Phase Space
by Stephen Baxter

Phase Space is an interesting collection of Baxter's shorter work. The title refers to a set of all possible alternatives and in this collection, this refers to possible alternatives versions of people (some characters appear in more than one story but doing different things), of history (especially the history of NASA), of planets and of the universe.

One point that appears, especially in some of the later stories in the collection, is the answer to Fermi's Paradox which is, basically, if there is life out there, where is everybody? Some of the stories in this collection gives some rather interesting answers to that questions.

The stories that appear here are:

"Moon-Calf". An interesting story about a chapel in England which appears to be made from an unusual kind of rock. There is a legend connecting it to a story about an ancient journey to the moon, but only a visiting astronaut may be able to decide how true the story may be.
"Open Loops". A fascinating story with two threads; one set millions of years in the past and one set in the present but extends for thousands and millions of years in the future. Despite the huge time span, one man will be in a position to witness it all.
"Glass Earth, Inc.". An intriguing story that is an update of the E.M. Forster story, The Machine Stops. In this future world where cameras and audio pickup are everywhere (even in people's heads), a murder has been committed. A detective uses the various viewpoints to pinpoint how the murder occurred and who the murderer is. But his investigation would lead him to reconsider just what is real and what is not in a world where all information is filtered by software AIs 'for the good of the people'.
"Poyekhali 3201". A story that starts off as a tale about Yuri Gagarin, the first man into space. But as it progresses, strange things begin to occur and you begin to wonder if the story about Gagarin is just a story or something different.
"Dante Dreams". A story about an investigation into why a Jesuit scientist would committ suicide after having insights into what would be a Grand Unified Theory. Interrogating an AI which is a 'resurrected' image of the scientist would lead to a very unexpected source of the theory and the reason for the suicide.
"War Birds". A look, through the eyes of an astronaut, at what might had been if the Apollo 11 mission to the moon had failed and the failure had been laid on the Soviet Union, leading to a dramatic redirection of space resources and to a world of ever higher tensions and confrontations.
"Sun-Drenched". A thoughtful story about two astronauts who are standed on the moon aften an accident. With their fate sealed, the astronauts now have a few choices on what to do in the time they have left.
"Martian Autumn". Set in the future, the story follows two threads; one on Mars where its yougest inhabitant reluctantly meets its oldest inhabitant and learns a hard truth about Earth, and the other set on Earth in the near past where an 'event' would cause a dramatic change in the ecosystem.
"Sun God". Set in the 'present' and the far future, when the sun is a red giant and the Earth is baked dry, a historian tries to find out all it can about the former inhabitants of the Earth and their attempts to reach the Moon via simulations. But are the simulations good enough and if so, how far should the simulations go?
"Sun-Cloud". Set on a very unusual world, one 'being' tries to persude her rebellious 'sister' to rejoin into their 'song', which all the beings participate in. But she refuses because she believes something unusual will happen in the future and she is determined to see it happen. Her attempts to get at her sister would eventually change the way she sees the world and wonder about the future as well.
"Sheena 5". An interesting look at an effort to bring back an asteroid rich in material by using an enhanced squid to do the job (the thinking being a sea environment is similar to a space environment). But the plan is jepordised when the squid is found to be more intelligent than thought; intelligent enough to do some things that may be in the squid's best interests only.
"The Fubar Suit". A story that starts off with two apparently unconnected threads; one about a spaceman who wants to make his fortune in space and the other about a strange tribe of 'humans' and one curious 'human'. If you pay attention, you can guess the connection but still leave you guessing as to the choices to be made by both characters.
"Grey Earth". A side story to his book, Manifold 3: Origin, this story traces the end of the life of a woman who has been transported to a very different alternative Earth where Neanderthals live. She tries to live with them but is constantly frustated by differences in looking at their very different world. Probably best read along with his Manifold books.
"Huddle". Set far in the future, after a catastrophe has caused the Earth too enter an ice-age, a group of future humans struggle to survive in the hostile environment. But one is obsessed by an ancient story that they are meant to help other survivors and sets out to do it, learning more about the earth in the process.
"Refugium". Two men are given the task of entering an alien capsule found at the edge of the solar system. Nobody knows where the capsules go and while one of the passengers is willing, other is not. Their final destination would reveal the purpose of the capsule and cause each one to re-evaluate their futures as well as the future of mankind in the universe.
"Lost Continent". A mildly amusing story that takes a look at the theory that there are real lost continents on the Earth. Where do they go and how is it that we cannot find any historical records of such continents, only myths and legends? And what continents can go missing in such a manner?
"Tracks". Two astronauts on the moon make an unexpected discovery; a set of tracks where no tracks should be found. The discovery may reveal to the astronauts just why no aliens have visited the Earth.
"Lines of Longitude". A tale that starts of with a physics teacher meeting a student who believes in UFOs who passes letters to her about his meeting and his theories on the universe. But the student's last letter takes on a strange tone that questions the nature of reality and cannot be true; or can it?
"Marginalia". A story that leaves you wondering what is the truth and what is. The story is set as a series of government replies, with notes in the margin, to questions about a mysterious explosion in Nevada in the 1960s that may be linked to a possible secret space mission. Is this possible?
"The We Who Sing". Set near the dawn of time, when the universe was young, one being attempts to convince others that their time of plenty is about to end. But how will the beings, which depend on high temperate plasma, survive the transition, when the universe can no longer sustain its high temperatures and 'normal' matter will form?
"Barrier". An interesting story about two men who are making the first voyage to interstellar space. But at the edge of the solar system, they encounter an unusual phenomenon that slowly makes their ship malfunction. What is the nature of this 'barrier' and what is on the other side?
"The Gravity Mine". A story that spans a very immense time span concerning a 'consciousness' that periodically arises to consider the universe of the very far future around her; a universe where stars have gone out and the only sources of energy left is the gravitational energy of black holes. Join 'her' on a journey to the very end of usable energy itself in this fascinating story.
"Spindrift". A look at an alternative attempt to put the first man on the moon, its aftermath and how it relates to a question about intelligence; can we recognise intelligence if it takes on an recognisable form?
"Touching Centauri". A thought-provoking story about the first attempt to bounce a laser signal off a planet orbiting Alpha Centauri. The attempt would lead to a series of events that would cause the collapse of knowledge about the universe as we know it as well as leading to interesting speculations about what intelligent aliens would do to attempt to set up 'alternative' types of reality.
"The Twelfth Album". A look at how things might have been for the music group, The Beatles, if certain world events had occurred. The story takes place between two Beatles fans on a certain well known ship whose fate is very different from that in known history.

The book is somewhat uneven in quality with some stories sounding like just narratives of a person's viewpoint. Other stories, especially those that consider the ultimate fate of mankind, are quite interesting.

But on the whole, this is a fascinating collection of stories about what is in store for us, or for our possible alternative selves.

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Phase Space by Stephen Baxter

Phase Space
by Stephen Baxter