The Way (Greg Bear)

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The Way fictional universe is a trilogy of science fiction novels and one short story by Greg Bear. The first novel was Eon (1985), followed by a sequel, Eternity and a prequel, Legacy. It also includes The Way of All Ghosts, a short story that falls between Legacy and Eon.

Contents 1 The three novels 1.1 Eon 1.2 Eternity 1.3 Legacy 1.4 The Way of All Ghosts 2 References

[edit] The three novels

[edit] Eon

Events in Eon take place around the year 2000 (in an alternate timeline from our own), when the USA and USSR are on the verge of nuclear war. In that tense political climate an asteroid appears out of near space after an unusual supernova and settles into an extremely elliptic near Earth orbit. The two nations each try to claim this mysterious object which turns out to have been hollowed out, terraformed, and filled with cities that now sit empty by human beings who seemed to come from Earth's future. A team of scientists discovers the asteroid is bigger inside than outside and in particular the last chamber seems to stretch into infinity. An expedition is sent down the final chamber where it will meet humanity's descendants.

The human inhabitants of the Way come from an alternate universe, set approximately 800 years in the future. In their timeline, human civilization was nearly destroyed by the "Death", a calamitous World War involving nuclear weapons. The humans living in the Way are loosely divided into two social groups, based on cultural and political viewpoints: the conservative Naderites, who reject much of the high technology trappings of their society for a simpler life; and the futuristic Geshels, who embrace such technological advances as artificial bodies. A minor character's joke that "someone should tell Ralph about the Naderites" turns out to be an accurate prediction: the Naderites follow the humanistic teachings of Ralph Nader, whom they call "the Good Man."

The high technology of this civilization with their control over genetic engineering, human augmentation, and matter itself are some of the main points of interest here. Several alien species have come to live with humanity's descendants who are themselves at war with an alien race known as the Jarts from further down the corridor still.

In 2007, CGSociety organised a "CG Challenge" based upon Eon^[1]

[edit] Eternity

Main article: Eternity (novel)

Jarts, politics, and technology make up the second book in the series: Eternity.

The Jart religion is particularly interesting because it is based on the preservation of all data, which encompasses all life forms, past and present, and sending that data to the Jarts' future masters, their descendants.

[edit] Legacy

In the third book, Legacy, soldier Olmy ap Sennon is sent to spy on a group of dissidents who have used the spacetime tunnel of "the Way" (introduced in Eon) to colonize the alien world of Lamarckia, a planet with an ecosystem that learns from its changed environment in a way that resembles Lamarckian evolution. Its plants and animals turn out to actually be parts of continent-sized organisms.

[edit] The Way of All Ghosts

In the short story, The Way of All Ghosts, soldier Olmy ap Sennon is sent to close a lesion that formed out of a wayward gate into perfection. This story was published in 1999 in Far Horizons.

[edit] References

1. ^ CG Challenge XX - Eon