📚心得【Forever War 永世之戰】 by Joe Haldeman, 1974

#第一次接觸 #種族戰爭 #Exoskeleton #陸軍視角 #退役老兵 #Future_Shock #全同性戀社會 #VR_training #跨越多時代

就一個1974年的小說來說，這已經是部非常硬的科幻了：外骨骼裝散熱的困難度、力道操作的危險性、定點防禦的優勢（時間流速相對移動者慢）、地面部隊存在的必要性、抗加速艙、PTSD的處理方式、VR加速情境訓練等都有提及，但移動和最終防衛戰還是用了鬼扯的蟲洞與時間泡泡等，加上最後闡述戰爭原因時雖真實但也很草率，真不知道該喜歡還是討厭這作品。

本書談及的社會變遷，我覺得才是最精彩的地方：服役期間移動時造成的時間膨脹，讓軍人們能透過簡單的投資與複利致富；家鄉的科技進步神速，讓戰場上的存活率不斷上升，只有戰鬥技能的老兵回到家鄉反而無法適應社會，乾脆留在戰場上繼續奮鬥；隨著家鄉的人口爆炸成長，貨幣單位也不再以金錢衡量（這部分作品中以「卡路里」替代，但我認為應該以「水」為單位，畢竟高卡路里的糖與低卡路里的燕窩價格絕對不可能相同），政策上也極力推廣同性婚姻，使生育率下降、失業率降低；時間再往後推，整個人類社會變成如法西斯理想世界一般、留下一個完整的人類基因庫後，全都由一個免疫所有疾病的完美人類複製體組成，即使未來發現這做法有所錯誤，也能從基因庫內提取多樣性來解決問題，這是個很特別的作法。

《永世之戰》算是部過程極度精彩，整體劇情蛇頭蛇尾、毫不重要的奇特作品，主角以個體角度所聽聞的隻字片語、嘗試去理解整個文明的總體社會，感到與社會脫節的同時也能理解其背後的無奈與矛盾。IMO總分：67分，概念與社會變遷大於劇情的中上作品。

核心思想：★★★★★ 核心討論議題是否有趣*5

劇情細節：★★★☆☆ 綜觀整體劇情的質與量*4

角色刻畫：★★★★☆ 角色群的必要性與深度*3

科學軟硬：★★★☆☆ 是否符合現實物理現象*3

結局滿意：★★☆☆☆ 結局滿意度與有無餘韻*3

易讀程度：★★★☆☆ 閱讀時章節是否難消化*2

#First_Contact #Racial_War #Exoskeleton #Army_Perspective #Veteran #Future_Shock #Homosexual _Society #VR_training #Spanning_Multiple_Eras

For a novel from 1974, this is already remarkably hard science fiction: the difficulty of heat dissipation in exoskeletons, the dangers of force manipulation, the advantages of fixed-point defense (time flows relatively slower for stationary defenders compared to moving attackers), the necessity of ground forces, anti-acceleration chambers, methods of treating PTSD, accelerated VR scenario training—all are mentioned. However, the transportation and final defensive battle still rely on nonsensical concepts like wormholes and time bubbles, and while the explanation of the war's origins at the end is realistic, it's also rather perfunctory. I truly don't know whether to love or dislike this work.

The social changes discussed in the book are, I believe, the most brilliant aspect: time dilation caused by movement during military service allows soldiers to become wealthy through simple investments and compound interest; rapid technological advancement back home continually increases battlefield survival rates, yet veterans with only combat skills find themselves unable to adapt to society upon returning home and simply choose to remain on the battlefield to continue fighting; as the population back home explodes, monetary units are no longer measured in currency (the work substitutes "calories" for this, though I believe "water" would be the more appropriate unit, since high-calorie sugar and low-calorie bird's nest could never have the same price). Policy also vigorously promotes same-sex marriage to reduce birth rates and lower unemployment; further into the future, all of human society becomes like a fascist utopia—after preserving a complete human gene bank, everyone consists of clones of one perfect human immune to all diseases. Even if this approach proves mistaken in the future, diversity can be extracted from the gene bank to solve problems. This is a very distinctive approach.

《The Forever War》is a peculiar work with an extremely compelling process but an anticlimactic overall plot that ultimately matters little. The protagonist, from an individual perspective, pieces together fragments of information heard here and there, attempting to understand the aggregate society of an entire civilization, feeling disconnected from society while simultaneously understanding the helplessness and contradictions behind it.

IMO Rating: 67. Above average old classic where concepts and social commentary outweigh the plot.

Core Theme: ★★★★★ (*5)

Plot Quality: ★★★☆☆ (*4)

Character Development: ★★★★☆ (*3)

Science Validity: ★★★☆☆ (*3)

Ending Satisfaction: ★★☆☆☆ (*3)

Readability: ★★★☆☆ (*2)