It’s often said that science fiction is not so much a forecast of the future as a mirror of concerns about the times in which it is written. That is most certainly true of Cory Doctorow’s new book, RADICALIZED: Four tales of our present moment.
The title story is the most powerful and disturbing of the four. It is about an on-line community of men who’ve been denied, or whose loved-ones have been denied, insurance coverage for treatable cancer, and who, one by one, decide to take revenge.
The first engages in a suicide bombing at a Blue Cross / Blue Shield office to avenge the death of his six-year-old daughter. The second is a widower who kills a Senator who ran in a platform of health care for all, then voted against Medicare expansion.
The third is the elderly moderator of the forum, who has been subtly encouraging the bombings and killings. He wheels his wheelchair into the middle of a health insurance conference at a Sheraton before setting off a home-made bomb that blows away himself and a sizable percentage of the guests.
Their objective is not just revenge, but health care reform. They think that the power of fear may be enough to overcome the power of money.
Joe, the protagonist, joined the on-line forum when he was in despair about his wife not being able to get an “experimental” treatment that would cure her breast cancer. She turns out to be a lucky one who has a spontaneous remission, but he stays on the forum, arguing against suicide and violence on private lines
He realizes that he is guilty of a crime simply by being aware that crimes are being planned and not reporting it to the police. But he can’t bring himself to do this.
“Health care terrorism” spreads. There’s more security at HMO and insurance company offices than at airports. People who are denied insurance claims are put on terrorist watch lists. But bombings and killings continue. And Joe realizes it’s only a matter of time before Homeland Security catches up with him.
The conclusion is that a lot of people, including bystanders, have been killed, but Congress has enacted something called Americare. Joe’s wife, visiting him in prison, remarks, “Who says violence doesn’t solve anything?“
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