Children of Strife

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Children of Strife is the fourth novel in the Children of Time series (Children of Time, Children of Ruin, Children of Memory, and Children of Strife). The novels can be read as interconnected standalones, but it is best to read them in order. If one could choose a word to describe the humans in these novels and what they cause, it would be the word strife. The final conflict happens in this last novel, so the title is appropriate. Hence, who are the children and what is the strife? As in most of his books, Tchaikovsky begins with a conflict between humans on Earth. Different factions are fighting for power, for resources, for political dominance, and of course it is all fueled by their unavoidable hubris. Tchaikovsky also plays with the chronotope, so the reader has to keep track of the different worlds, spaceships, and timelines to understand how the characters developed and how everyone got to that final place. There are quite a few “what ifs” in this series, and the main one is what if science can release a terraforming nanovirus that can accelerate evolution in monkeys and create humans? This is Kern’s quest in Children of Time: creating life, being greater than life, being God. Of course, members of the other faction sabotage the project, and the virus is released on an alien planet named Nod (without the monkeys). Evolution is accelerated and new sentient species are created. This last installment to the series brings together the visitors and inhabitants of all the new worlds from the previous novels in a final conflict for humanity and the other evolved species of the Panspecific alliance.

It seems that no matter how far humans go into the future (the events happen over a few millennia) or away from Earth, they cannot leave behind the anthropocentric worldview. Kern suffers from the God complex, but she treasures her creations more than humans, which makes her somewhat different from Hartmand, who just wants to be a merciless God. Therefore, after millennia away from a destroyed Earth the final conflict is between the creations that God-like humans have made, the human “Gods,” and the human refugees that have survived the trip across space and time. Yet, these creations are not only biological; they are also artificial intelligences. What makes the story even more intriguing is that the creators themselves have transferred their identities, along with their good and bad aspirations, into these worlds as AI.

Apart from nanotechnology and imperialist terraforming, Tchaikovsky explores artificial intelligence and cybernetic immortality. Kern cannot live forever, but she can upload her consciousness into the computer and thus achieve a form of immortality. The question is whether Tchaikovsky treats these entities as clones or different selves of the same person. It appears that in the end Kern is a different identity from the one that set out to terraform alien planets. Another interesting concept is the supercomputer/simulator on planet Imir where humans encounter a virtual reality. They set into it to find the original creators only to realize that virtual reality will not give you the truth; instead, it will give you what you want to find. Alis spends a whole human lifetime in it, going deeper and deeper only to find out in the end that she never scratched the surface of it. She was only exploring her own scenarios. This is an interesting concept considering all the hype and theories regarding ChatGPT and other AI programs of today. She comes out of it traumatized and not able to differentiate reality from a virtual construct, thus, constantly questioning her sanity.

Tchaikovsky revisits the concept of symbiotic relationships (Alien Clay) through the rather comic virtual symbiosis of arachnid-like creatures Portia and Fabian, who struggle to combine their identities and find mutual ground for existence. A new approach is given through the symbiotic relationship of Alis and Mira, who have embraced each other’s personalities via their patient / therapist relationship. Their mutual interaction helps Alis ground herself in reality while helping Mira evolve. Mira is perhaps the most interesting character in the novel. Readers find out that the therapist helping Alis is actually Kern’s first creation. She is the original microbial organism (or group of organisms) that has adapted and transformed into a scientist. However, she struggles to contain her true nature, which involves a keen desire to ruthlessly assimilate all life in her path. Her symbiotic relationship with Alis helps her become a better living being. In the end, Mira displays more humanity and empathy than the humans do. At one point, Mira would rather end her own existence than bring more harm to others. She helps bring together the somewhat torn Panspecific alliance and gives a second chance to those who wish it by creating bodies for the AI entities. In the end, Mira is the dream that Kern set out to create.

Once again, Tchaikovsky takes the “what if” to another level by creating worlds in which life does life. Entities and creations explode in full force by assimilating everything and everyone into their own world. Yet, the highly evolved ones prove to have more “humanity” than humans do. It appears that the only true monsters in this universe are the vindictive and rather petty intelligences that conquer others not for the symbiotic advantages but for absolute power. They are the ones who, though capable of using their knowledge and science to cure Earth, do want to and would rather not share the accolades with their political opponents. With these novels, Tchaikovsky reminds us that in reality there is no terraforming, there is no other planet, and that our efforts should be aimed at saving the only planet we have.

Children of Strife is a good novel for those taking science fiction courses, although it is advised to read all the novels in the series for a better grasp of the concepts and storyline. The series is an excellent example of the Bakhtinian chronotope since the temporal and spatial shifts are layered and well done. Also, Tchaikovsky’s approach to giving different perspectives from various characters can be discussed further.  The novel is useful for scholars interested in topics such as empathy, AI, cybernetic immortalities, virtual realities, terraforming theories, ecocriticism, trauma theory, ethics, anthropomorphism, and symbiotic relationships.

Zorica Lola Jelic, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor at the faculty of Contemporary Arts in Belgrade, Serbia. She teaches English as a foreign language, Business English, Shakespeare, and English Drama. She earned her degrees in Shakespeare studies, but she also loves to write about literary theory and science fiction. She has published scholarly papers, coursebooks, and enjoys attending professional conferences.