| Author: | Michael McCollum |
| Copyright: | 1992 |
| Date Reviewed: | 11/1/92 |
| Rating: | 8.5 |
"The Sails of Tau Ceti" is the most enjoyable Science Fiction that I have read this year. Troy Bronson is the chief programmer of the Starhopper project. Starhopper will send a small robot probe to the nearest star system after a 50 year voyage. The project is only slightly behind schedule but before it is launched, an artifact is detected at the edge of the solar system. It is a starship whose light sail has just unfurled making it now visible. A decision is made to refit the Starhopper with a light cruiser and send it on a intercept course with the starship. After a year of addition modifications, the Starhopper/cruiser is ready. Captain Garth Van Zandt is chosen to command the mission. Troy will made additional modifications during the voyage. Kit Claridge, exobiologist and doctor and linguist Eli Guttieriz complete the crew.
The four crew members are placed in cold sleep for most of the year that they travel to the starship. When they arrive, they are surprised that the inhabitants speak perfect English. They have been monitoring Earth's broadcasts for the past two hundred years since their mission began and have spent that time learning Earth's languages and customs. The commander, Faslorn, explains that their sun went nova and only a small part of their civilization survived, with four starships sent to the nearest stars.
All seems well and Tory is asked to represent the Tau Ceti's in their bid for a home land on Earth. But once she accepts she learns the terrible truth. Tau Ceti did not nova by itself. A group of radicals caused it to happen. And worse, there is not a single starship destined for Earth but a fleet of 22,000 starships carrying three billion aliens. Earth's resources will not support both populations. Tory also learns that if the scout ship can not secure a safe haven for the fleet, the Tau Ceti's will cause Sol to nova so they may ride the shock wave to their next destination.
Tory reluctantly becomes an agent for the Tau Ceti's in the hope that she can help bring them in agreement with Earth so the Sol nova will never happen. After a year travel to Sol, the four humans and four Tau Ceti's reach Earth six months before the starship and five years before the fleet becomes visible. Their plan is to integrate themselves into the Earth political machine quickly enough that when the terrible news is announced, the shock will be lessened. The plan seems to be working. However, just before a vote of the system council to give the 100,000 Tau Ceti's a home is passed, scientists learn about the fleet. Old data from the nova shows a 2.5% decrease in expected light output. Enhanced detail photographs show the light loss is caused by the fleet.
The news sends the world into a panic. The humans board the starship. Fortunately this is kept secret for if it had made the news, the fleet would immediately begin the process of causing the Sun to nova. Eventually a deal is struck and the human leadership gives over significant land so as not to loose their world.
This novel is full of plot. It takes place over a long period of years and could easily have been longer. It demonstrates the antithesis of the problem I have with some large novels, many words but not enough plot to sustain them. Throughout the book, the science seemed real. There was nothing in it that could not be supported with current theory but better technology. I particularly liked the explanation of the software problems. In most Science Fictions, computers are very powerful and often can not be controlled. Here, the software is very fragile and the task of mating Starhopper with a cruiser is a year long exercise in software modifications. This is much closer to the truth; today and probably tomorrow.