History Literature / Orthogonal

%%* WeaponsGradeVocabulary: The poem that if written on other being body, would be deadly in short time was briefly discussed as myth. They write with their bodies so presumably it means someone would have to hold part of body on vicum and form writing on that part.

* WeaponsGradeVocabulary: The poem that if written on other being body, would be deadly in short time was briefly discussed as myth. They write with their bodies so presumably it means someone would have to hold part of body on vicum and form writing on that part.

** [[DiscussedTrope Discussed]]: As mentioned on the main bullet above, as soon as the characters nail down the nature of spacetime, it's pretty much accepted that TimeTravel, while possible (and surprisingly easy), cannot actually change anything.

* UntoUsASonAndDaughterAreBorn: With highly unusual exceptions, this trope is ''universally'' played straight with ''every birth''. Justified by the biology of the species.

* StableTimeLoop: The theory of four-space, which states that the dimension of time is ''literally'' identical to any of the dimensions of space and that the universe is a [[WrapAround closed loop in all dimensions]], implies that the entire universe exists in this state.

* SpaceIsNoisy: Predictably (considering the author) averted, but the aversion is really only significant in that it forces an interesting use of the NarrativeShapeshifting trope, above.

* TheSlowPath: A very unusual example that depends on your perspective in this universe's spacetime. The GenerationShip is essentially taking [[TheSlowPath The Even Slower Path]], deliberately (and literally) taking a roundabout path to the near future, so that they can have more time to figure out how to handle the future before it arrives.

* {{Shapeshifting}}: One of the more notable traits of the protagonist StarfishAliens.

* ShownTheirWork: The entire story could be considered a vehicle for Egan to [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin show his work]] in extrapolating how physics would function in this universe.

* SaveTheWorld: The mission of the ''Peerless''.

** Carlo during the light experiment. [[spoiler: It doesn't go well.]]

** Despite extensive preparations and tons of redundant precautions, the construction and launch of the ''Peerless'' was still rushed. The original crew had every reason to fear that the launch of the GenerationShip might be an utter disaster and kill everyone on board before they even got off the ground.

* PlanetSpaceship: When they develop their [[spoiler: PerpetualMotionMachine engines that are powered by light and consume (almost) no fuel]], some characters discuss building massive engines on the [[DoomedHometown Doomed Home Planet]] and "flying" the planet to safety like a straightforward PlanetSpaceship. At/after the end of the trilogy, though, [[spoiler: they instead ''put out the sun'' and build engines ''on its surface'', so that they can move it and let its gravity take care of pulling the planet along, which will cause fewer siesmic disturbances on the planet. This is at least partially justified in that, InUniverse, the sun actually ''is'' just a big ball of flammable rock that is on fire, not a ball of gas undergoing a continuous fusion reaction.]]

* ThePlague[=/=]SyntheticPlague: Discussed by opponents of the experiments on [[spoiler: survivable reproduction]], when rumors begin spreading that the procedure has created an "[[TheVirus influence]]" that can spread like any other disease, inducing the same phenomenon in anyone exposed to it.

* LectureAsExposition: Many of the {{Infodump}}s in the first two books take this form.

* LadyLand: Discussed by opponents of the [[spoiler: reproduction-inducing experiments]], who hypothesize that if [[spoiler: survivable single childbirth always results in female children]], it will lead to the eradication of the male gender. See also DepopulationBomb and {{Gendercide}} above, and NoWomansLand below.

* JustBeforeTheEnd: The trilogy consists entirely of an attempt to defy this trope. The GenerationShip's mission is to suspend their [[DoomedHometown Doomed Home Planet]] JustBeforeTheEnd until they are able to figure out a way to avert the disaster.

* HyperspaceIsAScaryPlace: Not least because [[EverythingTryingToKillYou Everything Is Trying To Kill You]], including ''dust'' and even [[spoiler: ''air'']] thanks to the CollisionDamage property of orthogonal matter mentioned above.

* {{Gendercide}}: Discussed by opponents of the [[spoiler: reproduction-inducing experiments]], who hypothesize that if [[spoiler: survivable single childbirth [[AlwaysFemale always results in female children]]]], it will lead to the eradication of the male gender. See also DepopulationBomb above.

* {{Farmboy}}: Yalda in ''The Clockwork Rocket'', and several characters in ''The Eternal Flame'', Tamara probably being the most notable.

* ExpoSpeak: [[TitleTheAdaptation The Book]]! Egan tones it down in the third book, though.

* EnsembleCast:
** ''The Eternal Flame'' actually features two sub-ensembles, each with their own separate story arcs, though they frequently interact.

* DoomedHometown: The entire trilogy revolves around an attempt to preemptively defy this trope and save their [[DoomedHometown Doomed Home Planet]].

* CollisionDamage: Whenever matter that originated in clusters traveling [[TitleDrop orthogonally]] to each other comes into contact, it creates an immediate and massively explosive reaction. Combine that with the fact that, under ordinary circumstances, such clusters technically have infinite velocity respective to each other, and even a pebble of orthogonal matter can[[spoiler: -- and, in a combination MassOhCrap and PortentOfDoom moment, does -- ]]literally [[SetTheWorldOnFire Set A Planet On Fire]]. Overlaps with MadeOfExplodium, below.

* MadeOfExplodium: Whenever matter that originated in clusters traveling [[TitleDrop orthogonally]] to each other comes into contact, it creates an immediate and massively explosive reaction. Combine that with the fact that, under ordinary circumstances, such clusters technically have infinite velocity respective to each other, and even a pebble of orthogonal matter can[[spoiler: -- and, in a combination MassOhCrap and PortentOfDoom moment, does -- ]]literally [[SetTheWorldOnFire Set A Planet On Fire]]. Overlaps with CollisionDamage, above.

** Played relatively straight with a [[ConvenientlyClosePlanet Conveniently Close Asteroid]]. A large part of ''The Eternal Flame'''s plot revolves around a BigDumbObject known as [[ShapedLikeItself the Object]], a large chunk of [[TitleDrop orthogonal]] matter that drifts close enough to the ''Peerless'' for the protagonists to travel to it. The characters lampshade the trope by realizing that the Object is one of the greatest opportunities they've had since the launch, because if they lose it, they will probably never come this close to another. [-(Partially subverted in that it ''does'' take the crew of the ''Gnat'' several days to reach it.)-]

* {{Antimatter}}: Played straight and occasionally referred to by name, but usually just called "[[TitleDrop orthogonal]] matter". See also CollisionDamage and MadeOfExplodium, below.
* ApocalypseHow: A [[ApocalypseHow/ClassX Class X Planetary Destruction]] is anticipated early on, before the characters realize that they are actually facing a [[ApocalypseHow/ClassX3 Class X-3 Galactic Destruction]]. [[note]]It could even be considered a [[ApocalypseHow/ClassX4 Class X-4 Universal Destruction]]; depending on your perspective, clusters of matter that share an [[TitleDrop Arrow of Time]] could be considered analogous to either galaxies or universes in a multiverse. The most technically correct approach would be to make them either galaxies or [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin galaxy clusters/superclusters]], which would make the impending disaster a ApocalypseHow/ClassX3.[[/note]]

* ItGetsBetter: ''The Clockwork Rocket'' takes a while to get going: it takes more than 200 pages for the eponymous rocket to be launched. [[JustifiedTrope But without all the exposition before it, a reader would be hopelessly confused.]]

* AlternativeNumberSystem: Numbers in the trilogy are always shown in decimal thanks to a TranslationConvention, but it's strongly implied that the aliens use a dozenal (base-12) number system.

* AlternativeNumberSystem: Numbers in the trilogy are always shown in decimal thanks to a TranslationConvention, but it's strongly implied that the aliens use a duodecimal (base-12) number system.