''Exiles to Glory'' is a science fiction novella by American writer

Jerry Pournelle Jerry Eugene Pournelle (; August 7, 1933 – September 8, 2017) was an American scientist in the area of operations research and human factors research, a science fiction writer, essayist, journalist, and one of the first bloggers. In the 1960s ...

, published in 1978. It is a sequel to the stories in the collection ''

High Justice High, middle and low justices are notions dating from Western feudalism to indicate descending degrees of judicial power to administer justice by the maximal punishment the holders could inflict upon their subjects and other dependents. Low just ...

''. As with those stories, it weaves the story of pioneering individuals in space with considerations of the technical and financial challenges facing them. It was republished in an omnibus edition with ''High Justice'' in 2009 as '' Exile—and Glory''. Despite being written and published after the landmark novel ''

The Mote in God's Eye ''The Mote in God's Eye'' is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, first published in 1974. The story is set in the distant future of Pournelle's CoDominium universe, and charts the first contact between hu ...

'', which Pournelle co-authored with

Larry Niven Laurence van Cott Niven (; born April 30, 1938) is an American science fiction writer. His best-known works are ''Ringworld'' (1970), which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards, and, with Jerry Pournelle, ''The Mote in God's Eye'' ...

, the tone, style and themes of this novel are akin to a juvenile novel of the sort written by

Robert A. Heinlein Robert Anson Heinlein (; July 7, 1907 – May 8, 1988) was an American science fiction author, aeronautical engineer, and naval officer. Sometimes called the "dean of science fiction writers", he was among the first to emphasize scientific accu ...

in the 1950s. Pournelle returns to his favorite themes of breakdown of the rule of law, the politics of entitlement and disdain for anti-technology activists. This novel and the collection ''

'' are thought by some to be part of the

CoDominium CoDominium is a series of future history novels written by American writer Jerry Pournelle, along with several co-authors, primarily Larry Niven. Series Setting Formation of the CoDominium The point of departure of Pournelle's history is the ...

series. However, there is no direct evidence for this in any of the stories, although there is nothing contradictory either. This novel's dedication page reads "For

Dan Alderson Daniel John Alderson (October 31, 1941 – May 17, 1989) was a scientist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, and a prominent participant in science fiction fandom. He came from a middle-class family and had diabetes. A high school sci ...

, the sane genius". Alderson, at the

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center and NASA field center in the City of La Cañada Flintridge, California, United States. Founded in the 1930s by Caltech researchers, JPL is owned by NASA an ...

, conceived the

Alderson drive CoDominium is a series of future history novels written by American writer Jerry Pournelle, along with several co-authors, primarily Larry Niven. Series Setting Formation of the CoDominium The point of departure of Pournelle's history is the ...

and

Langston field CoDominium is a series of future history novels written by American writer Jerry Pournelle, along with several co-authors, primarily Larry Niven. Series Setting Formation of the CoDominium The point of departure of Pournelle's history is the ...

technologies used in the CoDominium stories. It is also related to the novel ''

Birth of Fire ''Birth of Fire'' is a science fiction novel by American writer Jerry Pournelle. It was first published by Laser Books in 1976, later published by Baen Books. It is related to the books '' Exiles to Glory'' and ''High Justice High, middle and ...

'' and together with ''High Justice'', they be seen as a starting point for the CoDominium series.

Plot summary

An intelligent young misfit, Kevin Senecal, leaves Earth to escape various troubles, including a teen gang vendetta which the authorities will not act to stop, and bureaucratic interference in his studies for an engineering degree, in a culture where environmentalists and zero-growth advocates hold sway. He enlists with the Hansen Corporation, a huge conglomerate which has re-located to the Moon, and is now involved in

asteroid mining Asteroid mining is the hypothetical exploitation of materials from asteroids and other minor planets, including near-Earth objects. Notable asteroid mining challenges include the high cost of spaceflight, unreliable identification of asteroids ...

. He is to go to the asteroid

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...

. The journey involves

laser launch Laser propulsion is a form of beam-powered propulsion where the energy source is a remote (usually ground-based) laser system and separate from the reaction mass. This form of propulsion differs from a conventional chemical rocket where both energy ...

from Earth to orbit, and a long voyage on a ship using the

NERVA Nerva (; originally Marcus Cocceius Nerva; 8 November 30 – 27 January 98) was Roman emperor from 96 to 98. Nerva became emperor when aged almost 66, after a lifetime of imperial service under Nero and the succeeding rulers of the Flavian dy ...

nuclear rocket technology. During the journey, all the passengers have to be involved in maintaining the shipboard environment, which includes

algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...

to generate oxygen from

photosynthesis Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored i ...

. Kevin falls in love with a mystery woman called Ellen MacMillan. Between them they deal with the consequences of sabotage of the ship by persons unknown, and find a way to effect the rendezvous at Ceres after the ship's computer is sabotaged. They use the expertise of Jacob Norsedal, a prototypical

computer hacker A hacker is a person skilled in information technology who uses their technical knowledge to achieve a goal or overcome an obstacle, within a computerized system by non-standard means. Though the term ''hacker'' has become associated in popu ...

who is also a top-notch mathematician and physicist. At Ceres Ellen reveals herself to be an agent for Hansen investigating the mining work, which is plagued with irregularities. In particular, a new element called ''Arthurium'' is being mined on Ceres. This is a stable

transuranic The transuranium elements (also known as transuranic elements) are the chemical elements with atomic numbers greater than 92, which is the atomic number of uranium. All of these elements are unstable and decay radioactively into other elements. ...

element of the kind predicted during the 1970s based on the theory of an Island of stability for elements of

atomic number The atomic number or nuclear charge number (symbol ''Z'') of a chemical element is the charge number of an atomic nucleus. For ordinary nuclei, this is equal to the proton number (''n''p) or the number of protons found in the nucleus of every ...

114, 120 and 126. Being super-heavy, these elements sink into the cores of planets and are not accessible, but may be found in asteroids. In the story, the arthurium is a possible catalyst for

hydrogen fusion Stellar nucleosynthesis is the creation (nucleosynthesis) of chemical elements by nuclear fusion reactions within stars. Stellar nucleosynthesis has occurred since the original creation of hydrogen, helium and lithium during the Big Bang. As a ...

and is vital to both the economy of Earth and the future of spaceflight. Rival corporations and mineral interests on Earth want to steal the arthurium or stop its production. Anti-technology politicians would like to shut down all space industry and dedicate the money to the Welfare State. Ellen is actually Glenda Hansen-Mackenzie, daughter of Aeneas Mackenzie and Laurie Jo Hansen, owner of the Hansen Corporation. She can foil the plots if she can access the Ceres computer system. However, she, Kevin and Jacob are marooned on one of Ceres' small satellites by the enemy agents. They improvise a steam-jet rocket which lets them land back on Ceres and bring an end to the intrigue.

Uses of the name Glenda

The name " Glenda" appears in three places in the CoDominium series. Apart from this character (in both this novel and ''

''), it appears in ''

The Prince ''The Prince'' ( it, Il Principe ; la, De Principatibus) is a 16th-century political treatise written by Italian diplomat and political theorist Niccolò Machiavelli as an instruction guide for new princes and royals. The general theme of ''The ...

'' as the name of the rebel military leader (and consort of Colonel John Christian Falkenberg III) on New Washington. It is also the given name of the daughter of Rod and Sally Blaine in ''

The Gripping Hand ''The Gripping Hand'' is a science fiction novel by American writers Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle, published in 1993. A sequel to their 1974 work ''The Mote in God's Eye'', ''The Gripping Hand'' is, chronologically, the last novel to be set ...

''.

External links

* {{isfdb title, id=6004, title=Exiles to Glory 1978 American novels 1978 science fiction novels Ace Books books Fiction about asteroid mining Fiction set on Ceres (dwarf planet) CoDominium series Novels by Jerry Pournelle