By Ande Jacobson
Adrian Tchaikovsky’s series that began with Children of Time, concludes with Children of Memory, released in November 2022. Again many of the characters (or their descendants from previous books) are back. This time, an instance of the AI known as Avrana Kern is built into yet another interstellar ship. She and all of her other instances are what remain of the ancient human terraformer/scientist who jump-started the advancement of numerous species on diverse worlds, though not all intelligent life was directly the result of her intervention. The ship this time is called the Skipper, and its crew is comprised of a Human (with a capital H), a few portiids (a type of intellectually advanced jumping spider), an enhanced octopus, an interlocutor or observer who has taken Human form but is in reality a colony of intelligent entities from the planet Nod, and two new arrivals.
The interlocutor is named Miranda after a Human who effectively donated her body and mind to help the Nod colony go on an adventure to explore the universe outside of their previous experience. She did so willingly fully understanding that the colony would assume her form and incorporate her memories along with those the colony had previously encountered continually building their knowledge base, but ever the scientist, she was game for this adventure. For the bulk of the story, the original Miranda was long gone, and though the colony from Nod called itself Miranda, it was a composite of numerous species and only looked like Miranda, though many of her characteristics showed through. For additional series background and descriptions of how the Humans evolved and established partnerships with the portiids, octopuses, and the interlocutor, see: ‘Children of Time’ expands minds and ‘Children of Ruin’ continues the journey.
The new arrivals this time are a pair of corvids from a world called Rourke. On this world, corvids had evolved after being cast out. After surviving in a hostile environment while other intelligent life on Rourke died out, the corvids ultimately became the dominant species. They aren’t typical corvids from Earth though. These corvids evolved in such a way that they form female-male pairs that together are more capable of problem solving than the most powerful computer or AI, though they do so in a most inhuman way.
There are multiple planets referenced throughout the story at different points in time. These worlds include Kern’s World (first introduced in the first book and still vibrant at this point in the saga), Nod and Damascus (introduced in the second book and only referenced in passing in this installment), Rourke, and Imir. Earth is also mentioned, but only as an ancient reference given the entire saga begins in Earth’s distant future with respect to humankind.
At the beginning of Children of Memory, Tchaikovsky provides a helpful character list, or “Dramatis Personae” that readers may want to bookmark. As such, it provides a nice introduction to this installment with many of the names being familiar from the first two books.
The full list of Dramatis Personae includes the following:
Terraformers and their worlds:
- Avrana Kern – Kern’s World
- Disra Senkovi – Damascus
- Erma Lante – Nod
- Baltiel, Rani, Lortisse – Nod
- Renee Pepper – Rourke
- Alex Tomasova – Rourke
- Mikhail Elesco – Rourke
The crew of the ark ship Enkidu
- Heorest Holt – Command
- Halena Garm – Security
- Olf – Engineering
- Mazarin Toke – Science
- Esi Aerbandir – Classicist
- Dastin Gembel – Science second
The crew of the Portiid vessel Skipper
- Bianca – Portiid spider, in command
- Avrana Kern – uploaded intelligence
- Miranda – Interlocutor
- Portia – Portiid Spider
- Fabian – Portiid spider
- Paul – Octopus
- Jodry – Human
- Gothi & Gethli – Corvids
The people of Imir
- Liff – a child
- Her parents
- Molder – her uncle
- Garm – guard hog
- Arkelly – Councillor
- Yotta – a child, Liff’s friend
- The Widow Blisk
- Miranda – a teacher
- Portia – a hunter
- Fabian – an engineer
- Paul – an artist
As he did in the second book, Tchaikovsky moves back and forth in time, beginning hundreds of years before the story’s current time to provide the history of the new planet Imir. The planet is settled by yet another group of humans from Earth’s past, or so it seems. The Enkidu effectively runs out of resources, and the crew is forced to land and colonize Imir. The colony is started by the key crew and a few colonists from the Enkidu. The Enkidu’s captain, Heorest Holt, achieves a somewhat legendary status along the way.
As the Imir colony evolves, it loses much of its technical expertise, not because of a lack of interest, but because of a lack of resources, either native to the planet or salvageable from the Enkidu. Hundreds of years after its founding, the Skipper comes upon the remains of the Enkidu in orbit, and the crew investigates. This prompts a schism in the Skipper’s crew, most wanting to investigate from afar while Miranda wants to experience this new world in person.
When the landing party arrives, the colony on Imir is far more primitive than it should be given how it arrived on the planet, and something seems off about the people. They are insular and not particularly welcoming to the newcomers from the Skipper. Only one member of the community on Imir, Liff, a curious girl, seems to welcome them. She and Miranda develop a close friendship despite her family trying to warn her off. Even accepting the colony’s skittishness, something is amiss here, but it takes the bulk of the book to find out exactly what.
Although Avrana Kern became an active AI in the first book, in this third installment, between Kern, the corvids, and some unforeseen complications on the planet Imir, the story reaches a new proximity to the uncanny valley and the question of exactly what constitutes sentience. The corvids and Miranda debate the sentience question in depth, the corvids suggesting that despite their extraordinary observational skills and unique problem solving abilities, sentience (as readers might understand the term) does not exist. The corvids deny their own sentience or that of any other intelligent life which in itself seems to belie their claim.
Beyond the question of sentience and exactly what that means, the boundary between reality and fantasy starts to dissolve. While the first two books in the series fell firmly on the side of science fiction making the extraordinary believable in context, and this third installment is still heavily in that realm, more fantasy elements intrude than before.
Unlike the first two books, Tchaikovsky doesn’t directly set up another installment resolving the story in a satisfying way. While Tchaikovsky has firmly stated that he conceived the Children of Time series is a trilogy, and that he has no plans to continue the saga, his resolution doesn’t preclude that possibility should he later change his mind.
References:
Children of Memory, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
‘Children of Ruin’ continues the journey
Children of Ruin, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
‘Children of Time’ expands minds
Children of Time, by Adrian Tchaikovsky
Adrian Tchaikovsky’s books in order: a complete guide
‘The Soul of an Octopus’ opens up a whole new world
A Good Reed Review 