From another message board that I frequent, posted by eversbane of that MB:
It’s a near future, first Earth colony story. Probes discover (quite fortuitously) that a near-by solar system includes an Earth-like planet. All the nations join together, pooling resources to launch a slow-boat automated colony ship with frozen embryos. Upon arrival all the set-up is done by pre-progammed AI robots, so that when the human embryos are brought to term they’re born into a colony that is completely self-sufficient, all basic survival needs met by the automated systems that initially set up the colony and continue to maintain it. The colonists don’t have to do anything related to basic survival. That’s a major plot element, that the colonists are freed of scrabbling for survival.
Meanwhile, back on earth, after the launch of the colony ship things break down politically. There is war. To survive, the US becomes highly militant politically. Afterward, utilizing new technologies prompted by the war effort, separate countries race to launch followup colony ships - each country fearful that the next war will be the end of civilization on Earth, and each desperate to claim the colony as their own.
What they don’t know is that the colonists, freed from war and the fight to survival have turned their intellects to advancements in science, the arts, and technology. The first ship to arrive is from the US. The colonists allow their new guests to come to the surface and join the colony. Pretty quickly in becomes apparent to the follow-up mission commander that he’s lost over half of his personnel to the colony. But when he finally threatens the colony they simply blow the ship out of orbit with superior technology. Then they sit back a wait for the Chinese ship that’s due along shortly.
This sounds like a cool story, but the poster can’t remember the name or author.
Please help me out here.
Voyage from Yesteryear by James P. Hogan.
Voyage from Yesteryear is a 1982 science fiction novel by British writer James P. Hogan.
According to Hogan, the idea for the book originated around 1976 when he was asked by a friend about whether there was a solution to "the Troubles" in Northern Ireland. He said that there was no solution that he could see and that the only thing that might work was separating the children and the adults to prevent the prejudices from being taught at an early age. However, some years later he returned to the ...
It’s also very similar (although not identical) to Frederick Pohl’s story The Gold at Starbow’s End (later expanded to the novel Starburst *) – the crew in that case went aboard as adults, and learn things on board, and society eventually starts breaking down in their absence.
the original novella was nominated for a Hugo, I believe.
*He changed the title , I expect, because he found out “starbows” don’t quite work that way
Five minutes. I love this board!
Adn thanks for the tip - it sounds like a great story.
WOW!
Thank you all so very much.
Boy, am I gonna look like a Intrawebz Genious over at the other message board, or what?
heh heh heh
CalMeacham:
It’s also very similar (although not identical) to Frederick Pohl’s story The Gold at Starbow’s End (later expanded to the novel Starburst *) – the crew in that case went aboard as adults, and learn things on board, and society eventually starts breaking down in their absence.
the original novella was nominated for a Hugo, I believe.
*He changed the title , I expect, because he found out “starbows” don’t quite work that way
That novel is sitting on my shelf right behind me.