The abolition of species

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The Abolition of Species is a novel written by Dietmar Dath that contains elements from science fiction and fantasy . It was shortlisted for the German Book Prize at the 2008 Frankfurt Book Fair as one of six books .

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The age of man is past. Humans were displaced by the Gents through (controlled) evolution - defined as animals with language. The gentlemen can modify their genetic makeup and thus also change their genus and gender or make copies of themselves that manifest themselves in different artificial bodies. The highly developed civilizations of the Gente, some of which were once human themselves, are at war with the Ceramicists, a ceramic machine collective from the Amazon region, and are finally forced to retreat into space in an ark .

Part 1

The first part of the book, which deals with the conflict between Gente and Ceramics and tells the story of the fall of mankind, has several protagonists and is peppered with allusions to contemporary science, such as quantum entanglement , multidimensionality , DNA modification or information-theoretical views of the genome . The narrative structure is complex insofar as some storylines fizzle out or are only picked up again much later. Important protagonists in the first part are the wolf Dimitri and his girlfriend, the lynx Lasara, daughter of the lion and Gente ruler Cyrus Golden. He refuses - out of pride - to flee into space from the superior ceramists. To make this possible, Dimitri assassinated Golden and the two kill each other in battle.

Part 2

The second part of the book portrays the Gente societies that formed independently of each other on the planets Mars and Venus.

On Venus, which is more hostile to life, there is a minority who look after the old Gente machines and have at least partially preserved their technology, and descendants of the Gente who consider themselves human. As a guideline for the organization of their society, these “minors” use the “Lion Conversations”, in which the bat Izquierda writes about the teaching of the lion Cyrus Golden. However, they do not serve them as a positive code: Instead, everything is summarized in them that the minorities consider wrong and evil.

The ruling minority on Mars, the so-called Aristoi, live in impregnable fortresses, where they deal with philosophy and hold Babylonian orgies. Beyond these bulwarks, genetically modified animal species wage a never-ending war. Artificial earthquakes and drugs in the air and water systematically prevent them from cooperation and peaceful agreement - an experiment by the Aristoi that is intended to finally clarify what drives evolution: the pure struggle for survival or at least collaboration and cooperation. This “ Experimentum Crucium ” has been running for more than 5000 years at the beginning of the second part.

The main characters of the second part are fire and Padmasambhava, son and daughter of Dimitri and Lasara. Fire was born on Venus and Padmasambhava was born on Mars. It is initially part of the "Experimentum Crucium" before it is accepted by the Aristoi. The two siblings are the key figures of a largely obscure prophecy or a plan according to which they first change their sex, then enter into a relationship and finally overcome space and time with the help of music and return to earth. There they discover a kind of museum, in which people haunt time again through cracks, but apart from a few ceramic guards there is no civilization left. There they meet Cordula Späth, composer and supporter of Cyrus Golden. The book concludes that Fire and Padmasambhava will have to spend the next 1000 years exploring the earth.

Award

Kurd-Laßwitz-Preis 2009 for best novel

Adaptation

Bayern 2 had the novel adapted as a twelve-part radio play in 2012 and made it available as a free download in 2018 . The accompanying soundtrack is from Mouse on Mars .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Audio play download in 12 parts. "The Abolition of Species" by Dietmar Dath. In: Bayern 2. Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), January 29, 2018, accessed on December 3, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Hörpsiel pool. Sound and music. "Abolition of Species. Soundtrack" by mouse on mars. In: BR Podcast. Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), January 13, 2012, accessed on December 3, 2019 .