Schismatrix

Schismatrix, a 1985 science fiction novel by Bruce Sterling, represents the author's sole full-length exploration of his Shaper/Mechanist setting. The book received nominations for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1985 and the British Science Fiction Award in 1986. A 1996 edition, titled *Schismatrix Plus*, collects the novel alongside five short stories set in the same universe.

The narrative follows Abelard Lindsay, born into an aristocratic Mechanist family in the lunar colony Mare Serenitatis Circumlunar Corporate Republic. After being sent to the Shapers' Ring Council for specialized diplomatic training, he shifts his allegiance to the Shaper cause. Alongside his friend Philip Constantine and the Preservationist Vera Kelland, Lindsay leads an insurgency against the Republic's rulers, who use Mechanist technology to extend their lives. The trio influences the younger generation toward Shaper ideals while pursuing Preservationism, a movement focused on preserving Earth-bound human culture. Kelland and Lindsay agree to a suicide pact as a political statement, but Lindsay backs out after Kelland's death. Constantine tries to kill Lindsay but instead kills a Mechanist, causing a scandal. Constantine remains in the Republic due to his environmental expertise, while Lindsay is exiled to the Mare Tranquilitatis Circumlunar People's Zaibatsu, a collapsed colony now home to criminals and wanderers. There he meets Kitsune, a Shaper-modified prostitute who secretly rules the Geisha Bank through the remotely operated body of her brain-dead predecessor. Over months, Lindsay organizes a complex fraud involving a fictitious theatrical event, befriending an old Mechanist named Fyodor Ryumin. The fraud evolves into a legitimate venture, Kabuki Intrasolar, but Lindsay cannot stay: Constantine has overthrown the Republic, abandoned Preservationism, and become a Shaper militant. An assassin delivers a choice: become Constantine's pawn or die. Lindsay escapes with Mechanist pirates, helping Kitsune openly seize power.

Lindsay joins the Red Consensus, a ship doubling as the Fortuna Miners' Democracy, after its asteroid-mining cartel fails. The FMD, backed by wealthier Mechanist cartels, annexes the asteroid Esairs XII, home to the small Shaper Mavrides clan.