My first day on the job coincided with the first day of the Haden Walkout, and I'm not going to lie, that was some awkward timing.A feed of me walking into the FBI building got a fair amount of play on the Haden news sites and forums. This was not a thing I needed on my first day.
Description:
John Scalzi's Lock In grabbed me by its premise alone. A global influenza pandemic has infected 2.75 billion people worldwide, resulting in the deaths of more than 400 million people. Many survivors experienced a complete breakdown of their nervous system and now are permanently "locked in" to their bodies. They are fully alive and aware of their surroundings, but are unable to move a muscle. They appear to be sleeping in their "cradles," with attendants to check feeding tubes, monitor their health, etc.
This "Haden's Syndrome" (lock in) is a worldwide priority to find a cure or at least help Hadens in their paralyzed state. One breakthrough is neural nets, programming which can be inserted into Haden brains to allow them mentally to interact with other Hadens in a cyberspace world called the Agora.
These nets also allow wealthy Hadens to mentally inhabit and control a robotic transport ("threep"), and thus walk, talk, and freely move around in the world of non-Hadens while their human body remains home. Paralyzed Hadens can also hire a member of the rare breed of non-Haden humans known as Integrators. These Integrators allow Hadens to temporarily control their bodies so the Hadens can participate in and fully sense activities from parachute diving to tasting delicious meals.
The main character, a Haden named Chris Shane, is introduced on his first day as a detective for the FBI. He (inhabiting his robotic threep) and his off-beat partner, Vann, investigate a dead man found in an apartment and a love seat thrown through that seventh floor window. There is a suspect found in the room, but when asked if he had killed the man, he says "I don't think I did."
The delicacy of the situation is that the suspect is an Integrator, and may or may not have been hosting a Haden at the time of the death. Client privilege may prevent the FBI from finding out who the Haden was, whether he might have controlled the Integrator against his wishes, or whether some other factors are in play. Shane and Vann must explore the world of Hadens, Integrators, pharmaceutical companies, and of course their own demons as they try to unravel the murder.
Sounds a bit confusing, but the story unfolds as if we are already familiar with this world, offering only a bit of background on Haden's Syndrome and other wonders of this world. Only gradually are details of the workings of the neural nets, descriptions of threeps, and the inner motivations of characters brought to light. I liked this style, letting me figure things out through small hints and words rather than dumping pages and pages of expostulation on me at the start.
Agents Shane and Vann are worthy good guys with a few rough edges and hidden histories between them that both help and hinder their investigation. I grew to really respect them and enjoy their company, their intelligence, and their quirks. I hope there are more novels about these two in their oddly real world. But for now, I'm very happy with this brief glance of the people and challenging world that unfolds in Lock In.
This "Haden's Syndrome" (lock in) is a worldwide priority to find a cure or at least help Hadens in their paralyzed state. One breakthrough is neural nets, programming which can be inserted into Haden brains to allow them mentally to interact with other Hadens in a cyberspace world called the Agora.
These nets also allow wealthy Hadens to mentally inhabit and control a robotic transport ("threep"), and thus walk, talk, and freely move around in the world of non-Hadens while their human body remains home. Paralyzed Hadens can also hire a member of the rare breed of non-Haden humans known as Integrators. These Integrators allow Hadens to temporarily control their bodies so the Hadens can participate in and fully sense activities from parachute diving to tasting delicious meals.
The main character, a Haden named Chris Shane, is introduced on his first day as a detective for the FBI. He (inhabiting his robotic threep) and his off-beat partner, Vann, investigate a dead man found in an apartment and a love seat thrown through that seventh floor window. There is a suspect found in the room, but when asked if he had killed the man, he says "I don't think I did."
The delicacy of the situation is that the suspect is an Integrator, and may or may not have been hosting a Haden at the time of the death. Client privilege may prevent the FBI from finding out who the Haden was, whether he might have controlled the Integrator against his wishes, or whether some other factors are in play. Shane and Vann must explore the world of Hadens, Integrators, pharmaceutical companies, and of course their own demons as they try to unravel the murder.
Sounds a bit confusing, but the story unfolds as if we are already familiar with this world, offering only a bit of background on Haden's Syndrome and other wonders of this world. Only gradually are details of the workings of the neural nets, descriptions of threeps, and the inner motivations of characters brought to light. I liked this style, letting me figure things out through small hints and words rather than dumping pages and pages of expostulation on me at the start.
Agents Shane and Vann are worthy good guys with a few rough edges and hidden histories between them that both help and hinder their investigation. I grew to really respect them and enjoy their company, their intelligence, and their quirks. I hope there are more novels about these two in their oddly real world. But for now, I'm very happy with this brief glance of the people and challenging world that unfolds in Lock In.
If this book interests you, be sure to check out:
Bauby, Jean Dominique. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The true memoirs of the author, a locked-in patient with all his mental facilities intact but with only the ability to raise one eyelid. This miraculous book is exquisitely written, even more astonishing in that he dictated it by blinking his eyelid to respond "yes" or "no" when various letters were pointed to on an alphabet chart to painstakingly create the book letter by letter, word by word. Riveting account of this intelligent man's life and thoughts about being locked-in
Applegate, K.A. Anamorphs: The Invasion
While technically a Young Adult series, this science fiction tale revolves around an invasion of small slug-like aliens who can crawl into a human ear and take over control of the body, all while the host human can see what's happening but is powerless to stop them.
Scalzi, John. Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas
Winner of the 2013 Hugo Award for best novel. An ensign is assigned to serve on the flagship rocket of the fleet, one that is allowed to go on "away missions." He discovers unsettling truths about this ship's record with alien encounters and the expected loss of at least one crew member per mission. He begins to understand what this ship really is and how he might save himself and other crew members.
