The Neanderthal Parallax

Did You Know?

• Hominids first appeared as a serial in Analog Science Fiction.
• Humans was a 2004 Hugo Award finalist.

Plot

At the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory in Sudbury, Ontario, a physics experiment is interrupted by the sudden arrival of a man believed to be a Neanderthal. Geneticist Mary Vaughn of York University is called to determine his identity. Mary, recovering from a recent rape on campus, finds the scientific opportunity a distraction. With physicist Louise Benoit and physician Ruben Montego, she learns the man is Ponter Boddit, a Neanderthal quantum physicist from a parallel universe who crossed over due to a failed experiment. Meanwhile, Ponter's spouse Adikor Huld faces accusations of murder after Ponter's disappearance. Long-term contact and diplomatic relations eventually develop between the worlds, though distrust persists. Ponter and Mary form a relationship while working for mutual benefit amid a looming crisis.

Barast society

The Barasts, or Neanderthals, are hunter-gatherers without agriculture but possess advanced technology including quantum computers, helicopters, and biological recording instruments. They live in harmony with their environment, using clean energy and maintaining a constant population of 185 million worldwide. Time is measured in lunar months rather than years. Due to a keen sense of smell sensitive to pheromones, women and men live separately for 25 of every 29 days, coming together for four days called two becoming one, a monthly celebration.

All women have synchronized menstrual cycles, making conception unlikely except every ten years when a generation is purposely conceived. Children live with mothers until age ten, then boys move to fathers; both remain with the appropriate parent until about age 18. Despite physical separation, neither sex is considered superior, and facilities are separate but equal; when impractical, such as at large scientific facilities, separation is ignored.