Manifold: Time
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| Author | Stephen Baxter |
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| Cover artist | Tony and Daphine Hallas/Science Photo Library |
| Country | Great Britain |
| Language | English |
| Series | Manifold |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Publisher | Voyager (UK) & Del Rey Books (USA) |
| Publication date | 1999 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 456 p. (UK hardback edition) & 456 p. (UK paperback edition) |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-00-225768-8 (UK paperback edition) & ISBN 0-00-651182-1 (UK paperback edition) |
| Followed by | Manifold: Space |
Manifold: Time is a science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter. It is the first of Baxter's Manifold trilogy (the others being Manifold: Space and Manifold: Origin), although the books can be read in any order because the series takes place in a multiverse.
The book was nominated for the 2000 Arthur C. Clarke Award.
Plot
Time is set on Earth, the inner part of the Sol System and various other
universes onwards from the 21st century. The novel covers a wide range of topics, including the
Doomsday argument, Fermi paradox,
The book begins at the end of space and time, when the last descendants of humanity face an infinite but pointless existence. Due to proton decay the physical universe has collapsed, but some form of intelligence has survived by embedding itself into a lossless computing substrate where it can theoretically survive indefinitely. However, since there will never be new input, eventually all possible thoughts will be exhausted. Some portion of this intelligence decides that this should not have been the ultimate fate of the universe, and takes action to change the past, centering around the early 21st century. The changes come in several forms, including a message to Reid Malenfant, the appearance of super-intelligent children around the world, and the discovery of a mysterious gateway on asteroid 3753 Cruithne.
Characters
- Reid Malenfant – main protagonist
- Emma Stoney – Malenfant's ex-wife and employee
- Cornelius Taine – brilliant escatologist mathematician
- Sheena – a genetically engineered squid
Style
Time is split into four parts and then into smaller sections that each focus on a different character.
Release details
- 1999, UK, Voyager (HarperColins) ISBN 0-00-225768-8 , Pub date 2 August 1999, hardback
- 2000, UK, Voyager (HarperColins) ISBN 0-00-651182-1, Pub date 7 August 2000, paperback
- 2000, USA, Del Rey Books ISBN 0-345-43075-1, Pub date ? January 2000, hardback
- 2000, USA, Del Rey Books ISBN 0-345-43076-X, Pub date ? November 2000, paperback
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Books by Stephen
Baxter
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|---|
| Xeelee Sequence: Raft – Timelike Infinity – Flux – Ring – Vacuum Diagrams – Reality Dust – Riding the Rock |
| Xeelee story elements: Great Northern - Other technology - Qax - Other species |
| Destiny's Children: Coalescent – Exultant – Transcendent – Resplendent |
| Manifold Trilogy: Time – Space – Origin – Phase Space |
| The Mammoth Trilogy: Silverhair – Longtusk – Icebones – Behemoth |
| A Time Odyssey: Time's Eye – Sunstorm – Firstborn |
| The Web Series: Gulliverzone – Webcrash |
| Time's Tapestry: Emperor – Conqueror |
| NASA Trilogy: Voyage – Titan – Moonseed |
| Others: Anti-Ice – The Time Ships – The Light of Other Days – Evolution |
| Unrelated collections: Traces – The Hunters of Pangaea |
| Non-fiction: Deep Future – Omegatropic – Ages in Chaos |
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