The Stone Canal (#1107)

Future Life on Mars Daily Challenge #1107: Oct 24, 2025

In reference to the sharp, philosophical science-fiction novel by Ken MacLeod, published in 1996. It’s the second book in his Fall Revolution series (though it can be read independently), following The Star Fraction.

The novel moves between two timelines:

Past (Earth): A near-future society shaped by anarchist and socialist politics, following Jonathan Wilde, a libertarian socialist activist and political theorist.

Future (New Mars): A colony world populated by uploaded intelligences, AIs, and posthuman clones, where Wilde’s clone — a digital reconstruction — is resurrected.

The two stories interweave to explore how ideology, identity, and technology reshape human existence. The title refers to a literal canal on New Mars, but also symbolizes the persistence of human will — our urge to impose order and meaning, even on alien landscapes.