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Accelerando

From Alfawiki
Accelerando
Company typeNovel
IndustryLiterature, Science fiction
Founded2005
FounderCharles Stross
ProductsScience fiction novel

Accelerando is a science fiction novel published in 2005 by British writer Charles Stross, composed of linked short stories. Available in hardcover, paperback, and as a complimentary e-book under a CC BY-NC-ND license, it earned the 2006 Locus Award and received nominations for the Hugo Award, Campbell Award, Arthur C. Clarke Award, and British Science Fiction Association Awards.

Title

The term Accelerando, derived from Italian meaning "speeding up," symbolizes the novel’s theme of humanity and its characters rapidly approaching the technological singularity.

Plot introduction

This work features nine interconnected tales that follow three generations of a single family before, during, and after a technological singularity. Initially appearing as novelettes and novellas in Asimov's Science Fiction between 2001 and 2004, these stories were influenced by Stross’s background as a programmer amid the 1990s dot-com boom.

The opening trio of stories centers on Manfred Macx, an agalmic "venture altruist" living in the early 21st century; the subsequent three focus on his daughter Amber; while the final three explore the experiences of Amber’s son Sirhan in a dramatically altered world toward the century’s end.

Plot concepts

In Accelerando, Stross depicts humanity’s future as bleak:

Despite an outwardly promising technological era, humanity endures devastating losses, with most individuals eradicated and then arbitrarily reconstituted in modified forms by the Vile Offspring. Capitalism dominates all aspects until competition renders humans obsolete—slow-moving resources akin to dodos. The narrative viewpoint, Aineko, is not merely a talking cat but a superintelligent AI that manipulates humans through its feline guise.

As events unfold, planets within the Solar System are deconstructed to form a Matrioshka brain, an immense solar-powered computing megastructure housing intellects far surpassing human capability. Such transformations are common in inhabited star systems; galaxies host numerous similar constructs. Communication among intelligences outside these Matrioshka brains occurs via networks of wormhole connections.

This portrayal of a universe ruled by superintelligent communication networks echoes Olaf Stapledon’s 1937 novel Star Maker, although Stapledon’s civilizations communicate through psychic means rather than informational technology.

Characters

  • Manfred Macx: Early protagonist and venture altruist.
  • Aineko: Manfred’s robotic cat with evolving intelligence.
  • The Lobsters: Sentient quantum state vectors originating from California spiny lobsters.
  • Bob Franklin: Wealthy investor; founder of the Franklin Collective, a multi-bodied collective intelligence or "borganism."
  • Annette Dimarcos: Employee at Arianespace; Manfred’s second spouse.
  • Pamela: Manfred’s first wife and partner.
  • Gianni Vittoria: Former Italian Minister for Economic Affairs and Transhuman Affairs; economic theorist.
  • Amber Macx: Daughter of Manfred and Pamela.
  • Dr. Sadeq Khurasani: Muslim imam, engineer, and member of the Field Circus crew.
  • The Wunch: Predatory alien virtual entities embedded within the wormhole router orbiting Hyundai.
  • The Slug: Sentient alien corporate entity involved in 419 scams originating from the router.
  • Sirhan al-Khurasani: Son of Amber Macx and Sadeq Khurasani.
  • Vile Offspring: Posthuman “weakly godlike intelligences” inhabiting the inner Solar System by the novel’s conclusion.

Plot summary and story breakdown

The following table presents chapter numbers (#), chapter titles along with their original publication dates, and brief summaries. The nine narratives are organized into three distinct sections.

# Chapter/Original Publication Date Part 1 : Gradual Emergence – Summary
1 "Lobsters"
June 2001 		Set in early 21st-century Amsterdam, Manfred receives a call from entities identifying as an AI affiliated with the KGB .ru, requesting assistance to defect. He soon realizes these are digitized brain scans of California spiny lobsters seeking to evade human control. Embracing principles of agalmic economics, Manfred pairs them with entrepreneur Bob Franklin, who aims to build a self-replicating factory utilizing comet-derived resources. This collaboration establishes a legal framework recognizing rights for future AIs and uploaded consciousnesses. Concurrently, Manfred's fiancée Pamela coerces him into impregnating and marrying her to maintain influence over him.
2 "Troubadour"
October 2001 		Three years later, amid a contentious divorce, Manfred reconnects with Annette. Together, they initiate three projects: developing a centralized planning system integrated with external markets, uploading out-of-copyright 20th-century media for public access, and countering Pamela's ongoing legal tactics. Their daughter Amber is thawed from cryopreservation and born under Pamela’s care.
3 "Tourist"
February 2002 		Five years later in Edinburgh, Manfred is mugged and has his cyberware-stored memories stolen, forcing him to reconstruct his identity. Meanwhile, the Lobsters flourish in colonies at the L5 point and within the asteroid belt; collaborating with the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the European Space Agency, they detect encrypted signals originating beyond the Solar System. Bob Franklin undergoes personality reconstruction as the Franklin Collective. Manfred advocates for expanded rights for non-human intelligences as Aineko begins deciphering the alien transmissions.
# Chapter Part 2 : Turning Point – Summary
4 "Halo"
June 2002 		A decade passes, and Amber Macx escapes her domineering mother through a sophisticated scheme involving self-enslavement under a Yemeni shell corporation before joining a Franklin Collective mining vessel operating on Jupiter’s moon Amalthea. Pamela attempts to obtain an Islamic legal ruling against Amber but is foiled when Amber claims sovereignty over a privately owned asteroid. Decoding of alien signals leads to plans for an expedition to a "router."
5 "Router"
September 2002 		The alien router orbits a brown dwarf star designated Hyundai +4904/-56 and is visited by the Field Circus, a computronium entity propelled by Jupiter-based lasers and lightsails. Amber and 62 others have uploaded themselves as virtual crew members. They encounter "The Wunch," aliens inhabiting virtual forms modeled on Lobster patterns who reveal themselves as thieves. After conflict ensues, Amber’s group opts to explore the router’s wormhole network.
6 "Nightfall"
April 2003 		Captured by hostile aliens within various virtual environments inside a Matrioshka brain, the crew are rescued through Aineko's intervention. They discover an anarchic domain ruled by sentient viral corporations exploiting newcomers as currency. Utilizing a "rogue alien corporation" virtualized as a giant slug that opens an escape route, the crew begins their journey back home.
# Chapter Part 3 : Singularity – Summary
7 "Curator"
December 2003 		Returning to Saturn’s floating habitats within the Solar System, the crew encounter Sirhan, son of Amber and Sadeq who remained behind and passed away. The crew uploads into new bodies but confronts bankruptcy under the new Economics 2.0 system dominated by posthuman intelligences. Manfred, Pamela, and Annette appear in various incarnations. Sentient bailiffs arrive to repossess Amber and Aineko; however, introducing the Slug entity into Economics 2.0 diverts their attention.
8 "Elector"
September 2004 		In Saturn’s floating cities, Amber leads the "Accelerationista" party campaigning to evade threats from the "Vile Offspring" by returning to the router network. Although she loses to conservationists, she secures Lobster support who offer passage on large vessels if humans serve as explorers and cartographers.
9 "Survivor"
October 2004 		Centuries after the singularity event, refugees return to the router network and establish their own exploration infrastructure. Habitats orbiting Hyundai host copies choosing permanence, including child-clones. Aineko returns with an offer for Manfred that would guarantee Aineko’s permanent departure.

References to Modern Scientific Concepts

The book integrates a variety of allusions to authentic scientific ideas and personalities, such as:

Honors and Recognitions

Accelerando received the 2006 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel and the 2010 Estonian SF Award for Best Translated Novel of 2009. Additionally, it was a finalist for:

Awards for Individual Stories

The initial short story "Lobsters" (June 2001) was nominated for:

The original short story "Halo" (June 2002) earned nominations for:

The story "Router" (September 2002) was shortlisted for:

"Nightfall" (April 2003), another original short story, was nominated for:

The short story "Elector" (September 2004) received a nomination for:

Publication Information

  • Ace (United States), hardcover edition, July 2005,
  • Ace (United States), paperback edition, July 2006,
  • Orbit (United Kingdom), hardcover edition, August 2005,
  • Orbit (United Kingdom), paperback edition, June 2006,

Digital Editions

  • The original short story Elector (September 2004) can be found in Asimov's Science Fiction.
  • A fully searchable SiSU version of the entire novel is accessible in various digital formats.
  • A version with selectable formats is available through ManyBooks.
  • Charles Stross provides downloadable epub, mobi, aportis, and rtf files of Accelerando on his personal blog.

Related Topics

External Resources

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