| Manifold: Time | |
| Title Orig: | Time |
| Author: | Stephen Baxter |
| Cover Artist: | Tony and Daphine Hallas/Science Photo Library |
| Country: | United Kingdom |
| Language: | English |
| Series: | Manifold |
| Genre: | Science fiction |
| Publisher: | Voyager (UK) Del Rey Books (USA) |
| Release Date: | 1999 |
| Media Type: | Print (hardback & paperback) |
| Pages: | 456 |
| Isbn: | 0-00-225768-8 |
| Oclc: | 41258602 |
Manifold: Time is a 1999 science fiction novel by Stephen Baxter. It is the first of Baxter's Manifold Trilogy (the others being and ), although the books can be read in any order because the series takes place in a multiverse.
The book was nominated for the 2000 Arthur C. Clarke Award.[1]
Time is set on Earth, the inner part of the Solar System and various other universes onwards from the 21st century. The novel covers a wide range of topics, including the Doomsday argument, Fermi paradox, genetic engineering, and humanity's extinction.
The book begins at the end of space and time, when the last descendants of humanity face an infinite but pointless existence. Due to proton decay, the physical universe has collapsed, but some form of intelligence has survived by embedding itself into a lossless computing substrate where it can theoretically survive indefinitely. However, because there will never be new input, eventually all possible thoughts will be exhausted. Some portion of this intelligence decides that this should not have been the ultimate fate of the universe, and takes action to change the past, centering on the early 21st century. The changes come in several forms, including a message to Reid Malenfant, the appearance of super-intelligent children around the world, and the discovery of a mysterious gateway on asteroid 3753 Cruithne.
Baxter's short story "Sheena 5" explores an alternate ending to the story of Sheena, the intelligent squid.
Time is split into four parts and then into smaller sections that each focus on a different character.