This sci-fi short takes a wormhole as its escape route from the reality of the UK of the early 21st century. A time of confused politics and general unrest, it may well have been the first real step on the road we now follow, but that’s for a different written piece.
The story is written from the povs of Jannette and Colin, a married couple on the edge of a breakup. For one, the wormhole, with its promise of a new life on a new planet, is the salvation of humanity. For the other, it is a pointless, and expensive drain on society and the economy. The right wing versus the left.
Sparse, it nevertheless provides enough information and detail to paint a credible picture. Interspersed with the action are fragments of the new constitution that emigres must agree to if they’re to be part of the new world.
The picture it paints is uncomfortable but echoes the feelings of many at the time with its air of futility and the need to escape, for others the need to seriously rebel and fix the problems. Rather like the current world situation is for many people, I imagine.
The characters are drawn with enough skill and sympathy to allow readers to empathise with both protagonists, though neither is particularly likeable. Which side of the dividing line each reader settles on will depend mainly on how deeply politically aligned they are.
I found the story bleak but understood the motives driving both sets of attitudes. It’s a well written tale, but offers no real hope for the future, I found. In fact, like that time, and the present, it engenders a feeling of utter incomprehension and frustration with the general idiocy of the human race and, especially, those elected to lead.
[Any review is a personal opinion. No reviewer can represent the view of anyone else. The best we can manage is an honest reaction to any given book.]
Stuart Aken 