Revelation Space universe
Encyclopedia
The Revelation Space universe is a fictional universe
which was created by Alastair Reynolds
and used as the setting for a number of his novels and stories
. Its fictional history
follows the human species through various conflicts from the relatively near future (roughly 2200) to approximately AD
40 000 (all the novels to date are set between 2427 and 2727, although certain stories extend beyond this period). It takes its name from Revelation Space
, which was the first published novel set in the universe.
The name "Revelation Space universe" has been used by Alastair Reynolds in both the introductory text in the collections Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days
and Galactic North
, and also on several editions of the novels set in the universe.
and advanced technologies
that are not necessarily grounded in current science. It is nonetheless somewhat "harder" than most science fiction, relying to a considerable extent on science Reynolds believes to be possible; in particular, faster-than-light travel is absent. Reynolds has said he prefers to keep the science in his fiction plausible, but he will adopt science he believes will be impossible when it is necessary for the story.
While a great deal of science fiction reflects either very optimistic or dystopia
n visions of the human future, the Revelation Space universe is notable in that human societies have not departed to either positive or negative extremes, but instead are similar to those of today in terms of moral ambiguity and a mixture of cruelty and decency, corruption
and opportunity, despite their technology being dramatically advanced.
The Revelation Space universe contains elements of Lovecraftian horror
, with one posthuman entity stating explicitly that some things in the universe are fundamentally beyond human or transhuman
understanding. Despite this, the main storyline is essentially optimistic, with humans continuing to survive even in a universe which seems fundamentally hostile to intelligent life.
The name "Revelation Space" comes from Sylveste's visit to Lascaille's Shroud where he describes entering a "revelation space" during his mysterious encounter with the Shrouders. Sylveste is one of the main characters in the novel Revelation Space, and the Shrouders an ancient alien race in the same book.
, roughly 3 billion years in our future, may severely damage the capacity of either galaxy to support life. Consequently, they planned to adjust the positions of stars in order to limit the damage the collision would cause. Also central to the Inhibitor project was the eradication of all species above a certain technological level until the crisis was over (as they believed no species would be capable of co-operating on such a large-scale project). Whilst they were relatively successful, certain advanced species were able to hide from Inhibitor forces, or even fight back.
In human history, during 21st and 22nd Centuries numerous wars occurred, and a flotilla of generation ship
s were deployed to colonise a planet orbiting the star 61 Cygni
(this becomes a major segment of the plot of Chasm City
). The flotilla was later to reach a planet termed Sky's Edge, which was to be embroiled in war until human civilisation there was eradicated.
Meanwhile, in the solar system in 2190, the Conjoiners emerged as a result of increased experimentation with neural implants. In response, the Coalition for Neural Purity was formed, opposed to the Conjoiners. Nevil Clavain fought on the side of the Coalition in the ensuing war, but defected later on after being betrayed. Clavain, and the Conjoiners, succeeded in escaping the solar system and left for surrounding stars.
For the next few centuries, the so called Belle Epoque, humanity enjoyed a period of relative peace and prosperity, with several planets being colonised. The most successful planet of all was Yellowstone, a planet orbiting the star Epsilon Eridani
, site of the Glitter Band and Chasm City. Technologies developed included the Conjoiner Drive, a gift from the Conjoiners (who resumed contact with humanity at an unknown time), advanced nanotechnology
, and numerous other devices. With the exception of an attempted takeover
on Yellowstone, no major incidents affected humanity during this time.
The Belle Epoque was terminated by the advent of the Melding Plague in 2510, a nanotechnological virus that destroyed all other nanotechnology it came into contact with. Only the Conjoiners were unaffected by this disaster, which devastated the civilisation around Yellowstone. War between the Demarchists and Conjoiners erupted as a result of the plague.
Meanwhile, activities around a far-flung human colony on the planet Resurgam, orbiting the star Delta Pavonis
inadvertently attracted the attention of the Inhibitors. The Conjoiners, also made aware of this event, sent Clavain to recover the exceedingly powerful "Cache Weapons" from this system (said weapons having been stolen from the Conjoiners centuries before) that could be used to fend off the Inhibitors while the Conjoiners escaped. Clavain instead defected from the Conjoiners, intending to use the weapons to protect all of humanity. Skade, another Conjoiner, was sent to stop him and recover the weapons. They fought around the Resurgam system, with Clavain and his allies eventually obtaining the weapons. Clavain's ally Remontoire agreed to seek out alien assistance from the Hades Matrix, a nearby alien computer disguised as a neutron star, whilst Clavain sheltered refugees from Resurgam on another planet, later termed Ararat.
Remontoire returned in 2675, only a few days after Clavain's death at the hands of Skade, who had arrived with him. Remontoire and his allies were now at war with the Inhibitors, assisted by alien technology obtained from Hades. Even so, it was realised that the humans would not last indefinitely, and Clavain's people, now led by Scorpio decided to seek out the mysterious "Shadows", a race believed to be near a moon called Hela, site of a theocracy
. Aura, daughter of Ana Khouri (an ally of Remontoire) infiltrated the theocracy under the pseudonym Rashmika Els. After considerable conflict, Scorpio and Aura realised that contacting the Shadows was inadvisable. They instead contacted the Nestbuilders, who provided them with weapons capable of defeating the Inhibitors. As such, the Inhibitors were effectively eradicated from human space, with buffer zones and frontiers established to keep them at bay.
Humanity then enjoyed a second, 400 year long golden age. After this, however, came the Greenfly outbreak, in which human civilisation was destroyed by a rogue terraforming system of human origin that destroyed planets and converted them to millions of orbiting, vegetation-filled habitats. The Greenfly began to subsume most of human space, with all efforts to stop them failing. The storyline of the Revelation Space universe thus far concludes with humanity leaving the Milky Way galaxy in an attempt to set up a new civilisation elsewhere.
and Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days
, with the exception of "Monkey Suit".
Fictional universe
A fictional universe is a self-consistent fictional setting with elements that differ from the real world. It may also be called an imagined, constructed or fictional realm ....
which was created by Alastair Reynolds
Alastair Reynolds
Alastair Preston Reynolds is a British science fiction author. He specialises in dark hard science fiction and space opera. He spent his early years in Cornwall, moved back to Wales before going to Newcastle, where he read physics and astronomy. Afterwards, he earned a PhD from St Andrews, Scotland...
and used as the setting for a number of his novels and stories
Short story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
. Its fictional history
Future history
A future history is a postulated history of the future and is used by authors in the subgenre of speculative fiction to construct a common background for fiction...
follows the human species through various conflicts from the relatively near future (roughly 2200) to approximately AD
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
40 000 (all the novels to date are set between 2427 and 2727, although certain stories extend beyond this period). It takes its name from Revelation Space
Revelation Space
Revelation Space is a 2000 science fiction space opera novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds. It was the first novel set in the Revelation Space universe, although the then-unnamed universe had already been established by several published short stories....
, which was the first published novel set in the universe.
The name "Revelation Space universe" has been used by Alastair Reynolds in both the introductory text in the collections Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days
Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days
Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days is a 2003 compilation of two science fiction novellas by writer Alastair Reynolds. Both are set in the Revelation Space universe, but are almost entirely unconnected with the plots of any of the novels in the same story arc....
and Galactic North
Galactic North
Galactic North is a collection of short stories by the science fiction author Alastair Reynolds...
, and also on several editions of the novels set in the universe.
Overview
The Revelation Space universe is set in a future version of our world, with the addition of a number of extraterrestrial speciesRaces in Revelation Space
This is a list of fictional alien and modified human races in the fictional Revelation Space universe created by Alastair Reynolds.-Denizens:Denizens are a heavily engineered sentient species created on Europa by the Europan Demarchy...
and advanced technologies
Technology in Revelation Space
This article lists elements of technology in the fictional Revelation Space universe created by Alastair Reynolds.- Abstractions and entoptics :Abstraction is the process by which humans with neural implants gain access to wireless data networks, the data rate of which is far beyond anything...
that are not necessarily grounded in current science. It is nonetheless somewhat "harder" than most science fiction, relying to a considerable extent on science Reynolds believes to be possible; in particular, faster-than-light travel is absent. Reynolds has said he prefers to keep the science in his fiction plausible, but he will adopt science he believes will be impossible when it is necessary for the story.
While a great deal of science fiction reflects either very optimistic or dystopia
Dystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
n visions of the human future, the Revelation Space universe is notable in that human societies have not departed to either positive or negative extremes, but instead are similar to those of today in terms of moral ambiguity and a mixture of cruelty and decency, corruption
Political corruption
Political corruption is the use of legislated powers by government officials for illegitimate private gain. Misuse of government power for other purposes, such as repression of political opponents and general police brutality, is not considered political corruption. Neither are illegal acts by...
and opportunity, despite their technology being dramatically advanced.
The Revelation Space universe contains elements of Lovecraftian horror
Lovecraftian horror
Lovecraftian horror is a sub-genre of horror fiction which emphasizes the cosmic horror of the unknown over gore or other elements of shock, though these may still be present. It is named after American author H. P...
, with one posthuman entity stating explicitly that some things in the universe are fundamentally beyond human or transhuman
Transhuman
Transhuman or trans-human is a term that has been defined and redefined many times in history. In its contemporary usage, “transhuman” refers to an intermediary form between the human and the hypothetical posthuman.-History of hypotheses:...
understanding. Despite this, the main storyline is essentially optimistic, with humans continuing to survive even in a universe which seems fundamentally hostile to intelligent life.
The name "Revelation Space" comes from Sylveste's visit to Lascaille's Shroud where he describes entering a "revelation space" during his mysterious encounter with the Shrouders. Sylveste is one of the main characters in the novel Revelation Space, and the Shrouders an ancient alien race in the same book.
Chronology
The chronology of the Revelation Space Universe extends to roughly one billion years into the past, when the "Dawn War"- a galaxy-spanning conflict over the availability of various natural resources, resulted in almost all sentient life in the galaxy being wiped out. One race of survivors, later termed the Inhibitors, having converted itself to machine form, predicted that the impending Andromeda-Milky Way collisionAndromeda-Milky Way collision
The collision seen from a hypothetical extragalactic planet. The galaxies will be at this relative angleThe Andromeda–Milky Way collision is a predicted galaxy collision that could possibly take place in approximately 3 to 5 billion years' time between the two largest galaxies in the Local...
, roughly 3 billion years in our future, may severely damage the capacity of either galaxy to support life. Consequently, they planned to adjust the positions of stars in order to limit the damage the collision would cause. Also central to the Inhibitor project was the eradication of all species above a certain technological level until the crisis was over (as they believed no species would be capable of co-operating on such a large-scale project). Whilst they were relatively successful, certain advanced species were able to hide from Inhibitor forces, or even fight back.
In human history, during 21st and 22nd Centuries numerous wars occurred, and a flotilla of generation ship
Generation ship
A generation ship is a hypothetical type of interstellar ark starship that travels across great distances between stars at a speed much slower than the speed of light...
s were deployed to colonise a planet orbiting the star 61 Cygni
61 Cygni
61 Cygni,Not to be confused with 16 Cygni, a more distant system containing two G-type stars harboring the gas giant planet 16 Cygni Bb. sometimes called Bessel's Star or Piazzi's Flying Star, is a binary star system in the constellation Cygnus...
(this becomes a major segment of the plot of Chasm City
Chasm City
Chasm City is a 2001 science fiction novel by author Alastair Reynolds, set in the Revelation Space universe. It deals with themes of identity, memory, and immortality, and many of its scenes are concerned primarily with describing the unusual societal and physical structure of the titular city, a...
). The flotilla was later to reach a planet termed Sky's Edge, which was to be embroiled in war until human civilisation there was eradicated.
Meanwhile, in the solar system in 2190, the Conjoiners emerged as a result of increased experimentation with neural implants. In response, the Coalition for Neural Purity was formed, opposed to the Conjoiners. Nevil Clavain fought on the side of the Coalition in the ensuing war, but defected later on after being betrayed. Clavain, and the Conjoiners, succeeded in escaping the solar system and left for surrounding stars.
For the next few centuries, the so called Belle Epoque, humanity enjoyed a period of relative peace and prosperity, with several planets being colonised. The most successful planet of all was Yellowstone, a planet orbiting the star Epsilon Eridani
Epsilon Eridani
Epsilon Eridani is a star in the southern constellation Eridanus, along a declination 9.46° south of the celestial equator. This allows the star to be viewed from most of the Earth's surface. At a distance of 10.5 light years , it has an apparent magnitude of 3.73...
, site of the Glitter Band and Chasm City. Technologies developed included the Conjoiner Drive, a gift from the Conjoiners (who resumed contact with humanity at an unknown time), advanced nanotechnology
Nanotechnology
Nanotechnology is the study of manipulating matter on an atomic and molecular scale. Generally, nanotechnology deals with developing materials, devices, or other structures possessing at least one dimension sized from 1 to 100 nanometres...
, and numerous other devices. With the exception of an attempted takeover
The Prefect
The Prefect is a 2007 science fiction novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds . It is the fifth novel set in the Revelation Space universe, and takes place prior to the four previously released Revelation Space novels, but after some of the short stories...
on Yellowstone, no major incidents affected humanity during this time.
The Belle Epoque was terminated by the advent of the Melding Plague in 2510, a nanotechnological virus that destroyed all other nanotechnology it came into contact with. Only the Conjoiners were unaffected by this disaster, which devastated the civilisation around Yellowstone. War between the Demarchists and Conjoiners erupted as a result of the plague.
Meanwhile, activities around a far-flung human colony on the planet Resurgam, orbiting the star Delta Pavonis
Delta Pavonis
Delta Pavonis is a star about 19.9 light years away from Earth. It is in the constellation Pavo.-Observations:It is a subgiant of spectral type G8 IV, meaning it is about to stop fusing hydrogen in its core and is starting the process of becoming a red giant. Because of that, Delta Pavonis is...
inadvertently attracted the attention of the Inhibitors. The Conjoiners, also made aware of this event, sent Clavain to recover the exceedingly powerful "Cache Weapons" from this system (said weapons having been stolen from the Conjoiners centuries before) that could be used to fend off the Inhibitors while the Conjoiners escaped. Clavain instead defected from the Conjoiners, intending to use the weapons to protect all of humanity. Skade, another Conjoiner, was sent to stop him and recover the weapons. They fought around the Resurgam system, with Clavain and his allies eventually obtaining the weapons. Clavain's ally Remontoire agreed to seek out alien assistance from the Hades Matrix, a nearby alien computer disguised as a neutron star, whilst Clavain sheltered refugees from Resurgam on another planet, later termed Ararat.
Remontoire returned in 2675, only a few days after Clavain's death at the hands of Skade, who had arrived with him. Remontoire and his allies were now at war with the Inhibitors, assisted by alien technology obtained from Hades. Even so, it was realised that the humans would not last indefinitely, and Clavain's people, now led by Scorpio decided to seek out the mysterious "Shadows", a race believed to be near a moon called Hela, site of a theocracy
Theocracy
Theocracy is a form of organization in which the official policy is to be governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, or simply pursuant to the doctrine of a particular religious sect or religion....
. Aura, daughter of Ana Khouri (an ally of Remontoire) infiltrated the theocracy under the pseudonym Rashmika Els. After considerable conflict, Scorpio and Aura realised that contacting the Shadows was inadvisable. They instead contacted the Nestbuilders, who provided them with weapons capable of defeating the Inhibitors. As such, the Inhibitors were effectively eradicated from human space, with buffer zones and frontiers established to keep them at bay.
Humanity then enjoyed a second, 400 year long golden age. After this, however, came the Greenfly outbreak, in which human civilisation was destroyed by a rogue terraforming system of human origin that destroyed planets and converted them to millions of orbiting, vegetation-filled habitats. The Greenfly began to subsume most of human space, with all efforts to stop them failing. The storyline of the Revelation Space universe thus far concludes with humanity leaving the Milky Way galaxy in an attempt to set up a new civilisation elsewhere.
Books and stories set in the universe
All short stories and novellas in this universe to date are collected in Galactic NorthGalactic North
Galactic North is a collection of short stories by the science fiction author Alastair Reynolds...
and Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days
Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days
Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days is a 2003 compilation of two science fiction novellas by writer Alastair Reynolds. Both are set in the Revelation Space universe, but are almost entirely unconnected with the plots of any of the novels in the same story arc....
, with the exception of "Monkey Suit".
Main series
- Revelation SpaceRevelation SpaceRevelation Space is a 2000 science fiction space opera novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds. It was the first novel set in the Revelation Space universe, although the then-unnamed universe had already been established by several published short stories....
. London: Gollancz, 2000. ISBN 978-0-575-06875-9. - Chasm CityChasm CityChasm City is a 2001 science fiction novel by author Alastair Reynolds, set in the Revelation Space universe. It deals with themes of identity, memory, and immortality, and many of its scenes are concerned primarily with describing the unusual societal and physical structure of the titular city, a...
. London: Gollancz, 2001. ISBN 978-0-575-06877-3. - Redemption ArkRedemption ArkRedemption Ark is a 2002 hard science fiction space opera novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds. It is the second book in the Revelation Space series , and it continues the story of Nevil Clavain begun in the short stories "Great Wall of Mars" and "Glacial"...
. London: Gollancz, 2002. ISBN 978-0-575-06879-7. - Absolution GapAbsolution GapAbsolution Gap is a 2003 science fiction space opera novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds. It takes place in the Revelation Space universe and is a direct sequel to Redemption Ark.-Plot summary:...
. London: Gollancz, 2003. ISBN 978-0-575-07434-7. - The PrefectThe PrefectThe Prefect is a 2007 science fiction novel by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds . It is the fifth novel set in the Revelation Space universe, and takes place prior to the four previously released Revelation Space novels, but after some of the short stories...
. London: Gollancz, 2007, ISBN 978-0-575-07716-4.
Short fiction
- "Dilation Sleep" – Originally published in Interzone #39 (September 1990); reprinted in Galactic NorthGalactic NorthGalactic North is a collection of short stories by the science fiction author Alastair Reynolds...
- "A Spy in Europa" – Originally published in Interzone #120 (June 1997); reprinted in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifteenth Annual CollectionThe Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifteenth Annual CollectionThe Year's Best Science Fiction: Fifteenth Annual Collection is a science fiction anthology edited by Gardner Dozois that was published in 1999...
(1998, ISBN 978-0-312-19033-0), Gardner Dozois, ed.; and in Galactic North; and posted free online at Infinity Plus - "Galactic North" – Originally published in Interzone #145 (July 1999); reprinted in Space Soldiers (2001, ISBN 978-0-441-00824-7), Jack Dann and Gardner Dozois, eds.; and in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventeenth Annual CollectionThe Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventeenth Annual CollectionThe Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventeenth Annual Collection is a science fiction anthology which was compiled by Gardner Dozois and published in 2000.-Contents:...
(2000, ISBN 978-0-312-26417-8), Gardner Dozois, ed.; and in Hayakawa's SF magazine; and in Galactic North - "Monkey Suit" – Originally published in Death Ray #20 (July 2009); reprinted in Deep NavigationDeep NavigationDeep Navigation is a collection of short stories by Alastair Reynolds. It was published in February 2010 for the 47th annual Boskone Science Fiction Convention where Reynolds was the Guest of Honour. The collection brings together a number of Reynolds short stories both old and new...
Novellas
- "Great Wall of Mars" - Originally published in Spectrum SF #1 (February 2000); reprinted in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Eighteenth Annual CollectionThe Year's Best Science Fiction: Eighteenth Annual CollectionThe Year's Best Science Fiction: Eighteenth Annual Collection is a science fiction anthology edited by Gardner Dozois that was published in 2001...
(2001, ISBN 978-0-312-27465-8), Gardner DozoisGardner DozoisGardner Raymond Dozois is an American science fiction author and editor. He was editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine from 1984 to 2004...
, ed.; and in Galactic North - "Glacial" - Originally published in Spectrum SF #5 (March 2001); reprinted in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Nineteenth Annual CollectionThe Year's Best Science Fiction: Nineteenth Annual CollectionThe Year's Best Science Fiction: Nineteenth Annual Collection is a science fiction anthology edited by Gardner Dozois that was published in 2002...
(2002, ISBN 978-0-312-28879-2), Gardner Dozois, ed.; and in Galactic North - Diamond Dogs - Originally published as a chapbook from PS PublishingPS PublishingPS Publishing is a Hornsea based publisher founded in 1999 by Peter Crowther. They specialise in novella length fiction from the fantasy, science fiction and horror genres. It has quickly become established as one of Britain's premier small presses...
(2001, ISBN 978-1-902880-27-3); reprinted in Infinities (2002), Peter CrowtherPeter CrowtherPeter Crowther is a British journalist, short story writer, novelist, editor, publisher and anthologist. He is the founder of PS Publishing. He edits a series of themed anthologies of science fiction short stories published by DAW books...
, ed.; and in Diamond Dogs, Turquoise DaysDiamond Dogs, Turquoise DaysDiamond Dogs, Turquoise Days is a 2003 compilation of two science fiction novellas by writer Alastair Reynolds. Both are set in the Revelation Space universe, but are almost entirely unconnected with the plots of any of the novels in the same story arc.... - Turquoise Days - Originally published as a chapbook from Golden Gryphon (2002, no ISBN); reprinted in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twentieth Annual Collection (2003, ISBN 978-0-312-30860-5), Gardner Dozois, ed.; and in Best of the Best Volume 2: 20 Years of the Year's Best Short Science Fiction NovelsBest of the Best Volume 2: 20 Years of the Year's Best Short Science Fiction NovelsBest of the Best Volume 2: 20 Years of the Year's Best Short Science Fiction Novels is a science fiction anthology edited by Gardner Dozois that was published in 2007...
(2007, ISBN 978-0-312-36342-0), Gardner Dozois, ed.; and in Diamond Dogs, Turquoise Days - "Weather" - Originally published in Galactic North (2006)
- "Grafenwalder's Bestiary" - Originally published in Galactic North (2006)
- "Nightingale" - Originally published in Galactic North (2006); reprinted in The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fourth Annual CollectionThe Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fourth Annual CollectionThe Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Fourth Annual Collection is a science fiction anthology edited by Gardner Dozois that was published in 2007...
(2006, ISBN 978-0-312-36335-2), Gardner Dozois, ed.
See also
- Characters in Revelation SpaceCharacters in Revelation SpaceThese are major characters from the various novels and stories that make up Alastair Reynolds's Revelation Space universe.- Ana Khouri :...
- Factions in Revelation SpaceFactions in Revelation SpaceThis is a list of fictional factions in Revelation Space. The human factions are found in the Revelation Space universe, the setting for a series of stories and novels by Welsh author Alastair Reynolds.-Interstellar factions:...
- Races in Revelation SpaceRaces in Revelation SpaceThis is a list of fictional alien and modified human races in the fictional Revelation Space universe created by Alastair Reynolds.-Denizens:Denizens are a heavily engineered sentient species created on Europa by the Europan Demarchy...
- Locations in Revelation Space
- Technology in Revelation SpaceTechnology in Revelation SpaceThis article lists elements of technology in the fictional Revelation Space universe created by Alastair Reynolds.- Abstractions and entoptics :Abstraction is the process by which humans with neural implants gain access to wireless data networks, the data rate of which is far beyond anything...