Echo of Worlds by M.R. Carey

Book Review

Pauline Morgan

The idea of parallel worlds is one that has been explored in a number of ways in fiction. In early cases, there was no scientific rationale as to how the characters arrived in their alternative world. Often it was a device to allow comment on the society at the time and suggest ways in which it could be better – or worse. Later, there were machines that allowed the characters to breach the barriers between parallel worlds. String theory increased the use of the idea, as well as the idea that time was branching and every decision gave the potential for a different world to emerge.

            Echo of Worlds is the sequel to Infinity Gate. In the first novel, Carey skillfully builds up the situation and introduces the principal players. The Earth, as we know it, has been ravaged by climate change and is becoming uninhabitable. In Lagos, Nigeria, physicist Hadiz Tambuwal tried to invent a means of transporting goods quickly and easily. Instead, she stumbled upon a way to access alternative worlds. Some of these were very similar to the world she knew. Some were very different, their development having taken radically different routes. The Pandominium is a network of worlds linked by this technology (they are all versions of Earth,) but there are also worlds where the sentient beings are machines. They are linked to form the Ansurrection.

The two groups are at war, each bent on the destruction of the other. Not all Earths produced humans as the dominant sentient being. Paz’s people have evolved from rabbit-like ancestors. Her companion, Dulcie, started as a spy for the Ansurrection but has now allied herself with Paz. Another major character is Essien Nkanika, from an Earth with small differences from our own. He is a bit of a wide boy, and when he is caught, he has the option of joining the forces. This means that he is given tech implants.

            Infinity Gate introduces these characters, bringing them together near the end of the book and providing them with their greatest challenge. By the time Echo of Worlds begins, none of them are completely human, as Hadiz has had to download herself onto a portable device. She leads them back to the complex in her Lagos where she developed the Step technology that allowed her access to the infinite Earths. There she is reunited with Rupshe, an AI to whom she gave autonomy when she left.

            Out in the multiverse, Earths are being destroyed by the Scour. This unknown phenomenon is destroying all life, both biological and non-biological, and the effect is escalating. Hadiz’s team, who don’t completely trust each other, are trying to find the source and a cure for it. To this end, they want to seek out the Mother Mass. This is a sentient plant-like structure that covers the entire Earth that it developed on. The problem is that they don’t know its co-ordinates and those are top secret as it has been deemed hostile. The team believe that if they can communicate with it, it can stop the war between the Pandominium and the Ansurrection so that the two sides can work together to stop the Scour.

            The strategies that Hadiz’s team plan and execute are interspersed with chapters revolving around Melusa Baxemides and Kavak Dromishel. She is ambitious and short-sighted. She wants to force everything into the pattern she determines. Baxemides wants a way of stopping the Ansurrection worlds, permanently. Dromishel’s intent is to build a weapon that will destroy the machines’ capacity to send and receive signals, rendering them effectively dead. Baxemides can see merit in the idea and is prepared to fund the research. In her arrogance, she doesn’t accept that there will be other consequences to the deployment of such a weapon. She is also determined to track down the members of Hadiz’s team Baxemides considers to be wanted criminals and traitors.

            The group that has made its way back to Hadiz’s old lab on her Earth is initially very suspicious of each other but gradually, their individual talents weld them into a group that has the same goal, even if their initial motivations are different. Facing a complex series of issues, they work towards the purpose of stopping the Scour. Each has a well-defined personality, and it is a delight to follow their growth. The complexity of the Pandominion in both politics, world building and technology is superb. This is science fiction at its best.