Calculating God

Calculating God is a 2000 science fiction novel by Robert J. Sawyer. It takes place in the present day and describes the arrival on Earth of sentient aliens. The bulk of the novel covers the many discussions and arguments on this topic, as well as about the nature of belief, religion, and science. Calculating God received nominations for both the Hugo and John W. Campbell Memorial Awards in 2001.^[1]

Plot summary

Thomas Jericho, a paleontologist working at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, makes the first human-to-alien contact when a spider-like alien arrives on Earth to investigate Earth's evolutionary history. The alien, Hollus, and her crewmembers have come to Earth to gain access to the museum's large collection of fossils, and to study accumulated human knowledge in order to gather evidence of the existence of God. It seems that Earth and Hollus' home planet, and the home planet of another alien species traveling with Hollus, all experienced the same five cataclysmic events at roughly the same time. Hollus believes that the universe was created by a god, to provide a place where life could develop and evolve. Thomas Jericho is an atheist who provides a balance to the philosophical discussion regarding the existence of gods.

At the end the star Betelgeuse becomes a supernova, threatening all life within hundreds of light-years with irradiation. One of several dead civilizations discovered by the alien explorers deliberately induced the supernova in order to sterilize the stellar neighborhood. This was done in order to protect the virtual reality machinery which now housed all of their personalities. According to the alien visitors, several such worlds exist where the inhabitants uploaded themselves into machines instead of exploring the nature of the Universe and gods.

Although the supernova happened over 400 years before the events of the novel, the radiation is just reaching Earth. However, the alien ship's advanced telescope in orbit then sees a large black entity emerge from space itself and cover the exploding star. This is final proof that a controlling intelligence is guiding and preserving some life-forms.

In the final chapter, the scientist, who is dying of cancer, travels to the entity on the alien ship, where a fusion of genetic materials from human and alien sources produces a new intelligence able to live in space and possibly create its own Universe.

Notes

1. ^ "2001 Award Winners & Nominees". Worlds Without End. http://www.worldswithoutend.com/books_year_index.asp?year=2001. Retrieved 2009-09-19. 

References

• Cassada, Jackie. "Calculating God (Book review)." Library Journal 125.7 (15 Apr. 2000): 126.
• Flynn, Tom. "SCIENCE FICTION GOES ANTHROPIC." Free Inquiry 22.1 (Winter2001/2002 2001): 62.
• "forecasts: Fiction." Publishers Weekly 247.12 (20 Mar. 2000): 75.
• Johnson, Roberta. "Adult Books: FICTION." Booklist 96.16 (15 Apr. 2000): 1534.
• Seidman, Barry F. "Using Science Fiction to Promote Creationism." Skeptical Inquirer 26.2 (Mar. 2002): 53-54.

External links

• Calculating God publication history at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• Calculating God on sfwriter.com
• Calculating God at Worlds Without End
• Audio review and discussion of Calculating God at The Science Fiction Book Review Podcast