“Freedom is overrated. You can be completely free and starving in an igloo in Antarctica. Business is what makes people’s lives better, not democracy. The world is filled with dysfunctional democracies, paralyzed by idiots with votes.”
Pg. 147
Freedom (TM) continues the epic story began in The Daemon. The Daemon saw control of the world sliding out of the hands of big business and corrupt political powers, and into the control of Mathew Sobol’s artificial construct know as the Daemon.
Freedom (TM) picks up where The Daemon left off, and gives the reader a more personal Main Street
USA view of what the Daemon’s takeover means to regular folk. With skyrocketing gasoline prices and high unemployment dominating the planet those who choose to side with the Deamon find themselves part of a collective enacting real quantifiable social change. These new Utopian communities find a balance between technological sophistication and practical sustainable living for the benefit of the community; not some highfalutin Wall Street dandy. But all is not well. In the wake of the collapsed financial system government backed currencies have become worthless.
The Corporate, government, and military powers are kinda dicks about being cut out of the fiscal loop. Queue the body count.
Just as in The Daemon there is all kinds of crazy high tech, ultra violent action in this book that would make Hideo Kojima say, “Damn, I should have thought of that.” The violence is awesome, but it’s importance is underscored by the social and cultural message that is the book’s foundation. Watch for some douchenozzle game company like EA or Ubisoft to pick up these books and ruin them in an interactive form by focusing solely on the hyper violence and next gen weaponry without giving the social commentary it’s due.
In one of Louis L’Amour’s finest books The Walking Drum there is a quote, “... a book is less important for what it says than for what it makes you think.” Suarez’s two novels will make you think. As I read Freedom I couldn’t help but think that there is a better way. True Democracy could work with the assistance of technology in world with an educated populace, and technological sophistication and material wealth do not have to come at the expense of our environment or our population. Even a few quick reads on some websites show that technology and capitalism-lite (great taste and less filling) could actually benefit from self-sustainable micro-cultures (my term) if handled by forward thinking humans who weren’t driven by material wealth or hindered by the standards laid out by our ancestors.
This is the rare work of fiction that entertains, prophesies, and informs. Get it in your hands ASAP.
“It is pretty amazing how the brain just kind of plays along. We’re quite willing to delude ourselves.”
Pg. 197
“I curse your data....”
Pg. 204
“It’s not about how many people you can kill - it’s about who runs out of people first...”
Pg. 218
“I’ve been amused by the debate in America over whether torture is effective...
“Of course it’s effective...
“But not at producing information. Torture isn’t about about extracting information...
“Torture is about control. You let me torture a thousand people, and I can keep five million working obediently with their heads down. The more innocent the victims, the better...”
Pg. 219
“Those plants have as much to do with agriculture as a weight lifter on steroids has to do with physical fitness...
“This is just a big green desert.”
“You think these other farmers will change?”
“They’ll have no choice... Industrial farming and the global supply chain gobble up fossil fuel... Natural gas in the fertilizers, petroleum-based pesticides, fuel for the tractors, more fuel for transport to food processors, fuel to process the raw crops into food additives, then to manufacture them into products, and then to transport the products across the country...”
Pg. 242 – 243
“You hear how democracies are all over the place, but it isn’t really true. They call it democracy. They use the vocabulary, the props, but it’s theater...”
Pg. 264
“Our social psychologists told us the panic should make people eager for strong leadership.”
Pg. 377
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