Book Review #3: He, She, and It

     "The multis ruled their enclaves, the free towns defended themselves as they could, and the Glop rotted under the poisonous sky, ruled by feuding gangs and overlords"(pg.35). 

In explanation of the futuristic world in which the characters of Marge Peircy's enticing cyberpunk novel, He, She, and It, are emersed.  The well-written page turner will appeal to both science-fiction lovers and those that have not yet had the pleasure of reading or exposing themselves to the rapidly developing genre.  Commonly associated and identifyiable with William Gibson's favorable novel, Neuromancer, Piercy puts a personal twist on the evolving cyberpunk genre with her novel, He, she, and It.  High-functioning machines with human appearences also known as cyborgs, stimmies or virtual reality of sorts designed specifically for entertainment, smart houses with  behind-the-scenes humanlike characteristics, and floating cars used for transportation purposes, are only part of the wildly stimulating imagry Peircy provides us with in her novel.

He, She, and It, set in the year 2059, is focussed around two of the main characters, Malkah and Shira, and their intertwining stories and perspectives.  We are first introduced to Shria, raised by her grandmother Malkah in her mother Riva's absence (her job as an criminalist information pirate does not provide the proper lifestyle for a young child), who at the age of 28 travels back home to Tikva to find solace and refuge as her marriage crumbles and her only son is taken away from her.  Upon her arrival to her home town,  we are introduced to Malkah, whom is both highly intellectual and creative, and not to mention one of the best programmers of her time.  We then come to know Avram, another highly qualified programmer, but Avram is unique in that he specializes in creating the human-like resembling and functioning machine known as a Cyborg (and just to add to the mix-this creation is highly illegal).  Avram, in addition to requesting Malkah’s services, also requests the services of Shira.  Shira’s job: to help the cyborg become more socially adept, therefore acceptable and able to function in world in which they live.  But one thing happens that Shira does not expect.  Regarding herself as unable to love as she is haunted by a broken heart of her teenage love, she does not expect to love like she once had.  Become immersed in Piercy's enticing novel as she creates a world which we have yet to experience and allow these questions to stir in your mind: is it possible to love a machine?  Should that machine be considered human?  Does it feel, touch, taste, smell, and hear as humans do?  Can it be trusted?

He, She, and It immerses its readers in a heated battle of the heart and the mind.  Piercy takes us on a futuristic journey in which we explore things one would have never thought possible.  Malkah enlightens us as she tells her story and speaks from the heart:

“Every life is new.  Every word is constantly speaking itself for the first time: birth, love, pain, want, loss.  Every mother shapes clay into Caesar or Madame Curie or Jack the Ripper, unknowing, in blind hope.  But every artist creates with open eyes what she sees in her dream.”

What would happen if one could do just that?  Create something so close to a human that it becomes difficult to tell the difference.  One might be forced to defend his or her relationship with a cyborg, like Shira, whether it is strictly platonic or sexually stimulating and romantic.  We are able to act as a witness hidden behind the pages, to the creation of a cyborg, at the hands of the extremely intelligent scientist Avram, with the help of Malkah to work out a few of the programming kinks.

But of course the novel does not solely revolve around this particularly interesting creation.  In an attempt to avoid spoiling the plot but keep this review interesting, the novel again fully immerses us in this futuristic world in which bloody battles are fought in hopes to save innocent lives and protect people from the ruthless computer assassins and information pirates.  One wouldn’t expect or hope to spend the rest of their life in a vegetative or brain-burned state after being bombarded by one of these criminal masterminds while plugged in to the once thought to be safe Net. 

Another vibrant thread within the intricately woven novel by Piercy can be the consideration of the reliance on technology that the world might soon come to know as the future approaches us slowly but surely.  Malkah again enlightens us in addressing this issue within the novel in saying:

“Nobody can think anymore without AI.  It’s like asking someone to walk to California or cross the Atlantic on a raft.  Everything is on a system.  Just as nobody could do arithmetic anymore without a calculator after they were introduced, who can think with just their own brain?”

This is already prevalent within today’s society.  With the emergence of technology, we watch as our siblings/children/family sit mindlessly starring at the television screens while playing endless hours of video games that appear almost life-like.  This novel fast forwards us to the future and shows us what the world may become with the emergence of technology.  Will there come a time where we are physically unable to perform every day functions such as cleaning our houses without the help or use of a house cleaning robot?  What will become of e-mail and/or the telephone with the presence of an indestructible message delivering robot?  Will we see the world fall apart at the seams because of this handicap, or will we adapt and soar along with the technological advances?

            Allow your mind to take you on this imaginative cyberpunk journey as you flip through the pages in wonder and amazement.  Will all of this or could all of this happen one day?  He, She, and It allows us to fast forward, and see what the future may one day entail.

Works Cited:

Piercy, Marge. He, She, and It. Alfred A. Knopf Inc. 1991. New York, New York.