The Memory of Whiteness
Encyclopedia
The Memory of Whiteness is a science fiction
novel
written by Kim Stanley Robinson
and published in 1985. It shares with the Mars trilogy
a focus on human colonization of the solar system
and depicts a grand tour that travels from the outer planet
s inward toward the Sun
, visiting many human colonies along the way. The different human societies
on the various planet
s and planetoids visited are depicted in detail. The purpose of the tour is to stage concerts by the 'Holywelkin Orchestra', a futuristic musical instrument played by a selected master. Readers follow the Orchestra and its entourage together with a journalist, who after some time detects a conspiracy that seems to be connected with a group of gray-clad, sun-worshipping monks. The tour ends near the planet Mercury
in a solar station belonging to these "Grays", which controls the white line energy source for the whole solar system.
and more about art
, especially music
and the emotions triggered by it. One of the central themes of the book is a discussion of the extent to which human free will exists in the universe. The main character struggles to understand a kind of determinism
which he discovers through his music-related physics work. Also, a secret cult who perform "meta-dramas" is the object of a debate between how much one's actions are the result of manipulations by others. Both these contribute to an underlying theme of questioning human free will, and exploring the implications of a deterministic philosophy towards human behavior.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson
Kim Stanley Robinson is an American science fiction writer known for his award-winning Mars trilogy. His work delves into ecological and sociological themes regularly, and many of his novels appear to be the direct result of his own scientific fascinations, such as the fifteen years of research...
and published in 1985. It shares with the Mars trilogy
Mars trilogy
The Mars trilogy is a series of award-winning science fiction novels by Kim Stanley Robinson that chronicles the settlement and terraforming of the planet Mars through the intensely personal and detailed viewpoints of a wide variety of characters spanning almost two centuries...
a focus on human colonization of the solar system
Solar System
The Solar System consists of the Sun and the astronomical objects gravitationally bound in orbit around it, all of which formed from the collapse of a giant molecular cloud approximately 4.6 billion years ago. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun...
and depicts a grand tour that travels from the outer planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
s inward toward the Sun
Sun
The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is almost perfectly spherical and consists of hot plasma interwoven with magnetic fields...
, visiting many human colonies along the way. The different human societies
Society
A society, or a human society, is a group of people related to each other through persistent relations, or a large social grouping sharing the same geographical or virtual territory, subject to the same political authority and dominant cultural expectations...
on the various planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
s and planetoids visited are depicted in detail. The purpose of the tour is to stage concerts by the 'Holywelkin Orchestra', a futuristic musical instrument played by a selected master. Readers follow the Orchestra and its entourage together with a journalist, who after some time detects a conspiracy that seems to be connected with a group of gray-clad, sun-worshipping monks. The tour ends near the planet Mercury
Mercury (planet)
Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 Earth days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three rotations about its axis for every two orbits...
in a solar station belonging to these "Grays", which controls the white line energy source for the whole solar system.
Themes
In comparison to Robinson's later works, The Memory of Whiteness is less like hard science fictionHard science fiction
Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by an emphasis on scientific or technical detail, or on scientific accuracy, or on both. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell, Jr.'s Islands of Space in Astounding Science...
and more about art
Art
Art is the product or process of deliberately arranging items in a way that influences and affects one or more of the senses, emotions, and intellect....
, especially music
Music
Music is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and the emotions triggered by it. One of the central themes of the book is a discussion of the extent to which human free will exists in the universe. The main character struggles to understand a kind of determinism
Determinism
Determinism is the general philosophical thesis that states that for everything that happens there are conditions such that, given them, nothing else could happen. There are many versions of this thesis. Each of them rests upon various alleged connections, and interdependencies of things and...
which he discovers through his music-related physics work. Also, a secret cult who perform "meta-dramas" is the object of a debate between how much one's actions are the result of manipulations by others. Both these contribute to an underlying theme of questioning human free will, and exploring the implications of a deterministic philosophy towards human behavior.