Semiosis

Abstract

Semiosis is a science fiction novel set in the future. Amid war and ecological disaster in the 2060s, a group of people leave the Earth to establish a colony on planet Pax, taking with them the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Pax that is based on the idea of love, peace, and community. The narrative takes place over the course of 107 years and depicts life on Pax for the seven generations since the beginning of the colony. Octavo is one of the protagonists of the first generation; he is still Terran, and the portion of the novel dedicated to him explores the biodiversity of Pax and the hardships endured by the colonists, many of whom now have cancer due to exposure to radiation during their space trip from Earth. The voyage took 158 years in which the group was in hibernation mode. When awakened, they saw many had died from causes that range from the crashing of ships, hibernation malfunction, or pneumonia. The group of colonists include several science professionals, like Vera, an astronomer, or Octavo himself, a sole botanist, as well as zoologists and doctors. Several years later, they find a city which they occupy and a bamboo plant that is sentient. As they develop their community, no longer as Terrans but as natives of Pax, they find themselves at the mercy of this plant, whom they call Stevland. As a sentient being, Stevland also realizes its need of the humans and they strike a symbiotic bargain. The humans develop a system to communicate with Stevland and it becomes an active part of the community, which raises fear in some members as they understand the potential dangers that Stevland poses, having the ability to easily kill the people in the community. Stevland is aware of its own power, but also of its necessity of the humans, making it try to preserve the relationship with them.