LITR 4632 Literature of the Future

Sample Student final exams 2009

Jackie Baker

From Techie Innovator to Average Joe

Our society tends to think that our world will continue to progress through the use of technology. Millions of dollars in research are being spent on gadgets which are meant to improve our lives. What would you say if I told you that our society, who is working tirelessly for progress, will in the future want to revert back to a low tech society? It is hard to believe that we will one day be running away from our iPhones, iPods and electric toothbrushes which we use because of their convenience. The narratives we have read gives us a reversal of our future in which we will be saying au revoir to technologically innovative gadgets and saying bonjour to the gadgets of a timed past.

In The Onion and I, the father wants to revert back to the “real world” which will allow him to cultivate his onions. Even though there are endless possibilities in a virtual world such as the preservation of limited resources, the ability to indulge in foods without price or consequence and being able to enjoy trips without having to leave the house, the father is still dissatisfied. He wants nothing more than to leave the sterile, unreal world of cyberspace and revert back to, “doing simple things” (8).  He misses the smell of onions on his hands and the satisfaction one feels with a day of hard work.  The father understands that tech savvy gadgets can never replace the tastes, the sounds, and the feelings that the real world has to offer.

In Drapes and Folds, the character of Pearl similar to the character of the father in “The Onion and I” is dissatisfied with the clean, computerized characteristics that result from a high tech society. Even though the world around her has progressed, she is dissatisfied. The NewSociety with its clean, robotic characteristics wants to rid the society of their humanistic qualities. Humans no longer need sexual intercourse to reproduce and they can no longer indulge in “foreign foods”. The NewSociety is trying to implement “Bracies” so that the people will all conform to one universal shape. The dissatisfaction of Pearl gives the reader a glimpse into what is to come if we as a society continue to evolve technologically.

In The Logical Legend of Heliopause and Cyberfiddle, Pryer reverts back to the use of low tech gadgets to produce a real violin. Similar to the father in The Onion and I who cannot produce a true onion with the use of high tech gadgets, Pryer cannot create a real violin with the use of high tech gadgets. Laura Moran reiterates on this issue in her 2007 final:

“He [Pryer] isn’t sure why it must be done that way but is determined to go against all the high technology available at his fingertips and put in the manual labor required for the task at hand. As a result he makes an instrument capable of bringing tears to his hi-tech eyes.”

In both The Onion and I and The Logical Legend narratives, we encountered the father and Pryer who realized that the use of tech savvy gadgets can never replace the tastes, the sounds, and the feelings that that the real world has to offer.

In Burning Chrome and Johnny Mnemonic we encounter a glorification of the low tech in a high tech society. Automatic Jack, in Burning Chrome, goes at one point to New York to visit, Metro Holografix, which is a black market. Since he is living in a high tech society, you would expect that the market only sold all the new tech savvy gadgets but this isn’t the case. Metro Holografix is cluttered with nameless junk, old computer parts, and audio cassette players. Guns, that are low tech, are now being sold for top. Even though there are new advanced gadgets, there is nothing like the feel of a real object. In Johnny Mnemonic, we also encounter low tech gadgets such as shotguns and dolphins of a time past. Johnny is being used to hold the memories of those don’t want to think for themselves. Johnny becomes tired of this type of robotic mind and wants to return back to a world where people thought for themselves.