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145:. It takes place in the present day and describes the arrival on Earth of sentient aliens. The bulk of the novel covers the many discussions and arguments on this topic, as well as about the nature of belief, religion, and science. Several planetary civilizations illustrate the logical conclusion of the
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twice, explaining that
Seidman had seriously misrepresented his work. Crucially, Seidman's review left out that the only two villains in the novel are terrorists who bomb Thomas's museum compelled by their radical creationist beliefs. In addition, the last name of one of them is "Falsey", symbolizing
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In fact, Seidman cited sentences from theist characters as if they reflected the novel's general stance on God, and in turn the author's. Previously, Sawyer clarified that he disagreed with the arguments for theism expressed in the novel. For example, to give weight to the designer argument for
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machinery which now housed all of their planet's personalities. According to a theory of Thomas's, several worlds exist where the inhabitants uploaded themselves into machines instead of exploring the nature of the universe and gods.
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Sawyer also accused
Seidman of repeatedly sending unsolicited emails to him. Further, he also opined that the skeptical community debunking his science-fiction novel was as ridiculous as Christian fundamentalists
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then sees a large black entity emerge from space itself and cover the exploding star. This is final proof that a controlling intelligence is guiding and preserving some life-forms in the universe.
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events at roughly the same time. Hollus believes that the universe was created by a god, to provide a place where life could develop and evolve. Thomas
Jericho is an
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fine-tuning, the novel portrays the multiverse hypothesis as implausible according to the aliens' research, while in reality Sawyer did not believe it to be so.
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materials from human and alien sources produces a new life form that the aliens conjecture will create the next cycles of the universe.
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to investigate Earth's evolutionary history. The alien, Hollus, has come to Earth to gain access to the museum's large collection of
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Although the supernova explosion occurred over 400 years before the events of the novel, the radiation is first reaching
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Cassada, Jackie. "Calculating God (Book review)." Library
Journal 125.7 (15 Apr. 2000): 126.
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Flynn, Tom. "SCIENCE FICTION GOES ANTHROPIC." Free
Inquiry 22.1 (Winter2001/2002 2001): 62.
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who provides a balance to the philosophical discussion regarding the existence of gods.
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accused Sawyer of having a religious anti-science agenda and promoting it with
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Johnson, Roberta. "Adult Books: FICTION." Booklist 96.16 (15 Apr. 2000): 1534.
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In the final chapter, the scientist, who is dying of
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495:Sawyer, Robert J. (6 December 2002).
371:"2001 Award Winners & Nominees"
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458:Sawyer, Robert J. (9 March 2002).
155:received nominations for both the
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285:Barry F. Seidman from
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218:At the end, the star
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305:arguments, such as
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404:Skeptical Inquirer
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319:Carl Sagan
220:Betelgeuse
193:Beta Hydri
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327:theists
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