If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today.
There is no evolution, or climate change, or even astronomy in the curriculum. In fact, there is no curriculum, because schools have become merely training grounds that educate the young in mining and other trades. In such a world, where the stars are believed to be blemishes in the night glass of the sky, what if you knew some of the secrets of Nicolaus Copernicus? That is the fate Rotter imagines for the beleaguered Van Zandt family, whose members are rescued from penal servitude and forced to become astronauts. Alternately grisly, funny, tragic and thought-provoking, Rotter explores what might happen to people trapped in a postscience world run by libertarian fiat—and what giving in to their own impulses might cost them.
It’s Time to Stand Up for Science
If you enjoyed this article, I’d like to ask for your support. Scientific American has served as an advocate for science and industry for 180 years, and right now may be the most critical moment in that two-century history.
I’ve been a Scientific American subscriber since I was 12 years old, and it helped shape the way I look at the world. SciAm always educates and delights me, and inspires a sense of awe for our vast, beautiful universe. I hope it does that for you, too.
If you subscribe to Scientific American, you help ensure that our coverage is centered on meaningful research and discovery; that we have the resources to report on the decisions that threaten labs across the U.S.; and that we support both budding and working scientists at a time when the value of science itself too often goes unrecognized.
