Bookhungry discussion

By the end of chapter eight, we now have a pretty good picture of the world of Epic.

Colonists from Earth traveled here long ago, playing Epic on the voyage while they hibernated to pass the years.

Apparently, upon arrival, Epic was set up as a way of conflict resolution, and a measure of status.

Violence is outlawed, punished by banishment. Resources are kept and distributed by Central Allocations, the best players of Epic. There's a University that teaches the more specific tasks and skills, and also instructs on Epic gameplay. Only the best, or those with connections, reach the University.

We've seen how appeals to Central Allocation are handled in the Arena, and how its unlikely for the ones complaining to win anything. And how Central has the Executioner, a character able to kill other characters outside he arena, to take out dissidents..

We've also seen the Library, and how data has been kept on the almost living world of Epic and how it has grown through the years, with quests and NPCs growing and changing through occasional player interaction, while most players are focused on on grinding for pure cash advancement.

I love the world of Epic, the idea of huge living virtual world, but I'm not so keen for the world of New Earth. I understand that it makes sense for a world "newly" settled, but I don't at all enjoy the idea of Central Allocations being able to reassign families to new jobs and locations, without taking into consideration how that family fits with the community.

So. How do you feel about this world?

You and I talked about it, how it was interesting that both the world of Epic and the "real" world were important.

As for wanting to live in the world, no thank you. It is most definitely a dystopia. Seems like most people are not in control of what happens in their lives at all.

I was reading a different book, and they mentioned how you could get a pretty good dystopia by trying to design a utopia. What sounds perfect to somebody is terrible to somebody else. That seems to be true in this book.

There's no violence! Conflicts are resolved in a video game! There's a planet-wide government that oversees the resources to make sure there's enough for everybody! Perfect!

And then it all goes horribly wrong...

Oh agreed, their real world is definitely suffering from a lack of resources at hand and skilled labor, but since it's a colony world that's somewhat understandable.

Your point of one's utopia is another's dystopia is an excellent one. I'm sure there are people who would love to tend their farm during the day and play a video game at night.

However, I'm not one of them. Especially since there's no real control, as you pointed out. Nope, I need some surety in my farming/gaming.