When we destroy this planet, what will life look like then? Climate change is a serious concern in our current times and the evidence for it is mounting in numbers. NASA and other organisations warn us about rising global temperature, warming oceans, shrinking ice sheets, and rising sea levels are just some of the natural phenomena that point to climate change. In Firewalkers, Adrian Tchaikovsky imagines what happens when climate change becomes an undeniable reality. Giving the reader a glimpse into the technological advances that would let humans survive, Firewalkers takes a brutally honest look at humanity and how we will always build on the hard work of others. Not even a world calamity can change that.
Themes for Thought
Firewalkers is a novella packed with action. We meet Mao, Lupé, and Hotep, teenagers who are trained to go out in the hot sun in the hot desert. Living right under the sun on the equator, near the Anchor, the elevator that takes people to the space station where they can stay until the Earth is better again. There are people in other areas of the world, but they are struggling with their own demons, like excessive flooding. There are three main ideas that jumped out to me from this book:
On The Characters
Kids like Mao are dispensable. If they don’t come back from the desert, a new kid takes their place. Each of the Firewalkers have their specialisations that they bring to the missions. While Mao is the leader and organises everything, he isn’t the focus of the story: Hotep and Lupé are in my mind.
Lupé was by far my favourite of the trio. She is ready to make hard decisions to make sure her people survive, something that was much needed in this society of survivors, each hoping to buy their ticket to the space station and never suffer like this again.
Hotep though is a different story. She grew up at the space station, but she did not follow the rules and that is why they sent her down. She carries the weight of being smart and intelligent while knowing very well that she belongs neither in the sky nor on the ground. But she is a Firewalker and that brings some acceptance. This mission that Mao, Lupé, and Hotep are sent on takes on a new personal meaning for Hotep as the story progresses.
On Artificial Intelligence (AI)
In their search for what is causing the power shortage in their city, the firewalkers encounter some strange phenomena. Whether it is the swarms of genetically enhanced locusts that are eating away the solar panel or the mad man in the old science laboratory out of town, spooky things are happening and none of them know why. When they finally come across the root of the problem, they are confronted by AI. I don’t want to give any spoilers so I will just say that I found this encounter very important to the story because it speaks to the humanity of the future that the author imagines.
On Humanity
Is it surprising that some people went up to space and left others behind? That has been a theme in many movies and sci-fi post apocalyptic TV shows like The 100 where some people get the chance to live in space while others either get eradicated or figure something out. In the present, we debate the ethics and powers of AI so it is not surprising that they are an integral part of sci-fi. In Firewalkers, through the AI, I gained a new perspective on them. We fear that AI will take over and kill us but we do that to ourselves already when we wage wars. I had not thought about that before.
“They warned you about a system like myself because they already had that control over their lives, and that disregard for you.” – Chapter Nine, Firewalkers
Firewalkers speaks to the possibility that if AI does go out of control, humans will still have enough control to get rid of it, taking away its access to whatever humans think is precious. However, just like we want a purpose in life, whether it is that of a firewalker or an astronaut, a self-aware AI is no different and it might embark on new adventures without really going anywhere.
Conclusion
Firewalkers was a thoughtful read with many twists and turns. Short, precise, and abundant in ideas with a masterful gritty execution, I enjoyed this book and will pick up other works by Adrian Tchaikovsky.
Firewalkers is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers as of May 12th 2020.
Will you be picking up Firewalkers? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
A thrilling new limited-edition hardcover concerning class and climate change from Arthur C. Clarke award-winning author Adrian Tchaikovsky.
Firewalkers are brave. Firewalkers are resourceful. Firewalkers are expendable.
The Earth is burning. Nothing can survive at the Anchor; not without water and power. But the ultra-rich, waiting for their ride off the dying Earth? They can buy water. And as for power?
Well, someone has to repair the solar panels, down in the deserts below.
Kids like Mao, and Lupé, and Hotep; kids with brains and guts but no hope.
