Bibliograph

Viscous circle, Piers Anthony

Type

Label

Viscous circle, Piers Anthony

Language

eng

Index

no index present

Literary Form

fiction

Main title

Viscous circle

Nature of contents

dictionaries

Oclc number

874921764

Responsibility statement

Piers Anthony

Series statement

Cluster series, book five

Summary

The CLUSTER series of SF adventures is set in a future focused on colonization of distant planets. Sphere Sol is about 100 light years in diameter, centered on the Earth & rsquo;s sun. Surrounding this sphere are other, similar spheres each centered on another star such as Polaris or Canopus. Colonization is accomplished by: instantaneous teleportation, called matter transmission or mattermission (very expensive); & ldquo;freezer & rdquo; ships in which colonists are sent in cryonic preservation at very high speeds (much decay and average 50% loss of colonists occurs during the voyages) and lifeships, slower, safer multigenerational vessels with voyages that run to centuries (during which the travelers regress in technical sophistication.) Because of the difficulty of colonization and the smaller population bases, all spheres suffer spherical regression--the greater the distance from source star to colony, the lower the level of technology that survives. Social organizations regress backward to historical periods of the home planet's past. Outworld, Sphere Sol's farthest colony, is populated by paleolithic tribes who hunt with flint spears and make fire. Colonists know about the interstellar empire and the home worlds mattermit government and security personnel to all colony worlds. Every living thing has a Kirlian aura that can be measured. Through transfer, a refinement of mattermission technology, the mind and personality of individuals with high aura can be sent to animate a body physically distant but a hosted aura fades at the rate of about 1 unit per Earth day and higher-Kirlian individuals last longer and thus have more freedom of movement. The first three novels in the sequence, CLUSTER, CHAINING THE LADY and KIRLIAN QUEST form a linked trilogy. THOUSANDSTAR and VISCOUS CIRCLE came later and take place in the time sequence between the second and third volumes of the original trilogy. VISCOUS CIRCLE is a story about a strange and inhuman race of beings and an experimental attempt to transfer into creatures that seem only slightly sapient. They are ultimate pacifists who take the form of magnetic disks that float through space and simply demagnetize and destroy themselves when faced with an unpleasant thought. The bloodthirsty Solarians, in their desperate hurry to find the mysterious Ancient Site, are determined to wipe out the Bands, a strange and beautiful species whose society is an anarchy of peace. Only Rondl, the whirling green Band can save his race, for he has a singular and awesome knowledge. But suddenly Rondl makes a shocking discovery about his identity--a discovery that may cost him his honor, his beautiful lover Cirl, even his very life

Table Of Contents

Prolog ; Chapter 1: Mission; Chapter 2: Rondl; Chapter 3: Cirl; Chapter 4: Quest; Chapter 5: Invasion; Chapter 6: War; Chapter 7: Dream; Chapter 8: Campaign; Chapter 9: Monster; Chapter 10: Woman; Chapter 11: Tangent; Chapter 12: Double Circle; Chapter 13: Cerberus; Chapter 14: Maze; Chapter 15: Viscous Circle; Chapter 16: Moon Fair; Chapter 17: The Lie; Chapter 18: Triangle; Chapter 19: Trap; Chapter 20: Reality; Epilog ; Author's Note ; Addendum, 2009

Classification