Vacuum Diagrams
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| Vacuum Diagrams | |
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| Author | Stephen Baxter |
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| Country | Great Britain |
| Language | English |
| Series | Xeelee Sequence |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Voyager (UK) |
| Publication date | 24 April 1997 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-00-225425-5 |
| Preceded by | Ring |
| Followed by | Reality Dust |
Vacuum Diagrams is a collection of science fiction short stories written by Stephen Baxter. The collection connects the novels of the Xeelee Sequence and also shows the history of mankind in the Xeelee universe, and ultimately the universe. While each short story in the collection is self-contained, the stories are presented as being contained in the context of the first story, Eve, about a man who is forced to witness the events in the short stories by a god-like being. Eve acts as a structure for the short stories, with an introduction at the beginning of Vacuum Diagrams, short scenes occurring between each "era" (with "Eve" character explaining and introducing the next section), and an ending that wraps up the plot for the Eve story itself.
At the end of the collection, a chronology of the Xeelee Sequence is provided. Every short story and book from the cycle (up to 1997) is noted, with notable events from each story plotted
Vacuum Diagrams contains the following stories (all previously published except for "Eve"):
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- Prologue: Eve
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- ERA: Expansion
- "The Sun-People" (published 1993)
- "The Logic Pool" (1994)
- "Gossamer" (1995)
- "Cilia-of-Gold" (1994)
- "Lieserl" (1993)
- ERA: Expansion
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- ERA: Squeem Occupation
- "Pilot" (1993)
- "The Xeelee Flower" (1987)
- "More Than Time or Distance" (1988)
- "The Switch" (1990)
- ERA: Squeem Occupation
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- ERA: Qax Occupation
- "Blue Shift" (1989)
- "The Quagma Datum" (1989)
- "Planck Zero" (1992)
- ERA: Qax Occupation
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- ERA: Assimilation
- "The Gödel Sunflowers" (1992)
- "Vacuum Diagrams" (1990)
- ERA: Assimilation
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- ERA: The War to End Wars
- "Stowaway" (1991)
- "The Tyranny of Heaven" (1990)
- "Hero" (1995)
- ERA: The War to End Wars
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- ERA: Flight
- "Secret History" (1991)
- ERA: Flight
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- ERA: Photino Victory
- "Shell" (1987)
- "The Eighth Room" (1989)
- "The Baryonic Lords" (1991)
- ERA: Photino Victory
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- Epilogue: Eve
Vacuum Diagrams is also the title of the fifteenth short story by Stephen Baxter in his anthology-science fiction novel of the same title. It was originally published in Interzone in 1990.
The title "Vacuum Diagrams" refers to the violation and reassertion of the uncertainty principle in our universe. Set in A.D. 21124, the story concerns the main character's attempt and failure to terraform a colony due to its upset of the agenda of the galactic-scale builders known as the Xeelee.
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