Evolution (Baxter novel)

Evolution

Company type	Novel series
Industry	Literature
Founded	2002
Founder	Stephen Baxter
Products	Episodic science fiction novel

Evolution is a series of interconnected short narratives that together form an episodic science fiction novel authored by Stephen Baxter. The story covers an extensive timeline of 565 million years, tracing the development of humans from shrew-like mammals existing 65 million years ago to the ultimate destiny of humanity 500 million years into the future.

Key Figures in the Purga–Human Lineage

The following characters descend from Purga and represent ancestors or descendants within the human evolutionary line.

Purga (65 Mya, Montana). A female Purgatorius, considered the common ancestor of all primates. After losing her mates and offspring to predators, she gives birth to two pups who witness the Chicxulub impact. Only one pup survives; Purga dies content that her lineage will persist. Her fossilized tooth is discovered in 2010.

Plesi (63 Mya, North America). A female plesiadapid closely resembling Purgatorius. She bears two pups, one of which falls victim to an Oxyclaenus predator.

Noth (51 Mya, Ellesmere Island). A 2-year-old male Notharctus dwelling in Arctic woodlands. His species is matriarchal and social but lacks a theory of mind. Following an assault, Noth gains acceptance into a new group.

Capo (5 Mya, North African coast). A dominant 40-year-old male australopithecine exhibiting basic bipedal locomotion and tool use. Confronted with habitat reduction, he leads his group to contested grasslands, subsisting on scavenged carcasses.

Far (1.5 Mya, Rift Valley). A 9-year-old female hominid who survives both a wildfire and an attack by pithecines. She integrates into another tribe that employs axes and pioneers body painting to enhance social standing.

Pebble (127 kya, Central Kenya). An 8-year-old male neanderthal leading survivors toward the Mediterranean coast. There he encounters Harpoon, a modern human female; their groups engage in trade and interbreeding, eventually eradicating local Homo erectus populations.

Mother or Ja-ahn (60 kya, Sahara). A 30-year-old woman whose schizophrenia facilitates understanding of causality and leads to the invention of the spear-thrower. Her superstitious practices result in sacrifices during drought periods. Posthumously named Ja-ahn, she becomes the first recorded human name and attains mythic status.

Ejan (52 kya, Indonesia). A 20-year-old man who, alongside his sister, carves a canoe to reach Australia, becoming among its earliest human inhabitants and later celebrated in myth.

Jana (51 kya, Northwestern Australia). A 21-year-old polio-afflicted man who develops forest burning techniques to hunt large game, gaining admiration within his community.

Jo'on (47 kya, New South Wales). A 40-year-old man partnered with Leda. At her request, Jo'on travels to the coast to procure flint for crafting superior hunting tools.

Jahna (31 kya, Western France). A young girl living during the Ice Age whose people exploit Neanderthals. Lost with her brother amid a storm, they are sheltered by "Old Man," a Neanderthal later killed despite their objections.

Juna (9.6 kya, Anatolia). A pregnant teenager of 15 who becomes enslaved to protect her unborn child. She acquires agricultural knowledge in Çata Hüyük, Earth’s earliest city governed by the Potus. After famine-induced uprisings force their escape, she reunites with her surviving sister in their devastated village.

Athalaric (482 CE, Rome). The son of a barbarian slave assigned to guard Honorius, a Roman collector fascinated by ancient artifacts. Following visits to Petra’s trading centers and Rome’s museum, Athalaric’s father orchestrates Honorius’ assassination as Rome declines.

Joan Useb (21st century). A paleontologist of San and European heritage attending a global warming summit disrupted by protests and volcanic activity. In 2049, Joan and her daughter rescue feral children amidst societal collapse while contemplating humanity’s trajectory.

Robert Wayne "Snowy" Snow (millennia ahead, United Kingdom). A genetically enhanced military officer awakened from cryogenic preservation after global conflicts have devastated civilization. Efforts to restore society fail due to lost knowledge; Snowy ultimately integrates with feral humans as technology disappears.

Remembrance (30 My from now, Western Africa). A monkey-like post-human female among varied non-sapient descendants of feral children inhabiting fertile forests containing remnants of past civilizations. She endures predator threats before a mass extinction caused by an asteroid strike.

Ultimate (500 My from now, Montana). A capuchin-like post-human female living symbiotically with borametz trees in the arid deserts of Pangaea Ultima. Following the extinction of her herd amid climatic adversity and predation pressures, Earth is engulfed by the Sun; dormant bacteria initiate life anew on an exoplanet.

Non-human Protagonists Outside the Purga–Human Ancestral Line

The individuals listed below do not belong to the human lineage, although some originate from Purga primates.

Listener (145 million years ago, Pangaea). A female member of the Ornitholestes species cohabiting with her partner Stego. Unlike typical animals, they possess full sapient abilities, including advanced language, tool use, and a culture focused on hunting Diplodocus. After Stego falls victim to an Allosaurus, Listener swears vengeance and, alongside her three sons, eliminates the Diplodocus matriarch ten years later. This event results in the extinction of both the herd and the Ornitholestes community, leaving this earlier sapient species undiscovered by humans.

Roamer (32 million years ago, North Africa). A female from a capuchin-like primate species not yet identified in paleontological records. Following a flood, she and other survivors drift across the Atlantic Ocean on a rudimentary raft, ultimately arriving in the Yucatán rainforest. Their lineage evolves into a novel monkey branch.

Dig (10 million years ago, Antarctica). A female primate resembling a lemming inhabiting Antarctic forests that host descendants of Velociraptor, Allosaurus, and Muttaburrasaurus. As global temperatures drop and ice sheets form, her habitat is buried beneath ice, erasing all traces of these enduring non-avian dinosaurs for future human discovery.

Johnnie (21st century, Mars). The first self-replicating robotic probe created by humanity, arriving on Mars during Joan's conference. Initially designed to construct human settlements, it loses communication due to Earth's turmoil following the Rabaul eruption and begins uncontrolled replication. Over centuries, its progeny consume Mars' resources and eventually exit the Solar System. Imperfect replication triggers an evolutionary process; after 500 million years, a self-aware descendant returns to Earth but concludes its mission has failed and departs once more.

Reception

Peter Cannon from Publishers Weekly characterized the novel as "a meticulously crafted hard science fiction narrative examining humanity's survival beyond space exploration." Kirkus Reviews described it as "bleak, irritable, and somber." Jackie Cassada of Library Journal commended it as "an ambitious epic spanning 165 million years that seamlessly blends accessible paleontology with exceptional storytelling."

The work Evolution has been likened to Olaf Stapledon's Last and First Men, an influence openly acknowledged by Baxter.

External links

• Extensive review available at http://www.indymedia.ie/article/74240