A truly most terrifying aspect of the book is that it could all happen. In just a few more years. Jon McGoran’s indie novel, (-- removed HTML --) Spliced (-- removed HTML --) , l is a refreshingly new addition to the science fiction genre. It is told through the simplistic, yet informative and intimate, lens of a teenage girl named Jimi, who must save her friend and neighbor, Del, from becoming a chimera: a person who pays an illegitimate geneticist (“genie”) to “[m]ix animal genes into [his] DNA” (18). While many physical aspects of the book may seem far-fetched—such as the Smart-routes for automated cars, car charging pads, Super-E utility lines, drone traffic, the Secure Web, psychedelic clothing, Holovids, Holoboards, WellPlants, Nanoma …show more content…
The advancement of technology in (-- removed HTML --) Spliced (-- removed HTML --) has only widened the social class gaps. For example, both the Syngenius company, who “[provides] synthetic gene alterations . . . [by] editing [one’s] existing genes” (18), and the expensive Nanoma jacket, with “its colors slowly shifting and swirling . . . controlled by the WellPlant” (192), simply appeal to the frivolities and extravagances of the upper class by modifying appearances. Moreover, both the WellPlant, an implant that “securely streamed music, data, voice, and text; recorded video; and performed high-level computing . . . all inside [one’s] head” (29) and the act of splicing, which has led many “one-percenters [to] pay big bucks . . . and come out with a tiny, discreet—and very fashionable—alteration” (18), target only the upper crust of society, contributing to social divides by drawing in the wealthy and excluding the …show more content…
The novel exemplifies the theme that humans naturally oppose and fear change, as repeatedly demonstrated throughout history. For example, the chimeras symbolize the Jews when Jimi states, “[The H4Hers] blamed chimeras for everything that was wrong with the world—crime, unemployment, disease, and more—all totally made up and based on nothing” (29). And Howard Wells, the political leader of the anti-chimera movement in America, can be partly compared to Adolf Hitler, the political leader of the anti-Semitic movement in Germany. At first, “[t]he whole GHA thing was so out there that no one took it seriously”; however, after gaining political power and “pass[ing] [the law] in the Pennsylvania state house,” the “H4H [and Wells] w[ere] a big deal across the country” (29–30). Both Wells and Hitler were also powerful public speakers: “As Wells took the stage, the cheers were deafening . . . [he] work[ed] the crowd into an even bigger frenzy” (160). In addition, Wells shares some similarities with Trump, such that they both were “bazillionaire[s],” “household name[s],” and had “founded a bunch of big companies” before becoming politically involved (29); Trump’s Muslim ban can even be compared to the anti-chimera campaign. Also, the chimeras potentially mirror the contemporary LGBTQIA community; both groups of people are sometimes oppressed by