''Manifold: Time'' is a 1999 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter. It is the first of Baxter's ''

Manifold Trilogy The ''Manifold Trilogy'' is a series of science fiction books by British author Stephen Baxter. The series was published from 1999 to 2003. It consists of three novels and an anthology of short stories relating to the three. The three novels in t ...

'' (the others being '' Manifold: Space'' and '' Manifold: Origin''), although the books can be read in any order because the series takes place in a

multiverse The multiverse is a hypothetical group of multiple universes. Together, these universes comprise everything that exists: the entirety of space, time, matter, energy, information, and the physical laws and constants that describe them. The di ...

. The book was nominated for the 2000

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. It is named after British author Arthur C. Clarke, who gave a grant to establish the award i ...

Plot summary

''Time'' is set on Earth, the inner part of the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...

and various other universes onwards from the 21st century. The novel covers a wide range of topics, including the

Doomsday argument The Doomsday Argument (DA), or Carter catastrophe, is a probabilistic argument that claims to predict the future population of the human species, based on an estimation of the number of humans born to date. The Doomsday argument was originally p ...

Fermi paradox The Fermi paradox is the discrepancy between the lack of conclusive evidence of advanced extraterrestrial life and the apparently high a priori likelihood of its existence, and by extension of obtaining such evidence. As a 2015 article put it, ...

genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including t ...

, and humanity's extinction. The book begins at the end of space and time, when the last descendants of humanity face an infinite but pointless existence. Due to

proton decay In particle physics, proton decay is a hypothetical form of particle decay in which the proton decays into lighter subatomic particles, such as a neutral pion and a positron. The proton decay hypothesis was first formulated by Andrei Sakharov ...

, the physical universe has collapsed, but some form of intelligence has survived by embedding itself into a lossless computing substrate where it can theoretically survive indefinitely. However, because there will never be new input, eventually all possible thoughts will be exhausted. Some portion of this intelligence decides that this should not have been the

ultimate fate of the universe The ultimate fate of the universe is a topic in physical cosmology, whose theoretical restrictions allow possible scenarios for the evolution and ultimate fate of the universe to be described and evaluated. Based on available observational ev ...

, and takes action to change the past, centering on the early 21st century. The changes come in several forms, including a message to Reid Malenfant, the appearance of super-intelligent children around the world, and the discovery of a mysterious gateway on asteroid

3753 Cruithne 3753 Cruithne is a Q-type, Aten asteroid in orbit around the Sun in 1:1 orbital resonance with Earth, making it a co-orbital object. It is an asteroid that, relative to Earth, orbits the Sun in a bean-shaped orbit that effectively describes a ...

. Baxter's short story "Sheena 5" explores an alternate ending to the story of Sheena, the intelligent squid.

Characters

*Reid Malenfant – protagonist *Emma Stoney – Malenfant's ex-wife and employee *Cornelius Taine – brilliant eschatologist mathematician *Sheena – a genetically engineered squid *Maura Della – concerned politician *Michael – a "Blue" child savant and guide to Reid *Dan Ystebo – marine scientist *Anna – oldest of the "Blue" savant children

Style

''Time'' is split into four parts and then into smaller sections that each focus on a different character.

Release details

*1999, UK, Voyager (HarperCollins) , Pub date 2 August 1999, hardback *2000, UK, Voyager (HarperCollins) , Pub date 7 August 2000, paperback *2000, USA, Del Rey Books , Pub date ? January 2000, hardback *2000, USA, Del Rey Books , Pub date ? November 2000, paperback

References

External links

Manifold Time
at Worlds Without End {{Stephen Baxter 1999 science fiction novels 1999 British novels British science fiction novels Novels about the end of the universe Voyager Books books Fiction about near-Earth asteroids Novels by Stephen Baxter