Contact with Chaos [Hardcover]

Contact With Chaos (2009) is the fourth SF novel in the Freehold series, following Better to Beg Forgiveness.... But the previous work was actually a prequel to the first two books -- Freehold and The Weapon -- in the series. This story, however, takes place after the prior volumes.

In the past, the United Nations had fought a war with Freehold and lost. Technically, they won on points, but the UN -- a much larger and powerful polity than Freehold -- brought back its armies from Grainne and paid restitution. Now Freehold is an independent nation state.

At this time, a private survey ship from Freehold has discovered another sentient species in a newly charted star system. This is the first intelligent extraterrestrial species ever discovered by humanity. The ship crew is aware that they are making history, but they also realize that they could easily become very wealthy.

In this novel, Damon Egan is an executive at Halo Materials Group. He is on the survey ship Hound Dog when the sentients are found. Egan finishes a cursory survey, returns to the Grainne system, and prepares his company for first contact.

Mark Ballenger is a Citizen of Freehold. As such, he is one of the ruling elite. After word gets around about the aliens, he is selected as the Official Envoy to head the diplomatic mission to the newly found aliens. He is assigned a cruiser from the Freehold navy and whatever scientists have the appropriate skills and are readily available.

Captain Betang commands the Healy, the armed starship assigned to this mission. He has most of his normal crew, but some are left behind due to short notice of the movement order. He also has some additional crew who happen to be in the vicinity.

Nurin Russ is a UN diplomat and the newly appointed undersecretary of Indigenous Persons Affairs. Apparently, the UN has also heard the rumors and have rapidly responded. Although Ballenger cannot trust the UN itself, he finds Russ to be reasonably honest and highly competent.

Tayalin Margov is an executive at Deep Space Resources. Ballenger has had previous contacts with Taya. She is a cunning and cold-blooded negotiator.

In this story, Ballenger loads his scientists on the Healy and they jump to 107 Piscis. The HMG ship is within the system when they arrive. The UN and DSR ships arrive two days later. Eventually, a respectable flotilla is within the system. Since a Freehold ship discovered the aliens, Ballenger is the senior diplomat among the humans.

The ships scan the inhabited planet from the halo and then move to high orbit. Eventually, they send down probes into the atmosphere. Then the scientists pool their information.

The data indicate that the natives probably don't have workable metals. Although the surrounding space has metallic bodies and the planet has an iron core, the planetary surface has few ores that can be readily refined into free metals. Aluminum is present in the form of bauxite, but the natives do not have a means of smelting this ore.

So the natives have only a lithic technology. Naturally, they do not have electricity. Yet they have very large urban centers. How are they sustaining such a large population without metals?

One thing is clear. The humans must hide their use of metals insofar as possible. Otherwise, they may well repeat some of the tragic interhuman contact fiascos of the past and overwhelm the social confidence of the natives.

From low orbit, they notice the natives have cut symbols in the grass within an isolated area. Apparently, the aliens have telescopes and have noted their arrival. So Ballenger leads a shuttle landing near the symbols.

Of course, the shuttle contains metals, but this is not apparent from the outside. The landing party is stripped of all visible metals and the term is even deleted from their conversations. The guards are equipped with spears and bows constructed with faux wood and fake stone.

This tale puts Ballenger in the middle of the whole mess, with everybody presenting problems. At least the natives and the UN diplomatic complement are cooperative, but the commercial interests are overeager. Only the talents of his assistants keep Ballenger from going mad.

The natives have a very advanced technology despite the lack of metals. They find other ways of doing things that humans would do with metal tools. For example, telescopes only require shaped glass; nonmetallic materials can be used to contain the working parts.

The policy of reticence about refined metals turns out to be untenable. Unauthorized landings occur on the planet and they all seem to be trying to trade metal with the natives. The local natives still seem unaware of the issue, but who knows?

This work describes a realistic attempt to make contact with aliens. The problems are almost overwhelming to the Official Envoy. Read and enjoy.

Highly recommended for Williamson fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of sapient aliens, exotic technology, and crass commercialism.

-Arthur W. Jordin

This is a transition from Mike's usual straight-up military SF, to something more in the way of "hard" science fiction. In hard SF, the science and the world-building are more central to the plot. In some ways, they ARE the plot. The earlier books explore the human condition in familiar settings. Earth, Grainne, and the other human polities in this universe are aspects, or in some cases caricatures, of cultures in the here-and-now.

In "Contact", we're exposed to a nonhuman race that is very definitely NOT human, and in fact is INhuman. There's also the minor issue of underestimating someone because they don't have metals and are running a civilization on stone and ceramic technology.

There's a slight parallel to one aspect of the European landings in North America, in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. John Smith quickly found out that Powhatan and his "savages" could be as politically devious and Byzantine as the Middle Eastern potentates whom he'd met in his younger days.

By the same token, the nonhumans in this book are as culturally and sociologically sophisticated, if not more so, than the humans with whom they're dealing. I eagerly await the sequel. I also want to see the Haka scene as the cover for the paperback.

What can I say? I love the author's other books. He is absolutely top notch. But here, I felt like I was constantly waiting for something to happen. Anything. *crickets* When something finally happened, it was all too brief. I liked the characters and the concept. I like the universe he has created, but I had to make myself finish this one.

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 16 reviews  3.6 out of 5 stars