As an example of the kind of people you’ll meet in Peter F.
Hamilton’s novel The Reality Dysfunction, allow me to introduce you to Joshua
Calvert. He’s a typical Adamist in the
twenty-sixth century, only he’s more fortunate than most. He has a knack for finding things of value,
which proves useful as he spends his days scavenging for Laymil artifacts in
the Ruin Ring that surrounds the gas giant Mirchusko. His geneered physique has adapted him to life
in space, and with retinal implants and neural nanonics, he can study objects a
great distance away, save what he sees, and datavise his spaceplane to compare
the images in his brain to those in the onboard computer.
One day he makes the discovery of a lifetime: a module stack
of Laymil circuitry that contains five times more memory crystals than all
those scavenged from the Ruin Ring in the century-and-a-half since its discovery. He takes his find back to Tranquility, a
custom-grown habitat that orbits Mirchusko, where the proceeds from the auction
sale make him rich. Rather than spend his life in luxury, he invests the funds in refurbishing his
father’s old spaceship, the Lady Macbeth.
He envisions a life of discovery and interstellar trading. Little does he suspect that he will soon be leading
his vessel and crew into the war with the possessed souls invading our
universe.
Now that you've met Joshua Calvert, allow me to introduce you to Ione Sandana. She is the Lord of Ruin, the
sovereign ruler of Tranquility.
Generations previously, the Kulu Kingdom excommunicated her family for
integrating the Edenists’ bitek into their bodies. Along with the Adamists' implants such as
Joshua’s, she has an affinity gene, which bonds her to Tranquility’s
consciousness. She is not an Edenist—she
isn’t in constant mental contact with the other inhabitants of Tranquility, nor can she benefit from communing with the habitat's previous residents. But
she is mind-mated to the sixty-five kilometer-long habitat, which means that,
no matter how close she grows to any human, that relationship could never
compare to the closeness she feels with Tranquility. This poses a problem for Ione, as when she
buys the Laymil artifact so that her researchers can discover why seventy
thousand alien habitats suffered near-simultaneous destruction, she
unexpectedly finds herself in a relationship with Joshua that transcends
ordinary friendship.
In The Reality Dysfunction, Peter F. Hamilton explores human belief systems, and how embracing them differentiates us from others.
Adamists, such as Joshua and the Kulus, are defenders of the
Christian Faith. Edenists, who are
linked with each other and their habitats, deny such concepts as Salvation, Divine Entities, and Human Souls. They transfer their
thoughts and personalities into the habitat consciousness when
they die, and can exist as individuals in the multiplicity for as long as they
wish, sharing thoughts and feelings with the living and the dead. But regardless of one's conception of life after death, and the
different ways they all live, everyone takes note when millions of souls
pour into our universe and possess the bodies of the living. An answer to the realities of the afterlife must be found. For
not only do the living wish to banish spirits of the deceased, but no one wants
to end up in Purgatory.
I hope you enjoyed this brief introduction to Joshua and
Ione, Adamism and Edenism, and Life, Death and Purgatory in the twenty-sixth
century. For Peter F. Hamilton’s story doesn’t
end with The Reality Dysfunction, but continues in the accompanying volumes The
Neutronium Alchemist and The Naked God.
Should you decide to take this voyage of discovery with Hamilton, know that you have opted for a long journey. Pack adequate provisions, and plan your future carefully. Then sit back, and prepare to not just be
entertained, but also to be required to think about what you read.
Ultimately, that is what we seek from all great stories, is it not? Surprise, delight, and enlightenment as to whom we are, how we live, and our place in the grand scheme of things.
Dragon Dave
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