Cold People

Smith, Tom Rob. Cold People. New York: Scribner 2023. Print.

First Sentences:

Looking up at the night sky Ui saw only unfamiliar stars. 

These weren't the constellations that guided him between the Polynesian islands of his homeland, these were stars from the sky's outer edge, the stars his people had never bothered to name since they were no use to navigate by, dismissed at the "petuu vare" - foolish stars.

Description:

When a huge number of alien spaceships suddenly appear in the morning sky, a strange message plays on every electronic device in the world, plugged in or not: "People have thirty days to reach the continent of Antarctica." Nothing else. No reason why. No consequences revealed. Just that simple ominous message.

So starts the brilliant, challenging Cold People by Tom Rob Smith. The first contact with another species leads to a hurried mass migration of the world's people to the frozen south. Military boats, planes, oil tankers, and anything else that flies or floats is re-outfitted to carry as many passengers as possible, but of course they are insufficient in capacity to transport every person on Earth.

Those who somehow do reach Antarctica must create a completely new world when their old one is destroyed. No nations, no electronics, no internet, no money, everyone equal. These early challenges are only briefly addressed as author Smith quickly takes the story twenty years into the future after the aliens' arrival. And by then things have definitely changed for the people still alive in Antarctica.

By the end of the first year, it was apparent that humankind wouldn't survive unless it unified. Old notions of sovereignty were a luxury it could no longer afford. 

Realizing that humans are frail and completely unsuited to continuing in this bitter cold environment, much less expanding their population, the scientists among them create the "Cold People" project. They begin altering genetic material to produce "ice-adapted" humans who will be able to tolerate and thrive under icy conditions far beyond what current people could ever hope to achieve.

But there are questionable outcomes to this genetic experimentation, both ethical and dangerous, and the fate of the Antarctic  communities and mankind in general rest in the mysterious creations produced in the experimental labs.

This is a story of survival to be sure. But it is also presents thoughtful scenario where families, love, relationships, and ethics all must be reexamined to face and hopefully succeed in a challenging present and highly-uncertain future. I feel the unexpected directions taken by highly unusual characters in unique situations make this a strong narrative that will capture the attention and encourage philosophical and ethical questions in the minds of most readers.

 

Happy reading. 

 

Fred

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Stephenson, Neil. Seveneves.   

When the moon explodes on the very first page of this novel, humankind must work together to construct a method to somehow preserve mankind and the knowledge of the ages before Earth eventually is destroyed. Riveting.  (previously reviewed here)