You’ve read 1984 right? I’m sure it was awhile ago for you..I recall it’s required in most high school classes. But that was about 6 years ago for me, and I needed a refreshers course on how the government could screw us over. With the “War on Terror” constantly being fought ever since 9/11, trackers in iphones and the government authorizing phone taps on innocent civilians. We need a reminder about “if you give an inch to a horse, he’ll take a mile. And when it comes to violating our privacy technology’s our biggest enemy out there. Cory Doctrow’s Little Brother reminds of us just that.
Set in the near future in San Francisco California, this novel emulates the Department of Homeland Securities actions in pretext with the technological advances that are in place with the world today. It is a fight for our right to privacy, told thru the eyes of seventeen year old Marcus aka WIn5sOn. Marcus feels his privacy has been violated following a terrorist attack on the SF Bart where he is detained and mistreated. He fights back by starting the X-net to get around the privacy violations that are happening. This is his own online network that teens all around the city start to use through a gaming system similar to Xbox.
Through the X-net they launch a technological revolution. Jamming the security censors so that the DHS catch and search the wrong people. People without warnings are held up and searched..(Its as if the TSA are on your train to work ,forcing you to do a body scan upon exit and entry.) These new laws and rules force Marcus and his friends to rebel. In the hopes of overthrowing the DHS and setting his captured friends free. Along the way he falls in love and loses close friends to the fear of the “man”. All in all it’s teen friendly with a geeky technological side that might inspire some and make others more paranoid
This is a good piece of young adult fiction for the technically savvy generation to read. It’s quick and a reminder of what can happen if we don’t pay attention. Also It’s available for free! Download the pdf from google and rethink your take on today’s over-publication of our lives. I was reminded of the rights I have as a human being living in the United States. My right to freedom, my right to privacy and my rights to read whatever I damn well please.
No comments:
Post a Comment