Reefs of Space

The Reefs of Space, by Frederick Pohl and Jack Williamson, is the first short novel of the Starchild Trilogy (which includes Starchild and Rogue Star). The novel follows the brilliant (and amnesia induced) scientist Steve Ryeland and his human "computational" companion Oporto through the a future Earth dominated by the Plan of Man Computer. i.e. everyone gets a little strip of paper whenever their next to a console telling them what to do. Think 1984-esque dystopia with a computer Big Brother. Well, Steve's job is to create a "jetless" drive. Also, Steve's a Risk (and has a bomb collar around his neck for doing something against the Plan of Man in the past) and he wants it off. Some reefs, whose the junkman questions, spacelings, and a drug pumpin' version of heaven, all make this a enjoyable read. This future Earth flies by so fast with the quick prose/action/dialogue that the reader has little time to think about anything else. Is that good? If you want a enjoyable few hours, then yes. Is there anything more than a good yarn, probably not. Great fun!

I am going to open this review by posing a problem. In _The Reefs of Space_ (1963), the reefs are a series of islands of "space coral." The novel makes it clear that they were originally formed by a stream of "steady-state" hydrogen and helium atoms-- a clear referece to the steady-state hypothesis of the astronomer Fred Hoyle. Now neither Fred Pohl nor Jack Williamson could be fairly described as a scientific ignoramus. By the time that this novel was published, they were surely aware that the steady-state hypothesis-- which suggested that the universe had been created by atoms streaming out of a vacuum-- had been superceeded by the big bang theory. So why did they stick to an out of date scientific idea? The answer lies in the history of how the book was written. In his autobiography, _Wonder's Child_ (1984), Jack Williamson says that he actually began to work on the novel in the late 1950s. He was inspired in part by the social ideas of Walter Prescott Webb and the astronomy of Fred Hoyle: Webb saw all our precious freedom in danger now with the closing of the Earth's frontiers. The reefs of space, formed between the stars by the steady creation of new matter as the universe expands, could open new frontiers, rich with limitless freedom. (212) In other words, Hoyle's theory formed the basis for a symbol. It represents a dynamic (if somewhat dangerous), organic, new frontier of freedom, formed by the perpetual wellsprings of life. In opposition to the reefs is the mechanistic, tyrranical, conformist, and brutal government of the solar system-- the Plan of Man. The Plan of Man is co-governed by a dictator (called the Planner) and a super computer (called the Planning Machine). The hero is Steve Ryeland, once a top government scientist. Now, he has been arbitrarily declared a Risk by the Planning Machine. He wears an iron collar filled with high explosives that can be detonated at any time by security guards. He must report his presence from stop to stop in a computer terminal wherever he goes. He has gaps in his memory. But a chance meeting with Donna Creery, the Planner's daughter, changes his position-- though not his basic condition. Williamson states that he had a 400 page draft to the novel that had gotten out of control. He and Pohl redrafted it, and Pohl wrote the final draft. It was serialized in _If_, begining in the July, 1963 issue, on sale in May. It had striking and dramatic illustrations by Ed Emshwiller. Kennedy was President. In many of his speeches, he had talked about a New Frontier. The final installment was in the November issue, on sale in October. During that month, Kennedy was assasinated. While Americans certainly did not use these words, they surely felt that they had moved a bit away from the New Frontier and a little closer to the Plan of Man.

I just finished the last book of the STARCHILD TRILOGY by Pohl and Williamson last week. I thought the first book REEFS OF SPACE was the best. Some of the things I liked about REEFS OF SPACE: The Plan Of Man - A super-computer which runs all human affairs. Citizens must constantly check-in at computer terminals for orders ie. before beginning work, after completing each task, before leaving a room, after entering a room etc. Risks - People who have performed badly, underachieved, or been caught performing unplanned actions or having unplanned thoughts. The Collar - An explosive collar worn by the Risks which can be detonated at anytime The Plan Of Man sees fit. It also explodes automatically if tampered with. The Body Bank - If a Risk continues to screw up or underachieve there is still one way he can contribute to society by providing body parts for transplanting onto or into those citizens who need them in order to remain useful to society. The JunkMan - A man built by using body parts and made to look exactly like one of the donors at The Body Bank in order to take his place so that this donor could escape, the only person ever to do so. There was some cool scientific stuff too; jetless drive, Hoyle theory, simbiotic relationships. But all that mumbo-jumbo means little to me. Just call me Olaf Simpleton because it was the simpler concepts which I found entertaining and interesting. One thing left me cold....At one point in the story someone says that they've known several people who were sent to The Body Bank, but they've never known anyone to recieve a body part from there. Nothing else was ever mentioned about that.