In Nagata’s universe, Chenzeme coursers are living alien weapons: biomechanical vessels coated in hulls of intelligent “philosopher cells.” The ships are programmed to systematically hunt down technological civilizations and sterilize entire worlds. Linda Nagata’s work offers a more straightforward answer: intelligent life is hunted. Or maybe life is out there but quietly watching and waiting. Maybe life evolves quickly beyond the physical. It asks, considering the immense expanse of time, the apparent plentitude of planets in our galaxy, and thus the likelihood of intelligent life somewhere else - why don’t we see it? Why is the sky so resolutely silent? Answering this question has become something of a hobby among science fiction writers, with responses ranging from the transcendental to the sobering.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |