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''Trapped'' is a science fiction novel written by the Canadian author James Alan Gardner and published in 2002 by HarperCollins Publishers under its various imprints.〔HarperCollins, HarperCollins Canada, SFBC/Avon-Eos; paperback edition 2002, Eos Books. A hardcover edition was also published by Easton Press.〕 The book is the sixth installment in Gardner's "League of Peoples" series of novels, set in the mid-25th century.〔Following ''Expendable'' (1997), ''Commitment Hour'' (1998), ''Vigilant'' (1999), ''Hunted'' (2000), and ''Ascending'' (2001).〕 While the majority of the novels in the series take place in outer space, ''Trapped'' (like ''Commitment Hour'', the second novel in the series) is set on "Old Earth", and does not feature the series' continuing character Festina Ramos. ==Backstory== ''Trapped'' exploits and develops the same conceptual background that all the novels in the series employ. Around the middle of the 21st century, humanity is contacted by an extraterrestrial race connected with the League of Peoples. These beings, the Shaddills, offer humanity a bargain: humans who accept the League's cardinal rule, and refrain from fatal violence against other sentient beings, can be transported to a terraformed planet, a "New Earth", and receive the benefits of the League's advanced technologies. At first, the only humans willing to accept the bargain are those whose difficult lives leave them feeling they have nothing to lose; but in a year or two, these early adopters return to visit "Old Earth" with tales of their marvelous new lives—and the exodus begins in earnest. Over a span of two decades, most of humanity leaves for New Earth, which forms the center of an interplanetary society called the Technocracy; and the modern technological society of Old Earth collapses through depopulation. Once the Shaddills' twenty-year offer has expired, the only people left on Old Earth are those who were too violent or recalcitrant to leave. In this state of collapse, Old Earth is vulnerable to various influences and interferences. Most notably, the planet is infested with a wide range of nanotechnology that mimic bacteria and viruses; by the 25th century, "thirty percent of all microbes on Earth...are actually nanites in disguise". These nanites generate fields that can be tapped by gifted individuals to produce effects that replicate the wonders of legend and folklore—magic and sorcery, psychic powers, even "pseudosupernatural events" like ghosts. The chaos on Earth is finally brought under control by a mysterious group called the Spark Lords. They suppress terrorism, confiscate remaining nuclear weapons, poison gas, biological warfare agents; they "lock down" the planet, preventing further incursions from aliens. Members of the alien species in Gardner's fictional universe—Divians, Mandasars, Cashlings, and others—who are trapped on Earth at the time are bred as slaves, called "demons" by their human masters. The Spark Lords form a ruthless but relatively benign tyranny, "Spark Royal" or the "Spark Protectorate", that controls the worst effects of warfare and natural disasters. The rule of this small group, however, is fairly loose; they tolerate, and even cooperate with, a range of criminal organizations. By the time of the novel's action—"One day before the spring equinox" in 2457 A.D.—humanity has settled into a lifestyle of previous centuries. Most travel is by horseback or coach; swords are far more common than guns; candles and oil lamps provide most light. Obscure religious sects flourish. Gardner's future Earth, in these respects, participates in the theme of a "medieval future" explored by writers like Jack Vance and Gene Wolfe among others. People live among the remains of past higher technologies. "Welcome to our modern world! Where OldTech computers serve as footstools, while the rusted remains of jumbo jets get converted to beer-halls and brothels." 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「Trapped (Gardner novel)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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