Ofelia's children
are grown and married. She's widowed and now all she wants is to
tend her garden in peace. But when the Company loses the franchise
on the planet Ofelia is colonising, she's expected to leave 40 years
of her life behind and re-enter cryogenics for the transfer to a
new home.
Ofelia helps the rest of the village prepare to leave
but decides to stay. She hides from the Company, who - given her
old age - makes little attempt to track her down. They'll simply
tell Ofelia’s family that she died in transit. Ofelia is alone on
the planet.
Soon, another group of colonists land on a different
part of the planet - only to be savagely slaughtered by seemingly
primitive indigenous creatures that Ofelia's colony was unaware
existed.
Ofelia hears the massacre over the radio. Then the
indigenous creatures arrive in Ofelia's village, inquisitive about
human culture and technology but as disruptive as toddlers. Ofelia
fears that if their interest in Earth technology wanes, her life
could be in danger. Meanwhile, Earth dispatches a mission to discover
what massacred the colonists.
Ofelia is beautifully drawn. Indeed, she is one of
the most rounded, one of the most real characters in any SF book.
Moon takes you inside Ofelia's mind.
You come to understand how older women feel once their
offspring leave the nest, their partner dies and they face their
declining years alone.
Moon takes her time to draw Ofelia's character in
considerable detail. The plot moves little for 50 or so pages as
Ofelia explores the abandoned village, her memories and her feelings.
Indeed, ‘Remnant Population’ is, in general, a slow-paced
book that takes its time to explore its characters and subjects.
However, ‘Remnant Population’ is never dull, never boring, never
less than totally engaging.
Moon also gets inside the mind of the indigenous creatures
to create a real sense of 'alieness' which is often lacking in SF.
When Ofelia first makes contact, Moon generates a sense of unease
and disquiet that she sustains for a considerable time.
If I have one criticism, it's that the communication
and empathy with the indigenous creatures comes too easily and with
too few complications. Indeed, everything in ‘Remnant Population’
is resolved somewhat too simply and too neatly. Life isn't usually
like that. However, it's a minor criticism taken against Moon's
considerable achievement.
One of SF's great strengths is its ability to step
back, isolate and comment on current issues facing society. As Thomas
Disch notes in ‘The Dreams Our Stuff Is Made Of’ much SF "is not
about predicting the future but examining the present". And ‘Remnant
Population’ deals with a couple of important contemporary themes.
Firstly, Ofelia is a font of pragmatic wisdom and
experience. Yet this lifetime of experience and the old women herself
are often disregarded and ignored. ‘Remnant Population’ is a powerful
and poignant look at the wisdom that comes with age - and the way
younger people misjudge and misinterpret that wisdom and the elderly
themselves.
Secondly, the mission from earth sent to investigate
the massacre exudes a dangerous mix of ignorance and arrogance.
Indeed, you can read parts of ‘Remnant Population’ as a post-colonialist
view of the hubris and racism of more technologically advanced civilizations
towards economically deprived nations on Earth.
However, Moon offers some hope for the human race:
Empire building isn't on the future Earth's agenda. Nevertheless,
‘Remnant Population’ offers several insights into contemporary racial
and ethnic problems.
As you've probably gathered, ‘Remnant Population’
is extremely well written and on the literary end of the SF spectrum.
Indeed, it's about as far from the space opera of Bova or Asimov
as it's possible to get.
However, with the increasing proportion of older people
in the population and pervasive racial tension throughout society,
‘Remnant Population’ is a remarkable, timely, thought-provoking
novel that I cannot recommend too highly.
Mark Greener
Check out website: www.orbitbooks.co.uk
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