Infinity's Shore
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.ӉPoul Anderson
“One of the outstanding SF novels of recent years.”â
Publishers Weekly
BRIGHTNESS REEF
“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.Ӊ
Star Tribune
, Minneapolis
“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
INFINITY'S SHORE
A Bantam Spectra book
PUBLISHING HISTORY
Bantam hardcover edition published December 1996
Bantam paperback edition / December 1997
SPECTRA and the portrayal of a boxed “s” are trademarks of Bantam Books, a division of Random House, Inc.
All rights reserved.
Copyright © 1996 by David Brin.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 96-32346
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: 978-0-307-57354-4
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, New York, New York.
v3.1
to
Ariana Mae, our splendid envoy,
who will speak for us at the threshold of the fantastic
twenty-second century.
CAST OF CHARACTERSAlvin
âthe humicker nickname of Hph-wayuo, an adolescent hoon of Wuphon Village.
Asx
âmember of the Jijo Council of High Sages, representing the traeki race.
Baskin, Gillian
âTerragens agent and physician, acting captain of the dolphin survey vessel
Streaker.
Blade
âa blue qheuen, son of Log Biter; a wood-carver and friend of Sara Koolhan.
Bloor
âdeceased photographer who discovered the secret Rothen identity.
Brookida
âdolphin metallurgist on
Streaker.
Cambel, Lester
âHigh Sage of Earthlings on Jijo.
Chuchki
âdolphin engineering mate on
Streaker.
Creideiki
âa dolphin, former captain of the dolphin vessel
Streaker.
Lost on Kithrup years ago.
Dedinger
âhuman zealot who wishes all races of Jijo to devolve so one day they may be uplifted from innocence.
Dwer
âson of the papermaker Nelo Koolhan, chief tracker of the Commons of Six Races.
Emerson D'Anite
âa human engineer, once part of the Terragens spacecraft
Streaker
's crew, until he crashed on Jijo.
Ewasx
âa Jophur ring stack transformed from the old sage Asx by the imposition of a new master ring.
Fallon
âa retired tracker; Dwer's former mentor.
Foo, Ariana
âthe emeritus High Sage of Human Sept (retired).
Harullen
âgray qheuen intellectual. Leader of a heretical sect that believes illegal settlers should voluntarily stop breeding and let Jijo return to its time of fallow rest.
Hikahi
âformer third-in-command of
Streaker
, lost at Kithrup.
Hph-wayuo
âAlvin's formal hoonish name.
Huck
âhumicker nickname of a g'Kek orphan raised in Wuphon. Alvin's friend.
Huphu
âAlvin's pet noor beast.
Jass
âyoung hunter of the Gray Hills band. Rety's past tormentor.
Jimi
âthe “blessed,” born higher along the Path of Redemption.
Jomah
âthe young son of Henrik the Exploser.
Jop
âDolo Village tree farmer, believer in the old Sacred Scrolls.
Joshu
âSara Koolhan's late suitor, an itinerant bookbinder who died in Biblos of the pepper pox.
Kaa
âdolphin, pilot of
Streaker.
Formerly known as Lucky Kaa.
Karkaett
âengineering mate on
Streaker.
Keepiru
âformer chief pilot of
Streaker
, lost at Kithrup.
Knife-Bright Insight
âa blue qheuen, High Sage for the qheuen race.
Kunn
âhuman pilot of the Rothen-Danik ship.
Kurt
âa leader of the Explosers Guild. Jomah's uncle.
Lark
âa naturalist, junior sage of the Commons, and heretic.
Ling
âDanik crewwoman of the Rothen ship. A skilled biologist.
Makanee
âfemale dolphin, ship's surgeon on
Streaker.
Melina
âNelo Koolhan's late wife; mother of Lark, Sara, and Dwer.
Mopol
âa male dolphin, spacer second class on
Streaker.
Mudfoot
âa wild noor, named by Dwer Koolhan.
Nelo
âpapermaker of Dolo Village, patriarch of the Koolhan family.
Niss
âa sapient computer lent to
Streaker
by Tymbrimi intelligence agents.
Old Ones
âgeneral term for the “retired” races of the Fractal World.
One-of-a-Kind
âan ancient mulc spider assigned to decompose a ruin high in the Rimmer mountains.
Orley, Thomas
âa Terragens agent assigned to
Streaker
, lost at Kithrup. Husband of Gillian Baskin.
Ozawa, Danel
âdeputy sage, knowing hidden secrets of Human Sept.
Peepoe
âa female dolphin; geneticist and nurse on
Streaker.
Phwhoon-dau
âthe hoonish High Sage.
Pincer-Tip
âa red qheuen friend of Alvin's, who carved the bathyscaphe
Wuphon's Dream
out of a tree trunk.
Prity
âa neo-chimpanzee; Sara's servant, skilled at math imagery.
Purofsky
âa sage of Biblos, specializing in arcane physics.
Rann
âleader of the Danik humans aboard the Rothen ship.
Rety
âa human sooner, she fled her savage band's hidden offshoot colony in the Gray Hills.
Ro-kenn
âa Rothen “lord” whose human followers included Rann, Ling, Besh, and Kunn.
Ro-pol
âpossibly Ro-kenn's mate, killed before Battle of the Glade.
Shen, Jeni
âa human militia sergeant.
Strong, Lena
âpart of Danel Ozawa's expedition to the Gray Hills.
Suessi, Hannes
âengineer on
Streaker
, cyborg modified by Old Ones.
Taine
âa Biblos scholar who once courted Sara Koolhan.
Tsh't
âa female dolphin, once
Streaker
's fifth-in-command, now sharing command with Gillian Baskin.
Tyug
âthe traeki alchemist of Mount Guenn Forge, a vital assistant to Uriel the Smith.
Ulgor
âan urrish tinker and supporter of the Urunthai.
Urdonnol
âurrish apprentice serving Uriel.
Uriel
âurrish master smith of the Mount Guenn Forge.
Ur-Jah
âthe urrish High Sage.
Ur-ronn
âAlvin's urrish friend. Part of the
Wuphon's Dream
expedition. Uriel's niece.
Uthen
âgray qheuen naturalist. Helped Lark write field guide to Jijoan species.
Vubben
âthe g'Kek High Sage.
Worley, Jenin
âpart of Danel Ozawa's expedition to the Gray Hills.
yee
âan urrish male ejected from his pouch home by his former mate. Later “married” to the sooner girl Rety.
Zhaki
âa male dolphin, spacer third class on
Streaker.
Those who hunger after wisdom often seek it
in the highest heights, or profound depths.
Yet, marvels are found in shallow sites
where life starts, burgeons, and dies.
What pinnacle, or lofty mount,
offers lessons as poignant
as the flowing riverâ
a crashing reefâ
or the grave?
âfrom a Buyur wall inscription,
found half-buried in a marsh
near Far Wet Sanctuary
SHORE
