The Machine's Child
First edition hardback cover, 2006
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| Author | Kage Baker |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Company |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
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Publication date
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September 2006 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover ) |
| Pages | 351 pp |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 64208352 |
| 813/.54 22 | |
| LC Class | PS3552.A4313 M33 2006 |
| Preceded by | The Children of the Company |
| Followed by | The Sons of Heaven |
The Machine's Child is a science fiction novel by Kage Baker. It is the seventh book in the series concerning the exploits of Dr. Zeus Inc., otherwise known as The Company.
Several elements introduced as far back as the fourth book The Graveyard Game develop in this volume. Most of the characters are immortal cyborgs created in the past by an organization, Dr. Zeus Inc., which exists in the 24th century and has both time travel and immortality technology.
The official business of Dr. Zeus is the "finding", for a fee, of artifacts and living things thought lost to time, which have actually been carefully collected by the cyborgs known as Preservers, aided by the fixers, conmen and masters of deception known as Facilitators.
Alec Checkerfield, introduced in The Life of the World to Come, is trying to find his lost love, the Preserver known as the Botanist Mendoza. With the aid of his AI helper "Captain Morgan" and their time travelling schooner using technology stolen from Dr. Zeus, he aims to find her wherever and whenever she is.
This is complicated by the fact that he is hosting the personalities of his two dead clones, Nicholas Harpole and Edward Alton Bell-Fairfax, in his own partially cyborged body. All three personalities knew Mendoza in the flesh, so to speak, but each has his own way of looking at the world. Nicholas is a religious zealot, Edward a cold-blooded killer, and Alec is the squeamish product of a culture that prohibits or represses everything enjoyed by humans in the past, including religion, sex, and violence.
The Facilitator Joseph is reviving his "father", the ancient Enforcer cyborg Budu, as the 24th century opens. To him, Alec Checkerfield represents his nemesis and the one responsible for the downfall of Mendoza, who he regards as a daughter. As Budu re-assembles his shattered body, Joseph plunders the archives of Dr. Zeus, learning about the Adonai project which created Alec, Nicholas and Edward. He tries to bring down Adonai by any means possible, including tracking Alec through time.
Executive Facilitator Suleyman is using his power base in North Africa to prepare for the year 2355, when the Company apparently suffers such a setback that no transmissions from the time beyond have ever been received. He gathers trusted operatives to his base, while hoping that Joseph, whom he revived and cast out as a rogue, untraceable and answerable to nobody, will not bring disaster about by reviving Budu, the oldest and most powerful Enforcer.
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