The Alchemists -- Geary Gravel

Geary Gravel has written a number of science fiction stories, a few of them in a lighter vein (Breakneck Boys) than others. In The Alchemists, he depicts the bewildering variety of cultures and human types that could blossom in an age where interstellar travel is commonplace. (While we struggle to conserve the sad remnants of fossil fuels on Terra, those of us who can dream of intergalactic transportation are lucky indeed.)

Not many in the modern world have the luxury of regarding his fellow prisoners on the planet with the benign curiosity of Geary Gravel. Often those of us who travel widely do not have the time to spend in scrutiny of such trivial things as interesting people. Those of us who do not travel are often surrounded by personalities who, unfortunately, are interesting only in their natural habitat. As a result, modern novels feature few fully fleshed-out characters.

In contrast, one is swept along with total belief in all the personalities Geary Gravel reveals in The Alchemists. Most importantly, Gravel (or Pebbles, as I call him when nobody is watching) lavishes sincere affection on all these characters. If the author does not love his characters, nobody else is going to, are they? (Maybe they are. "Oh you poor li'l thing; was naughty ol' Author mean to 'oo?") The seven or eight characters are gathered as an investigative team, to study a species of being in a distant planet, to decide whether the species qualifies as "human". (One of the most interesting of the characters is the major domo of an intelligent dwelling, called The Hut, an incorporeal personality that is the logistician of the team, and cook and butler all rolled into one.) Some committee somewhere will pass judgment on the planet and the species; and if they are judged less than human, they will be interned in preserves or zoos, and the planet 'developed' for real humans. Unfortunately, except for their appearance, the species under investigation appears completely subhuman, lacking speech, culture, intelligence or anything human at all. The leader of the investigative team, frustrated with the entire philosophy of the ruling elite and its expansionist policies, is determined to obtain a favorable judgment for the species. The specialists gathered to help him are all persuaded to support his plan. [Added 9/3:] Something that struck me might be relevant to a potential reader: the subtext (and not much disguised at all) is the question of what exactly it means to be human. This is an issue of only theoretical importance to me, but of course of burning significance of those who are torn by the abortion debate. Several of the characters in the novel come of branches of humanity that have diverged so far that they have abilities and cultural conditioning that would dismay most of us.

On the other extreme is The Hut, cautiously under the radar, struggling to approach the human ideal through some vague imperative of its programming, or perhaps completely unintendedly. The naive blunders of HAL9000 are only mildly echoed here; if one wanted a HAL today, it would look very much like The HUT. There is no doubt that the subject-matter is deeply felt. The writing is poetic and loaded with passion; the frustrations of the team members, aggravated by their cultural differences fuel the tension that Gravel ruthlessly laces the pages with. (One thing he does beautifully is to depict the struggle of a weak but determined female character. Such characters, such an important part of my own youth, seem to be either a dying breed, or sidelined from popular fiction.) Perhaps one indication of the affection Pebbles bears this creation of his is that there is a sequel, the beautiful and enigmatic The Pathfinders. An author who lavishes thought and love into creating a universe and a collection of interesting characters has to be forgiven for not wishing to abandon them at the end of a couple of hundred pages. Pebbles sets the sequel in the same world, but lets the new character of Ai breathe, free of the characters of Alchemists, until shortly before the end of the second novel. Both books are strongly recommended. Buy them, and love them!

Archimedes