Walking to Babylon (novel)

Publisher's summary
I'm scared of letting all these people down. Like the whole human race. At least if I get blown up as well, they can say I died heroically. Assuming I ever existed at all.

When Bernice Summerfield visits the People -- an incredibly advanced civilisation living in a Dyson Sphere -- she discovers that even in utopia, they still have their problems.

An illegal time travel experiment threatens a war which could destroy them all. Rather than risk it, the People and their ultra-powerful computer, God, are prepared to eradicate the source of the problem -- the ancient city of Babylon. But such action would involve the death of a quarter of a million human beings, and do incalculable damage to Earth's history.

Babylon -- and the human race -- have one hope. Benny returns to the cradle of civilisation to try and stop the interference. She has just one week to prevent a catastrophe that could mean she will never be born. Her only assistance comes from a Victorian linguist who has stumbled across the experiment himself. But he's no help at all -- even though he has a power neither of them suspects.

Characters

 * Bernice Summerfield
 * Is studying some D'nasian poetry.
 * Once had sex with some Citdbtbeds.


 * God
 * Speaks through Benny’s porter Joseph.


 * John Lafayette
 * Is a time sensitive and thus was able to walk the Time Path.


 * Clarence
 * Collects Benny from St Oscar's.


 * Cin-ta!x
 * Spokesperson for the Temporal Interest Group.


 * Ninan (High Princess)
 * Loved to hear of her guests' travels, but could never leave her temple.


 * WiRgo!xu
 * Is a veteran of the People’s war with ‘them’.


 * !Ci!ci-tel
 * Is a veteran of the People’s war with ‘them’.
 * Aged to death by temporal energy stored in John Lafayette.


 * !qu-!qu-tala
 * The drone accompanying !Ci!ci-tel and WiRgo!xu, the drone is also a veteran of the war.

Continuity

 * The People first appeared in NA: The Also People.


 * Benny agreed to become an agent of The People in BNA: Oh No It Isn't!.


 * The People make a deal regarding time travel in BNA: Dead Romance.