Schismatrix by Bruce Sterling
"Schismatrix" is a science fiction novel by Bruce Sterling that serves as an expansive exploration of human evolution and ideological conflict within a richly developed universe. The story unfolds over 170 years and follows the life of Abelard Malcolm Tyler Lindsay, an aristocrat caught between two opposing factions—the Shapers and the Mechanists. While the Shapers utilize biological enhancements like cloning and genetic engineering to extend life, the Mechanists rely on cybernetic technologies and computer integration. This ideological divide fuels ongoing wars and political strife, complicating Lindsay's existence as he embodies traits of both groups yet belongs to neither.
Set against a backdrop of artificial worlds known as circumlunar zaibatsus, Lindsay navigates a turbulent life marked by house arrest and exile. His journey takes him through various roles, from a theater manager to a pirate, eventually leading him to become a figure of political and cultural significance. As he interacts with diverse characters and environments, Lindsay evolves into a catalyst for change, ultimately influencing the creation of a new posthuman race referred to as Angels. "Schismatrix" is a complex narrative that raises questions about identity, belonging, and the future of humanity in a universe shaped by technological and biological advancements.
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Subject Terms
Schismatrix
First published: 1985
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—cyberpunk
Time of work: An indeterminate time in the future
Locale: Various artificial worlds in the Milky Way
The Plot
Schismatrix can be seen as an extension of three of Bruce Sterling’s early “Shaper/Mechanist” short stories—“Swarm,” “Spider Rose,” and “Cicada Queen”— contained in Sterling’s short-story collection Crystal Express (1989). In an interview with Larry McCaffery in Across the Wounded Galaxies (1990), Sterling admits that he “didn’t want to end up writing the same thing all my life, so I decided I would just burn it all with Schismatrix.”
The pace of Schismatrix is fast, and without the time and location updates at the beginning of each section, one would soon be lost because the story encompasses more than 170 years and, it seems, almost as many worlds. Readers are introduced to the protagonist, Abelard Malcolm Tyler Lindsay, in the first pages and then follow his life and actions throughout the novel.
The story begins on the Mare Transquillitatis People’s Circumlunar Zaibatsu, one of the ten circumlunar artificial worlds of the Concatenation. Lindsay, an aristocrat and failed Shaper diplomat, is being held in house arrest by his Mechanist wife and uncle. The Shapers and the Mechanists are the two main ideological/political factions in this universe. At one time, both groups were human, but over the centuries each has found a way to prolong, enhance, and alter life. The Mechanists use cybernetic methods, such as prosthetics and wiring themselves into computers, and the Shapers use biological methods, such as cloning, periodic rejuvenation, and genetic engineering. These two factions are constantly at war of various types—overt, political, and economic. Lindsay’s family, which is of a Mechanist ideology, sent the young Lindsay to undergo ten years of Shaper diplomatic training in an attempt at peace. This attempt failed, and now Lindsay is accepted by neither the Mechanists, because of his Shaper qualities, nor the Shapers, because he is “unplanned.” It is therefore up to Lindsay to create his own niche.
As Lindsay “sundogs” his way through the universe over the course of 170 years, he remains detached yet acts as a catalyst that continually reshapes the galactic worlds. He goes from being an outcast to a political and cultural hero. Over the course of the novel, he plays the roles of a sundog, a theater manager, a lover of a brothel owner, a pirate, a Shaper husband and professor, a diplomat who is the leading negotiator with the Investors (the first aliens encountered), a scientist, and finally the leader of a faction that transforms into a new “Posthuman” race called Angels.