Back Cover
Several thousand years from now, the hu--courageous, scientifically
sophisticated, yet emotionally primitive human beings--and the ai--contemplative,
playful, and peace-loving augmented intelligences--coexist peacefully
on Earth and throughout much of the galaxy. But on the far-flung
asteroid Psyche, the hu reign supreme and the robot minds of the ai
are forbidden ... and feared.
A shared love of
gaming has joined the ai being, Ratio, and Telmah Lord Cima, the young
hu scion of Psyche's ruling dynasty, in inseparable friendship on the
planet Earth. But the sudden, suspicious death of Lord Orwen, Telmah's
father and Psyche's leader, draws them both to Telmah's beleaguered
homeworld--where his ruthless uncle Feng has married Telmah's widowed
mother, and, with the support of the nobility and military, has
assumed the Directorship.
Now the Gamemaster
has determined that naked ambition must be thwarted for the sake of
all sentient beings. And a revenge-obsessed Telmah must face the might
of Feng's illegal government armed with nothing more than his own
torment, intuition, and brute force--and with but a single ally, his
devoted ai companion, at his side.
Despite the Shakespearean connection (read Telmah backwards), The White Abacus is anything but a tragedy. From the first sentence Broderick creates a universe full of wonder, bawdy humor and dry wit. Nor is The White Abacus simply a retelling of "Hamlet" in space. Although the central plot of this novel follows Shakespeare's play, the story is given a larger, specifically science fictional context by the universe in which it takes place. The fit is so good and so surprisingly appropriate in places that readers can imagine Shakespeare himself nodding approval at the liberty.