Saturday, 14 July 2018 08:49 pm
Book Review: The Ship Who Searched
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deckardcanineNearly 13 years ago, I read a collection that included Anne McCaffrey's original novella "The Ship Who Sang" and said I'd like to read more stories with its premise, namely spaceships with human brains. When I found this third book of the Brainship series on the used bookstore shelf, I opted to buy it, keeping in mind that I hadn't cared much for co-author Mercedes Lackey's work before and that McCaffrey's was hit-and-miss as well.
The protagonist, daughter of two archaeologists exploring alien ruins, initially goes by Hypatia Cade. By age seven, she has adult-like intellect and would rather do her own mini-excavations than play with other kids. One day she makes an extremely valuable find that changes everything for the Cades. Alas, not all changes are positive: A resulting mysterious infection causes numbness in one foot, and she hesitates to tell her parents as it spreads (there's a lesson here). By the time the microscopic culprit is vanquished, she has quadriplegia.
This future culture tends to give mechanical exteriors to people in critical physical condition. Up to this point, "shellpeople" have always received their shells in infancy, the assumption being that anyone older would not transition well to the new interface. But Hypatia is both brilliant and emotionally strong enough that the company makes an exception (and hates to think how many times they should have earlier). Having already befriended a courier brainship, she rather likes the idea of this new life. It has its drawbacks, to be sure, but she'll get to travel a lot more, live a lot longer, and make calculations a lot faster. It sure beats the stasis she could have had. Her new private goal: the titular search for a way to ensure that no one will ever contract the same infection again.
Most of the story takes place in Hypatia's young adulthood, by which time she has passed her brainship training and goes by a code name to hide her past for security purposes. After being unusually picky, she makes a surprise choice of designated on-board non-cyborg partner, or "brawn." Alex isn't especially responsible, but he shares her love of archaeology and would make more interesting company than other candidates. Together they have a series of adventures concerning artifacts, diseases, and miscreants involving intrigue and space violence.
It is hardly surprising that Hypatia and Alex, despite some annoyances, develop crushes on each other. This is problematic not only because of the inaccessibility of her organic components but also because their employer does not approve such relationships. (You'd think most matches between brain and brawn would not be cross-sex in that case.) Alex gradually learns about Hypatia's past, bordering on stalker creepiness, but he has too much self-control to cross a line and feels ashamed for thinking of it.
Looking back, I don't remember "Sang" well, and I suspect from its length and sparse summaries that not a whole lot happens. Mainly I recall a similar quasi-romantic arrangement with a tragic conclusion. One factor to make this a little different is that Hypatia can remember life as a "softperson" and thus doesn't act as AI-like as many a shellperson. Alex sees her childhood photos and can project how she might look today if not for stunted growth in a life support chamber. Both have more personality than I recall of the duo from the novella. And the ending of Searched is a lot happier than I had guessed.
Some readers decry the Brainship series for presenting a future in which disability leads to an inordinately different existence. Surely it would be better to bring these people closer to the norm instead of making them nearly objects. We do see that the brainships, if not shellpeople in all capacities, aren't entirely treated as equals; some fools regard them as robots, and at any rate, the company requires them to pay for their shells with years of service. They have to buy their freedom, when most of them never asked for shells in the first place. We don't see them complain much, but maybe a later volume includes a revolution.
I cannot fault the activists' point, but the unfairness of the premise didn't really bother me as I read. Maybe I was too much in the zone of "Here's how it is; now where do we go next?" It's pretty mesmerizing to imagine oneself essentially as a living ship, and I can see how Hypatia, while bemoaning the circumstances that brought her status about, more or less enjoys it. I've always had a thing for love stories with sci-fi innovations. And the action/thriller portions get pretty exciting.
Someday I'd like to read a story in which the focal brainship is male and/or the focal brawn is female. I kinda doubt McCaffrey ever got that far, tho. Maybe it happens in one of the entries by another author; I particularly suspect the one man, S.M. Stirling. Ah well. I wanted women's writing this time, and that's what I got.
I have selected Catch-22 for my next read. Aptly enough, I've been slow to start it.
The protagonist, daughter of two archaeologists exploring alien ruins, initially goes by Hypatia Cade. By age seven, she has adult-like intellect and would rather do her own mini-excavations than play with other kids. One day she makes an extremely valuable find that changes everything for the Cades. Alas, not all changes are positive: A resulting mysterious infection causes numbness in one foot, and she hesitates to tell her parents as it spreads (there's a lesson here). By the time the microscopic culprit is vanquished, she has quadriplegia.
This future culture tends to give mechanical exteriors to people in critical physical condition. Up to this point, "shellpeople" have always received their shells in infancy, the assumption being that anyone older would not transition well to the new interface. But Hypatia is both brilliant and emotionally strong enough that the company makes an exception (and hates to think how many times they should have earlier). Having already befriended a courier brainship, she rather likes the idea of this new life. It has its drawbacks, to be sure, but she'll get to travel a lot more, live a lot longer, and make calculations a lot faster. It sure beats the stasis she could have had. Her new private goal: the titular search for a way to ensure that no one will ever contract the same infection again.
Most of the story takes place in Hypatia's young adulthood, by which time she has passed her brainship training and goes by a code name to hide her past for security purposes. After being unusually picky, she makes a surprise choice of designated on-board non-cyborg partner, or "brawn." Alex isn't especially responsible, but he shares her love of archaeology and would make more interesting company than other candidates. Together they have a series of adventures concerning artifacts, diseases, and miscreants involving intrigue and space violence.
It is hardly surprising that Hypatia and Alex, despite some annoyances, develop crushes on each other. This is problematic not only because of the inaccessibility of her organic components but also because their employer does not approve such relationships. (You'd think most matches between brain and brawn would not be cross-sex in that case.) Alex gradually learns about Hypatia's past, bordering on stalker creepiness, but he has too much self-control to cross a line and feels ashamed for thinking of it.
Looking back, I don't remember "Sang" well, and I suspect from its length and sparse summaries that not a whole lot happens. Mainly I recall a similar quasi-romantic arrangement with a tragic conclusion. One factor to make this a little different is that Hypatia can remember life as a "softperson" and thus doesn't act as AI-like as many a shellperson. Alex sees her childhood photos and can project how she might look today if not for stunted growth in a life support chamber. Both have more personality than I recall of the duo from the novella. And the ending of Searched is a lot happier than I had guessed.
Some readers decry the Brainship series for presenting a future in which disability leads to an inordinately different existence. Surely it would be better to bring these people closer to the norm instead of making them nearly objects. We do see that the brainships, if not shellpeople in all capacities, aren't entirely treated as equals; some fools regard them as robots, and at any rate, the company requires them to pay for their shells with years of service. They have to buy their freedom, when most of them never asked for shells in the first place. We don't see them complain much, but maybe a later volume includes a revolution.
I cannot fault the activists' point, but the unfairness of the premise didn't really bother me as I read. Maybe I was too much in the zone of "Here's how it is; now where do we go next?" It's pretty mesmerizing to imagine oneself essentially as a living ship, and I can see how Hypatia, while bemoaning the circumstances that brought her status about, more or less enjoys it. I've always had a thing for love stories with sci-fi innovations. And the action/thriller portions get pretty exciting.
Someday I'd like to read a story in which the focal brainship is male and/or the focal brawn is female. I kinda doubt McCaffrey ever got that far, tho. Maybe it happens in one of the entries by another author; I particularly suspect the one man, S.M. Stirling. Ah well. I wanted women's writing this time, and that's what I got.
I have selected Catch-22 for my next read. Aptly enough, I've been slow to start it.