Individutopia: A Novel Set in a Neoliberal Dystopia by Joss Sheldon

Author:Joss Sheldon [Sheldon, Joss]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Science Fiction, Dystopia, Neoliberalism
ISBN: 9781789263589
Google: 2DuzuQEACAAJ
Amazon: 1789263581
Goodreads: 41828322
Publisher: Rebel Books
Published: 2018-08-22T23:00:00+00:00

NORTH

“I think, therefore I am.”

RENÉ DESCARTES

I’m still here, observing our Renee, but she’s not as clear as before. I don’t feel as though I’m with her. I’m watching her through a single lens and the view is restricted.

Like a daughter who’s left home, and rarely calls, I fear we’re drifting apart. My love for her is still strong, but I can’t be sure if it’s reciprocated.

Just look at her now! Can you see her, here, with this dirtied face and tousled hair? Have you ever seen anything like it?

My word. Growing pains are the worst!

Renee is lifting her knee to her chest. It’s sore from where she’s been lying, rigid, on the uneven ground. There are insects in her hair, which is matted; bent forwards and backwards in clumps. Her plastic cheek is browned and her natural cheek is grazed.

She eats the rest of her food, worries about where her next meal will come from, stands up, drinks some pond water and continues north.

***

The sight of so many abandoned homes made Renee quiver with discomfort. She could almost see the lives which had once been lived, and was overwhelmed by the sheer weight of their absence; by the walls, which looked like wrinkled skin; by the sloping roofs, which were shedding their tiles; and by the foundations, which were sinking into the ground; burying themselves, in a funeral procession which had lasted for decades.

She made a conscious decision to avoid these urban spaces whenever she could; traipsing through a series of parks and golf clubs, whilst trying to catch the same crow as the day before.

She pretended I-Green was by her side.

Together, they observed the natural world with wide-eyed wonderment, held imaginary conversations, and asked questions that neither of them could answer. They felt nature had something to teach them, but couldn’t decipher its language.

They watched some birds fly by in formation, without realising that the strongest birds were taking turns to fly at the front. They watched an eagle call to its friends, unaware it was inviting them to dine on the remains of a dead horse. They watched a variety of creatures play a variety of games; chasing each other, wrestling each other, throwing up scraps and trying to catch them:

“Why are the beasts doing that?”

“It doesn’t make any sense.”

“Beasts are bonkers.”

“Doolally mad!”

***

Copying a deer, Renee had eaten some dandelions for lunch, but this had done little to quell her hunger. She hadn’t experienced any sort of advertising, didn’t long for synthetic food, and was keen to discover what treats might be lurking in this strange new world.

She emerged to the north of Barnet:

“Wow!”

A vast meadow opened up before her.

The mustardy smell of rapeseed filled the air. Yellow pools of that crop still pockmarked the meadow, but it was by no means alone. Here were some grasses and herbs, which had taken root shortly after this field was abandoned. Here were some shrubs, which had arrived a few years later. And there, camouflaging a distant motorway, were a line of trees, which had sprouted after more than a decade.

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