Eternal peace

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Der Ewige Friede (English: Forever Peace ) is the German title of a 1997 science fiction novel by Joe Haldeman . He is classified with the novels The Eternal War (1974) and At the End of the War (2002) in the The Forever War series, but is not a direct sequel to The Eternal War.

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novel
title Eternal peace
Original title Forever Peace
author Joe Haldeman
publishing company Heyne publishing house

Even if it is thematically linked to the previous novel , The Eternal Peace is not a classic sequel: it is rather an independent work, although it was published in a combined edition with The Eternal War and At the End of the War .

The protagonist of the novel is Julian Class, who in 2043 hires both as a university professor and as a soldier: from time to time he controls a powerful combat robot, a so-called "Soldier Boy". These robots are used by the United States in a perpetual, asymmetrical conflict against insurgents in the third world. The robots are controlled by means of a neural connection over great distances; the operators sit safely in bunkers in the continental United States while their war machines roam through deserts and jungles. In this process the consciousnesses of the fighters merge into one and they go on patrol together, carry out attacks and put down local uprisings.

As a professor, Class is working on a major research project , the “Jupiter Project”. With his colleague Amelia, he says he has discovered that this project could lead to another Big Bang and thus to the end of the known universe.

However, since their discussion of this fact is rejected by a scientific journal, they find themselves tempted to sabotage the Jupiter Project on their own. In this context, they get in contact with a resistance group that is working to free all people from violent instincts, while another, Christian fundamentalist secret lodge tries to actively bring about the end of the universe.

It turns out that all people whose consciousness was fused in the body of a soldier boy for a certain time develop such an increased empathy that it is impossible for them to commit aggression against another person, even in self-defense they are no longer able to last longer. Together with Marty Larrin, one of the engineers behind the technology, Class pacifies all of humanity and at the same time prevents the apocalypse threatening from the particle accelerator.

The world

The world in Haldemans "Eternal Peace" is divided into a north-south conflict in which the alliance (roughly divided into the industrialized countries in the northern hemisphere) against the Ngumi (South America, Africa, parts of Asia) in an asymmetrical conflict over resources and fight the sovereignty of interpretation. Both sides have nuclear weapons that have been used several times in a conflict that has lasted for twelve years. There are several border states between the two factions, including Mexico, which is close to the United States but does not itself belong to the Alliance. These states benefit from the influence of the Alliance, but are not directly involved in the war.

The alliance, led by the USA, has so-called nanoforges, machines that make it possible to create any desired product, as long as it is supplied with the necessary raw materials. Due to an accident during the testing of these machines (which is revealed as a staging in the course of the plot), the USA succeeded in preventing the other countries from developing a similar forge, thereby enormously expanding the country's supremacy.

Equipped with Soldierboys - humanoid robots that are remotely controlled by operators - the USA has continued to achieve enormous military strength, which the Ngumi cannot offer any serious resistance and are thus forced to wage guerrilla warfare .

The economic system of the USA is described very precisely in the novel. It is a welfare state in which, apart from three years of military service, nobody is forced to work. The nano smiths are able to supply the population with all basic consumer goods. These are paid for using chips that are distributed to every citizen on a monthly basis. Money continues to exist, but its sole purpose is to buy luxury goods such as B. Buying alcohol. Furthermore, prostitution is a popular business that is paid for with money.

Soldier Boys

Soldier Boys are the main technology of the novel. These operator-controlled robots are active in units of ten, with five men and five women in a team. The Soldierboys are controlled by means of a brain-machine interface , the so-called contact, which connects the brains of the operators with the machines. This enables the operators to control the Soldierboy like an avatar . During the connection of the operators, they are also networked with each other, which ensures that they can share their thoughts and feelings, but can also perceive the characteristics of the opposite sex. For example, men are able to perceive the menstrual cycle of the women in their team, which also aligns with them.

The teams are divided into reconnaissance and killer squads, which are in loose contact with one another. In each team there is a leader who takes the orders from the command center and passes them on to the other team members and a radio operator who stays in contact with the other units. An assignment lasts ten days, after which there is a shift change in which the operators are exchanged and given two weeks' leave. The Soldierboys remain in the operational area, provided they have not been damaged.

The Soldier Boys are armed with various systems, which can be non-lethal (tear gas, nasal gas, stunning arrows) or lethal (uranium ammunition, various missiles, even nuclear warheads depending on the deployment) and can be varied depending on the area of ​​application and task.

In addition to the Soldier Boys, there are also Fly Boys (Air Force) and Sailor Boys (Marine), which work on the same principle.

Awards

The novel won the Hugo Award , the Nebula Award, and the John W. Campbell Memorial Award . He was also nominated for the Locus Award .

Web links

Entry in the Science Fiction Encyclopedia on Joe Haldeman (English).

Publications