Introduction
The Mercy of Gods is science-fiction riff on the book of Daniel. The main characters are human elites who are conquered by an alien empire and forced to choose between death or service to their oppressor. The human elites are comparable to Shadrack, Mesach, Abedenego, and Daniel. The alien empire, the Carryx, is comparable to Babylon.
Biblical Background
In the book of Daniel, Babylon conquers nation of Judea, abases its holy symbols, and captures its elites. Babylon brings the elites of Judea into Babylon and gives them a period to prove their usefulness to the empire and its capricious king. The story focuses on Daniel as he maintains his dignity under the oppressor and proves his usefulness by interpreting the King’s dreams. The King, Nebacanezar, kills servants that are not useful or displease him.
Science Fiction Twist
The Carryx strengthen their empire in a similar way to Babylon. However, it possesses client species instead of client nations. The client species are all intelligent and must prove their usefulness to the empire or face extermination. In the case of humans, the main characters are researchers that must find a way to make food from one solar system nutritious to intelligent life from another. They must solve most of their own problems with minimal help from the empire, including medication for a mentally ill researcher and defense from another species with the same project.
Unlike King Nebuchadnezzar, the Carryx are not capricious; They are amoral and ruthlessly logical. Their motto is “Whatever is, is.” They assess themselves to be “the bones and nervous systems” of the empire, but the client species also contribute: some of the coolest images in the book are of giant obelisks and faster-than-light travel, both created with the assistance of client species. One Carryx claims that “Good and evil are constructs of lesser beings built to create divisions in places where rigor and intelligence are sufficient.” Instead of considering the morality of cutting down a tree and using its wood, Carryx efficiently adjust the status and resources available to their client races based on their “Essential nature and place in society.” Interestingly, they apply the same ruthless philosophy to themselves: several other cool images relate to the increase and decrease of of status among the Carryx. One Carryx, which performed well, changes physically based on a pheremonal response to a superior. Another, which performs poorly, submits to ritual where its leg is broken.
This take on Daniel is interesting because it acknowledges the rarest resource in the universe is consciousness, intelligence, and creativity. Travelling across the universe to strip-mine a planet is irrational, but conquering humanity with the expectation that it can solve some of the Empire’s problems using its “capacities, perspectives, and particular utilities” is not.
It is also interesting because it is a thought experiment on how to maintain dignity among oppressors. One character plans a doomed attack with zero chance of success. Conversely, the Daniel of the story attempts to gain status within the Empire with the objective of meaningful revenge later, even as he acknowledges that the willing service to the Carryx is humiliating.
Conclusion
Despite some of the pacing issues at the beginning of the book, I really enjoyed it. It is part of a trilogy, so I expect the next book to be about how humans increase their status in the empire while searching for a way to maintain their dignity. Based on some of the tangential “last testaments” of a Carryx that appear throughout the book, it appears that humanity will indeed find a way to bloody the nose of the Empire.