Heaven's Reach
Authors: David Brin
THE UPLIFT WAR
“An exhilarating read that encompasses everything from breathless action to finely drawn moments of quiet intimacy. There is no way we can avoid coming back as many times as Brin wants us to, until his story is done.”
â
Locus
“Shares all the properties that made
Startide
such a joy. The plot fizzes along â¦Â and there are the wonders of the Galactic civilizations (which have all the invention and excitement that SF
used
to have).”
â
Asimov's Science Fiction
SUNDIVER
“Brin has done a superb job on all counts”
â
Science Fiction Times
“Brin has a fertile and well-developed imagination â¦Â coupled with a sinuous and rapid-paced style.”
â
Heavy Metal
STARTIDE RISING
“
Startide Rising
is an extraordinary achievement, a book so full of fascinating ideas that they would not have crowded each other at twice its considerable length.”   Poul Anderson
“One of the outstanding SF novels of recent years.”
â
Publishers Weekly
BRIGHTNESS REEF
“Boils with plots and subplots.”
â
San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle
“Brin is a skillful storyteller.⦠There is more than enough action to keep the book exciting, and like all good serials, the first volume ends with a bang.”
â
The Plain Dealer
, Cleveland
“A captivating read â¦Â
Brightness Reef
leaves you looking forward to more. It's a worthy addition to what promises to be a great science-fiction series.”
â
Star Tribune
, Minneapolis
“Brin has shown beyond doubt that he is a master of plot and character and incident, of sheer storytelling, while he is also thoughtful enough to satisfy anyone's craving for meat on those literary bones. Don't miss this one, folks, or the next.”
Analog
INFINITY'S SHORE
“Well paced, immensely complex, highly literate â¦Â on full display here is Brin's extraordinary capacity to handle a wide-ranging narrative and to create convincingly complex alien races.⦠superior SF.”
â
Publishers Weekly
“Here, again, David Brin displays the considerable expertise in universe-building which has garnered him numerous awards. And, again, he proves himself to be a very gifted storyteller.”
Mysterious Galaxy
HEAVEN'S REACH
A Bantam Spectra Book
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Bantam hardcover edition/June 1998
Bantam paperback edition/May 1999
SPECTRA and the portrayal of a boxed “s” are trademarks of Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
Copyright © 1998 by David Brin.
Library of Congress Catalog Number: 98-4914
No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. For information address: Bantam Books.
eISBN: 978-0-307-57350-6
Published simultaneously in the United States and Canada
Bantam Books are published by Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc. Its trademark, consisting of the words “Bantam Books” and the portrayal of a rooster, is Registered in U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and in other countries. Marca Registrada. Bantam Books, 1540 Broadway, New York, New York 10036.
v3.1
To
Terren Jacob Brin, our unlimited explorer
and crowning work in our trilogy
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Akeakemaiâa dolphin member of
Streaker
's bridge crew.
Alvinâthe humicker (human-mimicking) nickname of Hph-wayuo, an adolescent hoon from Jijo.
Asxâa member of the Jijo Council of High Sages, representing the traeki race. See Ewasx.
Baskin, Gillianâa Terragens Agent assigned as physician to the dolphin survey vessel
Streaker.
In command since the debacle at Kithrup.
Creideikiâa male dolphin, former captain of the dolphin-crewed Earth vessel
Streaker.
Left behind on Kithrup, along with several other members of the crew, with just a space “skiff” to make their way across the Five Galaxies.
D'Anite, Emersonâa human engineer, once assigned to the Terragens spacecraft
Streaker.
Dor-hinufâa young female hoon. Twaphu-anuph's daughter.
Dwerâthe son of the papermaker Nelo Koolhan, brother of Sara and Lark, chief tracker of the Commons of Six Races of Jijo.
Ewasxâa Jophur ring-stack entity made mostly from components of the Jijoan sage Asx, plus a master ring.
Gillianâsee Baskin, Gillian.
Harms, Harryâa neo-chimpanzee scout for the Institute of Navigation.
Huckâthe humicker (human-mimicking) nickname of a g'Kek orphan raised by a hoonish family on Jijo. Alvin's closest friend.
HuphuâAlvin's pet noor beast.
Kaaâsecond pilot of
Streaker.
Formerly “Lucky Kaa.”
Karkaettâa male dolphin and engineering mate on
Streaker.
Keepiruâformer chief pilot of
Streaker.
Left behind on Kithrup.
Kiwei Ha'aoulinâa Synthian trader.
Larkâbrother of Sara and Dwer, a lesser sage of the Commons of Jijo.
Lingâa Danik (human heretic) biologist.
Makaneeâa female dolphin, the ship's surgeon on
Streaker.
Left on Jijo to tend mentally reverted members of
Streaker
's crew.
Mudfootâa wild noor beast, named by Dwer Koolhan.
Nissâpseudosapient computer lent to
Streaker
by a Tymbrimi spy.
Old Onesâa term given to the “retired” races of the Fractal World.
Orley, Thomasâa genetically engineered Terragens Agent assigned to
Streaker.
Married to Gillian, left on Kithrup with Creideiki's group.
Peepoeâa geneticist and nurse on
Streaker.
Kidnapped on Jijo.
Pincer-Tipâa red qheuen friend of Alvin's who carved the hull for the bathyscaphe
Wuphon's Dream
out of the trunk of a garu tree.
Prityâa female neo-chimpanzee; Sara's servant, skilled at certain aspects of mathematical imagery.
Rannâleader of the Danik humans.
Retyâa human sooner, she fled her savage band's hidden offshoot colony in the Gray Hills of Jijo.
Ro-kennâa Rothen overlord.
Saraâdaughter of the papermaker Nelo Koolhan, sister of Dwer and Lark, mathematician and language scholar.
Suessi, Hannesâa human engineer on
Streaker
, converted into a cyborg by the Old Ones.
Twaphu-anuphâa hoonish customs official at Kazzkark Base.
Tsh'tâa female dolphin, originally
Streaker
's fourth in command. Later shared command with Gillian.
Tyugâthe traeki alchemist of Mount Guenn Forge. A new crew member on
Streaker.
Urielâurrish Master Smith of the Mount Guenn Forge on Jijo.
Ur-ronnâAlvin's urrish friend and member of the
Wuphon's Dream
expedition. Uriel's niece.
Wer'Q'quinnâHarry's boss at the Institute of Navigation.
yeeâan urrish male ejected from his pouch-home by his former mate. Later “married” the sooner girl Rety.
THE FIVE GALAXIES
WHAT EMBLEMS
grace the fine prows of our fast ships?
How many spirals swirl on the bow of each great vessel, turning round and round, symbolizing our connections? How many are the links that form our union?
ONE
spiral represents the fallow worlds, slowly brewing, steeping, stewingâwhere life starts its long, hard climb.
Struggling out of that fecundity, new races emerge, ripe for Uplift.
TWO
is for starfaring culture, streaking madly in our fast ships, first as clients, then as patrons, vigorously chasing our young interestsâtrading, fighting, and debatingâ
Straining upward, till we hear the call of beckoning tides.
THREE
portrays the Old Ones, graceful and serene, who forsake starships to embrace a life of contemplation. Tired of manic rushing. Cloistering for self-improvement.
They prepare to face the Great Harrower.
FOUR
depicts the High Transcendents, too majestic for us to perceive. But they exist!
Making plans that encompass all levels of space, and all times.
FIVE
is for the galaxiesâgreat whirls of shining lightâour islands in a sterile cosmos, surrounded by enigmatic silence. On and on they spin, nurturing all life's many orders, linked perpetually, everlasting.
Or so we are assured.â¦
Harry
A
LARMS SING A VARIETY OF MELODIES.
Some shriek for attention, yanking you awake from deathlike repose. Others send your veins throbbing with adrenaline. Aboard any space vessel there are sirens and wails that portend collision, vacuum leaks, or myriad other kinds of impending death.
But the alarm tugging at Harry Harms wasn't like that. Its creepy ratchet scraped lightly along the nerves.
