New Book Alert: Dusk Upon Elysium by Tamel Wino; The Trouble With Technology in Trying Times of Seclusion and Quarantine

 

New Book Alert: Dusk Upon Elysium by Tamel Wino; The Trouble With Technology in Trying Times of Seclusion and Quarantine 

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Tamel Wino's Dusk Upon Elysium may take an alternative view from many of the other science fiction novels that I have been reading that are inspired by the recent global pandemic. However, it is no less thoughtful and provocative with its themes about isolation and technological dependency during times of forced quarantine.

Dusk Upon Elysium is set during a pandemic. No, a different one in the future (probably near future). Government regulations have become even stricter to the point of making people "disappear" if they try to visit sick family members and friends. In fact, people are being forced inside their homes in what the media calls The Migration and makes this house arrest seem like a good thing.

Now, I have my personal reason to disagree with the anti COVID and anti-vaxxers. I won't discuss it, but let's just say that I have personal experiences with the after effects of COVID and am more than aware that it is real and not a hoax. Because of that, I disagree with many of them wholeheartedly. 

However, as I mentioned with other books, I can enjoy a book even if I disagree with the position of the author as long as that position holds a gripping story.  (Of course, I have my limits. See my review of Alexandra Lane's The Prophecy Has Begun: Donum for my views).

 However, anybody could become a dictator in any situation, especially during troubled times. It's not a Party thing. It's a human thing. Our potential inner tyrant could come out if we aren't held back by our laws, the people around us, and our personal values and reasonable mind to keep us in check.

There are opportunists who will take advantage of any type of emergency and force people to act in contrast to their beliefs and surrender their freedoms. This book is a worst case scenario and regardless of what you believe in real life, it is a strong theme to consider and think about.

Anyway, being  under house arrest can get deathly boring. So there is a virtual reality program, called Paradiso which allows users to go on technological vacations, starting with a beach setting. Then they can eventually program any place that they want. This is being experienced by a team that includes Geoff, a researcher.

The descriptions of Paradiso are some of the highlights.

There are five stages so far for Paradiso: Visual, Auditory, Somatosensory, Olfactory/Gustatory and Memories. Other future levels include Multiplayer and Creating New Worlds and New Characters. It seems like fun and an interesting way to pass the time.

These are intentionally pleasant scenes and I am sure that I am not the only Reader who would like to go inside the VR system, despite the inevitable problems that would result. 

Unfortunately, Paradiso isn't as perfect as it sounds. It's Science Fiction. When in Science Fiction has any technology ever not had problems?

The problems bring out the characterization and deep guilt of those who experience them.

Geoff and a colleague, Dawn, encounter characters that resemble people in their lives who have died: Dawn's mother and Geoff's life partner, Tim.

At first it's good to see them to reminisce and share deep emotions. But then these simulated characters become possessive, even volatile, wanting Dawn and Geoff to stay in Paradiso with them forever. They also appear to know things that they wouldn't have known in real life.

The most emotional moments are when Dawn and Geoff confront these ghosts in their lives. 

In Dawn's time with her mother, she fails to recognize the shrill possessive banshee figure as the kind nurturing supportive woman who raised her and fell ill. Dawn knows that there is something wrong with this system, but the more the mother simulation berates her, the weaker and more troubled Dawn becomes Someone is using Dawn's bond with her mother against her and enjoys the torture and control that the distorted memories produce.

Geoff on the other hand enjoys his reunions with Tim. He is mostly as he remembers him until he starts getting possessive and controlling. He slowly turns into someone that is far from

the Tim that Geoff remembers. However, Geoff is filled with guilt over things that happened in their relationship and the guilt manifests during his reunion. It gets to the point where Geoff condones Tim's transformation because he thinks that it's the least that he deserves.

Geoff, Dawn, and their colleagues weigh several possibilities over what is happening and some theories are quite provocative.

Something is going on with the system but what? Is somebody changing the codes for personal gain? Are they being monitored and tricked by a far reaching government that is reaching even further? Is Paradiso, an AI program that is adapting and learning too much? Is there a glitch in the Matrix? Speaking of the Matrix, how do they know that Paradiso is the simulation and they live in reality?  Have they been in a simulation all along?

The theories are so fascinating that the actual resolution is somewhat disappointing in contrast. However, it reveals how dependent humans can get on technology and that sometimes what is considered human error is not really an error. It's a reminder that we are human.