Fictional Astrobotanists: Amariyah Bantam & Ping Yung

Anne McCaffrey’s sci-fi novel Pegasus in Space is the third part of a trilogy set on Earth in the latter stages of the 21st century.

An overcrowded planet has built an orbiting space station called Padrugoi, and is working on colony ships to setup outposts on new worlds.

In this Universe, paranormal abilities – including telepathy, telekinesis, and clairvoyance – have developed into useful and scientifically verifiable Talents. The main action in the novel centres around Talented characters, who are nurtured and supported by a global network of Parapsychic Centers.

Amariyah Bantam is a young orphan with an elusive Talent, who becomes a ward of the Eastern Parapsychic Center. She has a love of gardening, and supernaturally green fingers, successfully growing plants that should not succeed in her climate.

When her foster brother Peter Reidinger starts working in space, and informs her that there are hydroponic gardens on Padrugoi to supply both food and oxygen, Amariyah declares:

“Then I shall be a space gardener.”

The education system is online, and personalised, and Amariyah then tailors her course choices for her future profession.

Being a ward of the Center helps her in this regard, as the Talents are very involved in the space programme. Amariyah gets to meet the Admiral in charge on the space station, and reportedly quizzes him “rather closely about Station hydroponics. He was startled, but he recovered well and answered her quite fully.” Admiral Coetzer then recommends she take the Controlled Environment Support System Course at Columbia when she turns 18.

Later, Amariyah’s privileged position takes her on a tour of the Padrugoi Controlled Ecological Life Support System (CELSS) with station botanist Ping Yung. She finds