t begins with Purga, a small, rodentlike, squirrel-tailed primate who largely by happenstance manages to survive the disastrous comet collision during the Cretaceous period of Earth's history. Disastrous, that is, to the dinosaurs whose kind could not adapt to the radical environmental changes wrought by the impact. But not so disastrous to Purga and those of her offspring who could. Down through time, the descendants of Purga gradually evolve better teeth, binocular vision, bipedal posture, sweat glands, opposable thumbs and, with perhaps the most significant implications for both the continuation and the eventual extinction of the species, larger brains. With growing intellectual capacity to make tools, develop language, empathize with one another and work cooperatively, certain ape lineages emanate to humankind. Unfortunately, the larger brain also has undesirable side effects: warfare, xenophobia, urban sprawl and unchecked ecological ruin.
Stephen Baxter depicts the random selection and natural adaptation to a hostile environment by primitive primates that leads to the emergence of intelligent apes, and then on to "higher" functioning Neanderthals as well as the species that becomes the heir of the once-dominant, but now extinct, dinosaurs—Homo sapiens. Each chapter of this ambitious undertaking describes a critical stage in evolutionary growth that leads to the next significant leap in human development. The separate—but linked in the grand scheme of things—tales of our forebears also underscores how the extinction of a species is, if not integral, then at least a natural and common occurrence, to biological evolution. The result is a DeMillian "cast of thousands" in which there is no one character, or set of characters, but rather an ongoing tableau of snapshots at various stages of human evolution—covering millions of years, from the very beginning to the very end.
By the year 2031 A.D., humanity stands poised on the brink of catastrophe. Its ability to cooperate and create innovative solutions to emerging environmental challenges—and thus further evolve—precariously balances against its innate tendencies for destructiveness and overexpansion that lead back down the evolutionary ladder. A global conference is held in hopes of developing a concerted and allied effort to overcome philosophical and parochial differences and intelligently design an evolutionary path that will overcome threatening environmental changes—as well as threatening humans pursuing a worldwide revolution. A pivotal point in the history of the species has arrived. Will we continue to evolve and further adapt to hostile circumstances as we have in the past, or will our adaptive strategies turn against us and result in our "devolution" to prior forms?
How humanity's really big show will end
Stephen Baxter's latest opus adds to science fiction's extraordinary body of work pondering the big questions of the nature of the universe and the nature of ourselves. Indeed, a minor character is named "Weena" in tribute to the childlike human descendant that befriends H.G. Wells's famous Time Traveler. The Time Traveler, however, at least had the luxury of returning to a better era after his visit to another epoch. Baxter's fiction is much more realistic in that, just as in real life, none of the characters can ever escape their circumstances.
Baxter suggests humanity is at a turning point, the classic science-fiction trope: "Have human knowledge and technological capability exceeded our wisdom to use them wisely in the best interests of the species?" But even as humanity achieves the scientific ability to dictate its own evolution biogenetically, it has failed to address the larger environmental problems of overpopulation, ecosphere damage and violent conflict. Still, it is the untiring efforts of individuals who attempt to overcome the no-longer appropriate instinctual responses embedded in our primate genes that present some hope, even if it ultimately will fail to turn an overwhelming tide.
Putting aside what may seem a bleak, if nonetheless realistic, projection of humanity's long-term future, much of the novel presents a sort of literary guide to the theory of evolution. In an afterword, Baxter is quick to point out that this shouldn't be taken as textbook instruction, (as, for example, speculations about tool-bearing and clothes-wearing dinosaurs would not), though there are elements that do indeed read like that. One fault of the book is that while Baxter for the most part successfully manages the difficult trick of providing compelling storylines for less than human characters, he frequently interrupts or ends it with a mini-lecture. This, however, is typical of much in the hard SF subgenre, which is where Baxter's fiction is usually filed.
Similarly, it's difficult to develop much interest or empathy with the characters, most of whom appear—indeed, whose lives begin and end—for only a chapter. It would be unfair, however, to accuse Baxter of poor characterization, as drawing vivid characters is not his intent. To paraphrase Ed Sullivan, he's looking at the really big show. It's a compelling one. And despite what some might call pessimistic—though others might term it simply realistic—overall framework, there is the consolation that as individuals—if not as a species—we at times can overcome our baser instincts.
