Memory
The story is all about memory. Memories are not just recollections of things which happened in the past. They are shapers of identity and self-image. The loss of memories can lead to not confusion about the events no longer remembered, but confusion about self-identity as opposed to the image those forgotten events have determined in the minds of others. It is a book all about the significance of memory:
“Memories: some can be sucker punching, others carry you forward; some stay with you forever, others you forget on your own. You can’t really know which ones you’ll survive if you don’t stay on the battlefield, bad times shooting at you like bullets. But if you’re lucky, you’ll have plenty of good times to shield you.”
Memory Erasure
The Leteo procedure is the central conceit of the novel: it is the technological advancement which allows for the erasure of specific memories from a person’s mind. Imagery is essential to helping to define and delineate the significance of this medical advancement. (Which still remains merely theoretical in the real world, of course.)
“A soldier known only as F-7298D was crippled by post-traumatic stress disorder until Leteo stepped in and buried the worst of his memories. Now F-7298D isn’t suffering from disturbing dreams and sleeplessness. A mother of twins, M-3237E, was afflicted with agoraphobia after witnessing a bomb go off during a marathon. Leteo hid the memory away so M-3237E no longer fears the outdoors and can open more doors for herself and her children…A seventeen-year-old girl, S-0021P, was sexually abused by her uncle and even though he’s in prison, she began burning her thighs. Leteo gave her the power to move on and trust her family again by suppressing past events where she blamed herself for leading her uncle on.”
A Bronx Zoo
Not all goes well for the Leteo Institute. As with any medical advancement, collateral damage comes in the form of what happens when it fails. The failures, in turn, produce outrage and outrage breeds civil disobedience.
“I’ve seen pictures of the Bronx district Leteo Institute before, but the unhappy rioters add an edge when seeing it up close. You’d think the institute would look more futuristic, like the Apple Store in Manhattan, but honestly, the Museum of Natural History looks more cutting-edge than Leteo does. The building is four floors high with bricks the color of ashes. Leteo is getting the bad rap of a good morgue with their body count.”
Extreme Leteoism
The Leteo procedure is popular because people have memories which they feel they can no longer abide. The whole point of it, of course, is the precision. If it removes only the most painful memories, great, but how mny good memories would one be willing to sacrifice in exchange? Ironically, Aaron—the story’s protagonist—becomes the victim of a brutal assault in which he is also victimized by the onset of a very specific type of amnesia in which the brain either cannot store newly created memories or, if stored, it cannot retrieve them. Thus, literally every single second of every single day is lost forever to him unless he records it while it is still active in his mind:
“It’s storming outside right now. I stare out the window. I can’t tell you if it rained yesterday or even what day it is. It always feels like I’m waking up, minute after minute, like I’m in my own little time zone. But as I trace my smiling scar—unable to do so without remembering the time Thomas poked two eyes onto my wrist with dirt—I still have hope in what Evangeline and Leteo hope for, too. And while I wait, happiness exists where I can get it. In these notebooks, where worlds of memories greet me, almost like a childhood friend who moved away for years and finally came back home.”
