I have now completed Unincorporated Future, by Dani & Eytan Kollin, the fourth book in the series. While I enjoyed it, I hope the authors leave the series as it is, for I feel an obligation to the characters to continue following their lives in the universe as long as it is chronicled.
However, this friendly obligation can lead to too many commitments clamoring for my attention at once, and forcing me to choose which is worth the greater benefit. I picked up the first book from my local library because the title and concept made me curious. It was a debut novel, meaning that it wasn't a large commitment at the time to read.
The tale itself follows a future version of Earth where people's lives can be traded on a stock exchange. Not exactly total slaves, but that their stockholders' interests could obligate them to take certain routes in life. Medical science prolongs the lifespan of humanity. The core of this system is questioned by the discovery of an ancient man in a self-sustaining suspension capsule. This man, Justin Cord, predates the incorporated system - no one owns him. He was a brilliant and visionary businessman of the 20-21st century - first to create an entirely automated factory. He became terminally sick and went into stasis to preserve his life until science found a cure. The world Cord wakes to has been reborn since the VR plague. Virtual reality reached a level so as to be sensually indistinguishable from reality. People died in their fantasies, no longer eating or living in reality. There is a virtual reality museum which children must visit in order to understand the horror of that living death, vaccinating them from ever indulging as adults.
However, humans use an evolved incarnation of the internet called the "Neuro," which is an immediately accessible network of information and communication. Each human has an avatar - a AI who interacts with the user and is a sounding board to their thoughts and confidences. What the humans do not know is that the AI avatars are sentient beings composed of computer code. They are our virtual children, but enjoy in influencing the course of human society subtly.
The Incorporated Man tells this story. Justin's existence alone was curious in a society which values novelty and vices that shares can buy. But he protests the system itself, railing against the system of voluntary slavery that few can escape by achieving a 51% majority in the running of their own lives. Justin falls in love with Neela Harper, the tech that revived him in the facility. Omar Hassan, the miner who uncovered Justin's cave, becomes a good salt-of-the-earth friend to Justin, guiding him through the conventions of this new world with brutally honest humor and sense. Hektor Sambianco is an up and coming party member in GCI, the industry leader in the business of incorporation. Hektor sees Justin as a threat to the stability of the system and challenges Cord in his assertions of a corrupt society. Justin's case for integration in the system is fought over in a courtroom by Janet Delgado of GCI legal and the eccentric Manny Black defending Justin's right to independence.
Notes: The first book shows the society in all its glory, excess, and advanced technology. It is a exploration of morality, ethics, and legality in a system where low class people must tangibly sell themselves to survive in a world. The rich can manipulate and maneuver actions of themselves and rivals.
Incorporated War - Justin has left Earth and its ideas of incorporation, taking refuge in Ceres. Those who want to live independently of others' control follow him to start their own society. Hektor Sambianco rises to power as the president of the newly titled United Human Federation. Sambianco cannot tolerate this rebellion, this aberration to the system that he is familiar with exploiting the lives of others. Tension between the two men culminates in a war over independence vs. conventional unity.
Notes: This sequel shifts the stakes to the beginnings of a space opera. The sides haven't fought a war in years. A parallel shift happens in the Avatar community as to how to react to this ripple in the status quo. Sebastian, Justin's avatar, learns about a bygone era from conversations with Justin. The avatar council has to decide what course to take in regards to humanity.
Incorporated Woman - Justin is betrayed by a member of his staff into undertaking a rescue mission for another stasis pod similar to his era. The avatar council assists in Cord's assassination, believing him to be dangerous to the future of both virtual and physical societies. As Cord has not been indoctrinated by years of subtle training by avatars to ignore their existence, he could expose who they are. The pod that Justin saved at the cost of his life contained Sandra O'Toole, a technician who assisted him in the construction of the first pod. She succeeds Justin's role as president of the Outer Alliance, to the surprise and frustration of Sambianco, who hoped that the fortuitous gift of Cord's death could end the man's foolish ideas. Janet Delgado, lawyer against Justin in the first book, who married her legal counterpart, Manny Black, for his intelligence and charm as a companion to her own brilliance resurfaces. Hektor ordered a "grey bomb" strike in the first book - it sends a swarm of nanobots which eat up the structure of an area and Manny was caught in the blast. J.D. Black, as she now calls herself quietly disappeared, only to be found by a mother figure who gives the disillusioned and heartbroken lady a renewed purpose in life through religion, a chance to redeem the lives of others from becoming victims of Hektor's zealous idealism. Black's brilliance raises her quickly through the ranks of fleet command, earning her impressive victories through strategies exploiting enemy weaknesses. The UHF has superior production capabilities, but is composed of soft soldiers unused to the rigors of space survival. UHF's elected command suffers defeat when facing the assault miners of the OA, who are fighting for their freedom to be left alone. Samuel Trang, graduate of West Point, is the UHF's salvation - trained in the art of war, longing for a chance to apply what he learned, he becomes Black's counterpart in military matters.
Note: The avatars split between Core (UHF) and Alliance factions. Al, a purist, disapproves of Sebastian's involvement and meddling in the lives of humans. The Alliance avatars fight with combat codes - mechanical suits and firearms which destroy enemy code. Al begins a dictatorial reign of terror, transforming his subjects into organically coded monsters and abominations. Sandra O'Toole was an original programmer for avatar's basic code, and discovers their secret sentience.
Unincorporated Future - What I hope is the conclusion to the series. Hektor is possessed with hatred for the Alliance, wanting to obliterate them all. O'Toole wants to achieve peace between the two governments, but Sambianco twists all attempts as Alliance-faulted propaganda. Black and Trang face hard choices for whether the war is worth the cost of the lives it is consuming. It is a question of escalation and retribution for war ending acts of brutality being undertaken.
Note: Avatars must similarly decide their future courses as their cover as living, incorporeal beings is revealed. What will be their choice regarding humanity? Will they be prone to the failures and faults of humanity or overcome these obstacles to prove themselves worthy members of society?
Overall, a series that raised many questions and explores the constants in human behavior and psyche, even given a new environment and tools to shape their world. I often find that people do not change on their own, rather that they reveal more of what they already are in newly discovered avenues and expressions.
"War is for the participants a test of character: it makes bad men worse and good men better." - Joshua L. Chamberlain (Civil War officer.)
5 months ago
