📚心得【Six Wakes 太空六場葬禮】 by Mur Lafferty, 2017

#Thriller #複製人 #基因工程 #世代船

6個有各自過去犯罪紀錄的船員乘上一艘航向新移居星球的世代船，一天他們全都重生在「備用身體」裡，並發現他們老了25歲、死法各異的舊身體，與資料庫遭到竄改的世代船AI，而他們也都失去了這25年來的記憶。尋找兇手的期間，自己也可能是兇手，發現對自己不利的證據時，是否會將其公開呢？

好幾年前就看完這本書了，在我的印象中設定是有許多缺陷且虎頭蛇尾的，首先會讓罪犯去做這麼重要、關乎人類文明散播的任務就很奇怪了，故事後段一些對於「基因記憶傳承」的設定也太過於超自然，hardware／wetware之間的切換也沒有過多解釋，給人的感覺挺不科學的。

雖然也不太記得最後兇手為何要殺害所有船員(表示這理由不夠令我印象深刻 😅)，但我確實記得理由很遷強且繞了好大一圈才兜回來、試著自圓其說。隨著故事進展一個個埋藏的結被解開，我對整體劇情的興趣也隨之下降，最後只是快速讀完結尾。

故事中有些主軸外的複製人倫理議題倒是挺有趣的：基因客製化嬰兒、複製人遺產繼承權問題、複製後前一個身體的人權、複製人能否繼承「終生職」職缺、複製使生命變得廉價等。在複製科技高度應用、有金權與能力取得「複製人保險」而永生不老不病不死的社會裡，想必這些議題都會透過立法來管制，但如何確切執行這些法律、如何追蹤複製個體的先後順序、非透過自己意願被複製又該如何處理各個身體等都是會受到高度辯論與政治影響的議題吧。 

IMO總分：53分，虎頭蛇尾的科幻皮、驚悚骨的中下作。

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

#Thriller #Clones #Genetic_Engineering #Generation_Ship

Six crew members, each with their own criminal records, crewed a generation ship bound for a new colony planet. One day, they all awaken in "backup bodies" to discover their old bodies—aged 25 years and killed in different ways—alongside a generation ship AI whose database has been tampered with. They've also lost all memories from those 25 years. During the search for the killer, any one of them could be the murderer, including themselves. When they uncover evidence against themselves, will they reveal it?

I finished this book several years ago, and in my recollection, the setup had many flaws and the story petered out anticlimactically. First, it's already strange to have criminals carry out such an important mission concerning the spread of human civilization. Some of the later plot points about "genetic memory inheritance" felt far too supernatural, and the switching between hardware/wetware lacked sufficient explanation, giving the whole thing an unscientific feel.

While I don't quite remember why the killer murdered all the crew members in the end (which shows the reason wasn't memorable enough for me 😅), I do remember the motive being very contrived and convoluted, going in circles before trying to justify itself. As the story progressed and buried plot threads were unraveled one by one, my interest in the overall narrative declined along with them, until I was just speed-reading through the ending.

Some of the ethical issues about clones outside the main plot were quite interesting though: genetically customized babies, clone inheritance rights, the human rights of one's previous body after cloning, whether clones can inherit "lifetime appointments," how cloning cheapens life, etc. In a society where cloning technology is widely applied and those with money and ability can obtain "clone insurance" to achieve eternal youth and immortality, these issues would surely be regulated through legislation. But how to actually enforce these laws, how to track the sequential order of cloned individuals, how to handle bodies created without one's consent—these would all be highly debated topics subject to significant political influence.

IMO Rating: 53. Mediocre to below-average work with a sci-fi veneer and thriller core that starts strong but fizzles out.

Core Theme: ★★☆☆☆ (*5)

Plot Quality: ★★★★☆ (*4)

Character Development: ★★★☆☆ (*3)

Science Validity: ★★☆☆☆ (*3)

Ending Satisfaction: ★★☆☆☆ (*3)

Readability: ★★★☆ (*2)