 First edition | |
| Author | Stephen Baxter |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Hard science fiction |
| Publisher | Gollancz |
Publication date | 20 August 2009 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 512 |
| ISBN | 0-575-08057-4 |
| OCLC | 320406261 |
| Preceded by | Flood |
Ark is a 2009hard science fiction novel by English authorStephen Baxter. It is a sequel to his 2008 novelFlood. Ark deals with the journey of thestarshipArk One, and the continuing human struggle for survival on Earth after the catastrophic events ofFlood. The series continues in three pendant stories, which are described in the plot summary below.
Being hard SF,Ark contains many references to unrealised or hypothesised technology (Project Orion, theAlcubierre drive),physics (antimatter), and hypotheses aboutextraterrestrial life. Baxter credits several books and academic works in an afterword: SeeScientific background below.
The events ofArk overlap with those ofFlood: in preparation for a flood that will completely submerge the Earth's continents by 2052, the billionaire Nathan Lammockson buildsArk Three, a gigantic ship that will sail the waters of the drowned Earth. Skeptical of the project's viability, the U.S. government recruits billionaires Edward Kenzie, Patrick Groundwater, and Jerzy Glemp to fund the construction ofArk One (later renamedProject Nimrod), a generation ship capable ofsuperluminal travel using anAlcubierre warp drive. The plan is to flyArk One to anEarth-like exoplanet andrebuild civilisation on the new world[broken anchor]. The nature ofArk Two is top secret.
Ark One requires 80 humans of maximum genetic diversity to preventinbreeding among their descendants, to be trained from a young age in spaceship maintenance. These "Candidates" include: Holle Groundwater, daughter of Patrick, specialising inlife support systems; Zane Glemp, son of Jerzy, specialising in warp drive physics; Kelly Kenzie, daughter of Edward, a natural leader who is named mission commander; and Wilson Argent, a pilot. They train in an academy inDenver, Colorado, repurposed as the U.S. capital after the flooding of Washington, D.C.
Progress on the Ark's construction is slow, so the military takes over the Project. Initial plans to assemble the Ark in space are scrapped in favor of aProject Orion-style nuclear drive, which will send the ground-built Ark towardsJupiter. There, it will gather antimatter particles created by gravitational interactions withIo to power the warp drive; in addition, asunshade will allow its telescopes to conductspectroscopic analysis of exoplanets in the hopes of discovering the chemical signatures oflife.
Mere weeks before the launch, some Candidates are forced out to make room for "gatecrashers," whose presence on the ship was guaranteed in exchange for funding from their affluent parents. Grace Gray, a protagonist ofFlood, is one of them. In addition, militarymutineers (nicknamed "Illegals" by the crew) force their way onto the ship. Nevertheless, the launch is successful, and by 2042, they have gathered more than enough antimatter and head for a promising "Earth II" planet in the82 Eridani system. During transit, it emerges that Zane hasdissociative identity disorder due to abusive parenting and sexual molestation by his Academy tutor, while Wilson begins challenging Kelly's leader status. A pregnant Grace gives birth to a daughter, Helen, and the crew suffer deaths and damage during a fire caused by a Candidate's attempted murder of an Illegal. Kelly loses respect when sheamputates the instigator as punishment, which increases Wilson's power.
9 years later, they arrive and discover that Earth II is sub-optimal: its high axial tilt creates temperature extremes on either side of its equator, making minimal land livable. It is also poor inminerals, presumably exhausted by a previous civilisation that left ruined buildings behind. The crew are of three minds over what to do next: Wilson, Holle, and Grace join a majority deciding to push on to "Earth III", which is 30 years' travel away in the constellation ofLepus. Kelly leads a group returning to Earth while a minority colonises Earth II. Once the colonists land, the remaining passengers split up the ship's two hulls, and the warp drive to go their separate ways, losingsimulated gravity in the process.
When Kelly's groupwater land on the flooded Earth, they make radio contact with scientist Thandie Jones, who discovered the cause of the flooding inFlood. She, in turn, contacts Edward Kenzie, who despatches a submarine to take them to Ark Two, which turns out to be anunderwater habitat powered by the geothermal heat ofYellowstone. Edward berates his daughter for failing him, and Kelly learns that former Candidate Don Meisel and Ground Control commander Gordo Alonzo have both died battling angrydisplaced persons. She awkwardly reunites with her estranged son and her lover from her Academy days. Edward hopes to eventually colonise the Earth'smantle with a race of genetically modified humans. (Baxter had explored a similar idea in the novelFlux).
Meanwhile, the situation in Holle's hull deteriorates as Wilson leads a corrupt gang with his Illegal henchmen. Kelly had kidnapped the ship's only doctor, so Zane is no longer undergoingtherapy and spreads rumours that the ship is a virtual reality simulation. The shipborn children, having never seen Earth for themselves, believe him and start a mutiny. Hoping to reveal the ship to be a simulation, they remove a metal plate from the hull, causing anuncontrolled decompression which kills and injures many passengers. Wilson escapes in a landing shuttle, but it has been sabotaged, so he returns to the ship in a space suit while the shuttle disintegrates from the warp drive's gravitational effects. A despondent Zane later commits suicide.
Holle assumes control of the ship and executes the head mutineer but keeps Wilson alive because she needs his piloting skills to land on Earth III, a coldtidally locked planet with dense air, a dynamic atmosphere, and ared dwarf sun that fortunately appears a familiar white to the human eye. Since the remaining shuttle cannot seat all the passengers, Holle encourages the passengers to reproduce copiously. Since children weigh little, many will fit on the shuttle, thus increasing genetic diversity. She sends three adults to accompany them: Wilson, Helen Gray, and the Illegal Jeb. Helen and Jeb, whose children are not allowed on the shuttle due to genetic proximity, resentfully board. Wilson sets them down safely on a lake, and they prepare to settle in their new world. The remaining crew on the Ark plan to survey theplanetary system and beyond until they die.
Three pendant stories have been published since, two inAsimov's Science Fiction: "Earth II" and "Earth III." They were all later published together as "Landfall: Tales From the Flood/Ark Universe."
"Earth II" is set approximately 400 years after the events inArk and deals with the struggles of the descendants of the 15Ark One crew members who choose to settle there rather than continue the journey to Earth III. Since Earth II lacks many of the resources needed to build an advanced society (e.g., oil, coal, uranium, precious metals), its peoples (who have now split into warring nations andcity states) have reverted mainly topre-industrial technology, primarily reliant on stone, iron, and wood.
"Earth III" is set approximately 1000 years after the events inArk and deals with the struggles of theArk One crew members who choose to settle on Earth III. It is revealed that Helen Gray, Wilson Argent, and Jeb Holden fought and killed each other several years after their shuttle landed, forcing the 37 children who went with them to grow up on their own and develop their society. Zane's quasi-religious idea of the world as a simulated reality persists; however, there is a growing movement of disbelievers.
A third tale, "Earth I," followed in a collection called "Universes" (also published under the title "Landfall"); it is set approximately 10,000 years later. It brings characters from several of the now colonised worlds together and reveals the fate of the raft–dwelling survivors on the original, flooded Earth.
Ark received critical acclaim. Writing inThe Guardian,Eric Brown gave the novel a very positive review, concluding that "Never has Baxter presented a more thrilling and moving glimpse of a possible future:Ark could well be his masterpiece."[1] InThe Times,Lisa Tuttle also wrote approvingly, callingArk "a grim but exciting tale of the ultimate in pioneering adventure, in the most unforgiving environment of all."[2] Reviews at Strange Horizons were also very positive.
Warp Drive and Field References:
