''The Chronoliths'' is a 2001

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

novel by American-Canadian writer

Robert Charles Wilson Robert Charles Wilson (born December 15, 1953) is an American-Canadian science fiction author. Career Wilson's work has won the Hugo Award for Best Novel (for '' Spin''), the John W. Campbell Memorial Award (for the novel '' The Chronoliths' ...

. It was nominated for the 2002

Hugo Award The Hugo Award is an annual literary award for the best science fiction or fantasy works and achievements of the previous year, given at the World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) and chosen by its members. The award is administered by th ...

for Best Novel and tied for the 2002

John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel The John W. Campbell Memorial Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, or Campbell Memorial Award, was an annual award presented to the author of the best science fiction novel published in English in the preceding calendar year. It was given by s ...

Plot summary

Software designer Scott Warden is living with his family in early twenty-first century

Thailand Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spa ...

after his latest contract has ended. He and his friend Hitch Paley are among the first to find an enormous

monolith A monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains. Erosion usually exposes the geological formations, which are often made of very hard and solid igneous or metamorphic rock. Some monolit ...

which appears out of nowhere in the jungle. On closer examination, it is found to be a monument made of a mysterious, indestructible substance. It bears an inscription commemorating a military victory by someone named "Kuin", presumably an

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

n warlord—twenty years in the future. Over the next twenty years, increasingly grand monuments to Kuin continue to appear—first in Asia, then in much of the rest of the world. Pro-Kuin and anti-Kuin political movements spring up, leading to the rise of economic problems, fatalistic

cult Cults are social groups which have unusual, and often extreme, religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals. Extreme devotion to a particular person, object, or goal is another characteristic often ascribed to cults. The term ...

s, and open war. Scott has become entangled with his former teacher and mentor Sue Chopra, a scientist who has assembled a team of fellow researchers to investigate the chronoliths and learn to predict their appearances. With Sue's team, Scott witnesses a new chronolith that appears in

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. Kaitlin, his daughter, becomes caught up in the hysteria and joins a pro-Kuin youth cult; while trying to find her, Scott meets Ashlee, a single mother whose son Adam Mills joined the same cult. This leads to Scott and his companions being on hand to witness yet another chronolith appearance in

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

in which Adam apparently dies. Scott quits his work with Sue and marries Ashlee, trying to live a normal life. Sue Chopra comes to believe that Kuin has made the chronoliths in order to inspire fear and defeatism, making the future victories inevitable by gaining support ahead of time. In an effort to fight Kuin's growing influence, she uses the revelation that Adam is alive and leading a Kuin worshipper group to recruit Scott back into her work, with the plan to destroy the first chronolith predicted to appear in the United States. The chronolith appears, but shortly after, it self-destructs, apparently sabotaged by a maker who exceeded the limits of the technology. A militant faction led by Adam Mills attacks their base of operations, takes Chopra hostage, and menaces Scott's family. Before allowing herself to be taken hostage, Sue entrusts Scott with a secret: she believes it's her fate to be made prisoner in order to be able to sabotage this chronolith. After this, a twenty year-long war ensues. While no physical Kuin ever appears to led the factions fighting on his name, Scott finds out by chance that Adam's middle name was Quinn, which may hint to him being the closest to a real Kuin. Scott lives to see the collapse of the Kuinist movement and a scientific renaissance sparked by Chopra's chronolith research. At the end of the story he and Kaitlin watch the launch of an interstellar probe that seems to be based on this research.

References

Publication history

* First hardcover edition, 2001, Tor Books, . * First paperback edition, 2002, Tor Books, .

External links

*
The Chronoliths
at Worlds Without End {{DEFAULTSORT:Chronoliths, The 2001 Canadian novels 2001 science fiction novels John W. Campbell Award for Best Science Fiction Novel–winning works Novels by Robert Charles Wilson Tor Books books Novels about time travel Quantum fiction novels