Regenesis

In February, I was on a panel at Boskone on Cyteen and Regenesis. I hadn't volunteered for the panel and since I had not yet finished Regenesis, I thought about skipping it, but when I arrived at the convention, I discovered I was the moderator. Oh, well, duty called and I showed up. Another of the panelists was Jo Walton, who has declared Cyteen to be the second best book ever written. I asked her what the best book is and she stated "The Lord of the Rings." I won't argue. I've finished Regensis and it's terrific. The story picks up where Cyteen left off, with young Ariane Emory gathering up the threads of power that were left to her by her predecessor. There was always a barely stated Hitlerian quality to the elder Ari, a woman with few friends, who avoided human attachments (indeed, she regarded them with deep suspicion, as allowing for weakness and potential vulnerability). Young Ari was brought up to be a psychic clone, but her childhood differed in one major respect--she loved her foster mother and was loved in return. Ari likes people, and people like her. She's ruthless when she has to be, but her friends, far from being a weakness, extend her support immeasurably, and contribute greatly to her success. The political structure of Union is harsh. Ostensibly a democracy, spying and assassination play a great role, and every citizen below the very highest level assumes (correctly) that he is under constant surveillance. The characterizations are finely drawn, the plot is tight and makes perfect sense, and Ari is a heroine we can all care about and relate to. I'm looking forward the next book in the series. I just hope it doesn't take another 20 years.

Regenesis is the immediate sequel to award-winning Cyteen. I had a copy of Cyteen on my shelf for more than a decade before I finally managed to read it - I couldn't get past the first 50 pages or so. Finally I did, on about the 6th try, last summer; and it was well worth the effort. I had a similar difficulty with the first hundred pages of Regenesis, but I stuck it out on the first try this time. And again, I have to say it was worth it. Young Ari is the recreation of Ariane Emory, the brilliant woman who headed Reseune Corporation and the Science Bureau, effectively ruling a large portion of humanity, and who secretively programmed the future culture of same by programming the azi (see below) in particular, obscure ways. Ariane's entire life was recorded in excruciating detail. Late in Cyteen, Ariane was murdered, and young Ari was created by growing a clone from Ariane's genome and by systematically subjecting her to stimuli exactly matching the experiences of the original Ariane, over a period of years. At the end of Cyteen young Ari has begun to rebel against this regimentation and has asserted her independence. In Regenesis this story is taken up directly. Through the book, young Ari builds the base of skills, relationships, physical resources, and political power she will need if she is to succeed (later, not in this book) in keeping Ariane's legacy on track and preventing some vaguely-sensed potential disastrous drift in human culture. Reading Cyteen first would be helpful, but I think not actually necessary. Rather than the oft-seen awkward cram of "what happened before", the back story emerges in natural fashion, as young Ari herself is exploring (later, investigating) events in her predecessor's life. So I would say, even if you didn't read Cyteen, feel free to jump in here! This book and its predecessor explore a science that is not commonly addressed in SF, Psychology. In this universe, natural population growth was not enough to create viable economies at a rate that matched humanity's territorial expansion. To compensate, the corporation/nation Reseune has created a large population of "azi", those being humans created in tanks from their genomes and socialized artificially through the use of "tape": there aren't enough "born-men" to serve as surrogate parents to the azi, so they grow up in barracks. That's where we get into the SF version of Psych. The azi come in levels and series. Levels include alpha, beta, gamma, etc. with alpha level being the most flexible in thinking and the closest to conventional human, and other levels being more limited and more task-focused. Series are designations like AR-46, and refer to a designer-specified combination of genome ("gene-sets") and conditioning tapes ("psyche-sets") designed to optimize individuals for some particular purpose or role e.g. nanny, lab tech, soldier. "Tape", whatever that is (and it seems like it might be audible words, but that is never clear) is deliv

I would say that Regenesis is not so much a sequel to Cyteen as a continuation. Maybe that's splitting hairs. But it takes up within about a month of when Cyteen leaves off, which engenders a slightly odd feeling in its readers, many of whom have been waiting two decades to read the thing. We're twenty years older, but Ari Emory is still eighteen. What Cherryh seems to be most interested in is relationships. She has developed a fully-realized society - Cyteen, with born-humans and azi - and she takes a detailed look at the lives of a large handful of its inhabitants. Ari's relationship with Florian and Catlin. Ari with Jordan. Ari with Yanni. Justin with Grant. Justin with Ari--who admits, in a nice bit of low-key dialogue, that's she's been in love with him, like, forever. Ari and Justin and Yanni with Giraud and Denys Nye, both now deceased. Finally-- Justin with Jordan, who are more or less son and father; the evolution of this relationship constitutes a major thrust of the book. Cherryh has written before about a father and son--in Tripoint; and about a mother and a son--both in Tripoint and Finity's End. The author's family relationships are always fraught, and occasionally you want to take one of these characters and whap him upside the head, but it's grown-up stuff and all part of the fun. I did miss--unavoidably--one of the charms of the first book, which was the description of Florian and Catlin growing up. And in fact, if I was to bemoan anything about the sequel, it's that--although Catlin is always around in the background--we hear very little specifically about her. On the other hand, the character of Jordan Warrick--newly back from Planys; brilliant, drunk, and fighting mad--provides several great scenes, and a fair amount of humor. The genius of Regenesis--as with the original novel--is that Cyteen is a real place. That's no small accomplishment. I don't remember any other future society that established itself so firmly in the imagination. Cyteen exists--now let's go see what's happening down in Reseune and Novgorod. And let's hope that Cherryh has at least one more visit to the planet left in her. (Note: I've written more about Cyteen and Downbelow Station on my blog: http://flicker-by-ej-lake.blogspot.com)

The good news is after 20 years of waiting, I have read Regenesi, the looooong awaited sequel to CJ Cherryh's award winning master-piece Cyteen. And the good news is Regenesis is another master-work and I loved every page of it. The good news is if you are a long time fan of CJC like I am, and have read at least, Down Below Station, 40,000 in Gehena, and Cyteen you will probably love it also. In an interesting departure from usual CJC a lot of the normal introspection is found in computer logs rather than "thought bubbles". The bad news is this is probably the most demanding read in CJC's illustrious career. Be warned, if you start without at least the foundation of the three books I've listed, you will have to be a lot smarter than I am to understand what is happening. Also be advised the dialogue in the story is almost exclusively between geniuses, you have to pay attention to get the nuance. Finally, be warned, there is a lot of side information that I loved, but I am sure many will find very dull and want to get on with the story. So what do I think? CJ Cherry is a treasure to this world; she deserves much more of its wealth and adulation. Her entire catalogue of sci-fi work is related to each other and doesn't cheat with the rules. Her writing is so extensive that essays have been written doubting that one writer could have written it all. They obviously haven't like I have read everything multiple times. There is and probably never will be another writer like CJ Cherryh. Bottom line... Regenesis is as I have stated above a master work.

This is a very good book and a worthy successor to 'Cyteen,' one of the notable books in science fiction. BUT, 20 years is a ridiculous amount of time to wait for a sequel, and from the open ending of this one, I do hope we don't have to wait that long again. As a side note to C J, please hurry if this is part of a series; Cyteen has long been a top 10 favorite of mine, but I am now in my 70's and another 20 year wait is probably not within my grasp. I will not review the plot of "Regenesis" except to say the overall tone of the book does carry on from its precursor (sorry 'bout that); it must have taken a lot of care from the author to make sure of that. It has enough action is keep us satisfied. It is filled with C J's usual dense politcal maneuvering and characters, major and minor, that we must try to remember, and can't because it's too much and too many. It also has some nice comic touches that, surprisingly enough, come from the well-drawn personality of Jordan Warrick. This murder suspect and mostly off-stage major character of 'Cyteen' seems to have some of the same histrionic touches as Mrs. Bennet from Pride and Prejudice. Was the book a good read? Well, it got me off the internet for one entire day until 4 a.m. the next morning and most of the next day until I finished. Do we find out who killed Ari Senior? Well, maybe. Possibly. Probably, about 90% sure. I was in the right church, but the wrong pew. If a relative stole my book or the cat tore it up, would I buy another copy? In a heartbeat, and since I live on social security, that is quite a budget item. I hope all of you reading this find out for yourself what a worthy inheritor (not sorry 'bout this one) 'Regenesis' is.