Where The Lights Glow Darkly
| Author | Mohammed Nadir |
|---|---|
| Country | Gassasinia |
| Language | Gassasinian |
| Genre | Science Fiction |
| Set in | 2057 |
| Publisher | Ghorayeb Publishing |
Publication date | 1990 |
Published in English | 1992 |
| Media type | Print (Paperback & Hardback) |
| Followed by | How Can The Sun Cast a Shadow? |
Where The Lights Glow Darkly is a dystopian science fiction novel by the Gassasinian author Mohammed Nadir published in 1990. Where The Lights Glow Darkly follows Bruce Kafrouny, a disabled man from a working-class background who struggles to make it in the cut-throat corporate world of Jabiyah, where a strict caste system between the "educated" - seen as enlightened and progressive who are allowed to vote - and the "uneducated" - seen as backwards and idiotic. Although claiming to express the virtues of equality, in reality the highly capitalistic and consumerist society of 2057 Gassasinia creates a playing field whereby it is difficult for the disadvantaged to get an equal footing to those who come from a more privileged background.
Where The Lights Glow Darkly was written as a cautionary tale about the enthusiastic and unrestrained approach to capitalism undertaken by Gassasinian society during the radical transition from a developing to a developed country throughout the 1980's and early 1990's. Mohammed Nadir believed that Gassasinia's rapid growth risked leaving the disadvantaged in the dust as society became more self-interested, and strayed away from the family structure that helped people in their times of need.
Background
Where The Lights Glow Darkly is set in Jabiyah in the year 2057, a major international business centre which has become known as one of the largest and most affluent cities in the world, with the highest average income in the world. Although most of the population consists of well-off professionals, the city hides an under-belly of working-class citizens working menial jobs, whom are restricted to their own legislated caste whereby they are deprived of civil rights.
In the book, there is an officially legislated caste system which is split between two castes:
- "Educated" persons, officially defined as those with a bachelor's degree whom work in the professional corporate world. Those from the "educated" caste are allowed to vote, run for government and can seek government loans and investment. The Educated as seen as politically progressive and forwards-thinking.
- "Uneducated" persons, whom consist of the working class population. Often looked upon as dumb and backwards, the "uneducated" are wrongly stereotyped as reactionary and are often looked upon by the middle class with a mixture of pity, condescension and scorn. The Uneducated class cannot vote, work for the government, or be elected to office. They are subject to random spot-searches, constant surveillance and unwarranted searches by police, and are subject to restrictions on their speech.
Although the Gassasinian government and society officially espouse attitudes of equality, in reality Gassasinian society's rigorously competitive and perfectionist nature leaves little opportunities for those from a disadvantaged background. Disability equality legislation is frequently ignored when it becomes too expensive to accommodate those disadvantages, and even those from a working class background whom manage to achieve social mobility continue to be looked down upon by those whom already came from a privileged background.
Family life and friendship in this futuristic prediction of Gassasinian society have been broken down, and replaced by hollow corporate relationships which are mainly leveraged to further oneself in society. The break-down of the Gassasinian family structure - traditionally extensive and tightly knit - has only furthered the rigorous and unforgiving nature of Gassasinian society, meaning that there is little in the way of a social safety net to fall back upon in the event of strenuous circumstances.
Empathy and morals have slowly been ground away, and well-intentioned progressive social movements have been co-opted by a self-righteous middle-class whom use said social movements as a tool to fake their virtuous nature to their peers rather than to help improve the lives of the oppressed. Social-standing is held to high regard, and persons often engage in pseudo-intellectual and consumeristic practices to show how supposedly "complex" and "cultured" they are.
As Gassasinia lost it's own roots, the Gassasinian language, and Gassasinia's other minority and immigrant languages, have become almost completely extinct due to the prevalence of English. Speaking anything other than English is looked upon with scorn.
Ironically, although downtrodden and poor, the remaining working-class communities in Gassasinia turn out to be a final vestige of true family life and community. It is suggested that although economically privileged, the upper Educated caste are just as unfulfilled and unhappy, if not even more so than the working class, with their lives.