Xeelee: An Omnibus: Raft, Timelike Infinity, Flux, Ring by Stephen Baxter

epidemics, the redesign of sections of the Raft itself, their knowledge and structured way of thinking was essential. And without the tradition the Scientists maintained - which explained how the universe worked, how humans could survive in it - the fragile social and engineering web which comprised the Raft would surely disintegrate within a few thousand shifts. It wasn’t its orbit around the Core which kept the Raft aloft, Rees told himself; it was the continuance of human understanding.
    So the Scientists had a vital, almost sacred responsibility. But, Rees reflected, it didn’t stop them using their precious knowledge for advantage every bit as unscrupulously as any of Decker’s workmen blocking up a sewer. The Scientists had a statutory obligation to educate every apprentice of supervisory status regardless of Class, and they did so - to a nominal extent. But only Science apprentices, like Rees, were allowed past the bare facts and actually to see the ancient books and instruments . . .
    Knowledge was hoarded. And so only those close to the Scientists had any real understanding of humanity’s origins, even of the nature of the Raft, the Nebula. Listening to chatter in refectories and food machine queues Rees came to understand that most people were more concerned about this shift’s ration size, or the outcome of spurious sporting contests, than the larger issues of racial survival. It was as if the Nebula was eternal, as if the Raft itself was fixed atop a pillar of steel, securely and for all time!
    The mass of people was ignorant, driven by fashions, fads and the tongues of orators . . . even on the Raft. As for the human colonies away from the Raft - the Belt mine and (perhaps) the legendary, lost Boney worlds - there, Rees knew from his own experience, understanding of the human past and the structure of the universe had been reduced to little more than fanciful tales.
    Fortunately for the Scientists, most of the other Classes’ apprentices were quite happy with this state of affairs. The Officer cadets in particular sat through their lectures with every expression of disdain, clearly eager to abandon this dry stuff for the quick of life, the exercise of power.
    So the Scientists went unchallenged, but Rees wasn’t sure about the wisdom of their policy. The Raft itself, while still comfortable and well-supplied compared to the Belt, was now riven by shortages. Discontent was widespread, and - since the people did not have the knowledge to understand the (more or less) genuine contribution to their welfare made by the more privileged Classes - those Classes were more often than not the target of unfocused resentment.
    It was an unstable mixture.
    And the enslaving of knowledge had another adverse effect, Rees realized. Turning facts into precious things made them seem sacred, immutable; and so he saw Scientists scrutinise old printouts and intone litanies of wisdom brought here by the Ship and its Crew, unwilling - or unable - to entertain the idea that there might be facts beyond the ageing pages, even - breathe it quietly - inaccuracies and mistakes!
    Despite all his doubts and questions, Rees found the shifts following his acceptance the happiest of his life. As a fully fledged apprentice he was entitled to more than Grye’s grudging picture-book sessions; now he sat in classes with the other apprentices and learned in a structured and consistent way. For hours outside his class time he would study his books and photographs - and he would never forget an ancient picture buried in one battered folder, a photograph of the blue rim of the Nebula.
    Blue!
    The magical colour filled his eyes, every bit as clear and cool as he had always imagined.
    At first, Rees sat, awkwardly, with apprentices some thousands of shifts younger than himself; but his understanding progressed rapidly, to the grudging admiration of his tutors, and before long he had caught up and was allowed to join the classes of Hollerbach