The Ascension Factor
Final novel in the Destination: Void universe.
_The Ascension Factor_, published in 1988, is the fourth and final science fiction novel in the Destination: Void series, co-authored by Frank Herbert and Bill Ransom. The story is set roughly twenty-five years after the events of _The Lazarus Effect_ and concludes the narrative of the human descendants who were left behind by the voidship _Earthling_ on the planet Pandora nearly 480 years earlier.
The plot unfolds a quarter-century after hibernation tanks were retrieved from orbit, releasing numerous Earth organisms into Pandora’s ecosystem. The central antagonist is the fifth clone of Raja Flattery, who entered hibernation at the launch of the _Earthling_. Exploiting the respect Pandorans have for his training as a Chaplain/Psychiatrist, he has installed himself as a totalitarian dictator known as "the Director." He maintains control through violent suppression, government management of food production and distribution—often withholding rations to quell revolts—and manipulation of mass media, including fake news reports that blame rebel activity for civilian deaths and food destruction, when in fact his own security forces commit the murders and the food remains stored in underground government silos. Late in the book, characters speculate that no organized resistance exists; instead, isolated acts of disobedience by individuals disrupt Flattery’s rule.
Current Control, a system that uses electrical stimulation to create navigable pathways through sea kelp and regulates worldwide oceanic currents to prevent rogue waves caused by Pandora’s binary stars, operates from an orbital space station. It is led by Dwarf MacIntosh, one of the few humans from the hyb tanks who survived long after they opened, and along with Flattery, the only one still alive. MacIntosh took this position to distance himself from Flattery.
Flattery has initiated a research and manufacturing program to build a voidship for his escape from Pandora. To this end, he ordered the assassination of Alyssa Marsh, a kelp researcher and one of the last three hyb tank survivors, who was also his former lover after she rejected him. Flattery personally stripped Marsh’s flesh and removed her brain for use as an Organic Mental Core (OMC). Unlike the original voidship program, which used OMCs that were expected to go insane, forcing the crew to develop an artificial intelligence (leading to the cre
- title
- The Ascension Factor
- author
- Frank Herbert and Bill Ransom
- published
- 1988
- series
- Destination: Void universe
- genre
- Science fiction
- setting
- Planet Pandora
Quick Facts
- Authors
- Frank Herbert and / Bill Ransom
- Cover Artist
- Ron Miller
- Country
- United States
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Science fiction
- Publisher
- Putnam
- Release Date
- 1988
- Media Type
- Print (Hardcover & paperback)
- Isbn
- 0-399-13224-4
- Dewey
- 813/.54 19
- Congress
- PS3558.E63 A9 1988
- Oclc
- 16313372
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The novel is set twenty-five years after the hibernation tanks were retrieved from orbit, releasing Earth organisms into Pandora's ecosystem. The fifth Raja Flattery clone, who went into hibernation when the voidship Earthling was launched, has established himself as a totalitarian dictator styling himself 'the Director'. He controls food production, mass media, and violently suppresses opposition. Flattery orders the assassination of kelp researcher Alyssa Marsh, his former lover, and uses her brain as an Organic Mental Core for a new voidship he plans to escape Pandora on. The protagonists include journalist Ben Ozette, who frees a woman named Crista Galli who emerged from the kelp and is kept sedated and poisoned by Flattery. The kelp, which has been returning to sentience, eventually encapsulates Flattery alive rather than allowing him to be killed
Reader's Guide
The Ascension Factor serves as the conclusion to the narrative arc begun in Destination: Void, exploring themes of dictatorship, ecological manipulation, and the emergence of a planetary consciousness. The novel depicts Flattery's totalitarian control through food rationing, propaganda, and assassination, while the kelp—a sentient oceanic organism—gradually awakens to full intelligence. The story resolves with the kelp using shared consciousness to show all humans Flattery's imprisonment, and with several characters departing Pandora on a voidship. The novel is significant for its integration of biological and technological themes, particularly the use of an Organic Mental Core and the kelp's ability to learn holography from a human technician. It also addresses the consequences of genetic manipulation and the ethical dilemmas of artificial intelligence, as Flattery deliberately avoids creating another AI like Ship from earlier books.
Did You Know?
- The novel features a character named Yuri Brood, who is the son of Flattery and Alyssa Marsh, born after Marsh was impregnated by Flattery.
- Flattery orders the assassination of Alyssa Marsh and uses her brain as an Organic Mental Core for a voidship.
- The kelp learns holography from a human technician named Rico and adds a physical component that resists lasers.
- Flattery is not killed but is encapsulated alive by the kelp as a prisoner of his own selfishness.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Ascension Factor?
It is the fourth and final science fiction novel in the Destination: Void series, co-written by Frank Herbert and Bill Ransom and released in 1988.
Who co-authored The Ascension Factor with Frank Herbert?
Bill Ransom shared the writing credit on this book, which serves as the closing volume of the Destination: Void universe.
Where and when is The Ascension Factor set?
The narrative unfolds on the planet Pandora, roughly twenty-five years after the events of The Lazarus Effect, placing it nearly 480 years after the voidship Earthling first deposited human descendants on the world.
Is The Ascension Factor the last book in the series?
Yes, it is the concluding installment of the four-part Destination: Void series and wraps up the long-term fate of the human lineage left behind on Pandora.
What major event kicks off the plot of The Ascension Factor?
The story begins about a quarter-century after hibernation tanks were retrieved from orbit, scattering a wide range of Earth organisms into Pandora's ecosystem and upsetting the ecological balance that had developed over the intervening years.
More in Novels by Frank Herbert 1-22
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