they only used him to make fun of him and feel themselves smarter in comparison. His memories from childhood traumas come back and he has problems emotionally integrating them, as well as starting romantic relationships.
Eventually he discovers that his condition will revert and he will go back to IQ 68 or even lower - and writes a scientific paper to prove this. His attempts to start a relationship with Alice eventually works, but when he sees his IQ dropping precipitously, he sends her away. Eventually he reverts ack to his old IQ, but now finds that he cannot resume his previous life and job, so he commits himself to the Warden Institute for retarded individuals. The mouse Algernon dies, in a harbinger of the reversal of the condition that later happens to Charlie, and Charlies last words are not to forget to put fresh flowers on Algernon's grave.
A touching and powerful book about choices, ethics and the human condition. Several publishers tried to force a happy ending on the author, but the sad ending makes the story much more powerful.
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
"A Canticle for Leibowitz" by Walter Miller
The only novel published by Miller during his lifetime consists for three novellas previously published in SciFi magazines, but significantly modified to fit the novel form. The three parts depict a post-apocaliptic world, after an all-out nuclear war has wiped most of humanity in the 1960s. The first part happens around 2700s, the second part happens around 3100s, and the last part around 3800s when humans have developed space flight, extra-solar colonies, and (unfortunately) nuclear weapons again. The idea promulgated is that the time between bronze age and nuclear age is around 3-4,000 years, and will always follow that pattern.
In the first part, about 6 centuries after a moronic nuclear war among moronic nations has devastated the Earth and killed off most of the humans. The remaining humans called themselves "Simpletons' and started killing off all scientists by burning them alive, and when they killed all of them - they started killing anyone literate, moronism and illiteracy being haled up as the highest virtues among the human-animals populating the planet. Only the Catholic order of Leibowitz has dedicated itself to preserving the remaining knowledge of the human race, be it scraps of written paper or half-burned page of a physics textbook.
Brother Francis from the wild wastes of Utah is doing his Lent fasting while discovering a fallout shelter with important artifacts inside while the canonization of the Blessed Leibowitz proceeds in the Abbey (within the borders of the Empire of Denver) and in New Rome (somewhere in West Virginia). The roads between the few populated cities are populated by mutated half-humans half-animals who kill everything that moves for loot and food, and that befell brother Francis as well.
In the second part, another six centuries later, human civilization has achieved around medieval scientific development, the first electrical light experiment is successful and the primitive empires on the North American continent are vying for supremacy, most people still being illiterate; living in squalor and primitivism, both in social customs and in overall development. The Abbey of St. Leibowitz is now a center of learning, having preserved many books from the last nuclear age of humanity, which are essential for re-discovery of science.
In the third part humanity has surpassed the current scientific age and has not only Solar but also colonies on other star systems (Miller mistakenly hoping that atomic drives would take us to the stars). However the moronism of human politicians and their artificial creations called 'nations' - 'patriotism' 'us vs them' and similar money drivel causes another nuclear war that devastates the planet yet again, despite the politician snakes and reptillian disgustoids who run the society blaming the 'other' side. Crazed monkeys be crazed monkeys.
I've read some complaints about the "Catholic-ness" of the novel online. I guess there's a streak of Catholic-haters out there. I am not Catholic, but have nothing against Catholicism and Miller has converted from Judaism to Catholicism, so it is only expected Catholic themes to have a prominent place in his work. The theme of Catholicism is appropriate and justified in the book and not out of step with many historical parallels (after all, many of the great scientists of the past have been catholic monks and priests).
In the first part, about 6 centuries after a moronic nuclear war among moronic nations has devastated the Earth and killed off most of the humans. The remaining humans called themselves "Simpletons' and started killing off all scientists by burning them alive, and when they killed all of them - they started killing anyone literate, moronism and illiteracy being haled up as the highest virtues among the human-animals populating the planet. Only the Catholic order of Leibowitz has dedicated itself to preserving the remaining knowledge of the human race, be it scraps of written paper or half-burned page of a physics textbook.
Brother Francis from the wild wastes of Utah is doing his Lent fasting while discovering a fallout shelter with important artifacts inside while the canonization of the Blessed Leibowitz proceeds in the Abbey (within the borders of the Empire of Denver) and in New Rome (somewhere in West Virginia). The roads between the few populated cities are populated by mutated half-humans half-animals who kill everything that moves for loot and food, and that befell brother Francis as well.
In the second part, another six centuries later, human civilization has achieved around medieval scientific development, the first electrical light experiment is successful and the primitive empires on the North American continent are vying for supremacy, most people still being illiterate; living in squalor and primitivism, both in social customs and in overall development. The Abbey of St. Leibowitz is now a center of learning, having preserved many books from the last nuclear age of humanity, which are essential for re-discovery of science.
In the third part humanity has surpassed the current scientific age and has not only Solar but also colonies on other star systems (Miller mistakenly hoping that atomic drives would take us to the stars). However the moronism of human politicians and their artificial creations called 'nations' - 'patriotism' 'us vs them' and similar money drivel causes another nuclear war that devastates the planet yet again, despite the politician snakes and reptillian disgustoids who run the society blaming the 'other' side. Crazed monkeys be crazed monkeys.
I've read some complaints about the "Catholic-ness" of the novel online. I guess there's a streak of Catholic-haters out there. I am not Catholic, but have nothing against Catholicism and Miller has converted from Judaism to Catholicism, so it is only expected Catholic themes to have a prominent place in his work. The theme of Catholicism is appropriate and justified in the book and not out of step with many historical parallels (after all, many of the great scientists of the past have been catholic monks and priests).
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