The theme of immortality is one that has fascinated science fiction writers, and readers, throughout the history of the genre. In The Golden Space, Pamela Sargent has tackled the subject in a unique and daring way and has produced a fascinating speculation on what humanity would undergo if universal immortality became available. Episodic examinations of the evolution of humanity and society provide a stirring intellectual and emotional experience. Years pass like days as the panorama of the future is spread before us.
Advances in genetic engineering and biological science have developed treatments that guarantee immortality for all mankind. Society has changed remarkably and we see these changes reflected, after the fact, through the eyes of Merripen and Josepha, two characters who survived the transition and remember what life was like before immortality. They become involved in a project to breed a race of “perfect” children—without genetic flaws or emotional imbalances—children of reason. The children of the experiment arouse anger and resentment, as many people come to believe they are not human.
One of these children, when grown, becomes involved with the new Death Cults, which are trying to promote an outlook that questions the reasons for immortality. Ultimately, he attempts their transcendental techniques and further calls into question the reality of their experiences and the possibility of his, and his siblings’, nonhumanity.
Other episodes illustrate the vast changes in the geography of human society brought about by immortality: We follow an idyllic journey across an America unrecognizably improved from our own with fewer population centers and more pleasant surroundings for the remaining humans. Finally, Merripen, who has become bored with his life and surroundings, sets out in search of his lost “children” and travels the world seeing anew the changes that have been wrought. Humanity is shrinking back into a strange blend of preindustrial social institutions and extreme technological progress. Genetic manipulation has created creatures in the form of trolls and goblins, who serve man as semi-intelligent slaves. The Death Cults are becoming stronger, and may triumph, enforcing death on all. Eventually, Merripen finds the children, along with Josepha, and discovers that they have made plans for their own transcendence by heading off into the stars, leaving humanity to seek its destiny undisturbed by outside influence.
