Eight Dystopias

Dystopian fiction enjoys a seemingly inexhaustible popularity. It can, I suppose, be considered a branch of horror, but with the gloves off. Dr. Frankenstein seeks to create a new man out of pieces salvaged from the dead. At the same time, no matter his stated intentions, Big Brother seeks to create new levels of power out of the pieces he has carved from the living. More annoying, whereas Dr. Frankenstein sought to create life, Big Brother seeks to control life, to bend it to his will, to end life as such. In that sense, horror is based on good intentions gone awry, and dystopias are based on camouflaged intentions, or confidence scams, let off the leash. A dystopia is what almost inevitably results when some ambitious someone tries to force a utopian scheme into a particular place. In practice, it's never as simple as the above sketch would suggest, but sooner or later, often much too late, recognition dawns upon the enthusiasts and the marks, upon those who imagine that the monsters will never eat them. Yes, those people over there will be devoured—and rightly so!—but we and our children shall graze out our days in the lush sweet grass of sunlit meadows. The names change, but the underlying patterns do not. This book presents a collection of dystopian, science-fiction short stories. Cheerful stuff, eh? Some feature a straight-up action-adventure narrative, some offer a touch of humor, while others provide a darker tone. They all offer a surfeit of courage or wisdom in the face of overwhelming odds. This is a collection of dystopian, science-fiction stories. Some feature a straight-up action-adventure narrative, some offer a touch of humor, while others provide a dark, dystopian tone. They all offer a surfeit of courage in the face of overwhelming odds. These stories are set either a few years from now or a few centuries from now. Their heroes are people who find themselves in perilous circumstances and who must, in one way or another, overcome their own limitations. That, it could be argued, is the essence of courage. If there is one thing that history teaches, it is that such courageous individuals are all that stands between humanity and the dark and enduring chaos that lurks beyond the light of our campfires. Enjoy the ride!