Author: Paolo Bacigalupi
Cover Artist: Claudia Noble
Publisher: Night Shade Books
Binding: Hardcover
Publication Date: 2008
I recently read the story The People of Sand and Slag in the anthology Wastelands: stories of the Apocalypse and I thought it was one of the highlights of that collection. Bacigalupi is one of the two authors in that collection I decided to read more material of in the not too distant future (the other is Nancy Kress). This automatically leads me to Pump Six and Other Stories, a collection of 10 stories (11 if you happen to own the limited edition, which I don’t) and currently his only work that appeared in book form. I understand he is working a novel, judging from the stories in this collection I am definitely going to read it.
Pump Six and Other Stories contains nine stories that have been previously published in various magazines and anthologies between 1999 and 2007. The story Pump Six is original to this collection. Bacigalupi’s stories are usually set in a (near) future and deal with two major themes, humanity (in the face of immortality) and environmentalism. His visions of the future do no make for happy reading, especially since some of them are very plausible, but if you look carefully a hint of optimism is present in most of them.
The collection opens with A Pocket Full of Dharma, a story set in a future China. Wang Jun, a young boy, orphaned and homeless, attempts to survive in the city of Chengdu by stealing and begging. Fortune seems to smile on him when he sees a foreigner with an expensive pair of glasses he intends to steal. Following the foreigner he is witness to his murder. The killers allow him to take the glasses but only if he will carry a datacube for them. When the person he is supposed to deliver it to fails to show up he decides to keep the cube and unwillingly becomes involved in the political struggles over Tibet. I was struck by Wang’s will to survive and the lengths he will go to to fill his belly every evening. On the one hand you want to smack him for not seeing the bigger picture, on the other you fully understand his instinct for self preservation.
The second story is The Fluted Girl. Set in a world where in some places at least, governing seems to have reverted back to a feudal system, with the subjects of of a fief are little more than property. For the rich virtual immortality is available but at a high price. To gain financial independence Madame Belari has carefully raised two fluted girls. Girls that literally use each other’s body as a musical instrument. One of the two seems happy to go along with this treatment but the other, Lidia, is not content. Another malcontent, a boy by the name of Stephen, has given her the means to make her displeasure known, but how will she go about it? The end of this one will leave the reader wondering, not only which option Lidia chose but also if the other would have been preferable.
The People of Sand and Slag is another story that deals with near immortal humans. It explores they effect on their psyche in a different way though. I already covered it in the Wastelands review so I won’t elaborate here. Suffice to say I still think it is brilliant.
The Pasho is set in a world that is slowly recovering from a collapse. Knowledge and technology are no longer widely available. Ten years ago a young Jai man, Raphel, left his people to study with the Pasho, a sect who believe knowledge should be made available to people when they are ready to oversee the consequences of it’s use. To study he had to go to the great city of the Jai’s ancient enemy, the Keli. Now he is returning to his people and not everybody is happy to see him. A deep hatred for the Keli burns in some of the Jai as they see the Keli cultural influence overwhelming their own ancient ways. His grandfather, a hero of the previous crusade against the Keli, is one of the Jai calling for another war. Raphel must choose between his teaching and his culture. When he makes his choice you can’t feel but wonder if he really did not betray his people.
The Calorie Man is one of the stories with a strong environmental theme. Set in a future where oil has run out biomass now fuels society (one way or another). The agricultural industries are well in control of the economy. Their genetically manipulated, patented and plague resistant seed stock dominates the market and bio-engineered pests have finished off all competition. These companies rabidly guard their monopolies with rigorous checks for “unstamped calories”. Lalji, an immigrant to New Orleans, is a small antiques dealer and sometimes smuggler. He used to have dreams of a better future but they have been firmly squashed but reality. Still, hope is not entirely gone. He lets himself be talked into travelling up the Mississippi to collect a man who literally carries the seeds of change.
In recent years there have been some disturbing trends in the agricultural industry in regard to genetic manipulation, patented seeds, seeds that don’t produce a heirloom crop, seeds that are manipulated to be resistant to a patented pesticide etcetera. All of these developments point towards the agricultural industry dominating farming, if it doesn’t lead to outright monopolies. it also raises questions such as whether it is ethical to patent genetic material and what it would mean for the world if we become dependant on crops that don’t produce heirloom seeds. The Calorie Man paints a bleak picture of what might be possible. Somehow I don’t think this collection will grace the library of whoever runs Monsanto.
The Tamarisk Hunter is a story set in the south west of the United States. Water has become so scarce that extensive legal battles have erupted over water rights. California appears to have been successful in securing a large portion of the water supply. As a result the situation in other parts of the region has become difficult indeed. Many of the inhabitants have moved away, following the water. Lolo has managed to hang on to his patch though. He hunts Tamarisk, a plant growing along riverbanks that holds a lot of water. The water bounty has been enough to make ends meet for him. To keep in business he secretly reseeds the plants, an activity that carries a severe penalty if discovered, so when a national guard official shows up at his place he thinks his life as a Tamarisk hunter is about to end. It is, just not in the way he expects.
One of the things that struck me when I visited the American South West in 1996 was how amazingly short-sighted some of the water policies that are in place seem to be. It is not a question of whether the region will have to face severe water shortages, only when. Bacigalupi puts a very human face to the crisis that such a shortage might cause.
In Pop Squad Bacigalupi returns to a future where humanity has found a cure for ageing. Since this would involve a serious demographic crisis without some severe birth control measures being in place an anti conceptive is added to the treatment. Not everybody will settle for not having children even if it means living forever though. Some women are still illegally getting pregnant. The main character works for a police unit that finds such illegal parents. The penalty for the parents is severe, for the children it is even worse. Our police officer is troubled though, he is increasingly curious why someone would want to give up living forever to raise children. A disturbingly brutal story but with a kernel of humanity and compassion. Not as powerful as The People of Sand and Slag though.
Yellow Card Man seems to be set in the same future as The Calorie Man but in a different part of the world. In an anti Chinese pogrom former successful businessman Tranh lost his business, his familt and almost his life. Now he is trying to survive as an unwanted refugee in Bangkok. It is not a kind city to old destitute Chinese refugees and Tranh is forced to shed the last scraps of dignity trying to survive. He even has to grovel for a former employee Ma, whom he fired years ago. He has learnt something of the world since then though, something Ma has yet to figure out. Probably the most pessimistic story of the collection. There really isn’t a way out for Tranh and he knows it.
The story that least appealed to me in this collection was Softer. The story is about a man who murders his wife on impulse. Even in hindsight he doesn’t really know why he did it. He feels more relief than guilt though. The murderer doesn’t know why he did it and, after reading the story twice, neither do I.
The final story of the collection and the one that gave it its name is Pump Six. The story is set in a far future where people no longer seem to be intelligent enough to keep the technological infrastructure that keeps their society going in good repair. The main character Alvarez works at a station that regulates New York sewage treatment system. He is one of the few who still know how to keep the pumps going. Until number six shuts down that is. On closer inspection it turns out to be worn beyond repair and in desperate need of some spare parts. This is way beyond Alvarez’ ability to repair. He sets out to look for help. A trip that will open his eyes to the sad state of the world.
I wonder if this is some veiled comment on a society that seems to crave instant gratification as some put it. Society in this story appears to have completely lost sight of long term planning. Whether or not it is, Pump Six leaves you with the feeling that Alvarez is capable of a lot more than he himself knows and that somehow he will fix things. A hopeful end to what is a rather pessimistic set of stories.
Most of Bacigalupi’s characters seem to feel they are small people, powerless to change the world around. He shows the effects of certain developments on a very personal level. I am impressed with Bacigalupi’s to make these characters come alive in as little words as he uses. On the other hand I also think his stories are best enjoyed in small doses. Take your time reading this collection so the bleak futures Bacigalupi don’t overshadow the glimpses of hope and optimism and you’ll find some true gems in this collection. One word of advice to Mr. Bacigalupu though, choose a pseudonym. I misspelled Bacigalupi at least fifty times while writing this review 
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