Edenism Versus Adamism

One of the principle divisions in humanity in Hamilton's saga is between the Edenists and the Adamists. The difference in the two philosophies is found in the meaning of their respective names. When Edenist founder Wing-Tsit discovered the affinity gene, he believed he was returning humanity to the state of openness and communion that existed in the Garden of Eden, before the fall of man. A society that is linked by affinity is not subject to the secrecy and lonely desperation of the individual human condition. There is no shame, because, like Adam and Eve before the fall, every individual in the link is naked to the others from birth. In addition, the Edenist practice of incorporating the identity of dying members into the affinity pool is seen by many Edenists as the promise of eternal life fulfilled and thus, again, a return to the immortality...