Of course. I get it now. The inflation that took place twenty billion years ago was no coincidence. Rather, it was a natural result of that earlier, lesser creation. Our universe must have had its own start in a tiny, compressed ball of matter no heavier than… no heavier than…
Stan felt his heartbeat as the figure seemed to glow before him.
No heavier than that little “pocket cosmos” we created today.
He breathed.
That meant that somewhere, completely out of touch or contact, their innocent experiment might have… must have… initiated a beginning. A universal beginning.
Fiat lux.
Let there be light.
“Oh my God,” he said to himself, completely unsure which of a thousand ways he meant it.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
I have a reputation for passing around my work a lot as I rewrite a novel and then rewrite it again. Seeking reality (or plausibility) checks was particularly important for this book. So, although I claim all errors and inconsistencies as my own, there are many people to thank for their help in making this a better novel better than it might have been.
For readability and general criticism, my appreciation goes out to Dr. Cheryl Brigham, Amy Thomsen, George Alec Effinger, Dr. Charles Sheffield, Dr. Gregory Benford, Jonathan Post, Dean Ing, Christie McCue Harmon, Dan Brin, Steven Mendel, Michael Cas-sutt, John Ensign, Janice Gelb, Celeste Satter, Betty Hull, Diane Clark, Elizabeth Oakes, Shiela Finch, Greg and Astrid Bear, Daryl Mallett, Barbara Neale, Rachel Neumieir, Robert Jolissaint, Jane Starr, managing editor Diane Shanley, designer Barbara Aronica, and my exceptional copy-editor, Len Neufeld.
For their special advice on countless technical details, I’d like to thank especially Professor John Cramer, Dr. Jim Moore, Karen Anderson, Dr. Gary Strathearn, Dr. Martyn Fogg, Dr. Steven Gil-lett, Joseph Carroll, Carole Sussman, and Dr. David Paige.
The Caltech literary and SF club, SPECTRE, was particularly helpful in circulating and discussing an early manuscript, with special thanks to Mark Adler, Ben Finley, Ken McCue, Steinn Sigurd-ssen, Ulrika Anderson, Amy Carpenter, David Palme, David Coufal, Paul Haubert, James Cummings, Douglass Bloomer, Erik Russell, Earl Hubbell, Yair Zadik, Eric Johnson, Gorm Nykeim, Eric Christian, Richard Achterberg, Matt Fields, Erich Schneider, Douglas Bloemer, and Dick Brown. In similar fashion, the ENIGMA Club, at UCLA, was most helpful, especially Scott Martin, Phil Adler, Robert Hurt, Pat Mannion, Wayne Bell, Andy Ashcroft, and
Tamara Boyd. The fine listeners of the New Zealand SF Society were most helpful in getting some of the Kiwi stuff right.
For their great patience, the editorial staff at Bantam Spectra Books have my admiration, especially Lou Aronica, for gritting his teeth and waiting, knowing I’d outgrow my declared intention to make this novel “gonzo.” For helping make it worth my while to devote so much time to one book, I want to thank my agent, Ralph Vicinanza.
To Cheryl and Dan, my deep gratitude simply for keeping me sane while I finished this monster.
And of course, I’d be remiss not to include Sol and Gaea, who together kept me alive all this time. I particularly appreciate the air to breathe, the sunshine, and that good, clean water. Don’t know what I’d do without them. Thanks again.
Early portions of Earth were written on an ancient Apple II computer with 48K of memory — coal fired, steam powered, with a serial number only five digits long. It was finished using a really neat Macintosh II with four megabytes RAM, a forty-megabyte hard disk, laser printer, and WordPerfect software, supplemented by the wonderful program QuicKeys. In prior lives I used to chip these tomes in stone or write them on clay tablets. What a difference! And there are still some who insist there’s no such thing as progress.
Reading List
Man on Earth, by Charles Sheffield (published by Sidgewick Jackson, U.K.) This coffee-table book contains startling and beautiful scenes of the planet as viewed from space. The text, by a well-regarded scientist and novelist, is informative and insightful.
Earth, by Anne H. Ehrlich and Paul R. Ehrlich. Not to be confused with this novel! The Ehrlichs’ non-fiction paean to a planet in trouble is moving and stimulating. (There are also many geology texts with the same title.)
“Managing Planet Earth.” This special 1989 edition of Scientific American describes the most recent work by scientists studying the Earth’s systems, and strategies toward a sustainable world. The publishers of Scientific American have a series of excellent special volumes on topics ranging from geology to ecology. Ask for their order list.
Oasis in Space, by Preston Cloud. This well-regarded recent book by a professor at the University of California surveys the history of the planet, from the origins of life all the way to the present crises.
Global Warming: Are We Entering the Greenhouse Century? by Stephen Schneider (published by Sierra Club Books). Offers an overview of the entire climate debate, along with an extensive bibliography.
Fifty Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth. You may have to order this concise little guidebook, filled with advice that can save you money and safeguard your health, too. Write to the Earth Works Group, Box 1400 Shattuck Avenue, Berkeley, California.
Proxy Power
“What can I do? How can just one person do anything about the fate of the world.”
That’s the common complaint of people today, who worry about the future, but who are already overwhelmed by the daily grind of a busy life — work, family, and a myriad of modern distractions. Polls show a clear majority of North Americans, and people in many other lands, care deeply about the state the Earth is in, and want to see something preserved. But who has the energy or time to go out and become an activist?
Trust contemporary society, though. For the convenience of busy moderns, there is now the social action equivalent of the microwave oven and the frozen dinner. In other words, you can hire people to go out and save the world for you! Pick a problem and there’s probably some organization already in tune with your agenda that will add your small contribution to others’ and leverage it into serious effort. I list just a few below, but there are so many. How can anyone complain that they can’t influence the future of the world when it’s so easy to get involved?
Some cliches are true: either you’re part of the solution or you’re part of the problem.
Environmental Organizations
The Sierra Club. One of the oldest and most active environmental organizations. Membership, $33 per year ($15 for students). Department J-169, P.O. Box 7959, San Francisco, CA 94120-7959.
The Nature Conservancy. Forget the middlemen and politicians. This excellent group actually purchases tracts of rain forest, to preserve them directly. Membership, $15 per year. 1800 North Kent Street, Arlington, VA 22209.
Greenpeace. The famous “Greeners” take on polluters, head-on. Membership, $25 per year. 1436 U Street NW, Box 3720, Washington, D.C. 20C07.
Pro-Space Lobbying Groups
The National Space Society. Membership, $30 per year ($18 for students). 922 Pennsylvania Ave. SE, Washington D.C. 20003.
The Planetary Society. Membership, $25 per year. Pursues projects aimed at exploration. 65 North Catalina Ave., Pasadena, CA 91106.
Human Rights Organization
Amnesty International. Donation — any amount. Fights to free political prisoners of every persuasion. 322 8th Ave., New York, NY 10001.