Books with Maths in Them: Diaspora (Greg Egan)

Greg Egan is an author I hadn't encountered until Albert recommended one of his books in response to my request for 'books with maths in them'.

Diaspora is, at the time of writing, available for only 99p on Amazon Kindle.

Diaspora, released in 1997, is a science fiction novel set some time after much of humanity has left behind corporeal form to become software-based beings living in simulated realties. They interact with the 'real' universe by way of a network of probes, sensors, drones and digital archives spread out across the solar system and collectively known as the Coalition of Polises, with the post-humans who exist within it referred to as Citizens. Some people eschewed this mass-migration and remained as biological entities (known as Fleshers) but have since formed a variety of communities representing the span of possibilities between using science to heavily modify their genes (for longevity, improved intelligence, or to thrive in extreme environments, for example), and just letting nature take its course. Somewhere in between are the Gleisners who transmuted into digital form but inhabit individual, flesher-shaped robots in order to interact more closely and personally with the real world.

The story uses its plot - a disaster on a galactic scale and the drive to understand its cause and guard against a repeat - to explore ideas of intelligence, existence and morality in the post-human context. The book's world is enormous but the rules laid down by Egan are consistent and guide the reader along just enough to feel the possibilities but without being overwhelmed by them. Those rules, by the way, are not communicated, as with much hard Sci-Fi, via lengthy exposition. Instead, they just exist and we pick them up as we go along. At various points I experienced feelings I recognised from reading William Gibson's novels: neither author bothers to provide a dictionary definition of new terminology, preferring to guide us to understanding through our deepening connection with the characters.

As software-based entities living in virtual worlds, Citizens are not bound by most of the physical laws of the universe outside the polises, and different polises are characterised (within the story at least) by their differing attitudes to experiencing the physical world. Some seek to make their virtual experiences as close to those of the real world as possible whilst others prefer to push the boundaries of esoteric abstraction. Here lies mathematics: early experiments in 3D topology lay the groundwork for much deeper discussions surrounding the possibilities of multidimensional space later on, and whilst time travel does not make an appearance, the differing speeds at which the Fleshers and Citizens experience the passage of time (and the fact that the Citizens can adjust theirs) allows for some interesting thought experiments.

Whilst not a book about mathematics, it nevertheless permeates the story, and it was clear even before I looked up Greg Egan that he's not merely an individual with an interest in mathematics but something of a fanatic. Whilst readers who already feel positivity towards and have a certain amount of interest in mathematics will surely find something to enjoy in this novel, I probably wouldn't recommend it to those less confident in the subject as some of the mathematical concepts are tricky to say the least: it's not so much about being knowledgeable enough to fully understand what's going on, but having the resilience to accept not being able to, for example, visualise four-dimensional space without worrying that that makes you any less of a mathematician.

On the other hand, if you're particularly into hard Sci-Fi but feel that you're not so much into maths, I'd challenge you to give it a go and let me know what you think.

Have you encountered some maths or mathematical topics whilst reading fiction? I'd love to hear about more 'books with maths in them' so please let me know! I want to read it myself, but if you'd like to submit your own review of a book that fits this theme I'm happy to host it.