Children of Time

“Bickering primates, the lot of them. Progress is what matters. Fulfilling the potential of humanity, and of all other life.”

Kern’s thoughts on her scientific mission highlight both the monkey motif and The Conflict Between Tradition and Progress. Her thoughts also connect humanity with “all other life,” which relates to the idea of Promoting Coexistence through Mutual Understanding. Despite her problematic arrogance and nascent god complex, Kern demonstrates an understanding of the potential of life in general.

“Portia’s children will inherit the world.”

The first part of the book introduces Kern and the spiders, and in doing so, Tchaikovsky provides the architecture that will undergird the major themes, the primary conflict, and the resolution of the novel. This passage foreshadows the ultimate success of the spiders and has a double meaning, as Portia’s “children” will ultimately include both spiders and humans—as is hinted in the title of the novel as well.

“She would return to the tomb, and a simulacrum of herself would stand watch over a silent planet, in a silent universe, as the last outpost of the great spacefaring civilization.”

The imagery of Kern’s cold storage as a “tomb” introduces the ongoing comparisons between stasis and death even as Tchaikovsky explains the practical mechanism by which Kern transcends time itself to become a constant figure throughout the spiders’ evolution. The additional metaphor of her AI counterpart “standing watch” over the planet metaphorically places Kern’s satellite in the position of a guardian over the spiders.