Anathem
Date
2008
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
William Morrow
Abstract
Anathem is narrated and protagonised by Fraa Erasmas, an Avout at the Concent of Saunt Edhar. It is set on the fictional planet of Arbre, where the scientists, researchers, and intellectuals on the whole have established communities – the Concents –, where the Avout (the individuals) live separated from the rest of society, being prohibited from operating advanced technology, while being always under supervision by other, more powerful, institutions. Erasmas discovers that his teacher, Orolo, becomes aware of a spaceship orbiting Arbre, and uses a camera to observe it, which quickly bans him from the Concent. Eventually, Erasmas and a few companions journey to Arbre’s most remote and inhospitable regions and find Orolo. Meanwhile, a small scale spaceship arrives close by: a dead alien carrying a number of blood samples is found inside, but others cause a massive eruption in a nearby volcano. Orolo sacrifices himself in the process, managing to recover the alien’s remains and the samples which it had brought. Later, research is conducted on these samples, and it is found that there are more than one alien species, coming from different planets of four distinct cosmi. A conflict between these aliens is revealed, as some intend to raid Arbre to harvest its resources. In order to prevent this, Arbre’s government launches a mission which intends to train Avouts to board the alien spaceship, try to negotiate with its crew, and disable any dangerous weapons that could be used to attack Arbre. The mission appears successful, but the novel leaves the reader uncertain regarding its ending, as several narrative paths are put forwards, some cancelling each other out, implying that Avouts may be able to live in parallel dimensions.
Description
Keywords
alien , parallel dimensions , timeline , spaceship
Citation
Stephenson, Neal. Anathem. William Morrow, 2008.