A DEBT TO THE STARS

Hincker presents an SF story of first contact, human survival, and banking.

When aliens first arrived on Earth in the year 2047, economist Diana Roark, the CEO of Roark Pharmaceuticals, was down on the ocean floor on a near-fatal deep-water bioprospecting mission that “shattered” an arm and a leg. As a result, she missed the alien visitation; three hours after they showed up, they were gone, having provided Augmentation that made all bodies on Earth run at peak efficiency and mysterious Obelisks that provided all of humanity’s basic needs. Thirty years later, the whole world has changed: “Why work, they had reasoned, at meaningless careers, when food and water were free, health care unnecessary, and when the natural elements had been conquered?” But for Diana, everything remained the same; as far as she knows, she’s the only human who didn’t go through Augmentation. Now 60—and unlike everyone else, showing her age—she has bone cancer that’s about to end her life, so she decides to go on the secret vacation she’s been planning. But before she can fulfill her last wishes, she’s kidnapped by an operative from the World Bank who mistakenly believes that she knows more about the aliens than anyone else does. She’s rescued by Robert, a foulmouthed alien account executive who resembles broccoli and who tells Diana she has only 48 hours left to save Earth. What follows is a unique, frantic, fun, and thought-provoking SF tale that takes surprising twists and turns. Often, it delivers unexpectedly humorous observations: “It wasn’t much of a plan, but economists were notorious for unreasonable passions and commitment to untestable theories.” Hincker essentially offers a book about banking and economists—who are both the villains and heroes of this piece—that’s anything but dry or dogmatic. Quite the contrary, it’s a zany romp with heart, reminiscent of Douglas Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy (1980) and its sequels as it follows Diana in her earnest journey of healing and heroism. An open ending promises more delights to come.

Enjoyable, funny, and thought-provoking speculative fiction.