Falling Free
Encyclopedia
Falling Free is a novel from the Vorkosigan Saga
, written by Lois McMaster Bujold
. It was first published as four installments in Analog
from December 1987 to February 1988, and won the Nebula Award for Best Novel
for 1988. The novel is set about 200 years before the birth of Miles Vorkosigan
, the main character of the saga.
. From the point of view of the commercial interests responsible for their creation, they would be highly-profitable, requiring none of the special facilities or mandatory time off needed by other humans, whose bodies tend to deteriorate over the long term in weightlessness. They would also be completely beholden to the company for life support, and would have no rights as human beings.
Legally, the Quaddies are not classed as human but as "post-fetal experimental tissue cultures". The company treats them as chattel slaves. Their access to information is tightly controlled. Even their children's stories are about working in space. They can be ordered to reproduce or to have a pregnancy terminated. They are the subject of breeding programs, the company compelling them to mate only with one of the company's choosing, regardless of existing partners. When a new artificial gravity technology renders them both obsolete and a potential political embarrassment to the executives, there are discussions about killing them or sterilizing them. Bipedal engineer Leo Graf, who had been assigned to help train them, instead helps them break free. They eventually settle in an initially remote system that gradually becomes a major part of the Nexus.
Bujold has stated in the notes of her reprints that Falling Free was the first half of the intended story. The unwritten, second story was to tell how the Quaddies settled into what would be known as "Quaddiespace". Diplomatic Immunity
, published in 2007, revisits the subject of the Quaddies, showing the state of their society some 240 years after its foundation. It takes place on Graf Station, named for Leo Graf, who is hero and patriarch to the Quaddies.
Vorkosigan Saga
The Vorkosigan Saga is a series of science fiction novels and short stories set in a common fictional universe by American author Lois McMaster Bujold. Most of these were published between 1986 and 2002, with the exceptions being “Winterfair Gifts” and Cryoburn...
, written by Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois McMaster Bujold is an American author of science fiction and fantasy works. Bujold is one of the most acclaimed writers in her field, having won the prestigious Hugo Award for best novel four times, matching Robert A. Heinlein's record. Her novella The Mountains of Mourning won both the Hugo...
. It was first published as four installments in Analog
Analog Science Fiction and Fact
Analog Science Fiction and Fact is an American science fiction magazine. As of 2011, it is the longest running continuously published magazine of that genre...
from December 1987 to February 1988, and won the Nebula Award for Best Novel
Nebula Award for Best Novel
Winners of the Nebula Award for Best Novel, awarded by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America. The stated year is that of publication; awards are given in the following year.- Winners and other nominees :...
for 1988. The novel is set about 200 years before the birth of Miles Vorkosigan
Miles Vorkosigan
Miles Naismith Vorkosigan is the hero of a series of science fiction novels and short stories by Lois McMaster Bujold known as the Vorkosigan Saga. In an article in The Vorkosigan Companion, Bujold acknowledged several real-life inspirations for the character: T. E...
, the main character of the saga.
Plot
The novel relates the creation of the "Quaddies", genetically modified people who have four arms, the second pair appearing where unmodified humans would have legs. They were intended to be used as a space labor force, not only superbly adapted to zero-gravity but unable to function "downside" in any but the lightest gravitational fieldGravitational field
The gravitational field is a model used in physics to explain the existence of gravity. In its original concept, gravity was a force between point masses...
. From the point of view of the commercial interests responsible for their creation, they would be highly-profitable, requiring none of the special facilities or mandatory time off needed by other humans, whose bodies tend to deteriorate over the long term in weightlessness. They would also be completely beholden to the company for life support, and would have no rights as human beings.
Legally, the Quaddies are not classed as human but as "post-fetal experimental tissue cultures". The company treats them as chattel slaves. Their access to information is tightly controlled. Even their children's stories are about working in space. They can be ordered to reproduce or to have a pregnancy terminated. They are the subject of breeding programs, the company compelling them to mate only with one of the company's choosing, regardless of existing partners. When a new artificial gravity technology renders them both obsolete and a potential political embarrassment to the executives, there are discussions about killing them or sterilizing them. Bipedal engineer Leo Graf, who had been assigned to help train them, instead helps them break free. They eventually settle in an initially remote system that gradually becomes a major part of the Nexus.
Bujold has stated in the notes of her reprints that Falling Free was the first half of the intended story. The unwritten, second story was to tell how the Quaddies settled into what would be known as "Quaddiespace". Diplomatic Immunity
Diplomatic Immunity (novel)
Diplomatic Immunity is a 2002 science fiction novel by Lois McMaster Bujold. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 2003.-Plot summary :...
, published in 2007, revisits the subject of the Quaddies, showing the state of their society some 240 years after its foundation. It takes place on Graf Station, named for Leo Graf, who is hero and patriarch to the Quaddies.
Characters
- Leo Graf – a genetically unmodified human engineer, he is based on the author's father, Robert Charles McMaster (1913–1986). He is hired by the Company in order to help train the Quaddies in reliable space-engineering practices. Graf is unaware of the nature of the Quaddies until he arrives at the station. He becomes sympathetic to their plight, and when he learns of the company's plans for them in the wake of the new artificial gravity technologies, he works out plans for their escape.
- Silver – a young female Quaddie who is instrumental in assisting Leo Graf in the escape of the Quaddies. She later becomes his romantic partner.