THE TERMINAL EXPERIMENT by Robert J. Sawyer

Read by Paul Hecht

1995 Nebula Award Winner

SF Murder Mystery dealing with Moral Questions

In the style of Isaac Asimov this novel is about “the idea.” The characters are just necessary elements of the plot to advance the idea. Sawyer does well in giving the characters logical motivation but they behave in a fashion that is so clearly useful to the story that they never seem real. But, after all, this is an idea story and not literary fiction. This book sometimes feels like a noir mystery. The writing style is very stark and spares few words that don’t advance the plot. There are several ideas here; the key ones both related to a quantum leap in the resolution of brain scan technology.

The first “idea” is the scientific discovery of the human soul. This allows Sawyer to explore several moral questions: We are challenged to explore the consequences of the effect such a scientific announcement would have on society. Sure, many people are religious and such a discovery would only confirm their beliefs, but many materialists would be forced to reevaluate their concept of reality. Sawyer also interjects the morality of abortion, given the fact that the soul enters the fetus at an early stage in gestation. Animal lovers have to cope with the fact that Old Yeller has no soul.

The other key “idea” that drives the story is that of computer artificial intelligence (AI). This is a spin-off technology from the brain-scan that discovered the soul. Now a personality can be captured. All this happens by the half-way point in the novel.

This book does what a good book should do: It provokes deep thought. Some novels accomplish this by means of great insights into the way people think and feel; expressing that humanity with great depth of characterization. Some non-fiction books do this by revealing something profound about the way the world works. This novel qualifies as a good book by raising some of the grand themes of all time: When does human life begin? Is there life after death? And on top of it all is a satisfying mystery thriller.

I have read several of Sawyer’s books and find that he is typical of many Science Fiction writers. Like Arthur C. Clarke and the aforementioned Isaac Asimov, Robert Sawyer, although a supposedly a materialist in his personal life, he often writes stories dealing with spiritual, ethical and moral questions. Clarke wrote the stories “The Star” (Christ’s natal star), and “The Nine Billion Names of God” (God is real) both revolving on religious matters. Asimov’s famous story “The Last Question” postulates the origin of God Himself. Sawyer, too, explores such themes. His novel CALCULATING GOD revolves around the idea of an advanced race of aliens that are theists, in contrast to the scientific community on earth which is largely atheistic. Sawyer’s FLASH FORWARD deals with determination and free-will. I raise this subject to make the observation that such curiosity is probably endemic to the human condition. Moral questions, like those investigated by Sawyer, and his fellows, form the basis of their most compelling work. It seems that the poetic muse for atheistic writers is thoughts of God.

Paul Hecht reads this novel in straight fashion. His tone is deep and pleasant. I usually gravitate toward the narrators who give flamboyant performances, but I found that Paul Hecht here allowed me to fully engage with the words of the story. His performance was unobtrusive and very enjoyable. As a bonus he does something that most narrators get wrong: he correctly pronounces the word “sentience” as SEN-shunce; for that alone he gets kudos.