The Sky So Big and Black
|
|
The Sky So Big and Black is a science fiction novel by John Barnes that was published in 2002. The title itself refers to the clear sky as seen from the surface of Mars, where by the timeframe of this novel (the mid-to-late 2090s) humans have settled en masse.
This story alternates between the point of view of Teri-Mel Murray, an ecoprospector who's approaching adulthood on Mars and seeks to follow in her father's footsteps, and the unnamed psychiatrist who is listening to her story. Several decades earlier, refugees from Earth fled to Mars to escape the domination of One True, a Borg-like supercomputer that interconnects human beings by implants called Resuna on a particular area of their brains. There is a trigger phrase -- let overwrite, let override -- that a human can speak to activate their Resuna.
The first half of the novel is mostly history, leading up to the day when Teri-Mel achieves "full adulthood". Prominent in this part of the novel is the colonists' earlier decision to forego terraforming Mars to suit human life and instead adapt life to suit the Martian environment. It's estimated this can be done in just two to three generations.
Teri-Mel's father, Telemachus Murray, is so impressed with her maturity and so excited by their discovery of a new fissure on Martian soil that he invites her to be his second-in-command of an extended field trip, going to and returning from the Martian equator. Just as they're about to make their return trip, however, the sun rises and, without the atmospheric protection of Earth, overloads the systems on several exosuits, including Telemachus'.
Teri-Mel organizes and guides the survivors back to shelter in Red Sands City, but it has been overrun by human pawns of One True. She flees and opts to have the portion of her brain containing the Resuna removed -- this involves losing her recent memories, so it's done after she tells the story to her psychiatrist, who's had a Resuna removed twice. The novel ends with them both engaging in ecoprospecting, away from those colonists who have chosen the unity of One True.
external links
- Possible Costs of Terraforming (http://www.transhumanist.com/volume4/space.htm)
- Research Paper: Technological Requirements for Terraforming Mars (http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~mfogg/zubrin.htm)