The Wandering Earth

My science fiction era is in full swing, and Cixin Liu’s The Wandering Earth confirmed that for me. I’ve read a lot of short story anthologies, from Nail Gaiman’s works to Borges, and usually there are two really good stories with the others not standing out as much. But in the case of The Wandering Earth, each story surpassed the previous. I didn’t even know that was possible for a short story anthology! If this is what a lot of science fiction is like, I’m so excited for the future of my reading. Let’s go through each story one at a time, and of course, SPOILERS AHEAD!!

The Wandering Earth

The title story was awesome. The sun is predicted to undergo a supernova-like event in this world, and humanity has to find a way to survive. They build enormous engines on Earth’s surface that will propel the planet outside the solar system. But the mechanics behind this is fascinating; rocks are converted to fuel, so entire mountain rangers have to be consumed by these engines. And to escape the sun’s gravity, the Earth has to build momentum and slingshot out of the solar system. The main character experiences the different stages of this plan throughout his life, and to match the strong scientific aspect of the story, there are political struggles based on misinformation. A lot of the catastrophes in this short story were terrifying; the underground cities flood with lava at one point due to the engines, and that’s absolutely terrifying to imagine. I also particularly like the human touches, like snowmobile races across the freezing continent where the main character met his wife. Really good opener!

Mountain

This story was my favorite in this book! The message was so inspiring and I know I will be thinking about it for a long time. The story follows a former mountain climber who renounced climbing due to a tragic accident where he was forced to let his friends die. He was working as a fisherman when a space ship descended near his boat. The gravitational pull of the ship caused the water to flow upwards, forming a mountain. As storms formed around him, the protagonist decided he would swim up that mountain and face his death. But when he reaches the top, he has a lengthy conversation with aliens on the ship. And the story of these aliens were the best part. These beings evolved in a hollow sphere, with layers of rocks expanding outwards. Their history revolves around trying to find what lies beyond, and the way Liu shares the process of discovery with us is nothing short of beautiful. Eventually, they broke through the rock- and found the surface of the planet. As long as mountains exist, life will find a way to climb. That’s why the aliens are traveling to the end of the universe to see what lies beyond the massive sphere we live in. This story is stunning; it feels timeless and without bounds. 

Sun of China

This story takes some time to get going. The lead is a poor man who is always searching for something greater. He goes from extreme poverty to shining shoes for a living. And in Shanghai, he works as a window cleaner, and soon gets recruited to clean a massive space mirror. By gaining knowledge, with a cameo from Stephen Hawkings, his mind opens to all the possibilities for his life. He finds meaning in discovery, and decides to spend the rest of his life traveling through space and exploring distant lands. Knowledge can truly transform the priorities of a person, and this short story shows that. 

For the Benefit of Mankind

I really wish this story got an entire book of it’s own. The plot and world building is so unbelievably interesting enough for this to be possible! Basically, our main character is an assassin for hire, and I really wish the story behind his training was longer; the way he ‘processes’ his ‘units’ is fascinating, and the training deserves more time. The main character is hired to kill some really poor individuals, though the reason is not clear. And there is the lingering fear of aliens that are coming to deliver judgement on humanity… The way the mystery unfolds without letting go scientific elements is great. Also, this entire story is a critique on capitalism. It’s important to consider that the author is Chinese and probably believes in communism, but I genuinely felt like all the points made in this story are true about capitalist societies. Any economic system has its pros and cons, and this is a great dissection of the capitalist reality. 

Curse 5.0

This is the only story that was not as much of a hit as the others. I couldn’t really get invested in the characters, especially because the author was one of them and he wasn’t exactly that likable. But the depiction of what would happen to society if technology decided to hurt humans instead of help them was cool. 

The Micro-Era

This was cool! The protagonist left a dying Earth to search for an alternate home, but couldn’t find anything. But once he came back, he found civilizations of miniature humans. These people really have their lives together; they don’t fight, are perpetually happy, and can sustain themselves on a very small amount of resources. In the end, the protagonist decides that regular sized humans should never exist, and destroys the technology he has to bring back regular humanity. I quite like how Liu uses the word ‘Era’. It really creates a grandiose scale of the world in stories such as The Wandering Earth, The Micro-Era, and The Three-Body Problem. But I have so many questions about these micro humans. These people are so small, they have bacteria as pets! I did some math for this. Because bacteria are like the size of dogs for micro people, I estimated the height of a micro person as 3 times the size of bacteria. 

So the size of a micro cell should be around 2 * 10^-12. That is actually smaller than the length of an atom! The laws of physics will go out the window for cellular processes that are necessary for survival. ATP creation, hormone signaling… how does anything work here? I don’t think the author explained, so that’s a missed opportunity. But the story is still good!

Devourer

Amazing story. Planet Earth is about to be devoured by an alien spaceship, and humanity must find a way to stop it from happening. Reading this story feels like watching a movie; Liu creates the drama really well! And the commentary on predator and prey was really well done. When the alien species declared its intent, people tried to make the case that destroying the planet would destroy all the art and love that is part of human civilization. But humans forget that they destroy ‘inferior’ species every single day; ants form such complex societies and value teamwork, but people have no problem tearing down a colony for open land. The story of this cosmic battle was great to read. 

Taking Care of God

This story was very peculiar. It’s clear that the commentary is on people’s unwillingness to take care of their parents in old age. The beings that planted the seeds of humanity finally returned to Earth so they could be taken care of before they die. Old people may get sick a lot and not be able to work, but that is no reason to abuse them- which is exactly what everyone in this short story does. And in the end, when the Gods decide to leave as to not drag down humanity, everyone regrets not being kinder. When a civilization dies, it’s easy to imagine that it would happen in an intergalactic war, or a natural disaster. But sometimes, the civilization just grows old and complacent, relying on technology for everything and not being able to think for themselves. That is a very different kind of death that this story addresses. 

With Her Eyes

Reading this was a slow start, but the twist is actually terrifying. The main character is on a vacation, enjoying the limited wildlife left on planet Earth. He wears special glasses that allow him to stream the entire experience to someone else who can’t be there physically. The woman he is streaming to was quite annoying at times, waking him up at night to see the moon, or asking him to get down and smell various things. But when the identity of the woman is revealed, it completely changes the situation; she was sent on a journey to Earth’s core, and the ship got stuck. She would spend the rest of her life without human contact in a tin can underground. But while connection lasted, she got to experience the surface one last time through his eyes. I could never imagine being stuck in a situation like that. It’s horrifying. 

Cannonball

This final story provides some context to the previous, told through the girl’s grandfather. Humanity built a hole that goes through the core to the other side of the planet. For the longest time, there was no practical use. But soon, it was figured that the tunnel could be used to propel spaceships into orbit. Humanity entered an era where they live above Earth. This story was pretty cool speculation!

And in conclusion…

Every single one of these stories is about Earth, our home planet. But it’s also about breaking boundaries and going beyond everything we know. These ideas are contradictory, but each one of these stories make it work. I love pretty much every single one of the stories in this collection, and if this is what science fiction is like, I’m excited for my journey in this genre.