Novel set in starship with scientists(?)

[natterjack]

Hi,

Hope someone can help me identify a novel...

My memories of it are patchy, but key elements are:-

- It's all set within the confines of a starship. The crew is small, maybe four people, and I think they may be scientists.

- There is a part of the book where they encounter an alien intelligence, or at least an automated routine left to be found by an alien intelligence, on a planet or (more likely) on a space station.

- The intelligence, or its automated proxy, walks them through a set of demonstrations to check that they are intelligent and establish some rules for communication. It achieves this by first demonstrating simple machines in order (i.e. lever, inclined plane, wedge, etc) before moving on to mathematical principals.

- There is a part of the book where they redesign their ship's propulsion system, or cannibalise it to make a probe perhaps. There is a comment to the effect of "it's impressive how much power you can get out of a chemical rocket when you don't need to live on top of it".

Not much to go on, I know, but if anyone recognises this book I'd be eternally grateful.

Best regards,
Neal

 

[tinkerdan]

Oddly this sounds a bit like but doesn't sound at all like Piers Anthony's Macroscope.

In Macroscope they discover signals that are like tutorials that have different levels piggybacking on the signal and cause some people with higher intelligence to go insane.

A group follow cryptic messages to Neptune where they turn Neptune into a starship in search of the intelligence responsible for the signals.

 

[natterjack]

Bingo!

The book was, indeed Macroscope!

Thank you so, so much

 

[Bick]

Which is sitting unread on a shelf at home I'm sure - is it a good read? I've enjoyed Anthony stuff before but this one hasn't climbed up the TBR list far enough to actually get read for some reason.

 

[tinkerdan]

I read it when it first was published in paper bound edition and thought it was a departure from the Omivore and Orn but for the time it had some interesting somewhat new notions on the speed of light travel.

What was most interesting was the notion of a signal from space that contained tutorials for development of technologies and the notion that it seemed to have a Trojan like attack embedded targeting higher intelligences.

The group that go into space are a group who participated in something like the Peckham experiment and all have high IQ's though the focus character is one with the lowest IQ [and is immune to the signal]who has a connection to a mysterious hyper-intelligent character, Schön.

If I remember correctly the book leans heavily to some astrological references.

 

[natterjack]

I read Macroscope in my early teens while ploughing through my Dad's SF collection.

I must have been reading a lot of other books simultaneously or in short order, because I was sure with hindsight that the macroscope was Blish's Dirac Communicator and that Blish's communicator 'beep' was somehow integral to this story.

Thanks again for solving the mystery, tinkerdan.

I now have a copy on my Kindle and am looking forward to reconnecting a little with my Dad's past

 

[ralphkern]

You may also like Alistair Reynolds - Diamond Dogs & Turquise Days. It has a similar albeit slightly darker tone. Also pretty much anything by Jack McDevitt.

 

[natterjack]

Thanks for the recommendation, ralphkern. I've added Jack McDevit to my wish list...