Spin

Abstract

The Earth is suddenly enveloped by a strange and mysterious black membrane which slows time, so that around 100 million years pass outside for every year that passes on Earth. The membrane brings with it an artificial sun, so that life can go on without much disruption. Scientists worry, however, about the Sun’s evolution (to a red giant star), which will render the Earth uninhabitable and, ultimately, engulf it. Jason, who had seen the membrane covering the Earth in his childhood, becomes a scientist devoted to the study of this phenomenon. He eventually joins the research project Perihelion, which intends to terraform Mars and, afterwards, colonise it. The project is completed in a few months on Earth, but actually takes billions of years to finish. Colonisation is successful, and an advanced human civilisation flourishes on Mars which, for instance, manages and produces nanotechnology. This same nanotechnology is later used to cure Jason himself, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, and his lifespan is even extended. One day, surprisingly, the Earth’s membrane temporarily disappears, and the planet is assailed with natural disasters and an unbearable heat, as a result of its exposure to the Sun. The membrane is soon restored. After quite a lot of research, Jason ultimately concludes that the membrane was a creation of the Hypotheticals – intelligent self-replicating machines –, who have devised a plan to prevent the destruction of biological societies, through said membranes. The idea was to enclose planets that were being destroyed by their inhabitants, so as to slow down their advancement and the process of destruction itself, until some kind of method should be found in order to save those worlds. When the Earth’s membrane is restored, it is discovered that a portal to another world has emerged in the middle of an ocean, allowing humankind to escape. Spin is the first novel of the Spin Trilogy, followed by Axis and Vortex.