The Probability Broach

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Probability Broach is the first novel (1981) by science fiction writer L. Neil Smith. It is set in an alternate history, the so-called Gallatin Universe, where a libertarian society has formed on the North American Continent, styled the North American Confederacy.

[edit] Plot summary

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

SPOILERS for Point of divergence and Alternate Historical Background (includes some information introduced in other novels in the series, most specifically The Gallatin Divergence)

The ostensible point of divergence leading to the North American Confederacy (NAC) is the addition of a single word in the preamble to the United States Declaration of Independence, wherein it is supposedly restated that governments "derive their just power from the unanimous consent of the governed." Disturbed by this wording, Albert Gallatin intercedes in the Whiskey Rebellion to the benefit of the farmers, rather than of the fledgling United States government, eventually leading to the death of George Washington in the ensuing civil war, the abrogation of the U.S. Constitution, and the reestablishment of government under the Articles of Confederation. Over the ensuing century, the remnants of central government dissipate, and by the start of the novel in the year 1986, the NAC presidency is a largely honorary role preserved only as a coordinator of actions in national emergencies. Thomas Jefferson successfully leads the abolitionist movement to a peaceful end to slavery in 1820, and the absence of government interference creates a Libertarian utopia where science and medicine advance at a significantly greater pace than in our baseline history. Along the way, Alexander Graham Bell, freed from the duties of inventing the telephone by an earlier inventor, develops a voder technology which allows for the recognition that chimpanzees, gorillas, and other simians are sentient, and the greater primates are granted citizenship rights equivalent to all races of humans. Later, dolphins and orcas reveal their sentience and join the North American Confederacy. Along the way, the libertarian philosophies of the Gallatin Party in the NAC remain in conflict with the remnants of Washington and Hamilton's Federalist party, which continues to promote strong central government. The NAC is not involved in any major wars as a country, but a massive cohort of volunteers arises to fight whenever Federalist and Federalist sympathizers disturb the peace, most notably in Prussia in 1918, and in Antarctica in 1950 (where the naval action is lead by the NAC version of Robert A. Heinlein). Other famous persons named in the series include NAC president Ayn Rand, who visits the Moon in the 1950s, and earlier NAC President H. L. Mencken (who was killed by his vice-president's mother after killing his vice-president in a duel). A west-coast university is named after historical San Francisco eccentric Emperor Norton.

SPOILERS for Novel Storyline

Edward William "Win" Bear, a Ute Indian who works for the Denver Police Department, in a version of the United States projected (by 1986) to be controlled by an anti-business, ecofascist faction complete with a new Federal Security Police (FSP) reminiscent of the Gestapo. Called to investigate the unusual murder of physicist Vaughn Meiss, Bear eventually finds himself projected into the NAC by means of the "Probability Broach," an interdimensional conduit originally developed as a means for interstellar travel by the NAC dolphin physicist Oolorie. There he encounters his NAC counterpart, Edward William "Ed" Bear, and Ed's neighbors, most notably the incorrigible Lucy Kroptkin, who is later revealed to be 135 years old at the time of the story and living in Laporte (the NAC version of Denver) only while recovering from an industrial accident involving massive radiation exposure. Lucy's life becomes the vantage point by which Win is acclimated to the NAC, and he and Ed unravel the mystery of the Meiss murder, learning that he was killed to hide an effort by the FSP to conquer the NAC with the help of Federalist forces on the NAC side (most notably lead by Prussian expatriot and 1918 war hero Manfred von Richthofen). Lucy, Win, and Ed lead the effort to notify the nascent NAC government of the threat, and later single-handedly solve the problem. Win elects to remain in the NAC and marries Ed's other neighbor, Clarissa, while Ed and Lucy marry and return to the asteroids to build a new life for themselves on the NAC frontier.

See the article on L. Neil Smith for further details of this novel sequence.