Cyteen consists of one main
plot and several subplots, all within a backdrop of post-war political
turmoil. The central plot revolves around the murder of leading genetic
designer, Dr. Ariane Emory, on the planet Cyteen. The main suspect is her
colleague and rival, Dr. Jordan Warrick. Although his guilt is never quite
proven, he is exiled from Cyteen, much to the distress of his son Justin
and his adopted son Grant, both of whom had been victimized in different
ways by the late Ariane Emory. The two young men face many hardships as
they live their lives under intense scrutiny at Cyteen and are essentially
under house arrest permanently. They are constantly being watched by Dennis
Nye and his brother Giraud, both loyal to the late Emory.
Nye and Emory's other followers
at Cyteen decide on undertaking a monumental project that Emory herself
had conceived: to create an exact replica of her, a new human life that
would be a genetic replicate as well as a social replicate, raised in the
exact same manner and environment as the old Emory. The new replicate is
born and given the same name, Ariane Emory. Also re-born are the two bodyguards
that had been closest to Emory Sr, having been with her since childhood:
Florian and Catlin.
Young Ari, unknowing of the
events that led up to her birth, is raised by her foster mother Jane Strassen.
Ari evidences the same genius and independent temperament that the old
Emory had. Jane Strassen leaves Cyteen, and Ari then becomes the ward of
Dennis Nye. Ari meets Justin and Grant and instantly likes them although
her uncles Dennis and Giraud don't approve. Justin and Grant are nervous
about their relationship with young Ari. They have many political enemies,
and if anything ever were to happen to Ari, they know they'd be the prime
suspects.
When she is older, she is
given old Emory's computer, Base One, which has all records and journal
entries of Ariane Emory. Through this, Ari finds confirmation of her suspicions
that her guardians have not been honest with her about many things. She
also finds answers to various odd things about her life as a child: why
some kids would mysteriously disappear if they got into fights with her
at school, why she has to get a blood test every week, etc. Ari feels this
as a betrayal from thoses she loves.
When she is introduced to
her new bodyguards Florian and Catlin, the three form a close bond and
decide to investigate matters as a trio. Throughout the story, Ari learns
several important deeds that certain people she thought were on her side
had done to her. (I'm not going to give it away here.) The rest of the
story involves Ari's rise to power, her dealings with her enemies, her
attempts to discover who the real killer of her predecessor was, and Aris'
and Justin's attempts to get Justin's father Jordan released from his exile.
This one is a MUST-READ. As
you can see from this short description (yes, this is the short version)
the story is one of epic scale. There are actually about a zillion characters
I left out, as well as many subplots, theories, and an explanation of an
entire cultural group, the fascinating azi, that is very important to the
story. The book is broken up into many smaller sections, which makes it
very readable and surprisingly fast-paced. The main hurdle is getting started.
The novel begins with an excerpt from a text of the Company Wars (which
occur before the setting of this story) and then a political council meeting,
both of which are somewhat difficult to get through if you have not read
many of Cherryh's Alliance-Union novels. But from then on, the book gradually
zeroes in on a dozen or so main characters, and becomes absolutely impossible
to put down.
So. Finally, the short short
version: Cyteen is about two young men who are separated from their father
and want to be reunited, and about a young woman who is surrounded by people
she can't trust and must use her ingenuity to survive, gain power, and
deal with the enemies of her predecessor who all want to destroy her.
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