Post-apocalyptic novels feature dystopian views of where
technology is leading us and the consequences of an unconsidered
acceptance of technology.
Monica Hughes' Devil
on My Back
[28] takes place in
a post-apocalyptic world where knowledge is power and people literally
carry it on their backs, in personal infopaks. Rebellion
breaks out among the slaves who don’t have access to the
infopaks, and Tomi, son of one of the Lords of the city, escapes the
closed community to find an unexpected new world outside the Dome. In
the outside world, physical abilities are needed and the knowledge he
carries is only a burden.
"The computer had structured
life so totally that there was no room for
escape, and worse, no desire for escape. Instead of being a shelter,
Ark One had become a cosy prison."[29]
In Isobelle
Carmody's Obernewtyn
trilogy, a nuclear holocaust has
devastated
Earth and the current feudal-type society is ruled by the all-powerful
Council. Contaminated land and water make people sick, and Misfits are
those born afflicted with birth defects caused by radiation. Misfits
are identified by Herders, a religious faction with psionic powers.
They decree that Misfits be ritually burned or exiled to Obernewtyn,
for they fear both their physical mutations and the telepathic powers
that Misfits possess [30]
"Technological
progress has merely provided us with more efficient means for going
backwards." [31]
-Aldous Huxley
