Earth Made of Glass

infobox Book |
name = Earth Made of Glass
title_orig =
translator =


image_caption = First edition
author = John Barnes
illustrator =
cover_artist =
country = United States
language = English
series = Thousand Cultures series
genre = Science fiction novel
publisher = Tor Books (US), Orion Books (UK)
release_date = 1999
english_release_date =
media_type = Print (Hardcover & Paperback)
pages =
isbn = ISBN 0765303302
preceded_by =
followed_by = The Merchants of Souls "Earth Made of Glass" (1999) is a science fiction novel, the second book of the "Thousand Cultures" series, by John Barnes whose story is told from the perspective of a middle-aged special agent named Giraut. "Earth Made of Glass" examines religious extremism when two different cultures are forced into close proximity.

Plot summary

Giraut and Margaret are now married and sent on a diplomatic mission to the hotspot of interstellar space Briand, one of many Outer Sphere colonies cut off from the rest of humanity for centuries until instantaneous travel became possible with the springer. Not only is Briand a very hot, high gravity planet, but the oppressive environment is matched by the increasing hatred between the Tamil and Mayan cultures which have been forced together as a result of a volcano. Giraut and Margaret are given orders by Shan, their Office of Special Projects supervisor, to find the real power brokers of each culture in order to diffuse the headline grabbing daily ethnic attacks and steer the planet clear of all out war. They must do this under the nose of Ambassador Kiel, a high ranking ambassador from Earth on Briand, who believes going through and strengthening official governments is the best and only way to address a crisis.

Both cultures are proudly founded by ancient legacies of art and literature, but like any Outer World culture they had their history altered to reinforce their cultural identity by implying their culture is the most advanced, when in actuality they were founded by eccentric rich people to live out and expand upon a romanticized historic culture dear to their hearts. Giraut and Margaret arrive as their marriage is falling apart but focus on their work and establish a routine of contacting key Tamil people, especially with influential bigots, poets and critics, but have difficulty making headway with the extremely reclusive Mayans. After an attack on one of the embassy's personnel Ambassador Kiel restricts anyone from leaving the embassy. When the restriction is lifted the one contact they do have with the Mayan signals that contact could be imminent.

The permission for first contact comes unexpectedly quick and Giraut travels there via an airplane, as the Mayan officially refuse to adopt the springer among other technologies based on their cultural heritage of simple subsistence farming. The recent invention of the springer makes solving Briand's problems more urgent as its deep hatreds could spread to other co-existing cultures rapidly. When Giraut arrives he finds that the Mayan he has been working with in the Tamil city is the grandson of a powerful priest, who despite being in charge of the conservative temple, is in actuality a reformer trying behind the scenes to modernize and open up the Mayan culture in an attempt to reconcile their differences with the Tamils. A plan is put into motion where a respected and talented prophet is ordered by the leadership to begin a cult movement of tolerance, modernization and truth about their founding. The new cult is brutally oppressed and accordingly to plan Giraut and the prophet escape to the Tamil capital and Mayan satellite settlement to continue the movement.

Through his charismatic presence and controversial speeches preaching truth, openness and unity the Mayan prophet begins to recruit many Mayans and some Tamils. He begins a relationship with a notable critic and slut who had previous relations with a prominent Tamil poet and the Mayan ambassador. The prophet then, in staying true to his message, confesses the plan put in motion by the Mayan leadership and causes mass riots. In the wake of the riots he manages to contain through admonishment he organizes a massive rally that could be the tipping point in the conflict. Just prior to the rally his Tamil lover is found dead, killed consistent with a Mayan sacrifice. The prophet gets Giraut, and the Tamil bigot to help carry her body to the televised rally. As he speaks to the Tamil/Mayan crowd he uses his pain, her murder and his capacity for forgiveness to whoever did it as a starting point of healing and reconciliation between the cultures.

The prophets nephew comes out of the huge mixed crowd and confesses he ate her heart out of jealousy of his uncle being with a women he still loved. His uncle begins to forgive him and salvage the situation but before Giraut could stop him he blasts the prophets head off with a mazer. Giraut stops him from shooting into the crowd but the situation quickly descends into civil war. Giraut manages to get back to the Embassy where he is ordered by Shan to evacuate everyone immediately. He activates his secret rank and manages to get almost everyone evacuated through springers, but Ambassador Kiel is apparently captured by Tamils and is left on Briand. They watch the civil war rapidly unfold as Mayan forces invade the Tamil city through secret Mayan springers to protect Mayan civilians. Before long prohibited anti-matter weapons are used by both sides and the cities are decimated. Briand is effectively isolated from the rest of humanity until a springer ship arrives in a few years.

Giraut finds out from Margaret that she has been sleeping with a Tamil since the mission began, and had been ordered to continue by his friend and boss Shan as a way to acquire more accurate intelligence about Tamil under currents. This deeply injures Giraut and he tells Shan off. The failure on Briand of the Office of Special Projects forces the secretive agency into the limelight and they must brace for public scrutiny and increased oversight. Giraut opts to take his one year leave on the planet Hedon to try and salvage his marriage and to get away from Shan, but after that one year he wants back into the Office of Special Projects to continue the important mission of integrating humanity to provide a united front for possible alien contact.

Characters

* Giraut - a Nou Occitan musician with the official role as a facilitator for artistic exchange, but also on a mission quell Briand's hostile cultures.
* Margaret - Giraut's depressed wife in charge of tourism and keeping track of Tamil opinions.

Planets referenced

* Earth (central planet for humanity, in the Inner Sphere)
* Briand (home of the Tamil and Mayan cultures in conflict)
* Wilson (home planet of Giraut, close to the Outer Sphere and successfully integrated into interstellar culture)

Literary significance & criticism

ee also

* Interstellar teleporter
* "Tunnel in the Sky"
* "Gridlinked";Other books in this series
* "A Million Open Doors" (1992)
* "The Merchants of Souls" (2002)
* "The Armies of Memory" (2006)