Cosmic Roots & Eldritch Shores, June 2025
Reviewed by Seraph
“Asylum” by David Whitmarsh
Some of the most poignant and troubling questions that face modern and future sciences are those of artificial longevity and altered genomics. I hesitate to call it an issue of the morality of the two, but certainly questions over the fairness and inherent dangers of modifying genomes arise. These questions only get more complex when the factor of time is involved. What if someone was born several centuries before, but has only been awake (via cryo-sleep or similar technology) for less than 18 years? What if their genetics have been modified? What laws or rules even apply to them in those cases? Amarante tests all of these questions. She is on the run from her mother, and a piece in a game that spans not only space but time. Her case lands on the desk of a very lawful but sympathetic magistrate who cannot help but get involved, much to the mother’s chagrin. The journey spans multiple planets and multiple centuries, and while all of it is certainly set in the far future, the ideas that bind it all together are immediately recognizable and familiar. There is quite a lot packed into a relatively small space here, but in such a smooth and efficient way that it feels seamless. It cannot be overstated how respectfully some fairly delicate and potentially tense subjects are handled.