Essay Questions

How is this book about a futuristic dystopic America?

The setting is a post-apocalyptic dystopic America. Surprisingly, however, it is set not in the distant future or even the near future, but in the recent past. The present-day of the bulk of the narrative is set in the spring of 1997. The major turning point in the apocalyptic collapse of society took place specifically on January 11, 1996. The book begins with a reference to a battle that lasted seven years. The birth of a major character occurred in 1982 and narrative references to important research began in the 1960s. The artwork that makes up a considerable portion of the book presents an America that looks like something from the future, but the entire story is actually set in the 20th century.

What major turning point occurred on January 11, 1996?

One of the few illustrations that do not portray a post-apocalyptic dystopic America is a colorful advertisement teasing the arrival of a major software update. The company is called Sentre and the update is called Mode 6. The advertisement promises “A new experience arrives” on that all-important date. The advertisement is dominated by a line drawing showing the bottom half of a person’s face while the top half is covered by a VR device known as a neurocaster. This device had been in use for a few years without causing any major negative consequences. As the narrator puts it, however, with the arrival of the Mode 6 update, “things got weird” as the virtual reality experience became physically addictive. This worldwide reaction resulted in the apocalyptic meltdown.

What happens to Walter?

Walter is a mysterious figure who is connected to a secondary first-person narration that exists separate from the narrative account of the protagonist. He has been hired by a cult-like group calling itself the Convergence to engage in some sinister plot that is not entirely made clear. He is present throughout most of the book, including the illustrations although usually it is not made clear that Walter is actually the focus of the picture. The eventual fate is an example of why the story must be approached with equal attention paid to the text and illustrations because it would be very difficult to work out Walter’s fate by relying upon just one or the other. Three illustrations near the end showing the same scene from the same distance with Walter in roughly the same place positioned in a yard outside a suburban house offer a clue by virtue of the only significant difference between the three illustrations being the arrival of a towering drone creature. But the images do not show what actually happens to Walter. It is only by connecting the three illustrations to the description by the protagonist describing an earthquake-like occurrence just outside the house that a conclusion can be drawn about Walter’s fate.