The science behind the sci-fi in A. B. Carolan’s Origins…
Sci-fi often extrapolates current science or “invents” new science we might see in the future. A.B. Carolan’s new book Origins (see last week’s preview) does both, but it’s mostly based on ongoing scientific discovery about human beings’ past. Denisovan and Hobbit hominids have had more press lately than Cro-Magnons and Neandertals because they’re new discoveries. They flourished thousands of years ago, and bits of their DNA are found in modern humans’ DNA (modern humans are mainly Cro-Magnon descendants). A.B. summarizes the current situation in his end notes:
“When I began thinking about a plot with genetics as a theme, Anna Utkin [an early short story of mine] turned me towards human prehistory. The final inspiration occurred when I found the portrait of a young Denisovan girl. (The interested reader can google ‘What did Denisovans look like?’ to see answers to that question—I focused on the BBC version.) It might seem weird, but I immediately thought, ‘Here’s a young girl who doesn’t look like any girl I know.’ That led to other thoughts along the lines that we often react negatively to people who don’t look or act like us and don’t seem to fit into our personal ‘tribe.’ Could I write a story that takes such a girl and makes her into a reluctant hero—almost a superhero even? I could and did, and you have just read the first installment. I hope more will follow.”
“That BBC portrait* has an interesting history, by the way. From genetic material in a pinky and jaw bones (not from the same archaeological site, mind you), researchers were able to construct the entire Denisovan genome and then use it to show us what that Denisovan girl must have looked like. For me, that portrait is Kayla [A.B.’s protagonist], a twenty-first-century Denisovan descendant who is super-smart and can kick ass with the best superheroes”
“The search for the origins of modern humans and their cousins continues to be the focus of exciting research, and the Denisovans, only discovered recently, are no exceptions. Unlike the equating of ancient hominids to burros and horses, i.e., species unable to breed and have fertile offspring, a theory found in Yuval Noah Harari’s Sapiens (his first two chapters, in particular), which Steve and I read long after I wrote the manuscript for this book, the DNA evidence shows ancient hominids did interbreed. Yet I had to wonder: If they could do so, why not more? Why aren’t we more of a mix of Cro-Magnons (always called Homo sapiens by Professor Harari), Neanderthals, and Denisovans, as well as other ancient hominids thrown in? Considering that Cro-Magnons’ descendants have come to be the dominant species, maybe that just means that they were the bad-ass denizens of ancient Earth? Maybe they were so bent on conquest that they didn’t have that much time to intermingle? I then asked myself: Would they even do so if that hominid evolution was interrupted by visitors from the stars?”
“There are many sci-fi novels that go back into Earth’s past and its ancient civilizations. This novel is not one of those, but it might be considered a variation on that theme. Of course, the story of two later groups of descendants of ancient hominids stranded on Earth is pure speculation on my part, but it’s another way to answer Fermi’s paradox about ETs: ‘Where are they?’ the famous physicist asked. My answer in this novel can be summarized in one sentence: They’ve been here all along. And we are them! (At least some of us are, and we have DNA traces from others.) And just maybe they’re “out there’ too. (And maybe you’ll be able to read about them in subsequent novels if I can manage to write them.)”
Let’s call all this science forensic anthropology or archaeology with a bit of genetics thrown in. It’s exciting science that makes Ancestry.com seem like child’s play, no matter what you call it. As a young lad (pre-high school age), I checked out a lot of books on these subjects from our public library (not so much known back then—DNA was a new discovery and the determination of the human genome would be decades in the future). I decided it was all too complicated, so I studied something easier, hoping that science and math might provide more earning power (the aftermath to Sputnik was still pumping a lot of money into those studies—this also delayed my writing career!). I’ve always been interested in all of science, though, which is why I keep up with current trends with Science News and the occasional Scientific American and New Scientist. (It’s also why I write sci-fi!)
In any case, you now have more background for the science behind the sci-fi in A.B. Carolan’s Origins. I hope that between last week’s preview and this post today, you have enough teasers to motivate you to grab a copy when it comes out this month. You won’t be disappointed. (A.B. tells me Origins is only the first book of a trilogy. I hope he’s right!)
*A.B. assumed this artist’s conception of the Denisovan girl is copyrighted. I’m not so sure because it’s readily available on the internet. It’s not contained in the novel, so no money will be made from it, but, if BBC News insists, I can take it down…and my apologies to both A.B. and BBC News!
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Comments are always welcome.
The “Detectives Chen & Castilblanco” series. A seven-book series ideal for binge-reading. You’ve seen the reviews yesterday and others in “Reviews not on Amazon.” Pick an ebook and jump in anywhere. Available everywhere quality ebooks are sold.
Around the world and to the stars! In libris libertas!
