Wordful Wednesday: Pastwatch
I've been making an effort this year to read more books out of my home-library. I haven't succeeded in any spectacular way, as so far I'm only at a total of eight out of thirty-nine. But I've also got four more in the works, so I know I'll hit at least twelve this year. That's not so bad, I suppose.
My most recent home-library selection was Orson Scott Card's Pastwatch: The Redemption of Christopher Columbus, which I picked up at the big Hillsboro Library Book Sale earlier this year (along with Timothy Zahn's Conquerors series).
Although it's definitely science fiction (hardly a surprise for Mr. Card), it reads as half sci-fi and half historical fiction. And then half alternate history. I know that doesn't add up, but you'll understand if you read the book.
The historical fiction parts of the book detail how Columbus came to sail West, focusing on his motivations for going and the trials through which he had to go to obtain sanction and support from any government. It's a fascinating tale in itself.
The sci-fi sections show the actions of a future government organization, known as Pastwatch, which has the capability (and the responsibility) of viewing the past and constructing detailed histories of the cultures and peoples of the past. (This is after protracted worldwide wars/famines/plagues leave the world population at around 700,000.)
In the course of studying the peoples of the West Indies at the time of the Spanish Conquest, one of the historians realizes that her subjects are conscious of being watched. The implications, of course, are that further interaction with the timeline is at least possible. And if possible, isn't it morally obligatory given the atrocities committed by the European explorers?
The higher-ups at Pastwatch decide to pursue two lines of inquiry. First, is it possible to make changes? Second, what change should be made?
Of course, Christopher Columbus is determined to be the key figure, so the Pastwatchers focus on finding out when and how he determined to undertake his historic trip.
(At this point, we venture into Spoiler Land. Proceed only if willing to be spoiled.)
In researching Columbus, they find that the timeline has already been changed by another future intervention. So now the present Pastwatchers must figure out how history would've unfolded without any intervention. (By the way, the intervention took the form of a holographic message from God to Columbus, telling him to sail West.)
The present Pastwatchers realize that they can't restore the original history, and that it wouldn't be desireable to do so even if they could (in the alternate timeline, Columbus was a Crusader). But they determine how to impact the Meso-American cultures to make them technologically able to repel the Spanish. But they also realize that Columbus was actually a good man, and arrange for him to have a role in shaping the new America, even after they cripple his expedition.
The final chapters of the book unfold the "new" history of the world, in a surprisingly plausible way.
The first half of the book had quite a few characters, and it could've been difficult to keep track of them, but the latter half pares it down to basically four characters, solving that potential issue. And Columbus is treated with respect and fairness, which isn't generally the way it goes for him when he's represented in fiction.
Speaker for the Dead is still my favorite Card book, but this one was definitely worth the read.
