This alternate reality novelette is a finalist for the 2020 Hugo Awards. It was released in the author’s collection Exhalation, published 7 May 2019 by Knopf. This review contains spoilers.
Dr. Dorothea Morrell is an archaeologist working on a dig in Arisona. She is scheduled to give a public lecture in the Chicagou area on how tree rings and other artifacts date the creation, which goes well, but afterward she finds evidence of the illegal sale of museum relics. With only a post office box address to go on, she lays a trap for the thief and catches Wilhelmina McCullough, daughter of Nathan McCullough, director of the University of Alta California’s Museum of Natural Philosophy in Oakland. Wilhelmina explains that she is not really a thief, but she feels the relics not being displayed should be in the hands of the faithful, especially considering the huge crisis of faith that will be coming soon. Her father is in possession of evidence that the Earth is not the center of the universe. Can Dorothea’s own faith withstand this knowledge?
In case you’re wondering, omthalos is Greek for “navel,” and this story is a play on Omphalos: An Attempt to Untie the Geological Knot, by Philip Henry Gosse, published in 1857, where the author tries to reconcile the events of the Biblical Genesis with the evidence of science. In Dorothea’s alternate world, tree rings and ridges on clam shells stop at a certain point, the Atacama mummies have no navels and someone is carving the Yosemiti Cathedral into a cliff face in California. The date of the creation is clear. Faith is clearly a huge part of everyone’s existence, and the narrative mostly comes from Dorothea’s conversations with God. The number of stars is limited, and the center of the universe turns out to be approximately at 58 Eridani. This is a catastrophe on par with Copernicus’ observation that the Earth actually revolves around the sun and not the other way around, meaning that humans aren’t really the navel of creation. In this case, it looks like the inhabitants of 58 Eridani are, instead.
This story is satire, a gentle but fairly direct questioning of Western religion, and as such, I can imagine it might be offensive to some readers. I’m personally disappointed that the story didn’t give us any real glimpse of God’s chosen people out there at 58 Eridani. Dorathea wonders where that leaves us. Just an accident, I guess.
Four stars.
The Phantom
Apr 30, 2020 @ 18:47:03
“I’m personally disappointed that the story didn’t give us any real glimpse of God’s chosen people out there at 58 Eridani.”
I recall a story many years ago which had interstellar archaeologists discover a planet that died from the supernova that was the Star of Bethlehem. The people who lived there were super nice and peaceful of course, shame about them being destroyed like that.
Arthur C. Clarke in 1955, “The Star”. Won the Hugo in 1956.
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Lela E. Buis
Apr 30, 2020 @ 19:15:54
Thanks for the reference. I’ll have a look. 🙂
Chiang’s story is satire, of course, and so understated that it’s almost funny.
Did you know clams live to be 500 years old? Today’s interesting factoid. I looked it up.
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Anonymous
Dec 02, 2023 @ 10:55:22
Why the hedging? Religious belief is based on faith, not science, and is to be accepted or rejected as needed or wanted by each of us.
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