A Fire Upon the Deep
Encyclopedia
A Fire Upon the Deep is a science fiction novel by American writer Vernor Vinge
, a space opera
involving superhuman intelligences, aliens
, variable physics, space battles, love, betrayal, genocide, and a conversation medium resembling Usenet
. A Fire Upon the Deep won the Hugo Award
in 1993 (tied with Doomsday Book
by Connie Willis
).
Besides the normal print book editions, the novel was also included on a CD-ROM
sold by ClariNet Communications along with the other nominees for the 1993 Hugo awards. The CD-ROM edition included numerous annotations by Vinge on his thoughts and intentions about different parts of the book.
through exponentially accelerating developmental stages, culminating in a transcendent
, nigh-omnipotent power that is unfathomable to mere humans. Shortly before its final "flowering", the changes in a single minute of the Blight's life are said to exceed those of 10,000 years of human civilization.
Recognizing the danger of what they have awakened, the researchers at High Lab attempt to flee in two ships. Suspicious, the Blight discovers that one of the ships contains a data storage device in its cargo manifest; assuming it contains information that could harm it, the Blight destroys the ship. The second ship is allowed to escape, unharmed, as the Blight assumes that it is no threat; but the second ship actually holds the Blight countermeasure.
The ship lands on a distant planet with a medieval-level civilization of dog-like creatures dubbed "Tines". The ship is revealed to be a sleeper ship
, carrying most of High Lab's children in "coldsleep boxes
". The boxes are rapidly failing and the surviving adults begin unloading them, but are killed when two rival Tines forces attempt to seize the ship. The faction that initially contacts the humans, led by a Tine known as Steel, kills the adults and destroys many of the coldsleep boxes. They also capture a boy named Jefri Olsndot, whom they intend to exploit in order to develop advanced technology (such as the cannon
). Jefri's older sister, Johanna, is rescued by the rival faction of Tines, led by Woodcarver. She, too, is used to develop technology that could gain the upper hand in the Tine war.
A distress signal from the sleeper ship eventually reaches "Relay", a major node in the galactic communications network. A benign transcendent entity (known as a "Power") named "Old One" contacts Relay, seeking information about the Blight and the humans who released it. Old One constructs a seemingly human man, Pham Nuwen, to act as its agent. Pham and Ravna Bergsndot – a human employee of Relay's owners, the wealthy Vrinimi Organization – trace the sleeper ship's signal to the Tines world. Old One designs a vessel, the Out of Band
II, to reach the Tines world and to investigate what the ship carried with it from the High Lab.
The Blight attacks Relay and Old One. Old One gives Pham the information necessary to activate the Blight Countermeasure, and Pham and Ravna escape Relay's destruction in the Out of Band II. After arriving at the Tines homeworld and allying with Woodcarver to defeat Steel, Pham initiates the Countermeasure, which drastically alters the local physics in that sector of the galaxy. This shifts the surrounding area into the "Slow Zone" (where superluminal travel is impossible), thrusting thousands of nearby uninvolved civilizations into an environment where much of their technology no longer functions, potentially causing trillions of collateral deaths. However, the massive shift in physical law also envelops and destroys the Blight, ending its destructive reign. Unfortunately it also kills Pham and strands the other humans on the Tines world, now in the depths of the "Slow Zone" where rescue by an advanced civilization is impossible.
(1999), is a prequel to A Fire Upon the Deep set 20,000 years earlier and featuring Pham Nuwen. Vinge's Children of the Sky
, "a near-term sequel to A Fire Upon the Deep", set approximately ten years later was released in October 2011.
Vinge's former wife, Joan D. Vinge
, has also written stories in the Zones of Thought universe, based on his notes. These include "The Outcasts of Heaven Belt", "Legacy", and an upcoming novel featuring Pham Nuwen.
with Doomsday Book
, by Connie Willis
. The book was nominated for the 1992 Nebula Award for Best Novel
, the 1993 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
, and the 1993 Locus Award
for Best Science Fiction Novel.
Vernor Vinge
Vernor Steffen Vinge is a retired San Diego State University Professor of Mathematics, computer scientist, and science fiction author. He is best known for his Hugo Award-winning novels and novellas A Fire Upon the Deep , A Deepness in the Sky , Rainbows End , Fast Times at Fairmont High ...
, a space opera
Space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes romantic, often melodramatic adventure, set mainly or entirely in outer space, generally involving conflict between opponents possessing advanced technologies and abilities. The term has no relation to music and it is analogous to "soap...
involving superhuman intelligences, aliens
Extraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
, variable physics, space battles, love, betrayal, genocide, and a conversation medium resembling Usenet
Usenet
Usenet is a worldwide distributed Internet discussion system. It developed from the general purpose UUCP architecture of the same name.Duke University graduate students Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979 and it was established in 1980...
. A Fire Upon the Deep won the Hugo Award
Hugo Award for Best Novel
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
in 1993 (tied with Doomsday Book
Doomsday Book (novel)
Doomsday Book is a 1992 science fiction novel by American author Connie Willis. The novel won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, and was shortlisted for other awards...
by Connie Willis
Connie Willis
Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for Blackout/All Clear...
).
Besides the normal print book editions, the novel was also included on a CD-ROM
CD-ROM
A CD-ROM is a pre-pressed compact disc that contains data accessible to, but not writable by, a computer for data storage and music playback. The 1985 “Yellow Book” standard developed by Sony and Philips adapted the format to hold any form of binary data....
sold by ClariNet Communications along with the other nominees for the 1993 Hugo awards. The CD-ROM edition included numerous annotations by Vinge on his thoughts and intentions about different parts of the book.
Plot
A human expedition investigates a five-billion-year-old data archive that offers the possibility of unimaginable riches for the ambitious young civilization of the Straumli Realm. The expedition's facility, called High Lab, is gradually compromised by a dormant super-intelligent entity later known as the Blight. The Blight rapidly learns how to infiltrate and control the computer systems of High Lab, and even develops the ability to possess and control the living humans. The novel starts with an imaginative description of the evolution of this superintelligenceSuperintelligence
A superintelligence, hyperintelligence or superhuman intelligence is a hypothetical entity which possesses intelligence surpassing that of any existing human being...
through exponentially accelerating developmental stages, culminating in a transcendent
Transcendence (religion)
In religion transcendence refers to the aspect of God's nature which is wholly independent of the physical universe. This is contrasted with immanence where God is fully present in the physical world and thus accessible to creatures in various ways...
, nigh-omnipotent power that is unfathomable to mere humans. Shortly before its final "flowering", the changes in a single minute of the Blight's life are said to exceed those of 10,000 years of human civilization.
Recognizing the danger of what they have awakened, the researchers at High Lab attempt to flee in two ships. Suspicious, the Blight discovers that one of the ships contains a data storage device in its cargo manifest; assuming it contains information that could harm it, the Blight destroys the ship. The second ship is allowed to escape, unharmed, as the Blight assumes that it is no threat; but the second ship actually holds the Blight countermeasure.
The ship lands on a distant planet with a medieval-level civilization of dog-like creatures dubbed "Tines". The ship is revealed to be a sleeper ship
Sleeper ship
A sleeper ship is a hypothetical type of manned spaceship in which most or all of the crew spends the journey in some form of hibernation or suspended animation. There is currently no known technology that allows for long-term suspended animation of humans....
, carrying most of High Lab's children in "coldsleep boxes
Suspended animation
Suspended animation is the slowing of life processes by external means without termination. Breathing, heartbeat, and other involuntary functions may still occur, but they can only be detected by artificial means. Extreme cold can be used to precipitate the slowing of an individual's functions; use...
". The boxes are rapidly failing and the surviving adults begin unloading them, but are killed when two rival Tines forces attempt to seize the ship. The faction that initially contacts the humans, led by a Tine known as Steel, kills the adults and destroys many of the coldsleep boxes. They also capture a boy named Jefri Olsndot, whom they intend to exploit in order to develop advanced technology (such as the cannon
Cannon
A cannon is any piece of artillery that uses gunpowder or other usually explosive-based propellents to launch a projectile. Cannon vary in caliber, range, mobility, rate of fire, angle of fire, and firepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees,...
). Jefri's older sister, Johanna, is rescued by the rival faction of Tines, led by Woodcarver. She, too, is used to develop technology that could gain the upper hand in the Tine war.
A distress signal from the sleeper ship eventually reaches "Relay", a major node in the galactic communications network. A benign transcendent entity (known as a "Power") named "Old One" contacts Relay, seeking information about the Blight and the humans who released it. Old One constructs a seemingly human man, Pham Nuwen, to act as its agent. Pham and Ravna Bergsndot – a human employee of Relay's owners, the wealthy Vrinimi Organization – trace the sleeper ship's signal to the Tines world. Old One designs a vessel, the Out of Band
Out-of-band
The term out-of-band has different uses in communications and telecommunication. In case of out-of-band control signaling, signaling bits are sent in special order in a dedicated signaling frame...
II, to reach the Tines world and to investigate what the ship carried with it from the High Lab.
The Blight attacks Relay and Old One. Old One gives Pham the information necessary to activate the Blight Countermeasure, and Pham and Ravna escape Relay's destruction in the Out of Band II. After arriving at the Tines homeworld and allying with Woodcarver to defeat Steel, Pham initiates the Countermeasure, which drastically alters the local physics in that sector of the galaxy. This shifts the surrounding area into the "Slow Zone" (where superluminal travel is impossible), thrusting thousands of nearby uninvolved civilizations into an environment where much of their technology no longer functions, potentially causing trillions of collateral deaths. However, the massive shift in physical law also envelops and destroys the Blight, ending its destructive reign. Unfortunately it also kills Pham and strands the other humans on the Tines world, now in the depths of the "Slow Zone" where rescue by an advanced civilization is impossible.
Related works
Vinge first used the concepts of "Zones of Thought" in a 1988 novella, "The Blabber", which occurs after Fire. Vinge's novel, A Deepness in the SkyA Deepness in the Sky
A Deepness in the Sky is a Hugo Award–winning science fiction novel by Vernor Vinge. Published in 1999, the novel is a loose prequel to his earlier novel A Fire Upon the Deep...
(1999), is a prequel to A Fire Upon the Deep set 20,000 years earlier and featuring Pham Nuwen. Vinge's Children of the Sky
Children of the Sky
The Children of the Sky is a science fiction novel by American writer Vernor Vinge. It is a direct sequel to A Fire Upon the Deep and shares the Zones of Thought universe with A Deepness in the Sky. Unlike A Fire Upon the Deep, the novel is set completely on the Tines' world.-Plot:Two years pass...
, "a near-term sequel to A Fire Upon the Deep", set approximately ten years later was released in October 2011.
Vinge's former wife, Joan D. Vinge
Joan D. Vinge
Joan D. Vinge is an American science fiction author. She is known for such works as her Hugo Award-winning novel The Snow Queen and its sequels, her series about the telepath named Cat, and her Heaven's Chronicles books.-Biography:...
, has also written stories in the Zones of Thought universe, based on his notes. These include "The Outcasts of Heaven Belt", "Legacy", and an upcoming novel featuring Pham Nuwen.
Awards and nominations
A Fire Upon the Deep shared the 1993 Hugo Award for Best NovelHugo Award for Best Novel
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
with Doomsday Book
Doomsday Book (novel)
Doomsday Book is a 1992 science fiction novel by American author Connie Willis. The novel won both the Hugo and Nebula Awards, and was shortlisted for other awards...
, by Connie Willis
Connie Willis
Constance Elaine Trimmer Willis is an American science fiction writer. She has won eleven Hugo Awards and seven Nebula Awards. Willis most recently won a Hugo Award for Blackout/All Clear...
. The book was nominated for the 1992 Nebula Award for Best Novel
Nebula Award for Best Novel
Winners of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year.- Winners and other nominees :...
, the 1993 John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel
The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel for best science fiction novel was created in 1973 by writers and critics Harry Harrison and Brian W. Aldiss to honor Campbell's name...
, and the 1993 Locus Award
Locus Award
The Locus Award is a literary award established in 1971 and presented to winners of Locus magazine's annual readers' poll. Currently, the Locus Awards are presented at an annual banquet...
for Best Science Fiction Novel.
External links
- The Net of a Million Lies: Vernor Vinge’s A Fire Upon the Deep, review by Jo WaltonJo WaltonJo Walton is a Welsh-Canadian fantasy and science fiction writer and poet. She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2002 and the World Fantasy award for her novel Tooth and Claw in 2004. Her novel Ha'penny was a co-winner of the 2008 Prometheus Award...
- Prologue and first nine chapters at WebscriptionsWebscriptionsWebscriptions is a web services company that has sold e-books without DRM since 1999. It is closely associated with Jim Baen's Baen Books. Purchasers can download the same e-book in five different formats, even long after the initial purchase...
- A Fire Upon the Deep at Worlds Without End