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| ♥♥♥♥♥ | One Of Science Fiction's Earliest And Most Disturbing Looks At A Possible Future |
| A lot of very early science fiction remains great reading, but it's remarkable that a science fiction novel written in the 1920s and set approximately a thousand years in the future reamins so plausible and eerily realistic. The horrifying vision of the future presented in "We" could still take place. In many ways, it has taken place, time and again (most obviously in Stalinist Russia). In many ways, the disturbing scenarios described here continue rearing their ugly heads even today.
"We" is one of the earliest (to my knowledge) 'dystopian future' stories, a field that also encompasses such tales as "1984" and "V For Vendetta". It is presented in the form of a journal, written first person by a character known as D-503 (individual names no longer exist in this future; all are numbers) and intended to be read by the inhabitants of alien planets, describing the world (Earth) and how it came to exist in its current (future) state. D-503 makes new entries daily, so we read from the beginning, where D is an adamant supporter of the world order, through later entries as disillusionment begins to creep in on the narrator before he's even aware of it. The alien planets in question are those to be visited by the Integral, mankind's first interplanetary spaceship, nearing completion as the novel begins, and intended to bring the 'benefits of the One State' to all the stars. The world of "We" is one of a single city state of millions, where all 'wild' (trees, grass, birds, etc.) has been permanently banished behind the walls of the city. All citizens of the One State exist to serve the One State, and individuality has been pretty much abolished. The One State makes all major decisions and most smaller ones, each life is regulated, hour by hour, to an extraordinary degree; the very buildings people live in are transparent and 'Guardians' are everywhere, watching to make sure no one steps out of the precise lines the One State has so carefully formulated. Its similarities to real-life authoritarian regimes are unmistakable, but taken to an even more all-encompassing degree. Two events that coincidentally both happen in the months leading up to the completion of the Integral are of great signifigance. State scientists discover the physical location within the human brain of the 'illness' known as imagination, and the means to finally excise it completely; and D-503 himself discovers emotions he's never experienced before, triggered by a chance meeting, and subsequent acquantaince with, a woman known as I-330. "We" is a grim and profoundly troubling book, but there are moments of brightness and optimism from a fairly early stage. Such things as friendship and hope have survived into the future, often within those who aren't even conscious of their prescence. And as change continues within this future socity toward an even bleaker future (the possible eradication of imagination; the forcible spreading of this severe existance to space beyond), change also remains capable of moving in the opposite direction... Thought-provoking and overall a great story with an intriguing plot, memorable characters, and great turns and surprises. Highly recommended. |
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