ruined Los Angeles;
Santa Monica with its viviendas, bubblehouses and casas;
the Asilo ("Asylum");
cloak-and-dagger stuff as two of Lilisaire's Terrestrial agents meet surreptitiously in the Asilo, then leave quickly by the backdoor when one of them realizes that their meet might be compromised.
Do we need all the cloak-and-dagger? It is a feature of Anderson's works but I am interested, first, in the exotic futuristic settings and, secondly, in whatever is the mysterious goal that the various characters pursue.
There is "...a flourishing biome in the Central Valley..." (p. 165) but no reclamation in Los Angeles. The regional parliament will have accepted the recommendations of commissioners who will have relied on a cyberstudy, involving nanorobots and satellites, analyzed by a superior intelligence with possibly incomprehensible reasons for not reclaiming the area. Not good enough. A parliament should decide whether to reclaim, then consult the AI about how to do it.
3 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
Where human beings are concerned, I EXPECT intrigues and skulduggery from time to time. It's a simply one of the natural consequences to expect from human conflicts.
And a Los Angeles in ruins interests me. That city is placed in a DESERT, which means any serious disruption of the water supply alone can mean only catastrophe.
I agree with your last paragraph. Human beings alone should decide whether Los Angeles should be reclaimed and rebuilt. The AI should be consulted only on how best to do that, if the decision was made to rebuild.
Sean
If there is any place that needs desalination, preferably using nuclear energy, it is Los Angeles.
Kaor, Jim!
And many other places like LA.
Ad astra! Sean
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