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''The Reality Dysfunction'' is a science fiction novel by Peter F. Hamilton and is the first book in The Night's Dawn Trilogy. It is followed by ''The Neutronium Alchemist'' and ''The Naked God''. It was first published in the United Kingdom by Macmillan Publishers on 26 January 1996. The first US edition, which was broken into two volumes, ''Emergence'' and ''Expansion'' (the UK paperback is not), followed in July and August 1997 from Time Warner Books. The second US edition, published by Orbit Books in October 2008, is published in a single volume. In some countries, the paperback editions were split into two (Germany and the United States), three (France) or four volumes (Italy) per book. Usually the first volume is a translation of "Emergence". ==Background== The novel is set in the 26th and 27th centuries. The opening chapters cover a period of some thirty years, with the bulk of the story set in the years 2610 and 2611 AD. A timeline in the appendix briskly covers the future history of the human race, from the settling of the Moon and the opening up of space to commercial exploitation to the founding of the Confederation. Essentially, humanity has split into two strands, the Adamists and Edenists. The Edenists possess the affinity gene, which allows telepathic communication between one another and the construction and use of bio-technological (or 'bitek') constructs, including sentient, living starships (voidhawks) and enormous space habitats. The Edenists have a much greater standard of living than their Adamist counterparts. The Adamists are 'classic' humans who employ mechanical and cybernetic technology and use implants (including 'neural nanonics', essentially computer systems built into the brain which allow anything from enhanced memory and entertainment access to controlling starships) to achieve their ends. The Adamists reject bitek for religious and cultural reasons, but it is later revealed that certain individuals working within Earth's government have discouraged the use of bitek for fear of losing their ability to influence the development of mankind. Some Adamists still use bitek, such as 'blackhawks', advanced living spacecraft similar to Edenist voidhawks but with enhanced combat capabilities. The Adamists are divided into numerous nation-states. The largest and most populous is Govcentral, an amalgamation of Earth's former countries and its orbital ring of 974 large asteroid settlements known as the O'Neill Halo, with their (official) combined population of roughly forty billion. By this time Earth has been ravaged by global warming, with the destruction of the ozone layer, the cessation of ocean currents and the near-poisoning of the surface by carbon dioxide forcing humanity to retreat within vast domed cities known as arcologies. Huge 'armada storms' continuously batter the cities of Earth. Other notable states include the monarchist Kulu Kingdom, the communist Moon-Mars alliance, the Oshanko Imperium, New Washington, New California and Srinagar. The Edenists inhabit sentient habitats orbiting gas giants, which they mine for helium-3, the driving force of the Edenist economy. Helium-3 is necessary in the fusion reactors that provide energy for virtually all electric systems, including the energy patterning nodes essential to the interstellar ZTT (zero-temporal transit) drive. There are 8,310 habitats in existence, 4,250 of them in orbit around Jupiter and 268 around Saturn. The Jovian Consensus is the second most populous member-state of the Confederation, with more than nine billion inhabitants, but has by far the highest standard of living. Despite their cultural, ideological and religious differences (Edenists are virtually all atheists), the Edenists and Adamists generally work together in a forum known as the Confederation, which seeks to regulate interstellar trade, prevent war and repress the use and spread of antimatter, the most feared weapon of mass destruction at the time of the novels. As of 2610 there are 862 planets and 12,370 independent asteroid settlements in the Confederation. Humanity has only encountered three extraterrestrial races: the Jiciro, a race in the stages of an Industrial Revolution that the Confederation is observing discreetly; the Tyrathca, an insectoid species fleeing the destruction of their homeworld through a nova; and the Kiint, an incredibly advanced, ancient species who adopt a slightly condescending policy of non-interference in human affairs, but occasionally help with scientific research in areas of mutual interest. The Kiint only occupy one planet and do not possess starships, claiming to have passed beyond the need for economics and now exist purely to learn more about the universe. The Confederation has also found the ruins of a race known as the Laymil who apparently committed racial suicide some two thousand years prior to the start of the novels, for reasons unknown. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Reality Dysfunction」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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