Skip to main content

novel - Story (series) identification: Mind controlling satellite, a return to Earth, and two warring alien species


I'm trying to find a series of stories (a trilogy, I think) with a slew of distinctive features. I can't remember when the books were written (I read them about a year and a half ago), but I can remember several points about the story:


1: It begins in a peaceful city controlled by a matriarchy.



2: Young men and women are tutored in the ways of the world by 'Aunts' and 'Uncles' (who have no actual familial connection).


3: The whole world is actually a colony whose inhabitants are being prevented from developing scientifically by a highly complex mind controlling satellite.


4: The satellite starts to break down, allowing some (including one particularly successful warlord) to fight it's control and develop destructive technologies.


5: The satellite loads itself up with some people (the protagonists) and heads back to Earth for repair.


6: Earth has changed and is now home to two sentient species, one avian ('angels', I seem to recall) and the other subterranean (and fond of sculpture).


7: These two species are in conflict, but are also intricately linked with each other's breeding behaviour.


8: The humans, returned from the colony by the mind controlling satellite, create peace between the two civilisations.


There are so many disparate elements here that I'm beginning to wonder if I just made the whole thing up in a fever dream. Anybody got any ideas?



Answer



That sounds like the Homecoming Saga (A trilogy) by Orson Scott Card. It starts out in a very ancient city (40 million years) on a world where the people are kept from developing along certain warlike technological lines by a mind control satellite, whose breakdown forms a major plot point. For instance, magnetic levitation is an available technology, but plain wheeled wagons are not because they can be used to haul soldiers. Young men are tutored in sex by their Aunties, although I don't remember anything about Uncles. IIRC, it was scifi retelling of the book of Mormon. I don't recall any aliens, but I only read the first book.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

futurama - How much time is lost in 'Time Keeps on Slippin''

In time Keeps on Slippin' , Farnsworth creates a basketball team which he matures by abusing Chronitons. This leads to time skipping forward by random, but ever increasing amounts. How much time was skipped in this way? Answer Unfortunately, I don't think a good estimate can be made for this, for two reasons: Many of the time skips move forward by an indeterminate amount of time. At one point, the Professor mentions localized regions of space skipping forward much more than others. We then see two young boys on the street below complaining about having to pay social security, only to suddenly become senior citizens and start complaining about wanting their money. Thus, each individual could have experienced a different amount of time skippage.
Post a Comment
Read more

aliens - Interstellar Zoo story

I vaguely remember this story from my childhood: it was about an interstellar zoo that came to Earth with lots of bizarre and unusual species, and humans would file through and gape at all the crazy looking creatures from other planets. The twist came at the end when the perspective shifted to the other side of the bars and we discovered that the "creatures" were traveling through space on a kind of safari. They thought they were the visitors and we were the animals. Neither side knew that the other side thought they were the zoo creatures. Answer Got it. Zoo, by Edward D. Hoch. Published in 1958. Link to Publication History Link to PDF
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - What is the difference between Diffindo and Sectumsempra?

In the Harry Potter books, Diffindo is called the 'Severing Charm' and it’s most commonly used to cut ropes and the like. However, in the last book Hermione uses it on Ron but misses, creating a 'slash in his jeans' and his knee gets cut, causing him to 'roar in pain'. We've only seen Sectumsempra used once on screen when Harry directly uses it on Malfoy in the sixth book, but there it's mentioned that he is 'waving his wand wildly'. Wouldn't Diffindo, if used in such a fashion also cause a similar effect? Similarly, if it was able to cut Ron, it would also be able to, say, chop off an ear (George's)? In that case, how are these two spells different, except for Sectumsempra seemingly used exclusively to hurt humans? Answer While Diffindo and Sectumsempra both can be countered by other spells, Diffindo is far more easily countered. Reparo, a relatively common spell, can completely reverse its effect when used once. “He pulled the old cop...
Post a Comment
Read more

harry potter - How could Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra?

I want to be very careful about how I ask this question – I am not asking How did Voldemort die? [CLOSED] Below the text is the relevant passages from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows if anyone wants to review them (I'm sorry for the amount of text). How did Expelliarmus beat Avada Kedavra and kill Voldemort? I feel the reason Harry's Expelliarmus overpowered Voldemort's Avada Kedavra curse has to do with who was master of the Elder Wand and how the Elder Wand works. I've always had trouble understanding fully how the Elder Wand works, though. How much did the fact that Voldemort never truly won or mastered the Elder Wand factor into how Expelliarmus reacted to Avada Kedavra and caused Avada Kedavra to rebound and kill Voldemort? An answer based in book canon would be especially welcome, but any canon source really is fine. Harry heard the high voice shriek as he, too, yelled his best hope to the heavens, pointing Draco’s wand: ‘ Avada Kedavra !’ ‘ Expelliarmus !...
Post a Comment
Read more