Portal: A dataspace retrieval

by Rob Swigart

Originally published as an interactive novel on computer disk in 1986, Portal is the story of an astronaut who returns to earth from a mysteriously aborted mission prematurely awakened from suspended animation. One hundred years have passed; animals and plants thrive, cities stand intact. Every human being however has disappeared. With the help of a slowly-reviving computer network, the astronaut begins to piece together the events of the last century. He learns of the child prodigy Peter Devore, of a world orchestrated by stunning new technologies, and of Peter's race against time to unlock the secrets of the Portal.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

346 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1988

About the author

Two recent books:

Mixed Harvest: Stories from the Human Past came out in late 2019. In unforgettable stories of the human journey, a combination of compelling storytelling and well-researched archaeology underscore an excavation into the deep past of human development and its consequences. Through a first encounter between a Neanderthal woman and the Modern Human to the emergence and destruction of the world’s first cities, Mixed Harvest tells the tale of the Neolithic Revolution, also called the (First) Agricultural Revolution, the most significant event since modern humans emerged. Rob Swigart’s latest work humanizes the rapid transition to agriculture and pastoralism with a grounding in the archaeological record.

Just out: Python, third in the Lisa Emmer series:

by Rob Swigart (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
Book 3 of 4: The Lisa Emmer Series
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EVERYONE WANTS A PIECE OF HIM…HE HAS A MILLION
VIDEO FOLLOWERS AND HE’S ONLY SIX YEARS OLD—
To his mom, he’s just sweet Félix, a very special six-year-old. She doesn’t understand him, but she loves him to bits.

To his million young video followers, he’s their beloved science teacher.

To the little-known Delphi Agenda, working, as always, for peace and harmony, he’s not only a prodigy, he’s a prophet with the potential to become more powerful even than Lisa Emmer, the current Delphic Oracle. Perhaps even the power to save the world from humanity’s dumpster fire.

But to a few others who understand how enormous his powers are, he’s a pawn they could put to their own use.

So everyone wants a piece of him. Kidnapping is not off the table.

In fact, it’s pretty likely. He and Lisa, his mentor, can see that coming a mile away.
A crooked Cardinal has his own ideas and Python, a pharmaceutical company run by a pair of sketchy twins, needs him for their own “world-changing” project. Then there’s the fanatical cult that first predicted his birth. They want him back.

The Delphi Agenda’s job is to keep him safe. But does he really need them? Half the fun's watching his innocent brilliance effortlessly deflate the kind of twisted, power-hungry villains that threaten the Agenda and its ideals.

Fans of intrepid women sleuths will love Lisa Emmer, as well as anyone smitten with the romance of the ancient world, action-adventure in historical fiction, and thriller conspiracies.

But this thoroughly modern tale of historical sleuthing has a little something for everybody: a high-tech invention that dances on the edges of sci-fi, excursions to various historical locales in Europe to delight armchair travelers, and a literary trail of crumbs to charm puzzle lovers.

In addition, author Swigart offers a wonderfully hopeful worldview that will intrigue not only mystery readers, but devotees of Merlin Sheldrake, Michael Pollan, and the world of fantastic fungi.

Reviews

[Thomas M. Burby · Rating 5 out of 5]

So I first started reading this book as a video game for my Commodore 64 back in the 1980s. It was a really cool kind of game - an interactive novel. You are the lone returning astronaut who finds that everyone on earth is...gone! All the remains are a few nodes or computer terminals that have precious little information, but enough to keep you reading. As you uncovered and traveled through the network, new nodes noticed you and opened up new information. It was a really fun game - all cerebral and only text - but it caught my attention. I never finished it. Then, I discovered it had been updated and published as a paper book by Rob Swigart, it's author. So over 30 years later, I finally finished the story of Peter Devore and the opening of the Portal.
This story is amazing to me. Written in the days before the Internet and the Web, this novel slyly imagines the technical advancement that was to come. In this future world, everyone is connected, everyone is given a very specific, personally tailored education. Most people live underground and the surface of the Earth is green and thriving. People can travel vast distances quickly and cheaply. There are many good things about the new world, but many bad ones, too. Swigart envisions people addicted to virtual experiences - what I imagine isn't far from, say, being addicted to video gaming or the Internet. There are people who have altered their own DNA - so that they can do many different things including living in the cold of Antarctica. His vision came before the advent of CRISPR technology. Again and again, I was reminded that the author was predicting things that would come to light - and he did it fairly accurately, many decades before it happened.
I don't usually give 5 star reviews, and this book might not be his best work or the best sci-fi that I had ever rad, but it had the haunting quality of being unique in my reading journey- I hadn't read anything like it. It deserves a new printing and perhaps a new video game adaptation, as well. Peter Devore connects with Wanda Sixlove, a girl with a disease that disconnects her from the passage of time and recognizing her own face, as she journeys in deep space in suspended animation. Together, they live in a world that seems to not have any clear sensibilities - and change everything. I wish I tell you more. If you want to read this book, it's hard to find. You might search for it's ebook online. I have heard that it's out there, if you know where to look.

[Brian Turner · Rating 5 out of 5]

I must have read this book at least 10 times since getting it back in the late '80s, and it's still as good today as it was then.

This story unfolds as it progresses. An astronaut is called back to earth to discover everyone gone, and then finds clues as more systems come online.

The backstory is filled in as he gets more details.

The astronauts interaction with the main computer, and the way the story is told in a logical manner, introducing the other main characters, and what happened, make this a novel that can be read many times.

As can happen with this type of sci-fi, some of the references to events and technologies seem dated now, but none of this distracts from the overall story. It really keeps you turning the pages to see what happened and what may happen.

[Tye Reeds · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read this book twice, and I think I would read it a third time with pleasure. I noticed that several other readers have read it more than once too. I don't know what it is with this book, maybe the atmosphere it creates, or how the story slowly unfolds. I loved the detective like narration where you discover together with the main character what happened to humanity.

[Shadi Saber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this as a kid and it stayed with me. So many innovative concepts, and a unique (at the time) narrative device. Always was disappointed that the author didn't seem to write much more scifi.

[Charles Schoenherr · Rating 4 out of 5]

While some of the dates referenced (Mars mission in the late 90's for instance) make for a slightly dated story, the way in which the narrative unfolds as the various computers come online and access is gained allows for a steadily unfolding story told in realtime.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished re-reading it again (probably for the third or fourth time in the last 20 years). It's still holding up quite well. Since I only remember the general ideas each time I pick it up again, it's also a pleasure to read, as if for the first time.

[Cris · Rating 1 out of 5]

I found the beginning so chaotic that I just couldn't get interested in the story.