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Mireya Cabral-Mixco

English 123

Dr. Wilson

April 24, 2018

Discovery of Self Worth

What comes to mind when you hear sci-fi? I think of Star Wars-- creatures zooming around

in spaceships bouncing from planet to planet, blasting each other with plasma guns. Although the

sci- fi genre can be seen as quirky or nerdy, there is more to this genre than what’s on the surface.

David Mitchell plays with the relationship between genre and theme in his novel ​Cloud Atlas​. He is

able to connect 6 different genres into one novel-- each story emphasizes the same message in a

variety of ways. The section that intrigued me the most was the Orison of Sonmi-451. By analyzing a

book’s literary features such as plot, narration, character, and setting we are able to see how a

theme can be synthesized. I would classify this section as science fiction but due to the

advancement of technology in the future, it ultimately turns into a dystopian novel. One thing that

is undeniable in the future is the maturing of technology. With a growing dependence on it, our

individuality can be lost. Mitchell uses the science fiction genre in ​Cloud Atlas​, The Orison of

Sonmi-451, to show that technology suppresses an individual’s free will and expression. This

dehumanizing process then blurs the line that differentiates science fiction and dystopian novels.

A common element in the sci-fi dystopian genre is the role of technology in the novel’s plot.

Through the advancement of technology, a dystopian society is bound to form based off of people's

materialistic needs. Those at the head of corporation control all aspects of society: people’s

thoughts, actions, and way of life. In the movie ​Blade Runner 2049​, the Wallace Corporation

manufactures bioengineered humans called Replicants. These Replicatants are created to work,
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making them slaves, and the backbone of society. They all have a limited vocabulary, look alike, and

are given serial numbers as names. The head of Wallace corporation says, “Every civilization was

built on the back of a disposable workforce.” Corpation’s use of technology is meant to undermine

the individual’s awareness of how they contribute to society. This abuse of the power of technology

can be seen in the Orison of Sonmi- 451. Sonmi was fabricant, or a product of Neo se Corpros

intended to work for 12 years and then be put to death. Replicatants and fabricants do not have

control over what they do and have no unique characteristics to make them stand out. This

oppression of one’s originality leads one individual in each story to rise to make a difference. This

can be seen in ​Blade Runner 2049, 1984 ​by George Orwell, and ​Cloud Atlas ​by David Mitchell. In

Blade Runner 2049​, Agent K realizes that replicants are more powerful than he was raised to

believe when he learns that they are able to procreate on their own, instead of in a factory. This

then leads him on a journey to finds more answers.

The narration of sci-fi dystopian novels is often the individual that strays from social norms.

This makes their experience different from the masses because they are undergoing a revelation of

their self worth. On the main character’s path of awakening they usually encounter someone else

that is unique and together they help each other find answers. A staple of dystopian societies is

1984,​ by George Orwell. The book was first published in 1949, therefore, the novel could have been

seen as a futuristic novel at the time-classifying it as a science fiction novel. In ​1984​, Winston Smith

was bred to work and worship Big Brother without question. Strict regulations are set up by the

Party to limit individuality. The Party constantly innovates the language that the proles speak, the

threat of capture by the thought police forces obedience, names given are recycled, and technology

like telescreens are placed everywhere so citizens are constantly reminded how great Big Brother

is. Similar to how young, absent minded children watch TV and absorb everything they see and hear

without question. Those that do not work for the inner party live in poverty and filth. Winston sees
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the lies and corruption that the Party is build on and quietly finds outlets to defy the system. He falls

in love with Julia and together they both die on the hope that the Revolution will save them. In the

Orison of Sonmi-451, the organizations that Sonmi worships is Papa Song. The parallels in the

names Big Brother and Papa Song, both are a male family figures that are made to make the

individual feel like they are apart of a big, loving family--and why turn your back on family? Her

name along with her co-workers are recycled, they are created in a factory, they are given drugs to

keep their minds from wandering, and they have a limited vocabulary. Archivist says “ the very

word slave is abolished throughout Neos se Copros, “ (189) and “fabricants have difficulties

threading together an original sentence of five words,” (188). How could have fabricants been able

to defy something that they are physically incapable of understanding. It isn’t until Sonmi’s

ascention when she understood that she was a slave. She was then sought out by Hae Joo who

guided her to be the voice of the Union, the revolutionaries. A member of Wallace Corporation says,

“The world is build on a wall that seperates kind. Tell either side theres no side, you brought a war.”

Thiss shows that there is nothing that differentiates the oppressors and those being suppressed.

Sonmi, Winston, and Agent K all would sacrifice their lives for the smallest chance of hope for

change. The chance to be seen as equals to those in power and to have the same liberties.

In Silvana Caporaletti literary criticism of “The Machine Stops”, she breaks down how

at the center of E.M Forster's utopian society, lyes a machine engine that gives everybody what

they want impartially. The entire earth is dependent on the Machine and she compares it to a

mother. Similar to the father or brotherly figure that other science fiction dystopian societies

praise. Like other stories in this realm, the citizens are passive and oblivious to their moral

decline and how dependent they are on the Machine- never giving it a thought until the Machine

stops. The engine erases the possibility of all of the negative effects of the making of a utopian

society. Caporaletti explains themes in the book like being afraid of a materialistic world and
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utopian societies always have dark side. Caporaletti writes the, “tragic paradox of human

civilization, the impossibility of rationally reconciling two incompatible ideals, a stable and well

organized society with complete individual freedom.” In order to make these “perfect” or utopian

societies, the citizens must sacrifice their freedom. The freedom to express yourself and the

freedom to live life like you want to. If everyone one was raised the same and was the same

person, of course society would be perfect because there would be no one to want change.She

then states that Forester, “ too is aware that stability and peace cannot exist without careful

centralized planning: they inevitably depend, in part at least, on the restriction of individual

will.” This discovery of individual will can be seen in Sonmi-451and Winston in the “climax in

Nineteen Eighty-Four, where the odd one out, Winston, is even deprived of his freedom to die.”

Sonmi’s section is her being interrogated after capture by Archivist, a member of Neo se

Corpros. She explains her daily life before her ascention, the meeting of Yoona-391 and Hae Joo,

and finally her experience at the plant where slaves are recycled into the food they eat. Her

narration allows us to see her transition of a deprived, oblivious slave into an intelligent

reformer.

Those in power can easily abuse their abilites, making it hard for other’s to challenge.

The theme of self discovery through oppression caused by those in power can be seen throughout

Cloud Atlas.​ In a different section of ​Cloud Atlas​, an elderly composer states“any society’s upper

crust is riddled with immorality, how else d’you think they keep their power, Ruptation is king of

the public sphere… It is dethroned by public acts.”(456) In the futuristic dystopian world that

Sonmi lives in, she discovers the truth about how Neo se Corpros, or Unanimity, is run. That the

corporation that they praised killed fabricants after they had worked for twelve years, instead of
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awarding them a paradise. At this moment Sonmi realized that the reconstruction of society was

more important than her own life. She along with thousands of fabricants, the public sphere, have

the power to dethrone corporation, the king. ​David Mitchell shows the struggle of self discovery

overpower throughout the six different genres in ​Cloud Atlas. ​In Cavendish’s section (memoir

genre) he says, “ Freedom! Is the fatuous jingle of our civilization, but only those deprived of it

have the barest inkling re: what the stuff actually it.” (308) Those deprived of their freedoms,

Sonmi and Winston knew that their freedom was worth fighting for. In both these stories, those

oppressed become a powerful force becuase soceity would not be able to function without them.

Although not shown in either of these novels becuase both rebels were incarcerated, the notion to

take back what was wrongfully taken from them leaves the reader to decide if their message will

be passed on to others.

The reincarnation of one single person’s struggle can be seen through the presence of a

comet shaped birthmark in ​Cloud Atlas​. The main idea of the novel can be expressed by this-a

Cloud Atlas cannot be drawn because clouds are always moving. The clouds represent people’s

souls as they drift from one life to the next. ​ ​Robert Frobisher (from eplistary novel section and

has the birthmark) says in his letters that, ​“wars are never cured, they just go into remission for a

few years.” (453) The struggle to overcome a powerful force in order to gain some sort of self

control is one that can be seen throughout the novel as it flows one life time to the next-- the

most clear space is in Sonmi’s story. Due to the accessibility of technology in science fiction

novels, it becomes easy for a revolution to occur. I invision plasma guns blasting each other on a

high speed chase in aircrafts. Technology easily allows visualization of the struggle to overcome

power. Sonmi’s life can continue to drift to other chapters, to a different person, but the same
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soul, determined to overcome power--grounding something that is not stationary into something

that can be read forever and therefore a cloud atlas.

Technology in the science fiction genre suppresses individuality. M. T. Anderson writes in

his novel, ​Feed, ​of a near future version of earth. The feed is a chip that is installed in children's

brains that gives them access to all the information in the world. With this much knowledge one

would think that everyone is a genius, but it is the complete opposite. The feed allows the

characters in a way to turn off their brains and let the computer talk for them. They had grown

accustomed to the decline of the environment and couldn’t formulate an opinion of what should be

done to change their decline. Earth has become a toxic place, so much in fact that it gives all the

characters lesions all over their body's. The way the character’s talk is how we text people

now--instead of laughing they just say “lol”. It becomes hard to differentiate the character’s because

they all talk and act the same. The one character that is expressive can only do so when her feed

glitches. The struggle to surface originality over the feed can be seen through Violet’s glitches. Violet

had the feed installed when she was a teen-- giving her the opportunity to form a personality.

Through her feed malfunctions, she is able to explain to her friends that earth is dying, that lesions

are life threatening, and that something needs to be fixed. Everyone pushes her and her message to

the side and carrys on with their lives. This shows that technology has the ability to change who we

are and can be detrimental to our development. Only when her technology broke was she able to

say something truthful and meaningful. The story ends while she is on her deathbed in a comatose

state as narrator comes to visit her. He talks to her about what was happening in the world, which

shows that he was starting to see what she saw. The same element of not knowing if change will

happen can be seen in the other novels.

In a futuristic version of earth the advancement in technology deteriorates the health of

earth. In the movie ​Blade Runner 2049, ​while Agent K drives across California in the year 2049, the
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sun doesn’t shine and the ground is littered with garbage. Cities are covered in a thick cloud of smog

due to the pollution of the bioengineering industry. In the novel ​Feed​, due to the use of floating cars,

the feed, and other technology, the condition of earth has weakened. So much in fact, that the

characters have the liberty to travel to the moon as a place for fresh air and to relax. The same

environment can be seen in the post apocalyptic aftermath of The Orison of Sonmi-451 section. It

can be assumed that war erupted after Sonmi's death or that corporation continued to destroy the

environment because in the following story Zachary, a Valley Man on an isolated tribe explains the

Fall. “ Now the Whole World is big, but it weren’t big’ nuff for that hunger what made Old Uns rip

out the skies an’ boil up the seas an’ poison the soil with crazed atoms an’ donkey bout’ with rotted

seeds so new plagues was borned,”(272). Corporation’s need for power destroyed the environment.

The same message about the health of the environment is one we hear today. Global warming, the

threat of a nuclear weapons, and fracking are all forms of this deterioration that is written in these

sci-fi novels. The continuation of these detrimental changes to the environment is inevitable if there

is no change. Characters in the novels were physically incapable of seeing deterioration. Their

thoughts were hindered by the feed, Sonmi was given drugs, and Winston was brainwashed with

Big Brother propaganda. In the present, our materialistic desire can block our path from seeing

what is happening behind the scenes. New clothes from Forever 21 entail long hour labor in a

factory in a foreign country, cars need gas which inevitably leads to refineries filling the air with

gases, and the list goes one. We have the ability to make a change and influence others to change in

our lives easier than it is for characters in these novels.

The phrase that your phone or technology is apart of you is taken literally in these science

fiction novels. The feed is a computer in one’s brain, Sonmi and Agent K are the product of

bioengineering, and Winton was surrounded by it due to Big Brother. These stories have either

transformed the humans into clones or we are walking computers. Having technology around us so
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often can be detrimental to our growth. It becomes easy to lose yourself in it and be oblivious to

change around you. Science fiction and its sub-genre of dystopia show that technology has the

ability to take away a person’s identity--the way they look, think, talk, and act. The narration, plot,

language, and setting of these novels all are similar. One individual awakens and takes on the

responsibility of giving others the gift of knowing their self worth. They are made to be aware that

they have the ability to express their opinion in order to dethrone corrupt power. Even if it seems

daunting to propose change to such a widely accepted tradition, it is still worth the try. The ending

of ​Cloud Atlas​ is, “ What is an ocean, but a multitude of drops.” In Sonmi’s society, fabricants are

what made up Neos Se Corpros. Sonmi’s voice alone was seen as insignificant to Unanimity, but

fabricants united, million upon millions, would cause significant change. This message to challenge

what inhibits you from expression in science fiction novels can carry through to your life now.

Being aware of our liberties and protecting them. Our liberty to breathe fresh air should not be

tainted by industry. Our liberty to marry whoever we want should not be limited. To overcome a

powerful force it takes a powerful soul and we are all capable of it.
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Work Cited

Caporaletti, Silvana. "Science as Nightmare: 'The Machine Stops' by E. M. Forster." ​Utopian


Studies​, vol. 8, no. 2, Dec. 1997, p. 32. EBSCO​host​,
0-search.ebscohost.com.library.4cd.edu/login.aspx?direct=true&db=edb&
AN=4796375&site=eds-live.

Anderson, M.T., ​Feed. ​Somersville: Candlewick Press,2002. Print

Blade Runner 2049​. Dir. Denis Villeneuve. Warner Bro, 2017. Film

Mitchell, David. ​Cloud Atlas. ​London: Sceptre, 2004. Print

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