水星播种

by 晋康著 王

素有善心的商人陈义哲，突然获得了一位陌生人沙午女士的遗产。沙午创造了一种能在液态金属中生存的硅锡钠微生命，但她去世时已经无力维持这个生命圈的运转。她请陈把这些生命放生到最合适的地方——水星。亿万富翁洪其炎愿独力承担所需资金，条件是他本人也要到水星上陪着他们，他愿意离开人类社会，去做这种新生命的“始祖”。播种计划顺利实施，陈义哲送洪到水星，洪被冷冻在水星北极的冰层中，每千万年醒来一次。十亿年后，“水星人”试图复活“始祖”。

Genres: Novella, Science Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

28 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2015

Reviews

[L (Nineteen Adze)]

I read this one for my Hugo readalong and am not sure how to rate it. There are some great concepts here around humanity creating a new species and monitoring their survival millions of years later, but I never really felt invested in it. The characters are very dry, and I'm not sure that the otherwise impressive ending (revolving around the people of Mercury and their religion) is enough to save the story for me, especially given the particularly dated and unpleasant language around the only disabled character. The story was originally published in 2002, but even by that yardstick, that element soured me on a lot of the rest of the story.

I think some of the distance here is about the translation-- I'm just not sure how much better phrasing would make the first half the story better for me. This is definitely somewhere in the lower half of my ballot.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

I quite liked this one. It wasn’t amazing, and I’m not going to rush out and find more by this author, but the core conceit was intriguing and I liked the interweaving of the two threads.

[Fred Langridge · Rating 1 out of 5]

This one was a slog even though it's short. There are some interesting ideas but the presentation was actively unengaging for me, with the exception of the last few pages.

[Doreen · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/30/2024 Interesting ideas but definitely felt underdeveloped. Full review tk at TheFrumiousConsortium.net.

7/3/2024 translated into English by Alex Woodend.

This is a weird little novella that definitely feels very old-fashioned old school, almost as if it was lifted entirely from the cutting edge of the mid-20th century. It's also on the shorter side -- never a bad thing -- but it definitely felt a little more sketched in than I expected from a nominee for the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 2024. Honestly, I'm a little puzzled as to how this got to the short list: surely there were other, more worthy works that came out this past year? Especially given that this story was originally published in either 2015 or 2002, depending on who you ask.

The story itself revolves around Chen Yizhe, a rich Chinese businessman who inherits a mind-boggling legacy from his scientist aunt Sha Wu. She's managed to create an entirely new, metal-based lifeform, which currently wriggles around as "amoebas" in a special high-temperature smelter she's constructed. Sha is confident that, given a hundred million years, this lifeform will evolve into something approaching the same kind of sentience and intelligence humanity displays. The first catch isn't only that it'll take a hundred million years, but that the most habitable place for her creatures is on the surface of the planet Mercury. The second, and perhaps most important, is that they only have the funding to keep the smelter going for another thirty years. Chen will have to figure out a way to get his charges to Mercury before then, raising funds and overcoming any public outcry in the process.

That's one major plot thread. The other revolves around a struggle between science and theology, as explorers plunge further into the forbidden North Pole, using technology proscribed by the church to uncover the truth of their origins. It's not really a surprise that these explorers are descendants of the amoebas that Chen managed to seed Mercury with. What's really interesting is both how that came to be, as well as how these descendants continue to evolve intellectually in ways reminiscent of humanity despite being quite physically different.

I think that if the themes of this sci-fi novella had been explored in more depth instead of being mostly sketched out as they were here, I would have enjoyed this story a lot more. As it is, it merely feels like the outline of a banging novel, practically a seed in itself. Perhaps that was the point: regardless, it does not satisfy as a story on its own. It's definitely worthy, with some great ideas, but the writing is very much stuck in the New Wave of science fiction. I'm gonna need way more from any book I deign to vote for Best Novella in 2024.

Anyway, I usually end these posts with a bit about who published the book and where you can find it to purchase, but I genuinely have no idea where to point you for this. Apologies.

[Ken Richards · Rating 2 out of 5]

An interesting concept - after a scientist creates a simple metal based organism which exists at high temperatures, she seeks a sponsor to find a home for her creation to live and evolve. Why not the (speculative) metal lakes of Mercury? So begins the multi-million year project (Computer 'Deep Throat' tones requred here) to monitor and perhaps guide the development of a new civilization. Suspension of disbelief gets a bit of a workout with this 'just freeze me for a million years, and then revive me' concept, but for the tale to happen, one must go with the program!
The story warns of the conflict between superstition and science is a rather obvous manner, and the translation unfortunately seems stiff, dry and clunky. Plenty of infodumps to enjoy.
A finalist for the 2024 Hugo Award for Best Novella.

[William Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read for 2024 Hugos

3.5 stars. This was an interesting story, and didn't at all go where I thought it would. It deals with creating a new form of life, and how we might deal with that. There were some great ideas here, dealing more with the societal and ethical ramifications rather than technological ones. The style is a bit dry, and I'm not sure if that was the original writing or the translation. The only thing I didn't really like was the ending, as it almost felt unfinished. I would have liked a page or two more to develop the last story point that was introduced.

[MR PADRAIG MAC DONNCHADHA · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the concepts in this book and how they were explored.
I think the ideas were rich enough that it could have been explored in two books.
I enjoyed the last section of the book the most. I liked the conflict and relationship between science and religion, how religion can be used as a tool for a goal and how religious fever can take over rational thought.
I would have preferred if the section of the book set on earth was much shorter and there was more of the book set on mercury.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this novella because it's a Hugo finalist this year. It centers around a manmade life-form sent to Mercury to evolve and develop its own intelligence. It's fascinating to see what the life-form turns into, but I was bored through parts of this story, and I also wasn't sure what to think of the way disability is handled. On the one hand, there's a wheelchair user who is instrumental in making this mission happen, and who goes to Mercury himself. On the other, I'm bothered by some of the ways he's described.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

1.5 stars rounded down. This was a rough one for me. Very dry, with very little atmosphere or character development. Some intriguing concepts, but they didn't land for me, and the positive aspects were overshadowed by the clunky writing and really unpleasant language around disability. Originally published in 2002, but felt older and very stale. I don't think the translation did the story any favors either. I'm sorry I can't find more to be positive about in this one.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this story because it is nominated for a Hugo. It really wasn't great though. It read a lot like something written by white guys in the 60's. Interesting ideas, but very male-centric and clunky. Maybe something was lost in translation. Not sure why this got a nomination, was it China buying votes again?

[Raj · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was pretty dry, with not much in the way of characterisation. Heavy on the science, and a bit of a heavy-handed "science good; religion bad" polemic towards the end. I enjoyed the Mercury stuff more than the Earth-based bits.

Read for the Hugo Awards 2024.

[Anelie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this, particularly later on in the sections set on Mercury. I haven't read a story based on non-carbon based lifeforms that I enjoyed like this since James White last wrote in the Sector General universe.

[Kathryn Atreides · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars but I'm rounding up since I have a hunch quite a bit of the issues were translation ones. Very clunky and dry writing. Concepts were interesting and I liked the sections set on Mercury.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hard no.

[Blind Mapmaker · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.25

[Philip · Rating 2 out of 5]

2ish stars.

[Charlene · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feels old style in pacing and structure - think 50s sci-fi - interesting nonetheless.

[Nona · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 out of 5