At its
worst, science fiction is cheap, shallow entertainment on par with mainstream
popular fiction that fails to induce anything in the reader save the thought
‘time wasted’. At its best, however, science
fiction can be a powerful tool for exploring the human condition and supply
deep-reaching questions for thought.
Done right, it expresses aspects of existence that literary realism can
(literally) only dream of. After all,
the opportunities for comparison and contrast, profundity and insight are
exponentially myriad when the universe, not just the world, is your canvas. Taking full advantage of the possibilities,
Ian Watson penned The Embedding in
1973. Using linguistics as a bounce
point, humanity’s chances/willingness/ability to merge toward a common
understanding are examined under a genre light that features aliens, political
intrigue, jungle tribes, and language experiments in intelligent if not
hackneyed fashion.
While
there are several side stories, The
Embedding can be divided into three main flows. The first is set in the deep jungles of
Brazil where the Xemahoa tribe live.
Pierre is a French anthropologist observing the tribe, taking particular
note of their use of language. Rather languages:
everyday speech is in a format readily translatable into other known languages,
while in their religious ceremonies another language, a language which combines
fungal psychedelics with embedded words and phrasing, is used. A controversial dam project threatening to
force the Xemahoa away from their ancestral home and fungal grounds, it isn’t
long before politics ad violence interrupt Pierre’s research. Meanwhile in the UK. a highly experimental
language study is underway—one that would certainly be illegal were it
performed today. Linguist Chris Sole
teaches brain damaged children using embedded language, experimental drugs, and
physical techniques that occupy the gray area of abuse, all in the hopes of not
only better understanding human communication, but perhaps unlocking something
deeper in the brain. Appearing about a
third to halfway through the novel is the third storyline. Passing through the Milky Way is an alien
ship, returning to its home world. Its
mission to understand reality deeper than known reality, they come looking to
barter knowledge for knowledge in the hope humanity may offer some piece to
their reality puzzle. They, of anyone in
the story, find the unexpected.
