FAMILY ENTERPRISE 2307

Centuries after Earth has become divided into two opposing cultures of super-intellects, a crisis forces the incompatible sides into diplomatic relations.

Vaughan, in his SF debut, envisions a mid-21st-century paradigm shift for humanity after the introduction of two somewhat similar yet radically divergent neurological treatments. “Full-Merge” allows literal mind-melds with similarly enhanced people, mental unions that bestow elevated cognition, sympathy, precognition, and psychokinesis, among other wonders. It’s an idyllic and altruistic state. The “PowerTurn” process also elevates the intellect to demigod levels, minus emotion and moral principles. Its recipients become super-predators, driven by ruthless ambition and competitiveness. The Rollo family, early adopters of Full-Merge, foresaw the clash of both extremes, and the visionary Sophie Rollo engineered a solution from still poorly understood physics called the Ultimate Wall. This impenetrable barrier divides the planet in half—one side is inhabited by PowerTurn followers in their dangerous Kingdom (“the Kingdom had been at war with itself throughout its history, with either ethnic or political differences sparking regional conflicts and uprisings”). Thus, both sides have abided for 250 years. But by 2307, the barrier is decaying; descendants of the still-prominent Rollos, anticipating havoc when the long-frustrated and furious PowerTurn sociopaths are unleashed, open diplomatic relations, recruiting as envoys two Kingdom elites—the darkly suspicious father-daughter combo of Seth and Atara Masson, who make munitions and conspire even against each other. Much mutual scorn and loathing must be overcome, but another challenge awaits: the Silence, a shadowy third group with its own fearful technology that schemes to dominate the planet. The author, who has a psychology background and a counseling business, weaves the principle known as PLD (power, love, discipline) into the narrative as the basis of the good guys’ cosmology, but the novel reads less like a manifesto or a fable promoting an agenda than as philosophical SF with a large-scale view of human nature, pondering how polarized interests might find cooperation and fellowship. A plethora of characters, a few somewhat confusing shifts from third- to first-person narration, and sequel-inviting twists at the end make for an occasionally challenging—but provocative—narrative.

Compelling, cerebral SF.