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Accelerando (novel)
Encyclopedia
Accelerando is a 2005 science fiction
novel consisting of a series of interconnected short stories by British
author Charles Stross
. As well as normal hardback and paperback editions, it was released as a free e-book
under the Creative Commons attribution-noncommercial-no derivatives license
. Accelerando won the Locus Award
in 2006, and was nominated for several other awards in 2005 and 2006, including the Hugo
, Campbell
, Clarke
, and British Science Fiction Association Awards.
, accelerando means "speeding up" and is used as a tempo marking in musical notation
. In Stross' novel, it refers to the accelerating rate
at which humanity in general, and/or the novel's characters, head towards the technological singularity
. The term was earlier used in this way by Kim Stanley Robinson
in his 1990s Mars trilogy
.
s of a family before, during, and after a technological singularity
. It was originally written as a series of novelette
s and novella
s, all published in Asimov's Science Fiction
magazine in the period 2001 to 2004.
The first three stories follow the character of agalmic "venture altruist" Manfred Macx starting in the early 21st century, the second three stories follow his daughter Amber, and the final three focus largely on her son Sirhan in the completely transformed world at the end of the century.
According to Stross, the initial inspiration for the stories was his experience working as a programmer for a high-growth company during the dot-com boom of the 1990s.
are dismantled over time to form a Matrioshka brain
, a vast solar-powered computational device inhabited by minds inconceivably more advanced and complex than naturally-evolved intelligences such as human beings. This proves to be a normal stage in the life-cycle of an inhabited solar system; the galaxies are revealed to be filled with such Matrioshka brains. Intelligent consciousnesses outside of Matrioshka brains may communicate via wormhole
networks.
The notion that the universe is dominated by a communications network of superintelligence
s bears comparison with Olaf Stapledon
's 1937 science-fiction novel Star Maker
, although Stapledon's advanced civilizations are said to communicate psychically rather than informatically.
for Best Science Fiction Novel, and the 2010 Estonian SF Award for Best Translated Novel of 2009. Additionally, the novel was shortlisted for several other awards, including:
The original short story "Halo" (June 2002) was shortlisted for:
The original short story "Router" (September 2002) was shortlisted for:
The original short story "Nightfall" (April 2003) was shortlisted for:
The original short story "Elector" (September 2004) was shortlisted for:
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 consisting of a series of interconnected short stories by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
author Charles Stross
Charles Stross
Charles David George "Charlie" Stross is a British writer of science fiction, Lovecraftian horror and fantasy. He was born in Leeds.Stross specialises in hard science fiction and space opera...
. As well as normal hardback and paperback editions, it was released as a free e-book
E-book
An electronic book is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital...
under the Creative Commons attribution-noncommercial-no derivatives license
Creative Commons licenses
Creative Commons licenses are several copyright licenses that allow the distribution of copyrighted works. The licenses differ by several combinations that condition the terms of distribution. They were initially released on December 16, 2002 by Creative Commons, a U.S...
. Accelerando won the 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...
in 2006, and was nominated for several other awards in 2005 and 2006, including the Hugo
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually 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 officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
, Campbell
Campbell Award
Campbell Award may refer to:*Science fiction awards named in honour of John W. Campbell:**John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel**John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer...
, Clarke
Arthur C. Clarke Award
The Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. The award was established with a grant from Arthur C. Clarke and the first prize was awarded in 1987...
, and British Science Fiction Association Awards.
Title
In ItalianItalian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
, accelerando means "speeding up" and is used as a tempo marking in musical notation
Musical notation
Music notation or musical notation is any system that represents aurally perceived music, through the use of written symbols.-History:...
. In Stross' novel, it refers to the accelerating rate
Accelerating change
In futures studies and the history of technology, accelerating change is a perceived increase in the rate of technological progress throughout history, which may suggest faster and more profound change in the future...
at which humanity in general, and/or the novel's characters, head towards the technological singularity
Technological singularity
Technological singularity refers to the hypothetical future emergence of greater-than-human intelligence through technological means. Since the capabilities of such an intelligence would be difficult for an unaided human mind to comprehend, the occurrence of a technological singularity is seen as...
. The term was earlier used in this way 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...
in his 1990s 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...
.
Plot introduction
The book is a collection of nine short stories telling the tale of three generationGeneration
Generation , also known as procreation in biological sciences, is the act of producing offspring....
s of a family before, during, and after a technological singularity
Technological singularity
Technological singularity refers to the hypothetical future emergence of greater-than-human intelligence through technological means. Since the capabilities of such an intelligence would be difficult for an unaided human mind to comprehend, the occurrence of a technological singularity is seen as...
. It was originally written as a series of novelette
Novelette
A novelette is a piece of short prose fiction. The distinction between a novelette and other literary forms is usually based upon word count, with a novelette being longer than a short story, but shorter than a novella...
s and novella
Novella
A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative usually longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America Nebula Awards for science fiction define the novella as having a word count between 17,500 and 40,000...
s, all published in Asimov's Science Fiction
Asimov's Science Fiction
Asimov's Science Fiction is an American science fiction magazine which publishes science fiction and fantasy and perpetuates the name of author and biochemist Isaac Asimov...
magazine in the period 2001 to 2004.
The first three stories follow the character of agalmic "venture altruist" Manfred Macx starting in the early 21st century, the second three stories follow his daughter Amber, and the final three focus largely on her son Sirhan in the completely transformed world at the end of the century.
According to Stross, the initial inspiration for the stories was his experience working as a programmer for a high-growth company during the dot-com boom of the 1990s.
Plot concepts
In Accelerando, the planets of the solar systemSolar 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...
are dismantled over time to form a Matrioshka brain
Matrioshka brain
A matrioshka brain is a hypothetical megastructure proposed by Robert Bradbury, based on the Dyson sphere, of immense computational capacity. It is an example of a Class B stellar engine, employing the entire energy output of a star to drive computer systems...
, a vast solar-powered computational device inhabited by minds inconceivably more advanced and complex than naturally-evolved intelligences such as human beings. This proves to be a normal stage in the life-cycle of an inhabited solar system; the galaxies are revealed to be filled with such Matrioshka brains. Intelligent consciousnesses outside of Matrioshka brains may communicate via wormhole
Wormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
networks.
The notion that the universe is dominated by a communications network of superintelligence
Superintelligence
A superintelligence, hyperintelligence or superhuman intelligence is a hypothetical entity which possesses intelligence surpassing that of any existing human being...
s bears comparison with Olaf Stapledon
Olaf Stapledon
William Olaf Stapledon was a British philosopher and author of several influential works of science fiction.-Life:...
's 1937 science-fiction novel Star Maker
Star Maker
-External links:*...
, although Stapledon's advanced civilizations are said to communicate psychically rather than informatically.
Characters
- Manfred Macx: Venture altruist, protagonist of the early stories.
- Aineko: Manfred's robotic, increasingly intelligent cat.
- The Lobsters: Sentient, nervous-system state vectorState vector*A state vector in general control systems describes the observed states of an object in state space, e.g. in variables of the degrees of freedom for motion *A state vector in general control systems describes the observed states of an object in state space, e.g. in variables of the degrees of...
s originating from Panulirus interruptus - the California spiny lobsterCalifornia spiny lobsterThe California spiny lobster, Panulirus interruptus, is a species of spiny lobster found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Monterey Bay, California to the Gulf of Tehuantepec, Mexico. It typically grows to a length of and is a reddish-brown color with stripes along the legs, and has a pair of...
. - Bob Franklin: Billionaire investor; originator of the Franklin Collective borgBorgBorg may refer to:* Borg * Borg means Castle in some Nordic languages.-Places:*Borg, Saarland, Germany*Borg á Mýrum, Iceland*Borg, Vestvågøy, Norway*Diocese of Borg, Norway*Borg Massif, Antarctica*Borg El Arab, Egypt...
anism. - Annette Dimarcos : ArianespaceArianespaceArianespace SA is a French company founded in 1980 as the world's first commercial space transportation company. It undertakes the production, operation, and marketing of the Ariane 5 rocket launcher as part of the Ariane programme....
employee; Manfred's second wife. - Pamela: Manfred's partner, later first wife.
- Gianni Vittoria: Former Italian Minister for Economic Affairs, sometime Minister for Transhuman Affairs, economic theoretician.
- Amber Macx: Manfred and Pamela's daughter.
- Dr. Sadeq Khurasani: Muslim imamImamAn imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question...
, engineer, Field Circus crewman. - The Wunch: Predatory alien virtual constructs embedded in the wormhole router orbiting Hyundai.
- The Slug: Sentient alien corporation/economy/419 scam from the router.
- Sirhan al-Khurasani: Son of Amber and Sadeq's physical versions.
- Vile Offspring: Derogatory term for the posthumanPosthumanPosthuman may refer to:*Posthuman, a hypothetical future being whose basic capacities so radically exceed those of present humans as to be no longer human by our current standards...
weakly godlike intelligences that inhabit the inner system by the novel's end.
Plot summary and breakdown by story
In the following table, the chapter number (#), chapter name & original magazine date of publication, and a brief synopsis are given. The nine stories are grouped into three parts.| # | Chapter/Date of original publication | Part 1 : Slow Takeoff - Synopsis |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Lobsters" June 2001 |
In early-21st-century Amsterdam Amsterdam Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population... , Manfred receives a call on a courier-delivered phone from entities claiming to be a net-based AI Artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its... working for KGB KGB The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the... .ru .ru .ru is the Latin alphabet Internet country code top-level domain for the Russian Federation introduced on April 7, 1994. The Russian alphabet internationalized country code is .рф.... , seeking his help on how to defect. Eventually, he discovers the callers are actually uploaded Mind transfer Whole brain emulation or mind uploading is the hypothetical process of transferring or copying a conscious mind from a brain to a non-biological substrate by scanning and mapping a biological brain in detail and copying its state into a computer system or another computational device... brain-scans Neuroimaging Neuroimaging includes the use of various techniques to either directly or indirectly image the structure, function/pharmacology of the brain... of the California spiny lobster California spiny lobster The California spiny lobster, Panulirus interruptus, is a species of spiny lobster found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Monterey Bay, California to the Gulf of Tehuantepec, Mexico. It typically grows to a length of and is a reddish-brown color with stripes along the legs, and has a pair of... looking to escape from humanity's interference. Driven by his commitment to agalmic economics, he manages to team them up with entrepreneur Bob Franklin, who is looking for an AI to crew his nascent spacefaring project—the building of a self-replicating Self-replicating machine A self-replicating machine is an artificial construct that is theoretically capable of autonomously manufacturing a copy of itself using raw materials taken from its environment, thus exhibiting self-replication in a way analogous to that found in nature. The concept of self-replicating machines... factory complex from cometary Asteroid mining Asteroid mining refers to the possibility of exploiting raw materials from asteroids and planetoids in space, including near-Earth objects. Minerals and volatiles could be mined from an asteroid or spent comet to provide space construction material , to extract water and oxygen to sustain the lives... material. Later, Manfred's predatory fiancée Pamela forces him to impregnate and marry her in an attempt to control him. |
| 2 | "Troubador" October 2001 |
Five years later, Manfred is in the throes of an acrimonious divorce, and has a daughter from his marriage to Pamela, frozen as a newly fertilized embryo. He meets Annette again, and begins a relationship with her. Three schemes—a workable state centralized planning apparatus that can interface with external market system Market system A market system is any systematic process enabling many market players to bid and ask: helping bidders and sellers interact and make deals. It is not just the price mechanism but the entire system of regulation, qualification, credentials, reputations and clearing that surrounds that mechanism and... s, a way to upload Copyleft Copyleft is a play on the word copyright to describe the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work... the entirety of the 20th century's out-of-copyright Copyright Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time... film and music to the net, and a plan to thwart his grasping wife and her lawyers—come together perfectly. A legal precedent is established that will help define the rights of future AI Ai AI, A.I., Ai, or ai may refer to:- Computers :* Artificial intelligence, a branch of computer science* Ad impression, in online advertising* .ai, the ISO Internet 2-letter country code for Anguilla... s and uploaded minds. |
| 3 | "Tourist" February 2002 |
In Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area... , three years later, Manfred is mugged and his memories (stored in cyberware Cyberware For other uses; see Cyberware Cyberware is a relatively new and unknown field... ) are stolen, forcing him to rediscover who he is and what he's doing in Edinburgh. Meanwhile, the Lobsters are thriving in colonies situated at the L5 point, and on a comet in the asteroid belt Asteroid belt The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets... ; they, along with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory Jet Propulsion Laboratory Jet Propulsion Laboratory is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center located in the San Gabriel Valley area of Los Angeles County, California, United States. The facility is headquartered in the city of Pasadena on the border of La Cañada Flintridge and Pasadena... and the ESA European Space Agency The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states... , have picked up encrypted signals SETI The search for extraterrestrial intelligence is the collective name for a number of activities people undertake to search for intelligent extraterrestrial life. Some of the most well known projects are run by the SETI Institute. SETI projects use scientific methods to search for intelligent life... from outside 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... . Bob Franklin, now dead, is personality-reconstructed in the Franklin Collective. Manfred, his memories recovered, moves to further expand the rights of non-human intelligences. Amber, his daughter, has been defrosted and born, and is being brought up by Pamela. Aineko begins its own study—and decoding—of the alien signals. |
| # | Chapter | Part 2 : Point of Inflection - Synopsis |
| 4 | "Halo" June 2002 |
More than a decade later, Amber Macx - now in her early teens - finally breaks free from her domineering mother by utilizing a complex plot, thought up by Manfred and Annette, in which she enslaves herself via a Yemen Yemen The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east.... i shell corporation and later enlists aboard a Franklin Collective-owned, youth-crewed spacecraft, mining materials from Amalthea Amalthea (moon) Amalthea is the third moon of Jupiter in order of distance from the planet. It was discovered on September 9, 1892, by Edward Emerson Barnard and named after Amalthea, a nymph in Greek mythology. It is also known as '.... , Jupiter Jupiter Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,... 's fourth moon. Pamela petitions the imam Imam An imam is an Islamic leadership position, often the worship leader of a mosque and the Muslim community. Similar to spiritual leaders, the imam is the one who leads Islamic worship services. More often, the community turns to the mosque imam if they have a religious question... Sadeq to issue an Islamic legal judgment against Amber, which she thwarts by setting up her own empire Space colonization Space colonization is the concept of permanent human habitation outside of Earth. Although hypothetical at the present time, there are many proposals and speculations about the first space colony... on a small, privately-owned asteroid Microstate A microstate or ministate is a sovereign state having a very small population or very small land area, but usually both. Some examples include Liechtenstein, Malta, Monaco, Nauru, Singapore, and Vatican City.... . In the meantime, the alien signals have been decoded, and a physical journey to a mentioned "router" is planned. |
| 5 | "Router" September 2002 |
The alien router, orbiting a 3-light-year Light-year A light-year, also light year or lightyear is a unit of length, equal to just under 10 trillion kilometres... -distant brown dwarf Brown dwarf Brown dwarfs are sub-stellar objects which are too low in mass to sustain hydrogen-1 fusion reactions in their cores, which is characteristic of stars on the main sequence. Brown dwarfs have fully convective surfaces and interiors, with no chemical differentiation by depth... star named Hyundai +4904/-56, is visited by the spacecraft Field Circus, a Coke-can-sized mass of computronium Computronium Computronium is a material hypothesized by Norman Margolus and Tommaso Toffoli of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to be used as "programmable matter," a substrate for computer modeling of virtually any real object.... propelled by a Jupiter-based laser Laser A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons. The term "laser" originated as an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation... and a lightsail Solar sail Solar sails are a form of spacecraft propulsion using the radiation pressure of light from a star or laser to push enormous ultra-thin mirrors to high speeds.... . Amber and 62 others have uploaded Mind transfer Whole brain emulation or mind uploading is the hypothetical process of transferring or copying a conscious mind from a brain to a non-biological substrate by scanning and mapping a biological brain in detail and copying its state into a computer system or another computational device... themselves to become the virtualized crew. They are contacted by a group of aliens called "The Wunch", who occupy virtual bodies based on Lobster patterns "borrowed" from transmissions. The Wunch turn out to be thieving, third-rate "barbarians" who, after a struggle, are thwarted. Amber and a few others make the decision to travel deep into the router's wormhole network. |
| 6 | "Nightfall" April 2003 |
The router explorers find themselves trapped by yet more malign aliens in a variety of virtual spaces, but are eventually set free by Aineko's machinations. They discover that they are being hosted in a Matrioshka brain Matrioshka brain A matrioshka brain is a hypothetical megastructure proposed by Robert Bradbury, based on the Dyson sphere, of immense computational capacity. It is an example of a Class B stellar engine, employing the entire energy output of a star to drive computer systems... , the builders of which seem to have disappeared (or been destroyed by their own creations), leaving an anarchy ruled by sentient, viral corporations and scavengers who attempt to use newcomers as currency. The crew finally escape by offering passage to a "rogue alien corporation" (a "pyramid scheme Pyramid scheme A pyramid scheme is a non-sustainable business model that involves promising participants payment or services, primarily for enrolling other people into the scheme, rather than supplying any real investment or sale of products or services to the public... crossed with a 419 scam Advance fee fraud An advance-fee fraud is a confidence trick in which the target is persuaded to advance sums of money in the hope of realizing a significantly larger gain... "), virtualized as a giant slug Slug Slug is a common name that is normally applied to any gastropod mollusc that lacks a shell, has a very reduced shell, or has a small internal shell... , who opens a powered route out. Thereafter, the crew begins the journey back home. |
| # | Chapter | Part 3 : Singularity - Synopsis |
| 7 | "Curator" December 2003 |
Back in Earth's solar system, the crew find that "home" is now Saturn Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn is named after the Roman god Saturn, equated to the Greek Cronus , the Babylonian Ninurta and the Hindu Shani. Saturn's astronomical symbol represents the Roman god's sickle.Saturn,... , on a floating habitat in the planet's upper atmosphere, where they meet Sirhan, son of the physical Amber and Sadeq, who both stayed (and died) at home. The crew upload their virtual states into new bodies, and find that they are all now bankrupt, unable to compete with the new Economics 2.0 model practiced by the posthuman intelligences of the inner system. Manfred, Pamela, and Annette are present in various forms. Bailiff Bailiff A bailiff is a governor or custodian ; a legal officer to whom some degree of authority, care or jurisdiction is committed... s—sentient enforcement constructs—arrive to "repossess" Amber and Aineko, but a scheme is hatched whereby the Slug is introduced to Economics 2.0, which keeps both constructs very busy. |
| 8 | "Elector" September 2004 |
In the increasingly populated Saturnian floating cities, Amber, Annette, Gianni and Manfred begin a political campaign to finance a scheme to escape the predations of the "Vile Offspring" by journeying once more to the router network, with Amber as the leader of the "Accelerationista" party. She loses the election (to the stay-at-home "conservationista" faction), but once more the Lobsters step in to help, by offering passage to uploads on their large ships if the humans agree to act as explorers and mappers. |
| 9 | "Survivor" October 2004 |
In the centuries following the singularity, the router has, once again, been reached. Learning from it, the refugees have created their own network, enabling them to explore vast distances. Habitats built around Hyundai are home to copies that wish to stay put, including child-clones. Aineko returns to make Manfred an offer that, if he accepts it, will result in Aineko leaving them alone forever. |
Allusions/references to contemporary science
The novel contains numerous allusions to real-world scientific concepts and individuals, including:- The lobster stomatogastric ganglionStomatogastric nervous systemThe Stomatogastric Nervous System is a commonly studied neural network composed of several ganglia in arthropods that controls the motion of the gut and foregut. The network of neurons acts as a central pattern generator. It is a model system for motor pattern generation because of the small...
(STG) - 1, 2, 3, 4. - Rubberized concrete.
- The Fermi paradoxFermi paradoxThe Fermi paradox is the apparent contradiction between high estimates of the probability of the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations and the lack of evidence for, or contact with, such civilizations....
: Stross offers a solution to the paradox, claiming that the apparent lack of intelligent life is an illusion created by a shortage of bandwidthBandwidth (computing)In computer networking and computer science, bandwidth, network bandwidth, data bandwidth, or digital bandwidth is a measure of available or consumed data communication resources expressed in bits/second or multiples of it .Note that in textbooks on wireless communications, modem data transmission,...
(see Information theoryInformation theoryInformation theory is a branch of applied mathematics and electrical engineering involving the quantification of information. Information theory was developed by Claude E. Shannon to find fundamental limits on signal processing operations such as compressing data and on reliably storing and...
). - The roboticist and futurist Hans MoravecHans MoravecHans Moravec is an adjunct faculty member at the Robotics Institute of Carnegie Mellon University. He is known for his work on robotics, artificial intelligence, and writings on the impact of technology. Moravec also is a futurist with many of his publications and predictions focusing on...
, who is mentioned numerous times. - Quantum state vectorState vector*A state vector in general control systems describes the observed states of an object in state space, e.g. in variables of the degrees of freedom for motion *A state vector in general control systems describes the observed states of an object in state space, e.g. in variables of the degrees of...
s. - The nanoassembly conformational problem.
Awards and nominations
Accelerando won the 2006 Locus AwardLocus 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, and the 2010 Estonian SF Award for Best Translated Novel of 2009. Additionally, the novel was shortlisted for several other awards, including:
- 2005 BSFA awardBSFA awardThe BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association to honor works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members...
- 2006 Hugo Award for Best NovelHugo Award for Best NovelThe 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...
- 2006 Arthur C. Clarke AwardArthur C. Clarke AwardThe Arthur C. Clarke Award is a British award given for the best science fiction novel first published in the United Kingdom during the previous year. The award was established with a grant from Arthur C. Clarke and the first prize was awarded in 1987...
- 2006 John W. Campbell Memorial Award
Individual short stories
The original short story "Lobsters" (June 2001) was shortlisted for:- 2002 Hugo Award for Best NoveletteHugo Award for Best NoveletteThe 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...
- Nebula Award for Best NoveletteNebula Award for Best NoveletteWinners of the Nebula Award for best Novelette. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year. Winning titles are listed first, with other nominees listed below.-External links:* * *...
- Theodore Sturgeon AwardTheodore Sturgeon AwardThe Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is given each year for the best science fiction short story of the year and is the short fiction counterpart of the Campbell award , published in English....
The original short story "Halo" (June 2002) was shortlisted for:
- 2003 Hugo Award for Best NoveletteHugo Award for Best NoveletteThe 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...
- Theodore Sturgeon AwardTheodore Sturgeon AwardThe Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award is given each year for the best science fiction short story of the year and is the short fiction counterpart of the Campbell award , published in English....
The original short story "Router" (September 2002) was shortlisted for:
- 2003 BSFA AwardBSFA awardThe BSFA Awards are literary awards presented annually since 1970 by the British Science Fiction Association to honor works in the genre of science fiction. Nominees and winners are chosen based on a vote of BSFA members...
The original short story "Nightfall" (April 2003) was shortlisted for:
- 2004 Hugo Award for Best NoveletteHugo Award for Best NoveletteThe 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...
The original short story "Elector" (September 2004) was shortlisted for:
- 2005 Hugo Award for Best NovellaHugo Award for Best NovellaThe 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...
Release details
- AceAce BooksAce Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
(US), hardcover, July 2005, ISBN 0-44101-284-8 - Ace (US), paperback, July 2006, ISBN 0-44101-415-6
- OrbitOrbit BooksOrbit Books is an international publisher that specialises in science fiction and fantasy books. It was founded in 1974 as part of the Macdonald Futura publishing company...
(UK), hardcover, Aug 2005, ISBN 1-84149-390-9 - Orbit, UK, paperback, June 2006, ISBN 1-84149-389-9
Online versions
- The original short story "Elector" (September 2004) is available here.
- A searchable SiSUSiSUSiSU , is a Unix command line-oriented framework for document structuring, publishing and search.-Usage:...
version of the complete novel is available in multiple formats (html, XML, opendocument ODF, pdf (landscape, portrait), plaintext, concordance). - A ManyBooks version with format selection is also available.
See also
- Singularity SkySingularity Sky- External links :* at * * at Worlds Without End...
, another Stross novel dealing with a technological singularity. - Iron SunriseIron SunriseIron Sunrise is a 2004 hard science fiction novel by author Charles Stross, which follows the events in Singularity Sky. The book was nominated for both the Hugo and Locus Awards in 2005....
, the sequel to Singularity Sky. - Post-scarcity
- Technological singularityTechnological singularityTechnological singularity refers to the hypothetical future emergence of greater-than-human intelligence through technological means. Since the capabilities of such an intelligence would be difficult for an unaided human mind to comprehend, the occurrence of a technological singularity is seen as...
- TranshumanismTranshumanismTranshumanism, often abbreviated as H+ or h+, is an international intellectual and cultural movement that affirms the possibility and desirability of fundamentally transforming the human condition by developing and making widely available technologies to eliminate aging and to greatly enhance human...
- CopyleftCopyleftCopyleft is a play on the word copyright to describe the practice of using copyright law to offer the right to distribute copies and modified versions of a work and requiring that the same rights be preserved in modified versions of the work...
External links
- Official page (includes downloadable ebooks in several formats)
- Accelerando Technical Companion (on wikibooks)
- SciFi.com interview.
- Audio review and discussion of Accelerando at The Science Fiction Book Review Podcast
- Accelerando at Worlds Without End