Manifold: Space
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| Author | Stephen Baxter |
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| Country | Great Britain |
| Language | English |
| Series | Manifold |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Voyager (UK) & Del Rey Books (USA) |
| Released | 6 October 2000 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 464 p. (UK hardback edition) & 512 p. (US paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-00-225771-8 (UK hardback edition) & ISBN 0-345-43078-6 (US paperback edition) |
| Preceded by | Manifold: Time |
| Followed by | Manifold: Origin |
Manifold: Space is a science fiction book by author Stephen Baxter, first published in 2000, then released in the USA in 2001. It is the second book of the Manifold series and examines another possible solution to the Fermi paradox. Although it is in no sense a sequel to the first book it contains a number of the same characters, notably Reid Malenfant, and similar artifacts.
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[edit] Plot introduction
The novel begins with the discovery of alien activity in a Kirkwood gap; the aliens are identified as von Neumann machines (clanking replicators). The activity is potentially an immense threat, as Malenfant noted in an earlier speech: "A target system, we assume, is uninhabited. We can therefore program for massive and destructive exploitation of the system's resources, without restraint, by the probe. Such resources are useless for any other purpose, and are therefore economically free to us. And so we colonize, and build."
[edit] Plot summary
The novel traces the human reaction to the Gaijin (they are discovered by a Japanese observer on the Moon, Gaijin being Japanese for "foreigner") and other expansionist colonization efforts. The story is told through a small group of humans, using both anti-aging techniques and an alien form of interstellar teleportation (using quantum entanglement (EPR correlation), to travel at light speed between transmitter and receiver) to "parachute" in on the changing solar system over many centuries.
Eventually, it is revealed that, in the version of the fermi paradox told here, sentient life is endemic throughout the universe, and humanity hadn't noticed it earlier due to the fact that the universe destroys, apparently, any race before it becomes advanced enough to develop a Type IV civilization. The story ends with Malenfant helping the Gaijin to build a shield to prevent a pulsar from sterilizing a large part of the galaxy. This will not be completed before another predicted pulsar event wipes out all extant species, but is hoped to give the sentient aliens who develop from the aftermath a better chance at long term survival by completing the project.
[edit] Characters in "Manifold: Space"
- Reid Malenfant – The main protagonist in all three Manifold Books.
- Madeleine Meacher – Other main character, former pilot of the futuristic space vehicles.
- Nemoto – Lunar Japanese woman who mysteriously lives for many centuries, guiding humanity against the 'alien threat'
- Cassiopeia – Malenfant's Gaijin companion in his explorations
[edit] Release details
- 2000, UK, Voyager ISBN 0-00-225771-8, Pub date 6 October 2000, hardback
- 2001, USA, Del Rey Books ISBN 0-345-43077-8, Pub date ? February 2001, hardback
- 2002, USA, Del Rey Books ISBN 0-345-43078-6, Pub date ? January 2002, paperback
| Books by Stephen Baxter (edit) |
|---|
| Xeelee Sequence: Raft - Timelike Infinity - Flux - Ring - Vacuum Diagrams - Reality Dust - Riding the Rock |
| Destiny's Children Series: Coalescent - Exultant - Transcendent - Resplendent |
| Manifold Trilogy: Time - Space - Origin - Phase Space |
| The Mammoth Trilogy: Silverhair - Longtusk - Icebones |
| A Time Odyssey Series: Time's Eye - Sunstorm - Firstborn |
| The Web Series: Gulliverzone - Webcrash |
| Time's Tapestry Series: Emperor - Conqueror |
| NASA Trilogy: Voyage - Titan - Moonseed |
| Others: Anti-Ice - The Time Ships - The Light of Other Days - Traces - Evolution |
| Non-fiction: Deep Future - Omegatropic - Ages in Chaos |
