I remember finding this book by chance on Wikipedia a long while ago. I'm writing a piece and want to reference this story.

In this book (published most likely around the 1970s and 80s) in the then future a Cold war divide became more intolerable. Someone has the idea to send a group of people (probably infants) out of Earth somewhere to isolate them from Earth to isolate them from the politics and cultures that fueled the war. The idea works. The resulting colony is a peaceful one with no attachments to any political ideology or religion on Earth. When explorers from Earth find this colony and try to make them join their cause it is an exercise of futility. No matter how much they try to convince them, the people of the colony can't fathom their logic. Through this exercise the explorers finally see their politics as nonsense and decide the rebel against their powers at be.

Two other things I remember about this book is that in it America became a dictatorship and that the author was inspired by the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

I have tried to look it up on Google, but only get junk, like "50 sci-fi stories you must read" and so on.

  • I'm with you on that last bit. Rather annoying, really. – FuzzyBoots Nov 17 '15 at 17:17

Possibly James P. Hogan's Voyage from Yesteryear? The Wikipedia article on it may seem familiar:

The story opens early in the 21st century, as an automated space probe is being prepared for a mission to explore habitable exoplanets in the Alpha Centauri system. However, Earth appears destined for a global war which the probe designers fear that humanity may not survive. It appears that the only chance for the human species is to reestablish itself far away from the conflict but there is no time left for a manned expedition to escape Earth. The team, led by Henry B. Congreve, change their mission priority and quickly modify the design to carry several hundred sets of electronically coded human genetic data. Also included in this mission of embryo space colonization is a databank of human knowledge, robots to convert the data into genetic material, care for the children and construct habitats when the destination is reached and a number of artificial wombs. The probe's designers name it the Kuan-Yin after the bodhisattva of childbirth and compassion.

Shortly after the launch, global war indeed breaks out and several decades later, Earthbound humanity is united under an authoritarian government. It is this government that receives a radio message from the fledgling "Chironian" civilization revealing that the probe found a habitable planet (Chiron) and that the first generation of children have been raised successfully.

As the surviving power blocs of Earth before the conflict are still evident, North America, Europe and Asia each send a generation ship to Alpha Centauri to take control of the colony. By the time that the first generation ship (the American Mayflower II) arrives after 20 years, Chironian society is in its fifth generation.

This story has been asked about previously here and here.

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  • This is the book I was thinking about when I read the question, but couldn't remember the name. Thanks! – Broklynite Nov 18 '15 at 11:06
  • That's it! That's the one I was looking for. Thank you so much. – Prof Gordon Wallace Nov 19 '15 at 10:55
