I’m re-reading Peter F Hamilton’s “Neutronium Alchemist” books. I think they’re called the Night’s Dawn Trilogy though I don’t see that written on any of the books that I own. I first encountered them when they were written in the late 90’s and though they continue to be one of the most intriguing examples of vast far-future world-building I’ve ever read I’d still stop short of recommending them. I enjoy them, but they’re absolutely trashy space operas that maybe were titillating in my 20s but have gotten progressively grosser as I’ve re-read them as I’ve aged – but as with all great narratives, there’s something different to learn every time I return to them.
This is an incredible story to parallel COVID. Watching as a galactic society responds to a vicious, exponentially growing problem of possession, with lock downs and blockades, precautions not taken seriously till it’s far too late… leaders who led and leaders who failed, those who tried to use circumstances for their own personal gain and those who simply just never grasped the problem. Reading through the scenarios – balancing the “energy virus” against economics, fighting a war not just against the spreading disease but also against optics and refugees and those who feel that their rights are more important than the threat. Even the idea that the poor and marginalized will be the ones to suffer as they’re forced to break quarantines simply to stay alive since no help is coming in time to fend off starvation.
I think anyone running for office should have to share their reading lists – and if it doesn’t include a fair amount of speculative sci-fi, they probably haven’t thought outside the box enough to be a leader. Too many people have never thought about a pandemic outside of a blockbuster flick with well-built, gleaming heroes who solve the problem within a mass-media-digestible 90 minutes.
Yeah. Read more sci-fi. It ain’t all Star Wars fantasy! (there’s totally valuable messaging in Star Wars as well, but since the story was written over the course of 4+ decades it’s understandable that the viewpoints and values became somewhat variable over the course of time, changing ownership, and the other variables that came into play).
1 thought on “October 12th, 2020. All of this has happened before….”
It amazes me that with all the other things you juggle, you still have space in that brain for this kind of analysis and commentary… Truly amazing