The Shockwave Rider

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I put it to you that no rule consciously invented by mankind since we acquired speech has force equivalent to those inherited from perhaps fifty, perhaps a hundred thousand generations of evolution in the wild state. I further suggest that the chief reason why modern society is in turmoil is that for too long we claimed that our special human talents could exempt us from the heritage written in our genes.”

Shockwave Rider | Scape One Shockwave Rider | Scape One

Though it divided critics on publication, Zanzibar has come to be regarded as a classic of New Wave sci-fi, better known for its style than its content. This seems a pity. When an excerpt appeared in New Worlds magazine in November 1967, an editorial claimed that it was the first novel in its field to create, in every detail, “a possible society of the future”. I keep re-reading it, not to compare it against current tech, but because I always feel that I may be old enough to like it this time. I like most Brunner, and Stand on Zanzibar is a masterpiece. But although I continue to admire it and insist that it is a significant book, this wasn’t that time either. Oh well. Think of superheroes and the first thing that comes to mind is comics, a medium that feels like the right,…Others try to convince themselves that all change is good, adopting the "plug-in" lifestyle where they feel able to relocate to another city and insert themselves into a new social niche with a minimum of inconvenience. Their mobility is, however, a reflection of the failure of the lifestyle to satisfy them, resulting in more moves.

The Shockwave Rider (Literature) - TV Tropes The Shockwave Rider (Literature) - TV Tropes

The thing that seems most painful is that the US has an overloaded health service, a bit like the Canadian health services or the NHS. It’s a dystopian world but, people do at least have healthcare and a social safety net.

Introduction:

Deus Est Machina: Well, the machine isn't exactly God, but it does see all and the ending is, without giving it away, interesting. If there’s one thing BDP [the Federal Bureau of Data Processing] has brought to a fine art, it’s preventing the public from digging unpleasant truths from behind the scenes in government… right?”