The novel “Michaelmas” by Algis Budrys was published for the first time in 1977. A shorter version with several differences from the novel was published in the magazine “Science Fiction & Fantasy” in July and August of 1976.

Laurent Michaelmas is a journalist of great success. His secret is an artificial intelligence called Domino he developed over the years which has gradually infiltrated all computer and telephone networks in the world, keeping him informed of any significant event.

When Michaelmas receives news that an astronaut who officially died returning from a space mission is actually alive and has recovered from his serious injuries thanks to an advanced therapy something smells phishy. All the information in his and Domino’s possession lead to the conclusion that the astronaut should be dead but the source of the news is a physician who has received two Nobel Prizes. When the astronaut meets the press Michaelmas begins to see elements of a conspiracy, but who’s behind it and what’s their purpose?

Algis Budrys’s novels are mostly set in the near future. “Michaelmas” is set at the end of the second millennium and today we see the inevitable differences between the world described in the novel and the real one. To appreciate the novel today we have to consider it as set in an alternate world.

In “Michaelmas” the USSR still exists however there’s also the United Nations Astronautics Commission (UNAC), a world agency that runs international manned space missions. Therefore there’s a collaboration among the various nations in the development of space travel to send humans even to the outer planets.

Where “Michaelmas” is closer to our reality is in the development of telecommunications. Although there’s no internet as it has developed in our reality Algis Budrys depicts a world where there are sophisticated computer and telephone networks. In this situation news travels very quickly, though television is dominant.

It’s to make free phone calls that the novel’s protagonist Laurent Michaelmas invents Domino, a software that over the years becomes more and more sophisticated until it turns into an actual sentient artificial intelligence. Thanks to Domino, Michaelmas can control all the communication networks of the world and get to know everything of interest about any person or organization.

Not only Laurent Michaelmas can do his job as a journalist better than others but thanks to the secrets he’s aware of he can also influence world politics more than any colleague. For example with his television services Michaelmas has supported UNAC’S space missions.

Laurent Michaelmas feels he’s the master of the world even though his manipulations have to be subtle and carried out so as not to betray the existence of Domino, of which only he knows. To do this Michaelmas travels continuously around the world so as to look into the information received from Domino and exert his journalistic influence.

“Michaelmas” shows us a possible evolution of the profession of journalist. It’s true that Laurent Michaelmas is extraordinary thanks to the advantage Domino gives him but it’s also true that in the novel he interacts with several colleagues who can also influence public opinion depending on how they report a story.

Obviously Michaelmas also interacts with various politicians and in this novel with UNAC executives because “Michaelmas” is also a political science fiction novel. The reappearance of an American astronaut believed dead starts a political struggle between nations because he’s a very famous man who was supposed to lead the space mission to the outer planets. After his supposed death a Soviet was appointed as head of the expedition and through the protagonist’s interceptions and his reflections we see how decisions of that kind are taken.

“Michaelmas” is perhaps the novel by Algis Budrys with the most action and maybe it would’ve needed some more development to get closer to perfection. The pace is very high and perhaps this takes away a little space to the typical characters psychological development you can normally see in Budrys’s stories. A novel focused a little more on the action may seem less good even though in reality it’s still well above the average in character development.

Laurent Michaelmas is inevitably the absolute protagonist of this novel and therefore he’s the most developed character while other characters are described with some details here and there. With Algis Budrys we got used to high standards regarding the description of the characters psychology and motivations, a novel focused a little less on this can be a surprise. After all it’s right for an author to write different novels in a different way.

In my opinion “Michaelmas” shouldn’t be included among Algis Budrys’s masterpieces, still it’s a great novel that is worth reading.