Kage Baker has created an interesting series of novels and stories about a 24th century company called Dr. Zeus Incorporated. These future humans have figured out two key technological innovations–immortality and time travel–and set out to capitalize on them. Unfortunately, neither is simple or all that desirable, so the (mostly unseen, in what I’ve read) executives create a group of slaves to reach their ends instead.
[For the interested, becoming immortal is a lengthy, painful process, so much so that only infants can truly tolerate it, while time travel is also painful and generally not worth the expense and trouble. The company set up a base in deep prehistory, some 30,000 years ago, and created immortals then who could operate in the shadows of recorded history to take the materials desired in the 24th century.]
Sky Coyote is the series’ second book though the main character, one of those original prehistoric immortals named Joseph, was also the protagonist of In the Garden of Iden (which I do want to read). Anyway, this story is set in 1699 into 1700 whence Joseph has been assigned to take the guise of a deity called Sky Coyote and convince an entire village of native Americans, the Chumash of Humaship, to cross the rainbow bridge of their myths to escape the coming predations of the White Man.
Since the workers of Dr. Zeus have 24th centhnology, there’s no trouble transforming Joseph into a convincing Coyote, tail, paws and all, and he’s able to use his millenia of human understanding to get everyone’s agreement. There really isn’t much doubt of success, the only challenge being a missionary from another native religion who pops up late and is quickly dispatched; the charm here is Baker’s creation of Joseph and the Chumash with their now-disappeared way of life and the wistful knowledge that, agree or not, they’ll be gone.
I also recently read Black Projects, White Knights, a collection of short stories set in the same milleau. This is actually the fifth book in the series by publication order and probably a mistake to have read it first 😉 as I’d have understood it much better after reading the earlier stuff. The stories are generally short and varied, half set in the past, mainly California, and half telling the story of a special 24th century English boy named Alec Checkerfield.
A pair of enjoyable reads!
BillSaysThis 