Books... Life would suck without 'em.
Currently I am hooked on a little ebook reader program I have on my Android phone. I have rediscovered reading as a result of having this program, and am currently reading a novel called "Maelstrom" by a Canadian writer called Peter Watts. It is the sequel to "Starfish".
These novels are set in a future world in which corporations, consumerism and exploding population growth have created not only environmental havoc (very little "real" wildlife left etc), but an insatiable demand for power. This has led to vast international corporations (who are essentially in charge of this new world now devoid of traditional nation states) seeking new sources of power.
Geothermal energy is seen as the answer to the worlds problems. Deep sea tectonic activity and superheated vents are now exploited as a source of energy. This leads to the creation of "Rifters".
Rifters are genetically and surgically altered humans, who have been modified to survive at the bottom of the sea. They are the workers for the main power supplier GA, maintaining their geothermal power production facilities. They have been equipped with "gills": machines in their chests extracting oxygen from seawater, and a host of genetic modifications, including enzymes and proteins normally seen only in deep sea organisms. They are also equipped with diveskins and eyecaps, items which enable them to withstand the intense cold of the sea bottom, as well as seeing in what is essentially a pitch black environment.
The books make for very interesting reading. I have always been fascinated by the deep sea. Movies like "The Abyss" as well as "documentaries" like "Aliens of the Deep" are among my favourites. Peter Watts is a marine biologist, so his knowledge of the deep shows in these hard SF novels. His attention to detail is impressive. Being a scientist myself I enjoy these stories very much and recommend them to sci fi fans. Particularly those who like their stories realistic.
The main plot of the books revolves around deep sea mining and geothermal power production releasing a micro-organism not seen since since the inception of life on earth. This organism uses pyronosal RNA, as opposed to all life on earth which uses furonosyl RNA. It is vastly more efficient at DNA replication etc, and scavenges sulphur much better than any other life form. As a result, the survival of not only the human race but the entire biosphere is under threat.
"Maelstrom" is a good sequel, and I am looking forward to reading the third installment "Behemoth". I'm not sure how the destruction of every living thing on the planet can be averted, but it will be interesting to find out.
While you're at it, I recommend "Blindsight". A fantastic novel by Peter Watts. It is available as a free ebook at Feedbooks.com. Just think a dark first contact story involving a ship with a zombie crew captained by a vampire. It's nowhere near as stupid as it sounds, and is in fact an intelligent and excellent exploration of the nature of consciousness.
It truly is an excellent novel, and I think I will give it justice with a review in the next post I put up.
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