Description:
Do desperate times call for desperate measures? Charles Sheffield asked a bunch of writers who commonly speculate about the future's fringe to consider how to save the world from its most debilitating disease--humanity. James P. Hogan imagines a future where anyone can be killed instantly if five others agree that the offending person should die. The result is an amazingly polite and courteous (if terrified) society. Geoffrey Landis indulges the idea that altering DNA to eliminate our differences might look like a good solution to racism, at least to an earnest group of biotech wizards. Other authors, such as Larry Niven, Kathe Koja, and Jerry Pournelle, offer visions of humans leaving Earth altogether, of extreme sex selection to reduce the population, and of legalized virtual dueling. Almost every reader will find something alarming somewhere in this collection, which means How to Save the World is jam-packed with food for thought. In the introduction Sheffield writes, "Unfortunately, we, as a species, are on our own. We have no friendly advisor looking over our shoulder." But let's hope that we can come up with some less extreme solutions than the scenarios offered here. --Therese Littleton
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