When Gravity Fails
Encyclopedia
When Gravity Fails is a cyberpunk
science fiction
novel by George Alec Effinger
published in 1986. It was nominated for the Nebula Award
for Best Novel
in 1987 and the Hugo Award
for Best Novel
in 1988. The title is taken from "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
", a song by Bob Dylan
: "When your gravity fails and negativity don't pull you through".
Taking place in a futuristic Middle-Eastern
setting, the series reverses some of the usual expectations of a future world order by painting the West in decline while Muslim countries seem to prosper. The book's other main themes are the effects of drug use and alternate personality technologies, as well as the personal interactions and increasing isolation of a severely flawed protagonist.
It is the first book in Effinger's Marîd Audran series, named after the protagonist, and was followed by A Fire in the Sun
in 1989 and The Exile Kiss
in 1991. Effinger started work on a fourth Audran novel, Word of Night, but died before that work was completed. The existing chapters of Word of Night are now available in the posthumously published Budayeen Nights
, along with some other Budayeen and non-Budayeen short stories.
, it is set neither in a futuristic Western
nor in a similar Asian world
. Instead, Effinger's novel, set near the end of the 22nd Century, describes an ascendant Arabic/Muslim
world, where the West has been in decline for at least a century. The United States
, Europe
and the Soviet Union
are described as having fractured into many small states, squabbling amongst themselves for remnants of former glory, with their citizens often described as visiting the unnamed city of the novel's setting as bumbling, naive tourists in awe at the wonders of the Muslim world.
The Islamic World, having grown much in economic and scientific power, still shows much of the elements commonly associated with it, such as strong religious touches, intricate rituals of conduct and relationship, and old tensions between the ethnic groups.
, and being the son of a prostitute), who is a small-scale operator and hustler in the Budayeen, the entertainment and criminal quarter of an unnamed Middle-Eastern city, probably somewhere in the Levant
, based on several geographical references to other countries around the region.
Audran considers himself a freelance operator and is fiercely proud of his independence, both from others (including Friedlander Bey, the shadowy, paternalistic crime figure overseeing most of the Budayeen's business interests) and from cybernetic modification. Where most others have their brain "wired", for work or play, Audran's almost superstitious dread of this modification has prevented him from doing the same, and so he cannot use "daddies" (from "add-ons", software chips providing skills like languages or accounting) or "moddies" (modules that contain whole new personalities, for example those of movie stars or fictional characters). He covers this shortcoming by personal charm, a certain arrogance, and excessive use of stimulant
s, anti-depressants and other drugs, to which he is effectively addicted
.
Audran's claims of independence from everyone, often given in wry internal narration
, are not fully factual either. He is very fond of many people in the Budayeen, from various prostitutes, barkeepers and other lowlifes of the ghetto to most especially Yasmin, his on-and-off girlfriend. The relationship with Yasmin, a sex-changed former man now working as a (rather successful) prostitute, is especially volatile, with periods of mutual understanding and love being interrupted by vicious fights between the two.
A series of brutal murders soon begins to panic the Budayeen, and Audran is almost executed by Friedlander Bey, who at first considers him to be the killer. He is then forced by the centuries-old Bey to become his investigator, and even worse, is made to subject himself to extensive, partly experimental cybernetic modifications
; an advanced form of the brain "wiring" he has dreaded before.
While the killer or killers step by step and very brutally begin wiping out witnesses as well as acquaintances of Audran, he tries to uncover clues to their nature and to the link between the seemingly unconnected victims. Meanwhile he is fighting his fears of inadequacy in the face of a killer who obviously uses "moddies" making him into some of the most feared and bestial serial killer
s of history.
Most of Audran's advances are made more by luck or intuition than natural skill or persistence. Yet after being accosted by (and subsequently overpowering) the modified killer — who had begun stalking Audran himself with sadistic glee and patience — he is not convinced that everything is over. In fact, he finds that one of the most important middlemen in the Budayeen was the real figure behind the murders. When he confronts him, he is almost killed himself, and facing death, has to insert a special "daddy" which makes him go into a bestial frenzy, killing the murderer. However, in his rage, he also slaughters a captured policeman and mutilates
both bodies horribly.
The gruesome nature of his self-defense disgusts his former acquaintances in the Budayeen. Friedlander Bey, in the final move sealing Audran's fate, then forces him into becoming one of his lieutenants, to serve as a new middleman between the ghetto and the police. As a result, he is now viewed with suspicion by everyone, and ends the novel with practically no friends, even Yasmin turning away from him.
Cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a postmodern and science fiction genre noted for its focus on "high tech and low life." The name is a portmanteau of cybernetics and punk, and was originally coined by Bruce Bethke as the title of his short story "Cyberpunk," published in 1983...
science fiction
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...
novel by George Alec Effinger
George Alec Effinger
George Alec Effinger was an American science fiction author, born in 1947 in Cleveland, Ohio.-Writing career:...
published in 1986. It was nominated for the Nebula Award
Nebula Award
The Nebula Award is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America , for the best science fiction/fantasy fiction published in the United States during the previous year...
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 :...
in 1987 and the Hugo Award
Hugo Award
The Hugo Awards are given annually for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was officially named the Science Fiction Achievement Awards...
for Best Novel
Hugo Award for Best Novel
The Hugo Awards are given every year by the World Science Fiction Society for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year. The award is named after Hugo Gernsback, the founder of the pioneering science fiction magazine Amazing Stories, and was once officially...
in 1988. The title is taken from "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
"Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan. It was originally recorded on August 2, 1965 and released on the album Highway 61 Revisited. The song was later released on the compilation album Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Vol...
", a song by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
: "When your gravity fails and negativity don't pull you through".
Taking place in a futuristic Middle-Eastern
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
setting, the series reverses some of the usual expectations of a future world order by painting the West in decline while Muslim countries seem to prosper. The book's other main themes are the effects of drug use and alternate personality technologies, as well as the personal interactions and increasing isolation of a severely flawed protagonist.
It is the first book in Effinger's Marîd Audran series, named after the protagonist, and was followed by A Fire in the Sun
A Fire in the Sun
A Fire in the Sun is a cyberpunk science fiction novel by American writer George Alec Effinger, published in 1989. It is the second novel in the three-book Marîd Audran series, following the events of When Gravity Fails, and concentrating on Marîd's experience as he becomes the main lieutnant of...
in 1989 and The Exile Kiss
The Exile Kiss
The Exile Kiss is a cyberpunk science fiction novel by George Alec Effinger published in 1991. It is the third novel in the three-book Marîd Audran series, following the events of A Fire in the Sun...
in 1991. Effinger started work on a fourth Audran novel, Word of Night, but died before that work was completed. The existing chapters of Word of Night are now available in the posthumously published Budayeen Nights
Budayeen Nights
Budayeen Nights is a collection of cyberpunk science fiction short stories and novelettes by George Alec Effinger, published in 2003. The work consists of nine individual stories by Effinger, with a foreword and story introductions by Barbara Hambly...
, along with some other Budayeen and non-Budayeen short stories.
Middle-East
Unusual for a novel which has been compared favorably with cyberpunk milestones like NeuromancerNeuromancer
Neuromancer is a 1984 novel by William Gibson, a seminal work in the cyberpunk genre and the first winner of the science-fiction "triple crown" — the Nebula Award, the Philip K. Dick Award, and the Hugo Award. It was Gibson's debut novel and the beginning of the Sprawl trilogy...
, it is set neither in a futuristic Western
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
nor in a similar Asian world
East Asia
East Asia or Eastern Asia is a subregion of Asia that can be defined in either geographical or cultural terms...
. Instead, Effinger's novel, set near the end of the 22nd Century, describes an ascendant Arabic/Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
world, where the West has been in decline for at least a century. The United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
are described as having fractured into many small states, squabbling amongst themselves for remnants of former glory, with their citizens often described as visiting the unnamed city of the novel's setting as bumbling, naive tourists in awe at the wonders of the Muslim world.
The Islamic World, having grown much in economic and scientific power, still shows much of the elements commonly associated with it, such as strong religious touches, intricate rituals of conduct and relationship, and old tensions between the ethnic groups.
Protagonist
The novel is told from the perspective of Marîd Audran, a young man from low origins (coming from the MaghrebMaghreb
The Maghreb is the region of Northwest Africa, west of Egypt. It includes five countries: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, and Mauritania and the disputed territory of Western Sahara...
, and being the son of a prostitute), who is a small-scale operator and hustler in the Budayeen, the entertainment and criminal quarter of an unnamed Middle-Eastern city, probably somewhere in the Levant
Levant
The Levant or ) is the geographic region and culture zone of the "eastern Mediterranean littoral between Anatolia and Egypt" . The Levant includes most of modern Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Israel, the Palestinian territories, and sometimes parts of Turkey and Iraq, and corresponds roughly to the...
, based on several geographical references to other countries around the region.
Audran considers himself a freelance operator and is fiercely proud of his independence, both from others (including Friedlander Bey, the shadowy, paternalistic crime figure overseeing most of the Budayeen's business interests) and from cybernetic modification. Where most others have their brain "wired", for work or play, Audran's almost superstitious dread of this modification has prevented him from doing the same, and so he cannot use "daddies" (from "add-ons", software chips providing skills like languages or accounting) or "moddies" (modules that contain whole new personalities, for example those of movie stars or fictional characters). He covers this shortcoming by personal charm, a certain arrogance, and excessive use of stimulant
Stimulant
Stimulants are psychoactive drugs which induce temporary improvements in either mental or physical function or both. Examples of these kinds of effects may include enhanced alertness, wakefulness, and locomotion, among others...
s, anti-depressants and other drugs, to which he is effectively addicted
Substance dependence
The section about substance dependence in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders does not use the word addiction at all. It explains:...
.
Audran's claims of independence from everyone, often given in wry internal narration
Internal monologue
Internal monologue, also known as inner voice, internal speech, or verbal stream of consciousness is thinking in words. It also refers to the semi-constant internal monologue one has with oneself at a conscious or semi-conscious level....
, are not fully factual either. He is very fond of many people in the Budayeen, from various prostitutes, barkeepers and other lowlifes of the ghetto to most especially Yasmin, his on-and-off girlfriend. The relationship with Yasmin, a sex-changed former man now working as a (rather successful) prostitute, is especially volatile, with periods of mutual understanding and love being interrupted by vicious fights between the two.
Plot synopsis
Cybernetics
Cybernetics is the interdisciplinary study of the structure of regulatory systems. Cybernetics is closely related to information theory, control theory and systems theory, at least in its first-order form...
; an advanced form of the brain "wiring" he has dreaded before.
While the killer or killers step by step and very brutally begin wiping out witnesses as well as acquaintances of Audran, he tries to uncover clues to their nature and to the link between the seemingly unconnected victims. Meanwhile he is fighting his fears of inadequacy in the face of a killer who obviously uses "moddies" making him into some of the most feared and bestial serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
s of history.
Most of Audran's advances are made more by luck or intuition than natural skill or persistence. Yet after being accosted by (and subsequently overpowering) the modified killer — who had begun stalking Audran himself with sadistic glee and patience — he is not convinced that everything is over. In fact, he finds that one of the most important middlemen in the Budayeen was the real figure behind the murders. When he confronts him, he is almost killed himself, and facing death, has to insert a special "daddy" which makes him go into a bestial frenzy, killing the murderer. However, in his rage, he also slaughters a captured policeman and mutilates
Mutilation
Mutilation or maiming is an act of physical injury that degrades the appearance or function of any living body, usually without causing death.- Usage :...
both bodies horribly.
The gruesome nature of his self-defense disgusts his former acquaintances in the Budayeen. Friedlander Bey, in the final move sealing Audran's fate, then forces him into becoming one of his lieutenants, to serve as a new middleman between the ghetto and the police. As a result, he is now viewed with suspicion by everyone, and ends the novel with practically no friends, even Yasmin turning away from him.
In other media
- Marîd Audran and the Budayeen setting were also the basis for the InfocomInfocomInfocom was a software company, based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that produced numerous works of interactive fiction. They also produced one notable business application, a relational database called Cornerstone....
computer game, Circuit's EdgeCircuit's EdgeCircuit's Edge is a computer game developed by Westwood Studios and released by Infocom in 1989. It was based on George Alec Effinger's 1987 novel When Gravity Fails...
. - R. Talsorian GamesR. Talsorian GamesR. Talsorian Games, based in Renton, WA , is a publisher of role-playing game books and accessories. Their titles include the Cyberpunk 2020 series and for anime-related titles such as Dragonball Z. Their major product line today is the Fuzion system.The company's chairman is Mike Pondsmith,...
created a 'Budayeen' supplement for their role-playing gameRole-playing gameA role-playing game is a game in which players assume the roles of characters in a fictional setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within a narrative, either through literal acting, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development...
Cyberpunk 2020Cyberpunk 2020Cyberpunk 2020 is a cyberpunk role-playing game written by Mike Pondsmith and published by R. Talsorian Games.- Overview :This role-playing game is based on the works of William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, and other authors of the "Mirrorshades group"...
titled When Gravity Fails (1992). It is intended mainly for game masters who want to set campaigns in the Budayeen; there are no connections to the main game world.