All these items are novels unless otherwise stated; asterisks denote
stories in which practical
memetics
is the primary focus of the tale. The first three items are highly
recommended as classics of this theme in science fiction; the fourth is
a less well known classic in the field.
*1) Brave New World", by Aldous Huxley. The whole book. This is a
classic; it shows memetic manipulation through distraction,
subliminals, language, information control, and pleasure, and contains
elements that are very easy to recognize in all
Information Age cultures.
*2) "1984", by George Orwell. The whole book. Also a classic; it shows
memetic manipulation through language, information control, and fear.
Elements are easy to recognize in 20th & 21st century Information
Age cultures, particularly the most repressive.
*3) "The Space Merchants" by Frederic Pohl and C.M. Kornbluth. A minor
classic; it shows memetic manipulation through advertising methods and
other information management. Elements are easy to recognize in
commercial societies of the Information Age. This book provides good
insight into probable
NoCoZo
cultures in OA.
*4) "We" by Yevgeny Zamyatin. Written shortly after the Russian
revolution by a famous playwright and novelist who had supported it in
its early phase, but who saw the direction of post-revolutionary Soviet
society. Inspired Orwell's 1984. Never published in Soviet times, but
reached print elsewhere. When this happened Zamyatin was ostracized and
criticized, but was not executed or sent to Siberia. He died in exile
in Paris instead. Such governments do not like their methods to be
exposed. This story illustrates many memetic manipulations.
*5) "Mr. Costello, Hero" by Theodore Sturgeon. Short story. This
illustrates a single talented individual's memetic manipulations of a
shipboard society and a new colony through information control and fear.
*6) "The Morphodite", "Transformer", and "Preserver" by M.A. Foster. As
an experiment, a single individual is trained to find vulnerable points
in societies, and to act to undermine those societies through a few
simple and subtle actions. Details of this ability are not explained,
however.
*7) "Fahrenheit 451", by Ray Bradbury. This novel illustrates memetic
control by destruction of information, distraction, and the use of mass
media.
*8) "Adrift on the Policy Level" by Chandler Davis. Short story. It
presumes a world in which Darwinian competition among memes governs
corporate/government policy. Very funny.
*9) The "Illuminatus" trilogy by Robert Anton Wilson. Conflicting and
confusing secret <fnord> organizations manipulate governments,
populations, and individuals of for the purpose of <fnord>.
10) "The Book of the New Sun" by Gene Wolfe. Memetic control of a
population (the Ascians) through language. A fascinating and ultimate
case. Also, memetic manipulation of human polities by aliens who are
acting on behalf of beings comparable to OA's
Archai.
11) "The City of the Chasch" and following books in Jack Vance's
"Planet of Adventure" series. Several sub-races of domesticated humans
are controlled via culture and religion by various species of nonhuman
owners; this is a minor theme through much of Vance's work.
12)"The Iron Dream" by Norman Spinrad. Satire. Billed as the novel
Hitler would have written if he'd been a science fiction writer;
carries some of Hitler's madness and memetic manipulations. Creates
disturbing parallels between Nazism and some pulp science fiction.
13) "Time Enough for Love" by Robert Heinlein. This contains discussion
of general memetics, especially in the Notebooks of Lazarus Long.
14) "A Fire Upon the Deep", by Vernor Vinge. At least three entities
use various memetic approaches.
15) "Enders Game", by Orson Scott Card. Memetics in training
intelligent children to be future generals.
16) "Schismatrix", as well as the short stories "Cicada Queen" and
"Sunken Garden" set in Bruce Sterling's Shaper/Mechanist future. These
stories contain a number of sub themes regarding memetics.
17) The Draka Series by S.M. Stirling. Memetic and genetic conditioning
to produce a servant and master relationship between two human clades.
18) "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut. Short story. A population
which has been memed by someone (or something) in to believing that
everyone should be handicapped so that none will exceed the lowest
common denominator. "Welcome to the Monkey House" and "Unready to Wear"
are other Vonnegut stories with memetic themes. Many of Vonnegut's
satiric pieces illustrate societies that might be produced by
trans-sapients as a kind
of "art".
19) "Dune" by Frank Herbert. An interstellar society (the Bene
Gesserit) provides planetside cultures with myths and legends for their
own purposes.
20) The "Foundation" series by Isaac Asimov. Presumes a limited ability
to make memetic predictions and thereby interfere to produce desired
results.
In the world of Film & Television, there are a number of
candidates. Two stand out:
*1)
The Prisoner. Television series. Memetic manipulation
of populations and individuals is the theme of each episode.
2)
The Manchurian Candidate. An attempt by one polity to
control another through memetics.
Related Pages:
Memetics
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