Diamond Dogs: Difference between revisions

''Diamond Dogs'' is novella by [[Alastair Reynolds]], set in his ''Revelation Space'' [[The Verse|universe]].

 

In a universe where all the aliens [[Absent Aliens|seem to be dead]] or [[Invisible Aliens|hiding]], a potential momentous discovery is made: an alien structure - a tower of some kind - is discovered on a lifeless planet. This tower, known as the [[Names to Run Away From Really Fast|Blood Spire]], killed the crew of the ship that first discovered it. The last surivor, before succumbing to his horrific wounds, recounts how the tower tested him and his crew. [[Only Smart People May Pass|Pass the increasingly difficult tests]] and you can possibly ascend to the top of the alien tower and unlock its secrets. But get any of the increasinlyg difficult questions ''wrong'', and...well, [[Mutilation Conga|let's just say that very unpleasant things]] [[Body Horror|happen to you]].

 

 

* [[Alien Geometries]]: Comes into play as the tests become more and more difficult, the higher they ascend the tower; the challenges begin to involve higher-dimensional shapes and arcane math.

* {{spoiler|[[Cloning Gambit]]}}: Part of the big [[The Reveal|reveal]] about {{spoiler|Childe. The first expedition to discover the Spire? They didn't exist. Childe discovered the tower. All those mangled bodily remains outside the tower? Those are ''Childe''; he repeatedly cloned himself, backing up a copy of his memory each time, and attempted the tower. He died, over and over. Eventually, when he couldn't proceed any further, he decided to enlist the help of other people. So he made up the story about the first expedition, as a cover.}}

* [[Cybernetics Eat Your Soul]]: Played with. Doctor Trintignant was already pretty immoral, even before he began experimenting on unwitting subjects (along with himsefl). On the other hand {{spoiler|Richard and Childe become pretty warped in their quest to beat the tower; by allowing Trintignant to modify their bodies, they steadily become less human within and without.}}

* [[Downer Ending]]: {{spoiler|Everyone except Richard and Celestine are killed, with the possible exception of Childe, who might've suffered a [[Fate Worse Than Death]]. Richard and Celestine are unable to reverse the radical changes they made to their bodies because society back home has collpased (thus the technology no longer exists) and Dr. Trintignant, the only other person who can do it, kills himself. They're forced to eke out a bleak and poor existence in Chasm City to survive, with Richard having to pretend to be a strange looking dog, due to his appearance. Eventually, the situation, combined with his memories and obsession with the Spire, causes him to give up and throw away his life with Celestine to return to the Spire (where he'll almost certainly be killed or worse, like Childe).}}

* [[Forbidden Fruit]]: Despite being unquestionably dangerous, the crew can't help but keep on going into the Blood Spire, even after people start getting mutilated and/or killed.

** One character compares it to climbing a mountain: "''Because it's there.''"

* [[Never Found the Body]]: Mostly averted, in that those killed by the Spire are unceremoniously ejected from the tower (sometimes in pieces, [[Ludicrous Gibs|depending on how they died]]). Thus, the land surrounding the tower is littered with the remains of those who previously attempted the tower. [[Playing With Tropes|Played with]] in that the Spire keeps any mechanical parts, and in the end, {{spoiler|Childe's}} body (well, his {{spoiler|''most recent'' body}}) is never found, implying that {{spoiler|either the Spire "harvested" him or that he had become entirely too mechanical for the Spire to eject}}.

* [[Nothing Left to Do But Die]]: {{spoiler|Doctor Trintignant}}'s reason for commiting suicide; he knows that {{spoiler|Richard and Celestine}} will ask him to {{spoiler|undo the radical modifications he performed on them}} when they return. However, he considers {{spoiler|them his greatest work, and he can't bear to undo his greatest work}}. So he kills himself rather than go through with it. That's right, he killed himself ''just to spite them''.

* [[Only Smart People May Pass]]: A deconstruction of this trope {{spoiler|and [[Body Horror|the characters]].}}

* [[Schmuck Bait]]: Near the end, the narrator/protagonist speculates {{spoiler|that this might be the ultimate purpose of the tower. It lures in intelligent beings with it's tests, forcing them to adapt their minds and bodies to pass it's increasingly esoteric tests. When they finally get to the top, they're "harvested" by the tower, like some kind of alien Venus Fly Trap.}}

"My God, yes." I grinned like a madman. "I lost my hat, and I felt this ridiculous urge to rescue it!" }}

** And:

"Yeah. Not exactly on my top ten list of ways to die, either.'" }}

* [[Title Drop]]: "Diamond Dogs" refers to the monsterous forms {{spoiler|Childe and Richard modify themselves into in order to beat the tower; by the end of the story, they resemble rottweilers standing on their hind legs, covered in a diamond fabric.}}

 

[[Category:Science Fiction Literature]]

[[Category:Diamond Dogs]]