Endless Universe Author:Marion Zimmer Bradley Galactic civilization travels by Transmitter, a technology that allows people to step into a booth and travel anywhere to any receiver within a few light-years. Nobody needs to actually travel through the intervening distance anymore, except the Explorers: the small fleet of ships who discover new worlds, set up the first Transmitter hookups, an... more »d open them for colonization. They have their own culture, and even differ subtly between ships; this is the story of the Gypsy Moth, particularly Gildoran, who in ship-years is quite young, but with relativistic effects is far older in planet time.
Explorers are set apart, not only because of long years spent in isolation, and seeing sights and running risks that no one else ever faces, but because of the adaptations they need for the life they lead. Explorers must undergo DNA surgery as infants to survive drive effects - and the dangerous surgery can only be successfully performed in the drive field, so all Explorers are raised in the life. Raised, but not born; radiation effects leave them all sterile, with paper-white skin, while low-g gives them great height. They're only a legend on many worlds, but a legend people hate: they need to take unwanted babies to keep going.
The stories present in this edition are:
"Planets Are For Saying Goodbye" - The Gypsy Moth is preparing for departure, after spending 2 years opening up this new colony world, where Gildoran has spent his youth. Planning in terms of 5-15 year voyages, Gildoran is dispatched with his friend Ramie to buy 6 new babies from a Hatchery that's willing to deal with Explorers, even though his friend Gilmarin was lost on the same assignment. And in transit through Lasselli's World, 'Doran learns what it is not only to lose his oldest friend, but makes and loses another friend, who not only saves him from lynching, but gets him back to the Moth before liftoff.
"A Time To Mourn" - Nearly a year out, four of the six infants are still alive and beginning to talk; Explorers don't name the kids until about this time, when they're sure the children will survive the DNA surgery's aftermath. 'Doran has spent this year on Nursery duty, helping ensure that the kids will pick up human language and social skills, and not just become Poohbears in human bodies (the aliens who serve on every Explorer ship, raising the kids). He's both delighted that Rotation Day has arrived to liberate him from toddler-land, although secretly he'll miss seeing the brightest of the little 1-year-olds every day, a really cute young imp of a girl who'll need a name soon.
The Rotation assigns him to learn the skills of a Transmitter technician, and when Gypsy Moth discovers its next planet - a desert showing traces of a lost civilization - he's sent with the crew performing the first survey and Transmitter tie-in. What they find gives the world its new name, Ozymandias, and gives 'Doran the courage to suggest the only proper name for his favourite young imp.
"Hellworld" - Gildoran gets the official credit (mainly the right to name it) for discovering the lovely world, as the first member of the Bridge crew to spot it, and Gypsy Moth really needs the finder's fee for a good world, since they've been discovering a lot of bad real estate lately. They'd have settled for anything with iron-based biochemistry and heavy metals, but this one's pretty enough to be a resort. Unfortunately, the flowers of this paradise conceal deadly secrets, threatening even the almost-immortal Poohbears of the crew.
"Cold Death" - Even an uninhabitable world like Tempest can be good for something, if you're low on minerals when you happen to find it. Unfortunately, it's not quite as lifeless as it seems; the winds of Tempest carry a deadly virus that defeats all efforts to kill it, which drains the body heat out of its victims. If Gilban and the medics can't find a way to beat it, Gypsy Moth will become a floating tomb.
"A World With Your Name On It" - Gypsy Moth's crew has to swallow their pride and head for the nearest known world; they've had too many deaths and disasters, and haven't got the resources to properly open a good world even if they finally found one. But even if Lazlo welcomes them, how can they get enough manpower to return to space?« less
