Well World
Encyclopedia
The Well World is a fictional planet in Jack L. Chalker
's "Well of Souls" and "Watchers at the Well" series of novels.
The Well World was constructed by an ancient alien species known as the Markovians who predated the existence of the current Universe
. They were the first and only intelligent species to arise in the original universe and developed immense levels of technology that allowed them to manipulate reality on a basic level. They constructed layers of machinery miles beneath the surfaces of their colony world
s that responded to telepathic commands (in a manner very similar to the Krell
Machine in Forbidden Planet
). Their localized omnipotence did not lead to self-destruction (as it did for the Krell), but eventually the Markovians developed a sense of ennui and incompleteness that they were unable to fully understand or resolve. The Well World was eventually constructed as a means of trying to overcome whatever flaw in themselves was stopping them.
The Well World is a computer roughly the size of Earth
with a crust of normal rock, water and air over the surface making it resemble a normal planet. The computer is responsible for "simulating" an entire new universe superimposed over the old Markovian one. The surface is divided up into 1560 large hexagonal regions (780 per hemisphere) each with an independent and often dramatically different climate. Each is home to a new species of intelligent life developed by the Markovians, and supports a maximum tech level enforced by the computer (called the Well of Souls). Devices above the allowed tech level simply fail to function in low-tech hexes. The southern hemisphere is devoted to relatively Terrestrial
environments with atmospheres high in oxygen and carbon-based life (or, in some cases, life forms compatible with carbon-based species). The northern hemisphere is devoted to more exotic and variable environments (often with non-carbon biology
), with an enormous wall at the equator keeping them separate. Two large circular regions known as the Northern and Southern Zones cap each pole. Each Zone contains gates for entering the Well World from elsewhere in the universe, embassies for each of the hexes in their hemispheres and gates to those hexes, and gates for travel to the opposite Zone. Outgoing travel from a Zone is limited to one's home hex or the opposite Zone. Hexes bordering the equatorial and Zone walls are divided in half and joined with neighboring hex-segments to form wing-shaped regions. Trenches known as 'Avenues' form the borders between the equatorial hexes, and provide entry to the Well's controls.
The Markovians travelled en masse to the Well World and used the computer to translate themselves
into members of the various species living on it. After residing in that species' hex until the species' viability had been confirmed, they would be teleported out to colonize an appropriate planet in the new universe. In this manner the Markovians started their technological and social development over from scratch. By using thousands of different approaches to existence, they hoped that once they reacquired their old level of technology one of their child species would know what to do with it. Humanity was one such created species.
The Markovians have all passed through the Well in this manner (with one or two possible exceptions) but the ancient Markovian colony worlds scattered throughout the new universe still sometimes had functional teleportation machinery that would inadvertently snare individuals and send them to the Well World. These individuals would be automatically transformed
into randomly selected species on the well just like the Markovians were, but without Markovians running the operation new species were no longer being created or sent out to other planets.
In later books a human scientist named Zinder developed a technology that allowed a human-built AI
named Obie to remotely interface with the Well of Souls and change local regions of reality without initially realizing that this is how the reality-manipulations were being done. Zinder and Obie were ultimately lost but human governments later reconstructed part of his research and developed the Zinder Nullifier, a weapon that simply "blanked" the region of space it was targeted at. The Nullifiers were a vital weapon in winning a war of species survival against extragalactic invaders, but the 'blanking' was creating uncontrolled areas of space, in effect, shorting the Well's controls. When this reached a certain size, it became too much for the Well's basic error handling procedures to deal with and became self perpetuating, like a minor tear slowly growing under stress to a fabric. An expanding region of the universe began going blank and the Well of Souls ultimately had to be rebooted to prevent it from being irreversibly damaged, causing the Universe to end
and be recreated.
Jack L. Chalker
Jack Laurence Chalker was an American science fiction author. Chalker was also a Baltimore City Schools history teacher in Maryland for 12 years, retiring in 1978 to write full-time...
's "Well of Souls" and "Watchers at the Well" series of novels.
The Well World was constructed by an ancient alien species known as the Markovians who predated the existence of the current Universe
Universe
The Universe is commonly defined as the totality of everything that exists, including all matter and energy, the planets, stars, galaxies, and the contents of intergalactic space. Definitions and usage vary and similar terms include the cosmos, the world and nature...
. They were the first and only intelligent species to arise in the original universe and developed immense levels of technology that allowed them to manipulate reality on a basic level. They constructed layers of machinery miles beneath the surfaces of their colony world
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...
s that responded to telepathic commands (in a manner very similar to the Krell
Krell
In the classic 1956 science fiction film, "Forbidden Planet", the extinct race of advanced beings of the planet Altair IV are known as the "Krell"...
Machine in Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet
Forbidden Planet is a 1956 science fiction film directed by Fred M. Wilcox, with a screenplay by Cyril Hume. It stars Leslie Nielsen, Walter Pidgeon, and Anne Francis. The characters and its setting have been compared to those in William Shakespeare's The Tempest, and its plot contains certain...
). Their localized omnipotence did not lead to self-destruction (as it did for the Krell), but eventually the Markovians developed a sense of ennui and incompleteness that they were unable to fully understand or resolve. The Well World was eventually constructed as a means of trying to overcome whatever flaw in themselves was stopping them.
The Well World is a computer roughly the size of Earth
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
with a crust of normal rock, water and air over the surface making it resemble a normal planet. The computer is responsible for "simulating" an entire new universe superimposed over the old Markovian one. The surface is divided up into 1560 large hexagonal regions (780 per hemisphere) each with an independent and often dramatically different climate. Each is home to a new species of intelligent life developed by the Markovians, and supports a maximum tech level enforced by the computer (called the Well of Souls). Devices above the allowed tech level simply fail to function in low-tech hexes. The southern hemisphere is devoted to relatively Terrestrial
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
environments with atmospheres high in oxygen and carbon-based life (or, in some cases, life forms compatible with carbon-based species). The northern hemisphere is devoted to more exotic and variable environments (often with non-carbon biology
Alternative biochemistry
Hypothetical types of biochemistry are forms of biochemistry speculated to be scientifically viable but not proven to exist at this time. While the kinds of living beings we know on earth commonly use carbon for basic structural and metabolic functions, water as a solvent and DNA or RNA to define...
), with an enormous wall at the equator keeping them separate. Two large circular regions known as the Northern and Southern Zones cap each pole. Each Zone contains gates for entering the Well World from elsewhere in the universe, embassies for each of the hexes in their hemispheres and gates to those hexes, and gates for travel to the opposite Zone. Outgoing travel from a Zone is limited to one's home hex or the opposite Zone. Hexes bordering the equatorial and Zone walls are divided in half and joined with neighboring hex-segments to form wing-shaped regions. Trenches known as 'Avenues' form the borders between the equatorial hexes, and provide entry to the Well's controls.
The Markovians travelled en masse to the Well World and used the computer to translate themselves
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
into members of the various species living on it. After residing in that species' hex until the species' viability had been confirmed, they would be teleported out to colonize an appropriate planet in the new universe. In this manner the Markovians started their technological and social development over from scratch. By using thousands of different approaches to existence, they hoped that once they reacquired their old level of technology one of their child species would know what to do with it. Humanity was one such created species.
The Markovians have all passed through the Well in this manner (with one or two possible exceptions) but the ancient Markovian colony worlds scattered throughout the new universe still sometimes had functional teleportation machinery that would inadvertently snare individuals and send them to the Well World. These individuals would be automatically transformed
Shapeshifting
Shapeshifting is a common theme in mythology, folklore, and fairy tales. It is also found in epic poems, science fiction literature, fantasy literature, children's literature, Shakespearean comedy, ballet, film, television, comics, and video games...
into randomly selected species on the well just like the Markovians were, but without Markovians running the operation new species were no longer being created or sent out to other planets.
In later books a human scientist named Zinder developed a technology that allowed a human-built 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...
named Obie to remotely interface with the Well of Souls and change local regions of reality without initially realizing that this is how the reality-manipulations were being done. Zinder and Obie were ultimately lost but human governments later reconstructed part of his research and developed the Zinder Nullifier, a weapon that simply "blanked" the region of space it was targeted at. The Nullifiers were a vital weapon in winning a war of species survival against extragalactic invaders, but the 'blanking' was creating uncontrolled areas of space, in effect, shorting the Well's controls. When this reached a certain size, it became too much for the Well's basic error handling procedures to deal with and became self perpetuating, like a minor tear slowly growing under stress to a fabric. An expanding region of the universe began going blank and the Well of Souls ultimately had to be rebooted to prevent it from being irreversibly damaged, causing the Universe to end
Ultimate fate of the universe
The ultimate fate of the universe is a topic in physical cosmology. Many possible fates are predicted by rival scientific theories, including futures of both finite and infinite duration....
and be recreated.
The Well of Souls series
- Midnight at the Well of SoulsMidnight at the Well of SoulsMidnight at the Well of Souls is the first book in the Well of Souls series by American author Jack L. Chalker, first published as a paperback in 1977.-Plot introduction:...
, Del Rey, 1977 (ISBN 0-7434-3522-2) - Exiles at the Well of SoulsExiles at the Well of SoulsExiles at the Well of Souls is the second book in the Well of Souls series by American author Jack L. Chalker, and the first in a duology with Quest for the Well of Souls.-Plot summary:...
, Del Rey, 1978 (ISBN 0-7434-3603-2) - Quest for the Well of SoulsQuest for the Well of SoulsQuest for the Well of Souls is the third book in the Well of Souls series by American author Jack L. Chalker, and completes the Wars of the Well World duology begun with Exiles at the Well of Souls...
, Del Rey, 1978 (ISBN 0-7434-7153-9) - The Return of Nathan BrazilThe Return of Nathan BrazilThe Return of Nathan Brazil is the fourth book in the Well of Souls series by American author Jack L. Chalker.-Plot introduction:The Dreel are a viral hive-mind species, intent on taking over the galaxy. When the humans who are still free discover the invasion and fight back, they are pushed to...
, Del Rey, 1980 (ISBN 0-345-28367-8) - Twilight at the Well of SoulsTwilight at the Well of SoulsTwilight at the Well of Souls is the fifth novel in the Well of Souls series by American author Jack L. Chalker. It is a science fiction novel...
, Del Rey, 1980 (ISBN 0-345-28368-6) - The Sea is Full of Stars, December, 1999 (ISBN 0-345-39486-0)
- Ghost of the Well of Souls, 2000 (ISBN 0-345-39485-2)
The Watchers at the Well series
- Echoes of the Well of Souls, Del Rey, trade paperback, May, 1993 (ISBN 0-345-38686-8)
- Shadow of the Well of Souls, Del Rey Feb. 1994 (ISBN 0-345-36202-0)
- Gods of the Well of Souls, Del Rey, 1994 (ISBN 0-345-38850-X)