A New History of the Future in 100 Objects
A Fiction
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5.0 • 1 Rating
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- $16.99
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- $16.99
Publisher Description
Science fiction meets alternate history as a curator looks back on the 21st century through 100 of its artifacts—from silent messaging systems to artificial worlds on asteroids.
In the year 2082, a curator looks back at the 21st century, offering a history of the era through a series of objects and artifacts. He reminisces about the power of connectivity, which was reinforced by such technologies as silent messaging—wearable computers that relay subvocal communication. He recalls the Fourth Great Awakening, when a regimen of pills could make someone virtuous, and notes disapprovingly the use of locked interrogation, which delivers “enhanced interrogation” simulations via virtual reality.
Many of the artifacts are just an update or two away from our present—like “deliverbots”—while others may be the logical conclusions of current trends, such as Glyphish, an emoticon-based language that supersedes the written word.
The unnamed curator quotes from a self-help guide to making friends with “posthumans,” describes the establishment of artificial worlds on asteroids, and recounts pro-democracy movements in epistocratic states. In this fascinating work of science fiction and alternate history, Adrian Hon constructs a possible future by imagining the things it might leave in its wake—while offering readers a new perspective on the present.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Writing in the voice of a historian from the year 2082, Hon catalogues 100 imagined objects and the pivotal roles they've played in the 21st century in this eclectic and thought-provoking work. In Hon's mostly optimistic future, technology is used to communicate faster and with more nuance than ever before, to enhance humanity's physical and mental capabilities beyond their natural limits, and as a tool of both repression and revolution. Hon, a game designer, is at his best when imagining fads, augmented realities, and artificial intelligences. He nails the nonfiction tone, reminiscing on the "abundant hydrocarbons" and "comparatively pristine environment" of the early 21st century, and the U.S.'s "wasted decades following 9/11." However, some of the best entries break format, reading more like short stories than pop-science reportage. Readers looking for a narrative arc will be disappointed; there is little connective tissue between chapters. Instead, the ideas are front and center. Casual readers may struggle with the format, but futurists and science fiction die-hards will delight in this impressive feat of imagination.
