Commonwealth Saga
Encyclopedia
The Commonwealth Saga is a series of science fiction
novels by British science fiction writer Peter F. Hamilton
. This saga consists of the novels Pandora's Star (2004) and Judas Unchained (2005), as well as Misspent Youth
(2002). The events of Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained take place 340 years after his single novel Misspent Youth (2002). The Dreaming Void
(2008), The Temporal Void (2009), and The Evolutionary Void (2010) constitute his latest trilogy, which take place 1,200 years after the events of Judas Unchained but occur in the same literary universe; several of the main characters from Judas Unchained and Pandora's Star also appear in the Void trilogy.
Like Hamilton's earlier The Night's Dawn Trilogy
, the Commonwealth Saga is an epic space opera that extends across dozens of worlds and characters.
s.
Bose's investigations reveal that the enclosing of Dyson Alpha and Dyson Beta (as the stars become known) occurred quickly and simultaneously. These facts mean that the technology of the Dyson aliens, or possibly other unknown aliens, surpasses that of the Commonwealth; furthermore, did the Dyson Aliens enclose themselves, or did some other force enclose them? Was it for protection or to protect those outside the spheres?
To investigate, the Commonwealth builds its first interstellar ship, the Second Chance. Commanded by Wilson Kime, one of the first men to walk on Mars, using a self-generating wormhole for propulsion, the Second Chance travels to Dyson Alpha.
As they arrive and begin to explore what appears to be an enclosure generator, it is shut down by an unknown mechanism and the barrier around the star disappears. Inside the first imprisoned star system is an incredibly warlike and aggressive species, a race that come to be called the Primes. They consist of intelligent immotiles that breed and control vast armies of sub-sentient 'motiles' via electronically extended neural interfaces. The few immotiles constantly vie with each other for territories and resources.
Primes had colonized Dyson Beta and enslaved its native inhabitants in the process. Beta's Primes started to routinely alter themselves through genetic manipulation and mechanical augmentation and therefore were referred to as alienPrimes by the Alpha Primes. They also broke away from the control of Alpha's Primes and thus a war began between two systems. The war continued until the barrier was erected around the stars.
After capturing two crew members of the Second Chance, one of whom was Dudley Bose, the Primes eventually discover the location of the Commonwealth. Upon learning of the Commonwealth's existence, the dominant immotile grouping, MorningLightMountain, makes it its primary objective to destroy the Commonwealth. MorningLightMountain believes that it is necessary to eliminate all other life in the Universe in order to secure its survival into the distant future, because it views all life that is not under its control as a potential threat.
Following the capture of the two crewmembers, MorningLightMountain discovers the concept of wormhole technology, and quickly creates its own generator. Using wormholes to transport and detonate nuclear weapons within the defenses of other immotiles, it secures its dominance over the Dyson Alpha solar system by becoming the only surviving sentient member of its species.
At the same time, an underground human organization known as the Guardians of Selfhood is determined to prove the existence of an alien known as the Starflyer, which originated in the crash of an ancient spacecraft (the Marie Celeste) on the planet Far Away. The Guardians of Selfhood have been declared a terrorist organization by the Commonwealth's government, and are pursued by famed investigator Paula Myo, working on behalf of the Commonwealth government. Throughout both books, Ms. Myo becomes gradually convinced that the Starflyer may be real and has organized the liberation of the hostile aliens for its own purposes.
The Prime attack on the Commonwealth is devastating, including widespread use of nuclear weapons to both subjugate and contaminate
the human worlds, resulting in tens of millions of human deaths.
The story begins with the small human resistance that exists on what remains of the Commonwealth worlds attacked by the Primes. Human resistance forces have found two ways to fight back: using the Prime weapons (primarily directed-energy weapons) against the invaders, and disrupting communication between the slave caste (motiles) and the commanding caste (immotiles) of the Primes. Meanwhile, the humans in the remaining Commonwealth pursue other plans: to develop a set of weapons and warships to defend against the next Prime invasion and force the conflict back into Prime space; to develop a "quantumbuster superweapon" based on technology supplied, unbeknownst to most humans, by the Starflyer; and to prepare for the evacuation of known space altogether if necessary.
Eventually, the human forces decide that there can be no other solution to the conflict than to commit genocide and destroy the Primes entirely. However, it is revealed that the Primes are planning a much larger invasion, which humanity will be all but powerless to stop.
As the war rages, the human forces begin to build much faster, better armed, ships and fitting them with new "quantumbuster" weapons. These weapons function by converting the entire rest mass of an object into energy, and are thus capable of destroying an entire planet. Later on, a more advanced quantumbuster is deployed, which is capable of inducing a main-sequence star to go nova via a feedback loop where the energy from the conversion is used to further expand the radius of the effect field. Despite the original plan to use it on the Dyson Alpha star and thus kill the entire prime race, a modified field version of a normal quantumbuster is eventually deployed on the Dyson Alpha forcefield generator, destroying the mechanism that was interfering with the generator's systems. This allows the mechanism to reactivate, trapping the Prime aliens inside and avoiding genocide.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that the Starflyer is in fact an AlienPrime which, by chance, escaped the enclosure event. The human forces engage in a desperate chase to prevent the Starflyer from escaping the Commonwealth. After defeating the Starflyer's army and encircling the Marie Celeste, The Guardians of Selfhood destroy the Starflyer with a massive directed hurricane, freeing humanity from its thrall.
technology has developed ahead of faster-than-light
drive systems, making the Commonwealth Saga markedly different from Hamilton's other works. One notable difference is the initial lack of spaceships
. Instead, interstellar travel is accomplished by travelling through wormholes, most commonly via a train
. This mode of travel is a commonplace experience, considered similar to commuting
. Hundreds of planet
s are linked in this fashion. However, several colonies have chosen to withdraw from the Commonwealth by severing their wormhole connection.
may be postponed indefinitely in the Commonwealth. Most Commonwealth citizens have a memory crystal (which has been invented in the events of Misspent Youth
) inserted at the base of the brain which is able to record memories including those before insertion. Commonwealth citizens undergo a process called rejuvenation, approximately every thirty to fifty years (also introduced in Misspent Youth). Rejuvenation is an intense year-and-a-half-long biological process during which the subject's body is restored to an approximate age of 20. Citizens can also create backups of memories which are placed in safe environment, called their "secure store". In the event of a fatal accident or premature death, a clone of the person is created and the stored memories of the original are inserted. If the memory crystal of the death is still intact, all the memories, including the one of the pain of the death itself, are reinjected into the clone. The process makes them effectively immortal
, even if still threatened by the loss of their body, memory crystal implant, and "secure store". Also, not all the humans have chosen these implants. In particular, rebels of Far Away are usually not implanted. Most Commonwealth citizens must pay for rejuvenation insurance, similar to superannuation, although some citizens elect to forgo rejuvenation altogether. Rejuvenation is said to be akin to starting a new life
, with those who have undergone the process being referred to as second-lifers, third-lifers, and so on. Psychologically
, some people tend to shake off the responsibilities of their previous life including employment
and marriage
. Memories
can even be edited to facilitate easy transition to a new life.
is used extensively in the Commonwealth, and most people possess several implants. One of the most common implants is the "memorycell" insert. The memorycell is a small device that is embedded in the body and is designed to record the memories and personality of the individual. Should a person ever die, their memories can be transferred into a clone. The process is called re-lifing. This can be traumatic - several characters undergo re-life in the novels, and some emerge scarred due to the knowledge of their own death. In case the memorycell is damaged or destroyed, every character with a memorycell insert also has their memories securely stored elsewhere. This secondary backup is often held by a third-party company that can be substituted for the memorycell in the re-life process should total body loss occur. This store must be manually updated and can be less up-to-date than a memorycell.
Other common implants include a transceiver
designed to interface with the Commonwealth's Unisphere, an interstellar network of computers. This system uses the network of wormholes to send data between Commonwealth planets. Each planet has its own Cybersphere which connects with other cyberspheres to create the Unisphere. This system allows characters to contact each other easily from anywhere within the Commonwealth.
OCTattoos (Organic Circuitry Tattoos) are also a major technological device. These are tattooed on the skin and resemble colourful, often metallic tattoo
s, and serve hundreds of purposes from transferring credits to serving as sensors. Their main function is to act as processors for other implants (which may function at reduced capacity if an OCTattoo is damaged).
Less common 'wet-wired' implants also serve many functions in the novels, including, but not limited to: implanted weapon
s, personal forcefields, explosives, and scanners. Often, such implants are illegal, and must be installed by the black-market clinics in the Commonwealth. Gore Burnelli is a notable user of wet-wiring in the series, so much so that his entire body is coated in a golden sheen of technological implants.
sentient
civilizations have been encountered by the Commonwealth in its expansion through the Galaxy
. The most prominent of these are the elf
-like Silfen, who appear to eschew most forms of technology, as well as any participation in the politics
or events of the Galaxy. The Silfen choose instead to wander across uncharted alien worlds on Paths, the Silfen equivalent of wormholes. The High Angel is an enormous sentient starship
of unknown origin, acting as home for several colonies of alien species, most of which keep themselves away from humans. The Raiel are the exception to this - a race of large, somewhat self-satisfied creatures, capable of immensely complex computational calculation
s. All of the species encountered up to the start of the novel are peaceful, though few impart useful information to the Commonwealth.
called the Sentient Intelligence, or SI, which exists alone, its physical form spanning an entire planet. Like the Silfen, it offers little assistance to humanity, and its motivations are unclear. However, it has been known to offer aid where it deems it right to do so. Perhaps due to its isolation (the only connection to the SI planet is a zero-width wormhole through which only data can pass), it tends to contact those who would offer it unparalleled levels of information on the happenings of the Commonwealth, providing such people with favours in exchange for information. These favours range from ensuring their safety through observation of their local Cybersphere's communication
s, to controlling what it can in the physical world to offer help.
The SI is also the repository for humans who upload their "personality" into a communal existence alongside the SI. Some characters are offered deals by the SI because they have a "deceased" relative's personality stored in the SI. The deals often lead to the person in question being granted elevated access and control over the technology in the novels in return for gathering information that the SI cannot access.
and the Void Trilogy
. Misspent Youth is set in 2040 and focuses on the first human to undergo rejuvenation. It is in this book that Hamilton lays the foundations for the Commonwealth Saga, particularly the rejuvenation therapy that has become commonplace in the 24th century. The Void Trilogy continues within the same universe, but set a further 1200 years into the future. Many of the races featured in the Commonwealth Saga also appear in the Void Trilogy.
The short story "Blessed by an Angel" (published in The New Space Opera
(2007), ed. Gardner Dozois
and Jonathon Strahan) also occurs in this universe.
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
novels by British science fiction writer Peter F. Hamilton
Peter F. Hamilton
Peter F. Hamilton is a British author. He is best known for writing space opera. As of the publication of his tenth novel in 2004, his works had sold over two million copies worldwide.- Biography :...
. This saga consists of the novels Pandora's Star (2004) and Judas Unchained (2005), as well as Misspent Youth
Misspent Youth
Misspent Youth is a science-fiction novel by English author Peter F. Hamilton.Set in the near-future, it describes the story of Jeff Baker; an inventor who revolutionizes the world by creating the ultimate method of information storage and instead of selling it, offers it open source...
(2002). The events of Pandora's Star and Judas Unchained take place 340 years after his single novel Misspent Youth (2002). The Dreaming Void
The Dreaming Void
The Dreaming Void is a science fiction novel by British writer Peter F. Hamilton, the first in his Void Trilogy.-Plot summary:At the centre of the Milky Way galaxy an object called the Void resembles a massive black hole. The Void is not a natural system. Inside there is a strange universe where...
(2008), The Temporal Void (2009), and The Evolutionary Void (2010) constitute his latest trilogy, which take place 1,200 years after the events of Judas Unchained but occur in the same literary universe; several of the main characters from Judas Unchained and Pandora's Star also appear in the Void trilogy.
Like Hamilton's earlier The Night's Dawn Trilogy
The Night's Dawn Trilogy
British author Peter F. Hamilton's The Night's Dawn Trilogy consists of three science fiction novels: The Reality Dysfunction , The Neutronium Alchemist , and The Naked God...
, the Commonwealth Saga is an epic space opera that extends across dozens of worlds and characters.
Pandora's Star
The Saga begins in 2380, the human race has had wormhole technology for over 300 years thanks to the work of Nigel Sheldon and Ozzie Isaacs, and has colonized several hundred planets across hundreds of light years. On a distant planet, Astronomer Dudley Bose performs the first detailed observations of an astronomical event known as the Dyson Pair Enclosure. Two stars, located roughly 1,000 light years from Earth (750 light years from the edge of Commonwealth space), seemingly disappeared some time earlier. The theory is that they have been enclosed inside Dyson sphereDyson sphere
A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure originally described by Freeman Dyson. Such a "sphere" would be a system of orbiting solar power satellites meant to completely encompass a star and capture most or all of its energy output...
s.
Bose's investigations reveal that the enclosing of Dyson Alpha and Dyson Beta (as the stars become known) occurred quickly and simultaneously. These facts mean that the technology of the Dyson aliens, or possibly other unknown aliens, surpasses that of the Commonwealth; furthermore, did the Dyson Aliens enclose themselves, or did some other force enclose them? Was it for protection or to protect those outside the spheres?
To investigate, the Commonwealth builds its first interstellar ship, the Second Chance. Commanded by Wilson Kime, one of the first men to walk on Mars, using a self-generating wormhole for propulsion, the Second Chance travels to Dyson Alpha.
As they arrive and begin to explore what appears to be an enclosure generator, it is shut down by an unknown mechanism and the barrier around the star disappears. Inside the first imprisoned star system is an incredibly warlike and aggressive species, a race that come to be called the Primes. They consist of intelligent immotiles that breed and control vast armies of sub-sentient 'motiles' via electronically extended neural interfaces. The few immotiles constantly vie with each other for territories and resources.
Primes had colonized Dyson Beta and enslaved its native inhabitants in the process. Beta's Primes started to routinely alter themselves through genetic manipulation and mechanical augmentation and therefore were referred to as alienPrimes by the Alpha Primes. They also broke away from the control of Alpha's Primes and thus a war began between two systems. The war continued until the barrier was erected around the stars.
After capturing two crew members of the Second Chance, one of whom was Dudley Bose, the Primes eventually discover the location of the Commonwealth. Upon learning of the Commonwealth's existence, the dominant immotile grouping, MorningLightMountain, makes it its primary objective to destroy the Commonwealth. MorningLightMountain believes that it is necessary to eliminate all other life in the Universe in order to secure its survival into the distant future, because it views all life that is not under its control as a potential threat.
Following the capture of the two crewmembers, MorningLightMountain discovers the concept of wormhole technology, and quickly creates its own generator. Using wormholes to transport and detonate nuclear weapons within the defenses of other immotiles, it secures its dominance over the Dyson Alpha solar system by becoming the only surviving sentient member of its species.
At the same time, an underground human organization known as the Guardians of Selfhood is determined to prove the existence of an alien known as the Starflyer, which originated in the crash of an ancient spacecraft (the Marie Celeste) on the planet Far Away. The Guardians of Selfhood have been declared a terrorist organization by the Commonwealth's government, and are pursued by famed investigator Paula Myo, working on behalf of the Commonwealth government. Throughout both books, Ms. Myo becomes gradually convinced that the Starflyer may be real and has organized the liberation of the hostile aliens for its own purposes.
The Prime attack on the Commonwealth is devastating, including widespread use of nuclear weapons to both subjugate and contaminate
Nuclear fallout
Fallout is the residual radioactive material propelled into the upper atmosphere following a nuclear blast, so called because it "falls out" of the sky after the explosion and shock wave have passed. It commonly refers to the radioactive dust and ash created when a nuclear weapon explodes...
the human worlds, resulting in tens of millions of human deaths.
Judas Unchained
Judas Unchained, the second part of the Commonwealth Saga, picks up where Pandora's Stars abrupt ending left off.The story begins with the small human resistance that exists on what remains of the Commonwealth worlds attacked by the Primes. Human resistance forces have found two ways to fight back: using the Prime weapons (primarily directed-energy weapons) against the invaders, and disrupting communication between the slave caste (motiles) and the commanding caste (immotiles) of the Primes. Meanwhile, the humans in the remaining Commonwealth pursue other plans: to develop a set of weapons and warships to defend against the next Prime invasion and force the conflict back into Prime space; to develop a "quantumbuster superweapon" based on technology supplied, unbeknownst to most humans, by the Starflyer; and to prepare for the evacuation of known space altogether if necessary.
Eventually, the human forces decide that there can be no other solution to the conflict than to commit genocide and destroy the Primes entirely. However, it is revealed that the Primes are planning a much larger invasion, which humanity will be all but powerless to stop.
As the war rages, the human forces begin to build much faster, better armed, ships and fitting them with new "quantumbuster" weapons. These weapons function by converting the entire rest mass of an object into energy, and are thus capable of destroying an entire planet. Later on, a more advanced quantumbuster is deployed, which is capable of inducing a main-sequence star to go nova via a feedback loop where the energy from the conversion is used to further expand the radius of the effect field. Despite the original plan to use it on the Dyson Alpha star and thus kill the entire prime race, a modified field version of a normal quantumbuster is eventually deployed on the Dyson Alpha forcefield generator, destroying the mechanism that was interfering with the generator's systems. This allows the mechanism to reactivate, trapping the Prime aliens inside and avoiding genocide.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that the Starflyer is in fact an AlienPrime which, by chance, escaped the enclosure event. The human forces engage in a desperate chase to prevent the Starflyer from escaping the Commonwealth. After defeating the Starflyer's army and encircling the Marie Celeste, The Guardians of Selfhood destroy the Starflyer with a massive directed hurricane, freeing humanity from its thrall.
Technological concepts
The series starts in the year 2380, when wormholeWormhole
In physics, a wormhole is a hypothetical topological feature of spacetime that would be, fundamentally, a "shortcut" through spacetime. For a simple visual explanation of a wormhole, consider spacetime visualized as a two-dimensional surface. If this surface is folded along a third dimension, it...
technology has developed ahead of faster-than-light
Faster-than-light
Faster-than-light communications and travel refer to the propagation of information or matter faster than the speed of light....
drive systems, making the Commonwealth Saga markedly different from Hamilton's other works. One notable difference is the initial lack of spaceships
Spacecraft
A spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
. Instead, interstellar travel is accomplished by travelling through wormholes, most commonly via a train
Train
A train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport cargo or passengers from one place to another place. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway.Propulsion for the train is provided by a separate...
. This mode of travel is a commonplace experience, considered similar to commuting
Commuting
Commuting is regular travel between one's place of residence and place of work or full time study. It sometimes refers to any regular or often repeated traveling between locations when not work related.- History :...
. Hundreds of planet
Planet
A planet is a celestial body orbiting a star or stellar remnant that is massive enough to be rounded by its own gravity, is not massive enough to cause thermonuclear fusion, and has cleared its neighbouring region of planetesimals.The term planet is ancient, with ties to history, science,...
s are linked in this fashion. However, several colonies have chosen to withdraw from the Commonwealth by severing their wormhole connection.
Longevity
DeathDeath
Death is the permanent termination of the biological functions that sustain a living organism. Phenomena which commonly bring about death include old age, predation, malnutrition, disease, and accidents or trauma resulting in terminal injury....
may be postponed indefinitely in the Commonwealth. Most Commonwealth citizens have a memory crystal (which has been invented in the events of Misspent Youth
Misspent Youth
Misspent Youth is a science-fiction novel by English author Peter F. Hamilton.Set in the near-future, it describes the story of Jeff Baker; an inventor who revolutionizes the world by creating the ultimate method of information storage and instead of selling it, offers it open source...
) inserted at the base of the brain which is able to record memories including those before insertion. Commonwealth citizens undergo a process called rejuvenation, approximately every thirty to fifty years (also introduced in Misspent Youth). Rejuvenation is an intense year-and-a-half-long biological process during which the subject's body is restored to an approximate age of 20. Citizens can also create backups of memories which are placed in safe environment, called their "secure store". In the event of a fatal accident or premature death, a clone of the person is created and the stored memories of the original are inserted. If the memory crystal of the death is still intact, all the memories, including the one of the pain of the death itself, are reinjected into the clone. The process makes them effectively immortal
Immortality
Immortality is the ability to live forever. It is unknown whether human physical immortality is an achievable condition. Biological forms have inherent limitations which may or may not be able to be overcome through medical interventions or engineering...
, even if still threatened by the loss of their body, memory crystal implant, and "secure store". Also, not all the humans have chosen these implants. In particular, rebels of Far Away are usually not implanted. Most Commonwealth citizens must pay for rejuvenation insurance, similar to superannuation, although some citizens elect to forgo rejuvenation altogether. Rejuvenation is said to be akin to starting a new life
Life
Life is a characteristic that distinguishes objects that have signaling and self-sustaining processes from those that do not, either because such functions have ceased , or else because they lack such functions and are classified as inanimate...
, with those who have undergone the process being referred to as second-lifers, third-lifers, and so on. Psychologically
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, some people tend to shake off the responsibilities of their previous life including employment
Employment
Employment is a contract between two parties, one being the employer and the other being the employee. An employee may be defined as:- Employee :...
and marriage
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
. Memories
Memory
In psychology, memory is an organism's ability to store, retain, and recall information and experiences. Traditional studies of memory began in the fields of philosophy, including techniques of artificially enhancing memory....
can even be edited to facilitate easy transition to a new life.
Man-machine symbiosis
CyberwareCyberware
For other uses; see Cyberware Cyberware is a relatively new and unknown field...
is used extensively in the Commonwealth, and most people possess several implants. One of the most common implants is the "memorycell" insert. The memorycell is a small device that is embedded in the body and is designed to record the memories and personality of the individual. Should a person ever die, their memories can be transferred into a clone. The process is called re-lifing. This can be traumatic - several characters undergo re-life in the novels, and some emerge scarred due to the knowledge of their own death. In case the memorycell is damaged or destroyed, every character with a memorycell insert also has their memories securely stored elsewhere. This secondary backup is often held by a third-party company that can be substituted for the memorycell in the re-life process should total body loss occur. This store must be manually updated and can be less up-to-date than a memorycell.
Other common implants include a transceiver
Transceiver
A transceiver is a device comprising both a transmitter and a receiver which are combined and share common circuitry or a single housing. When no circuitry is common between transmit and receive functions, the device is a transmitter-receiver. The term originated in the early 1920s...
designed to interface with the Commonwealth's Unisphere, an interstellar network of computers. This system uses the network of wormholes to send data between Commonwealth planets. Each planet has its own Cybersphere which connects with other cyberspheres to create the Unisphere. This system allows characters to contact each other easily from anywhere within the Commonwealth.
OCTattoos (Organic Circuitry Tattoos) are also a major technological device. These are tattooed on the skin and resemble colourful, often metallic tattoo
Tattoo
A tattoo is made by inserting indelible ink into the dermis layer of the skin to change the pigment. Tattoos on humans are a type of body modification, and tattoos on other animals are most commonly used for identification purposes...
s, and serve hundreds of purposes from transferring credits to serving as sensors. Their main function is to act as processors for other implants (which may function at reduced capacity if an OCTattoo is damaged).
Less common 'wet-wired' implants also serve many functions in the novels, including, but not limited to: implanted weapon
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
s, personal forcefields, explosives, and scanners. Often, such implants are illegal, and must be installed by the black-market clinics in the Commonwealth. Gore Burnelli is a notable user of wet-wiring in the series, so much so that his entire body is coated in a golden sheen of technological implants.
Aliens
Non-humanExtraterrestrial life
Extraterrestrial life is defined as life that does not originate from Earth...
sentient
Sentience
Sentience is the ability to feel, perceive or be conscious, or to have subjective experiences. Eighteenth century philosophers used the concept to distinguish the ability to think from the ability to feel . In modern western philosophy, sentience is the ability to have sensations or experiences...
civilizations have been encountered by the Commonwealth in its expansion through the Galaxy
Milky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
. The most prominent of these are the elf
Elf
An elf is a being of Germanic mythology. The elves were originally thought of as a race of divine beings endowed with magical powers, which they use both for the benefit and the injury of mankind...
-like Silfen, who appear to eschew most forms of technology, as well as any participation in the politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
or events of the Galaxy. The Silfen choose instead to wander across uncharted alien worlds on Paths, the Silfen equivalent of wormholes. The High Angel is an enormous sentient starship
Starship
A starship or interstellar spacecraft is a theoretical spacecraft designed for traveling between the stars, as opposed to a vehicle designed for orbital spaceflight or interplanetary travel....
of unknown origin, acting as home for several colonies of alien species, most of which keep themselves away from humans. The Raiel are the exception to this - a race of large, somewhat self-satisfied creatures, capable of immensely complex computational calculation
Calculation
A calculation is a deliberate process for transforming one or more inputs into one or more results, with variable change.The term is used in a variety of senses, from the very definite arithmetical calculation of using an algorithm to the vague heuristics of calculating a strategy in a competition...
s. All of the species encountered up to the start of the novel are peaceful, though few impart useful information to the Commonwealth.
Sentient Intelligence
Humanity has also spawned a powerful artificial intelligenceArtificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
called the Sentient Intelligence, or SI, which exists alone, its physical form spanning an entire planet. Like the Silfen, it offers little assistance to humanity, and its motivations are unclear. However, it has been known to offer aid where it deems it right to do so. Perhaps due to its isolation (the only connection to the SI planet is a zero-width wormhole through which only data can pass), it tends to contact those who would offer it unparalleled levels of information on the happenings of the Commonwealth, providing such people with favours in exchange for information. These favours range from ensuring their safety through observation of their local Cybersphere's communication
Communication
Communication is the activity of conveying meaningful information. Communication requires a sender, a message, and an intended recipient, although the receiver need not be present or aware of the sender's intent to communicate at the time of communication; thus communication can occur across vast...
s, to controlling what it can in the physical world to offer help.
The SI is also the repository for humans who upload their "personality" into a communal existence alongside the SI. Some characters are offered deals by the SI because they have a "deceased" relative's personality stored in the SI. The deals often lead to the person in question being granted elevated access and control over the technology in the novels in return for gathering information that the SI cannot access.
In the same universe
Other books set in the Commonwealth Universe include Misspent YouthMisspent Youth
Misspent Youth is a science-fiction novel by English author Peter F. Hamilton.Set in the near-future, it describes the story of Jeff Baker; an inventor who revolutionizes the world by creating the ultimate method of information storage and instead of selling it, offers it open source...
and the Void Trilogy
Void Trilogy
The Void Trilogy is a science fiction series by British SF writer Peter F. Hamilton. The series is set in the same universe as The Commonwealth Saga, 1,200 years after the end of Judas Unchained....
. Misspent Youth is set in 2040 and focuses on the first human to undergo rejuvenation. It is in this book that Hamilton lays the foundations for the Commonwealth Saga, particularly the rejuvenation therapy that has become commonplace in the 24th century. The Void Trilogy continues within the same universe, but set a further 1200 years into the future. Many of the races featured in the Commonwealth Saga also appear in the Void Trilogy.
The short story "Blessed by an Angel" (published in The New Space Opera
The New Space Opera
The New Space Opera is a science fiction anthology edited by Gardner Dozois and Jonathan Strahan. It was published in 2007, and includes all original stories selected to represent the genre of space opera. It includes a five-page introduction, plus a brief introduction to each of the stories, and...
(2007), ed. Gardner Dozois
Gardner Dozois
Gardner Raymond Dozois is an American science fiction author and editor. He was editor of Asimov's Science Fiction magazine from 1984 to 2004...
and Jonathon Strahan) also occurs in this universe.