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Xeelee Sequence

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Xeelee Sequence
AuthorStephen Baxter
Original title
Xeelee Sequence
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
GenreHard science fiction
Media typePrint (Hardcover / Paperback)
No. of books12 (List of books)

The Xeelee Sequence (/ˈziːliː/; ZEE-lee)[a][1][2] is a series of hard science fiction novels, novellas, and short stories written by British author Stephen Baxter. The series spans billions of years of fictional history, exploring humanity's future expansion into the universe, its intergalactic war with the Xeelee, a supremely advanced Kardashev Type V alien civilization, and the Xeelee's own conflict with dark matter entities known as Photino Birds. The Xeelee are described as symbiotic entities composed of spacetime defects, Bose–Einstein condensates, and baryonic matter.

Overview

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As of August 2018, the series comprises nine novels and 53 shorter works, including short stories and novellas (most collected in three anthologies). All are set within a fictional chronology that spans from the Big Bang to the eventual heat death of the universe and the singularity portrayed in Timelike Infinity.[3] An omnibus edition of the first four novels (Raft, Timelike Infinity, Flux, and Ring), entitled Xeelee: An Omnibus, was released in January 2010.[4] In August 2016, the entire series of novels and stories (up to that date) was released in a single e-book volume, Xeelee Sequence: The Complete Series.[5] Baxter's Destiny's Children series is also part of the Xeelee Sequence.

Conception

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Baxter first conceived of the Xeelee while writing a short story in the summer of 1986 as a hobby (eventually published in Interzone as "The Xeelee Flower" the following year). He introduced powerful off-stage aliens to explain the story's titular artifact. In developing the backstory, he began to outline the elements that would later define the Sequence: a universe populated by intelligent species living in the shadow of the incomprehensible Xeelee.[6]

Setting and Themes

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The series introduces several notable species and civilizations, including the Squeem, a group-mind aquatic species; the Qax, whose biology depends on the interactions of convection cells; and the Silver Ghosts, colonies of symbiotic organisms encased in reflective skins.

Several stories explore humans and posthumans in extreme environments: at the heart of a neutron star (Flux), in a parallel universe where gravity is much stronger (Raft), and within eusocial hive societies (Coalescent).[7][8][9]

The Xeelee Sequence explores numerous ideas from theoretical physics and futurology, including artificial wormholes, time travel, exotic-matter physics, naked singularities, closed timelike curves, multiple universes, advanced computing and artificial intelligence, faster-than-light travel, spacetime engineering, quantum wave function entities, and the higher levels of the Kardashev scale.

Thematically, the series addresses existential and philosophical issues such as the struggle for survival in an unknowable universe, the impact of war and militarism on society,[10][11] and the consequences of an unpredictable technological future for humanity.[12]

Plot summary

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The overarching plot of the Xeelee Sequence involves an intergalactic war between humanity and the Xeelee, as well as a cosmic conflict between the Xeelee and the Photino Birds. Both are alien species that originated in the early universe. The technologically advanced Xeelee inhabit supermassive black holes, manipulating their event horizons to create habitats, construction materials, tools, and computing devices. The Photino Birds are a species based on dark matter that live in the gravity wells of stars. Because dark matter interacts only weakly with normal matter, they are likely unaware of baryonic life. To avoid losing their habitats to supernovae and stellar evolution, the Photino Birds interfere with nuclear fusion in stellar cores, prematurely aging stars into stable white dwarfs. These dwarfs provide long-lasting refuges for the Birds, but at the expense of other forms of life on surrounding planets. Their activities also halt the formation of new black holes by preventing Type II supernovae, thereby threatening the Xeelee and their cosmic projects.

After enduring several brutal occupations by alien civilizations, humanity expands into the galaxy with a xenophobic and militaristic outlook, seeking to eradicate other species. Humans eventually become the second-most advanced and widespread civilization in the Milky Way, after the Xeelee. Unaware of the war between the Photino Birds and the Xeelee, and its cosmic stakes, humanity wrongly concludes that the Xeelee are a sinister threat to their hegemony. Through a long war of attrition, humans contain the Xeelee to the galactic core. Both sides use time travel and closed timelike curves as war tactics, producing a stalemate that lasts thousands of years. Eventually, humanity develops defensive, movable pocket universes to safeguard information and an exotic weapon capable of destabilizing the core’s supermassive black hole. After the first successful strike, the Xeelee abruptly withdraw from the galaxy, ceding the Milky Way to human control.

Over the next 100,000 years, humanity continues to advance technologically, becoming a Type III civilization. They spread across the Local Group of galaxies and wage further wars against the Xeelee. However, even at this peak, humans remain a minor distraction, unable to meaningfully challenge Xeelee dominance across the wider universe.

Although the Xeelee master space and time and can even influence their own evolution, they ultimately fail to stop the Photino Birds. Instead, they construct a colossal ring-like structure made of cosmic strings. This construction, known as Bolder’s Ring (or simply “the Ring”), enables escape to other universes. Despite their aloofness and superiority, the Xeelee show compassion toward younger species. For example, they create a tailored universe for the nearly extinct Silver Ghosts, and they allow humans to use the Ring despite their long hostility.

Novels

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Xeelee Sequence (1991–2018)

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Not all printings included volume number.

No. Title Publisher Date ISBN Notes
1 Raft Grafton July 1991 0-246-13706-1
2 Timelike Infinity HarperCollins December 1992 0-00-224016-5
3 Flux December 1993 0-00-224025-4
4 Ring July 1994 0-00-224026-2
5 Vacuum Diagrams April 1997 0-00-225425-5 Short story collection; Philip K. Dick Award winner, 1999[13]
6 Xeelee: Endurance Gollancz 17 September 2015 978-1-4732-1270-1 Short story collection
7 Xeelee: Vengeance 15 June 2017 978-1-4732-1717-1
8 Xeelee: Redemption 23 August 2018 978-1-4732-1721-8

Destiny's Children (2003–2006)

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Series of thematically-linked novels set within the main Xeelee Sequence. Published by Gollancz.

No. Title Date ISBN Notes
1 Coalescent 9 October 2003 0-575-07423-X Arthur C. Clarke Award nominee, 2004[14]
2 Exultant 23 September 2004 0-575-07428-0
3 Transcendent 27 October 2005 0-575-07430-2 John W. Campbell Memorial Award nominee, 2006[15]
4 Resplendent 21 September 2006 0-575-07896-0 Short story collection

Short fiction

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Short fiction set within the Xeelee Sequence. Below is an incomplete list:

Title Original publication Issue date Baxter collection
"The Xeelee Flower" Interzone Spring 1987 Vacuum Diagrams
"More Than Time or Distance" Opus Quarterly Winter 1988
"The Eighth Room" Dream Science Fiction Summer 1989
"The Switch" The Edge March/April 1990
"Vacuum Diagrams" Interzone May 1990
"The Tyranny of Heaven" Dream Science Fiction July 1990
The Baryonic Lords, Part One Interzone June 1991
The Baryonic Lords, Part Two July 1991
"The Gödel Sunflowers" January 1992
"Planck Zero" Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction January 1992
"The Sun Person"[b] Interzone March 1993
"Chiron"[c] Novacon 23[d] November 1993
"Lieserl" Interzone December 1993
"The Logic Pool" Asimov's Science Fiction June 1994
"Cilia-of-Gold" August 1994
"Hero" January 1995
"Gossamer" Science Fiction Age November 1995
"Soliton Star"[e] Asimov's Science Fiction May 1997
"Cadre Siblings" Interzone March 2000 Resplendent
"Silver Ghost" Asimov's Science Fiction September 2000
"On the Orion Line" October/November 2000
"The Ghost Pit" July 2001
"The Cold Sink" August 2001
"The Dreaming Mound" Interzone May 2002
"Breeding Ground" Asimov's Science Fiction February 2003
"The Great Game" March 2003
"The Chop Line" December 2003
"Ghost Wars" January 2005

Anthologies

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Previously anthologized short fiction.

Title Original collection Editor(s) Publisher Date ISBN Baxter collection
"Blue Shift" Writers of the Future, Vol. V Algis Budrys Bridge Publications May 1989 0-88404-379-7 Vacuum Diagrams
"The Quagma Datum" Interzone: The 4th Anthology John Clute, et al.[f] Simon & Schuster August 1989 0-671-69707-2
"In the Un-Black" Redshift Extreme Al Sarrantonio Roc Books December 2001 0-451-45859-1 Resplendent
"Conurbation 2473" Live Without a Net Lou Anders Roc Books July 2003 0-451-45925-3
"All in a Blaze" Stars Janis Ian and Mike Resnick DAW Books 5 August 2003 0-7564-0177-1
Between Worlds Between Worlds Robert Silverberg SFBC August 2004 1-58288-108-1
"Lakes of Light" Constellations Peter Crowther DAW Books 4 January 2005 0-7564-0234-4
"Remembrance" The New Space Opera Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan HarperCollins 12 June 2007 978-0-06-084675-6 Endurance
The Seer and the Silverman Galactic Empires Gardner Dozois SFBC February 2008 978-1-58288-291-8
The Return to Titan Godlike Machines Jonathan Strahan SFBC November 2010 978-1-61664-759-9
"The Venus Generations" Bridging Infinity [g] Games Workshop 20 October 2016 978-1-78108-418-2 —

Limited edition novellas

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Limited editions distributed by UK-based PS Publishing. Mayflower II won the 2004 BSFA Award for Best Short Fiction.[16]

Title Date ISBN[h] Baxter collection
Realty Dust 31 March 2000 1-902880-11-0 Resplendent
Riding the Rock 30 November 2002 1-902880-60-9
Mayflower II 1 April 2004 1-904619-17-7
Starfall 12 January 2009 978-1-906301-59-0 Endurance
Gravity Dreams 15 April 2011 978-1-84863-190-8

Old Earth (2004–2009)

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Short stories published as "A Tale of Old Earth". Stories are collected in Xeelee: Endurance (2015).

Title Original publication Issue date
"PeriAndry's Quest" Analog Science Fiction and Fact June 2004
"Climbing the Blue" July/August 2005
"The Time Pit" October 2005
"The Lowland Expedition" April 2006
"Formidable Caress" December 2009

Chronology and reading order

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The novels in chronological order (as opposed to publication order) are given below. Some of the novels contain elements occurring at different points in the timeline. The story anthologies (Vacuum Diagrams, Resplendent, and Xeelee: Endurance) each contain stories taking place across the entire chronology.

Title Publication Chronology (C.E.) Notes
Coalescent 2003 476–2005 Part 1 of Destiny's Children
Transcendent 2005 2047 Part 3 of Destiny's Children ; the world of Michael Poole Bazalget
Xeelee: Vengeance 2017 3646–3665 Set in an alternate timeline
Timelike Infinity 1992 3717 Majority of the plot concerns events that begin here, with later major events occurring in 3829 and the 5000s. The final chapter takes place mainly in c. 5,000,000.
Ring 1994 3951 Before Great Northern launches
Xeelee: Redemption 2018 4106 – c. 5,000,000,000 Set in the same alternate timeline as Xeelee: Vengeance
Exultant 2004 c. 24,973 Part 2 of Destiny's Children
Raft 1991 c. 104,858
Flux 1993 c. 193,700
Transcendent 2005 c. 500,000 Part 3 of Destiny's Children; the world of Alia
Ring 1994 c. 5,000,000 After Great Northern returns

In 2009, Baxter posted a detailed chronology of the Xeelee Sequence explaining the proper chronological reading order of all the novels, novellas, and short stories up to that year. The timeline was updated in September 2015.[17]

When asked directly for a suggested reading order, the author wrote: "I hope that all the books and indeed the stories can be read stand-alone. I'm not a great fan of books that end with cliff-hangers. So you could go in anywhere. One way would be to start with Vacuum Diagrams, a collection that sets out the overall story of the universe. Then Timelike Infinity and Ring which tell the story of Michael Poole, then Raft and Flux which are really incidents against the wider background, and finally Destiny's Children."[18]

Reception

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Science fiction author Paul J. McAuley has praised Baxter and the series, saying:[19]

It is great, heady, mind-bending stuff, meticulously mapped onto cutting edge speculations about the birth pangs of the universe and the ultimate fate of all known time and space, constantly enlivened and driven forward by the narratives that its vast range of life generates.

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Baxter cites the pronunciation "ch-ee-lee" in Xeelee: Vengeance (2007).
  2. ^ Variant title: "The Sun-People"
  3. ^ Revised as "Pilot" (1997).
  4. ^ Convention program
  5. ^ Revised as "Epilogue: Eve" (1997)
  6. ^ John Clute, Simon Ounsley and David Pringle
  7. ^ The Infinity Project, Vol. 5.
  8. ^ Several ISBNs are assigned to each title.

References

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  1. ^ "Stephen Baxter Lecture". Youtube.com. 24 December 2015. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
  2. ^ "Stephen Baxter Interview". Youtube.com. 8 July 2016. Archived from the original on 21 December 2021.
  3. ^ "The Xeelee Sequence – Timeline". stephen-baxter.com. Retrieved 29 September 2011.
  4. ^ "Books". stephen-baxter.com. Retrieved 1 March 2012.
  5. ^ Orionbooks.co.uk – Xeelee Sequence. Gollancz. 11 August 2016. ISBN 9781473217126. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2017.
  6. ^ "The Origin of the Xeelee Universe". stephen-baxter.com. Archived from the original on 31 March 2016. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
  7. ^ "Flux". FantasticFiction.com. Archived from the original on 23 June 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  8. ^ "Raft". FantasticFiction.com. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  9. ^ "Coalescent". Penguin Random House. Retrieved 22 June 2019.
  10. ^ Orionbooks.co.uk – Xeelee Sequence. Gollancz. 11 August 2016. ISBN 9781473217126. Archived from the original on 3 February 2017. Retrieved 22 March 2017.
  11. ^ "The origin of the Destiny's Children series". stephen-baxter.com. Archived from the original on 31 August 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  12. ^ Herrick, James A. (2008). Scientific Mythologies: How Science and Science Fiction Forge New Religious Beliefs. Downers Grove, Illinois: IVP Academic. p. 131. ISBN 978-0-8308-2588-2.
  13. ^ "1999 PKD Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  14. ^ "2004 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Archived from the original on 28 May 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  15. ^ "2006 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
  16. ^ "BSFA Awards – Previous Award Winners". British Science Fiction Association. Archived from the original on 19 April 2013. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  17. ^ "The Xeelee Sequence – Timeline". stephen-baxter.com. Archived from the original on 5 July 2014. Retrieved 12 June 2014.
  18. ^ "Fiction Excerpts and Interviews". themanifold.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2 October 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. ^ McAuley, Paul (January 2010). "Introduction". In Baxter, Stephen (ed.). Xeelee: An Omnibus. Gollancz. pp. viii–ix. ISBN 978-0575090415.
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