Against the Machine: Evolution — a Fitting Cap to Van Norman's Trilogy

In his Against the Machine trilogy, Brian Van Norman tackles an intriguing project: to attempt to write three books examining the interface between humans and machines, with the setting of those books spaced two hundred years apart. The first installment, a work of historical fiction titled Against the Machine: Luddites, explores the industrial revolution. The second, contemporary fiction titled Against the Machine: Manifesto, features an embittered man displaced by automation as one of the main characters. In the third volume, Against the Machine: Evolution, Van Norman leaps into the future to weave an intriguing story about a dystopian society.

Set in 2212, Against the Machine: Evolution portrays a planet ravaged by climate change as well as the fallout from a nuclear conflict in the Middle East. Much of the world’s population has been wiped out. Those who survived live largely in one of two types of environments: the MEG and the MASS.

MEG refers to megalopolis. The MEGS are enclosed by domes made of a substance called chitin-crystalline. Though the domes protect their inhabitants from the severity of the weather, synthetic rain does fall inside the dome. Within the MEG, citizens are stratified by class.

Outside the MEG, and subject to the vagaries of a volatile climate, are the MASS. Here, people scramble for survival, tearing down the remnants of structures and artifacts left by the Omegans (our current society) and bringing them to the MEG for recycling. In exchange for supplying recycled materials, the MASS is allocated food and materials necessary for survival. It’s a difficult and perilous way to make a living.

One thing that brings the MEG and the MASS together is sport — but organized sport as we know it has disappeared. Replacing it is an endeavour known as BATL: a deadly combat game played in stadiums with terrains that vary game by game. Given the players’ positions, the strategies, and the layout, BATL evokes elements of football, soccer, paintball, capture the flag, and other sports. Though the players wear protective gear, deaths do happen in the course of the game. Winning a match brings privileges for the victorious MEG.

Among the book’s characters are Ayrian Mellor, a standout BATL player for the Toronto Raptors of the Toronto MEG. Readers familiar with the previous books in Van Norman’s series will recognize the significance of Mellor’s name, as he has counterparts in the other volumes as well.

The story of Against the Machine: Evolution is told in third person, with individual chapters focusing on characters who we get to know better as the book progresses. Mellor, of course, is one of these. Some of the others include Ping, a computer specialist; Otsi, an Iroquois woman trained as a warrior; and Ke Hui Feng, who is apprenticing to become CEO of the Toronto MEG.

At first, Van Norman feeds the reader, bit by bit, an understanding of the culture and the history leading up to this point. It took me a few chapters to straighten out in my mind the various players and the terminology related to social class, but once I had that under my belt, it was easy to follow the story line. As the novel progresses, we learn that what is visible on the surface doesn’t tell the whole story. The upper echelon of society has their own plans, and understanding these plans lends tension to the story. Complications build, and then just past the half-way mark, the story really takes off.

One of the facets of dystopian novels that I enjoy is seeing how any given author portrays the changes to the world we know. In Van Norman’s book, the Toronto MEG plays an important role, but the author also takes us to the ruins of Penetanguishene, as well as the city of Barri (in the future, the final “e” has been dropped), the “400 trail” (what’s left of Highway 400), and Ham (the remnants of the city of Hamilton), as examples.

Against the Machine: Evolution is a richly imagined story that also serves as a cautionary tale for what might happen if we don’t take better care of the environment.

Against the Machine: Evolution is a richly imagined story that also serves as a cautionary tale for what might happen if we don’t take better care of the environment. Though it’s the third book in a trilogy, this compelling story also stands on its own. It’s not necessary to have read the two preceding novels to enjoy Against the Machine: Evolution, although readers who have done so will appreciate certain symbolic references. Of the three books, I enjoyed Against the Machine: Evolution the most, although I also found the historical fiction aspect of the first book intriguing (I’d never known the origin of the word “Luddite” before being exposed to Against the Machine: Luddites). Against the Machine: Evolution is a fitting conclusion to the Against the Machine trilogy, and well worth checking out for fans of well-imagined dystopian fiction, or anyone interested in possible takes on the future.

Once a teacher, theatre director and adjudicator, Brian Van Norman left those worlds behind to travel the planet with his wife, Susan, and take up writing as a full-time pursuit. He is the author of four previous novels: The Betrayal Path, Immortal Water, Against the Machine: Luddites and Against the Machine: Manifesto. Against the Machine: Evolution is the third book in his human/machine interface trilogy. He has journeyed to every continent and sailed nearly every sea on the planet. His base is Waterloo, Ontario, Canada though he is seldom found there.

Publisher: Guernica Editions (Nov 1, 2023)
Language: English
Paperback 9″ x 6″ | 250 pages
ISBN-13: 978-1-7718-3844-3

Lisa Timpf

Website

Lisa Timpf is a retired HR and communications professional who lives in Simcoe, Ontario. Her writing has appeared in New Myths, Star*Line, The Future Fire, Triangulation: Habitats, and other venues. Lisa’s speculative haibun collection, In Days to Come, is available from Hiraeth Publishing. You can find out more about Lisa’s writing at http://lisatimpf.blogspot.com/.