Architects of Emortality

Architects of Emortality, Brian Stableford, Tor Books, 1999

Several hundred years from now, Earth is a place of twenty-four hour surveillance and a one-world government. Starting in New York City, the seemingly impossible is happening. A supposedly random of group of people are being murdered, and the only clues are a young woman who has eluded surveillance, and a bouquet of genetically altered flowers, of a very particular type and arrangement. The victims don't just die; somehow, the flowers eat the victim, leaving only a skeleton behind.

In a world where genetic rejuvenation can mean a lifespan of at least 150 years, anyone can change their appearance, including the murderer. It also means that flower designing, especially for funerals, has become very important. The flower design involved in the murders is something that only a handful of people worldwide can accomplish. Oscar Wilde, one of them, joins Charlotte Holmes of the UN Police in the investigation. Holmes thinks that Wilde is the culprit, but is not yet able to prove it. They are joined in the investigation by Michael Lowenthal, a representative of MegaMall, a shadowy organization that are the real rulers of Earth.

The vast majority of the data gathering and analyzing of police of work is done by artificial intelligence "sims," so the human part of being a cop is almost gone. Holmes, feeling like part of a dying breed in more ways than one, is determined to hold her own with Wilde and Lowenthal as the trail takes them to an artificial island in the Pacific. The murders have to do with something that happened while the victims were all at the same Australian college 170 years ago, before it became illegal for children to be born from anything other than an artificial womb.

This is a very cerebral sort of novel. It has plenty of Holmesian deduction, so it will appeal to Sherlock Holmes fans. For some, it might move rather slowly; give it a chance. It's a very good science fiction mystery, with a fine bit of future social and biological speculation. It's also well worth reading.