''Vacuum Diagrams'' is a collection of science fiction short stories by British writer
Stephen Baxter. The collection connects the novels of the
Xeelee Sequence
The Xeelee Sequence (; ) is a series of hard science fiction space opera novels, novellas, and short stories written by British science fiction author Stephen Baxter. The series spans billions of years of fictional history, centering on humanit ...
and also shows the history of mankind in the Xeelee universe, and ultimately the universe. While each short story in the collection is self-contained, the stories are presented as being contained in the context of the first story, "Eve", about a man (seemingly Jack Raoul from the portion of the timeline concerned with the Silver Ghosts) who is forced to witness the events in the short stories by a god-like being. "Eve" acts as a structure for the short stories, with an introduction at the beginning of ''Vacuum Diagrams'', short scenes occurring between each "era" (with "Eve" character explaining and introducing the next section), and an ending that wraps up the plot for the "Eve" story itself. ''Vacuum Diagrams'' won the
Philip K. Dick Award in 1999.
At the end of the collection, a chronology of the Xeelee Sequence is provided. Every short story and book from the cycle (up to 1997) is noted, with notable events from each story plotted.
"Vacuum Diagrams" is also the title of the fifteenth short story in this collection. It was originally published in ''
Interzone'' in 1990. The title "Vacuum Diagrams" refers to the violation and reassertion of the
uncertainty principle
In quantum mechanics, the uncertainty principle (also known as Heisenberg's uncertainty principle) is any of a variety of mathematical inequalities asserting a fundamental limit to the accuracy with which the values for certain pairs of physic ...
in our universe. Set in A.D. 21124, the story concerns the main character's attempt and failure to
terraform a colony due to its upset of the agenda of the galactic-scale builders known as the
Xeelee.
Collection contents
''Vacuum Diagrams'' contains the following stories (all previously published except for "Eve"):
*Prologue: Eve
*Era: Expansion
** "The Sun-People" (published 1993)
** "The Logic Pool" (1994)
** "Gossamer" (1995)
** "Cilia-of-Gold" (1994)
** "
Lieserl" (1993)
*Era: Squeem Occupation
** "
Pilot
An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators, because they a ...
" (1993)
** "The Xeelee Flower" (1987)
** "More Than Time or Distance" (1988)
** "The Switch" (1990)
*Era: Qax Occupation
** "
Blue Shift" (1989)
** "The Quagma Datum" (1989)
** "Planck Zero" (1992)
*Era: Assimilation
** "The
Gödel Sunflowers" (1992)
** "Vacuum Diagrams" (1990)
*Era: The War to End Wars
** "Stowaway" (1991)
** "The Tyranny of Heaven" (1990)
** "Hero" (1995)
*Era: Flight
** "Secret History" (1991)
*Era: Photino Victory
** "Shell" (1987)
** "The Eighth Room" (1989)
** "The Baryonic Lords" (1991)
*Epilogue: Eve
Versions in other languages
There is a Japanese version.
References
External links
''Vacuum Diagrams''at Worlds Without End
1997 short story collections
Short story collections by Stephen Baxter
Short stories by Stephen Baxter
Xeelee Sequence
Voyager Books books
End of the universe in fiction
{{1990s-sf-story-collection-stub