Blue Shift
Encyclopedia
"Blue Shift" is the tenth story chronologically to appear in Stephen Baxter
's collection of linked stories anthology novel Vacuum Diagrams
. "Blue Shift" was originally published in Writers of the Future
volume 5 in 1989.
that has been occupied by the Qax, an amorphous lifeform that profits from information and technology trade, for four centuries. Jim Bolder, a space pilot on the run from creditors, accepts an assignment from the Qax through a human intermediary to determine just what the Xeelee are constructing at the center of the local supercluster. Bolder is provided with a Xeelee nightfighter that can travel faster than light, and when he uses the drive, the stars around him appear blue—the "blue shift" of the title.
As Bolder in the nightfighter approaches the Great Attractor
, he discovers the Xeelee are constructing a massive ring from its matter, which they intend to use to flee the universe itself. But the Qax will not allow this information to be released, intending to keep it—and a possible defense against the Xeelee—for their own profit. Bolder dodges the Qax and launches a "starbreaker" that will gradually cause the Qax homeworld's sun to go nova
, requiring them to divert their resources from the occupation of Earth, liberating the planet.
Stephen Baxter
Stephen Baxter is a prolific British hard science fiction author. He has degrees in mathematics and engineering.- Writing style :...
's collection of linked stories anthology novel Vacuum Diagrams
Vacuum Diagrams
Vacuum Diagrams is a collection of science fiction short stories written by Stephen Baxter. The collection connects the novels of the Xeelee Sequence and also shows the history of mankind in the Xeelee universe, and ultimately the universe...
. "Blue Shift" was originally published in Writers of the Future
Writers of the Future
Writers of the Future is a science fiction and fantasy story contest that was originated by L. Ron Hubbard in the early 1980s. Hubbard...
volume 5 in 1989.
Plot summary
Set in A.D. 5406, the story begins on an EarthEarth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
that has been occupied by the Qax, an amorphous lifeform that profits from information and technology trade, for four centuries. Jim Bolder, a space pilot on the run from creditors, accepts an assignment from the Qax through a human intermediary to determine just what the Xeelee are constructing at the center of the local supercluster. Bolder is provided with a Xeelee nightfighter that can travel faster than light, and when he uses the drive, the stars around him appear blue—the "blue shift" of the title.
As Bolder in the nightfighter approaches the Great Attractor
Great Attractor
The Great Attractor is a gravity anomaly in intergalactic space within the range of the Centaurus Supercluster that reveals the existence of a localised concentration of mass equivalent to tens of thousands of Milky Ways, observable by its effect on the motion of galaxies and their associated...
, he discovers the Xeelee are constructing a massive ring from its matter, which they intend to use to flee the universe itself. But the Qax will not allow this information to be released, intending to keep it—and a possible defense against the Xeelee—for their own profit. Bolder dodges the Qax and launches a "starbreaker" that will gradually cause the Qax homeworld's sun to go nova
Nova
A nova is a cataclysmic nuclear explosion in a star caused by the accretion of hydrogen on to the surface of a white dwarf star, which ignites and starts nuclear fusion in a runaway manner...
, requiring them to divert their resources from the occupation of Earth, liberating the planet.