Everyone in Silico

Joanne Wotypka is a branch library assistant in the Cameron Library and
the University of Alberta.

It is the year 2036, and Earth has become one big smog ball, dominated
by corporate culture. Everything and everyone is an advertisement, and
the search for the Next Big Thing drives the world’s economy. Munroe
explores this Brave New World via two main characters: coolhunter Doug,
who’s saving for his family’s future, and artist/geneticist Nicky,
who survives by selling home-spliced ratdogs to wealthy oldsters in
Starbuck’s. Technology rules, though an underground movement dedicated
to restoring the environment is lurking about.

Following the bitter trail of techno-worship to its climax, who
wouldn’t want to trade in their wasteful “meat” bodies for an
upgrade (in San Francisco) to “Self”? Or have their psyche uploaded
to a paradise reserved for those who can afford it? The question no one
dares ask is what happens to their meat? The answer is disturbingly
practical.

The author’s vision is disturbingly close to reality: genetic
manipulation, environmental catastrophe, cloning humans—it’s all
here. This fine book leave us looking forward to Munroe’s next
adventure.