Choosing Day
What does a truly utopian future look like for us a thousand, or even ten thousand, years from now? Many of the things that divide us today will have been diminished to trivial non-issues. Climate Change? Solved. Culture Wars? Moot. Technology? Advanced to the point of being completely organic and indistinguishable from magic. Inter-group violence (i.e. war)? Why bother.
Humans live in hills called tupes, like the hobbits in the shire. Humans don't wear clothes because they've mastered the climate and themselves, so there’s no longer a need. And anyway, they see exquisite beauty in the variety of human forms, from stocky to skin-and-bones, to varying racial compositions, and everything in between. Moreover, after years of intentional and some unintentional bioengineering, humans have generic sexual organs at birth, undifferentiated, and remain that way until they are in their 20s. Anyone under that age is considered a child, as longevity has extended childhood. At the end of this time, usually on their twentieth birthday, humans undertake Choosing Day, which means they pick their sex and gender for the next 4 years. After that, they can switch back and forth more-or-less as desired, but its those four years that are the focus of this novel.
Jad, whose Choosing Day rapidly approaches, is struggling to decide. Their best friend Kel doesn't Choose for 6 more months, and due to hormonal imbalances, those who Choose are, strictly speaking, not supposed to mingle with nascents (those who haven't chosen). So the conflict is multi-part:
Which does Jad choose to become for the next 4 years of their life, and fallout from that decision?
What does Kel choose, and how does that play into the decision that Jad made? (I suspect their friendship won't survive, but haven't written it yet. But it's a coming of age story, so whichever way it goes, it'll be the right way).
How does Kel and Jad's relationship change during the 6 month abstinence period and as a consequence of #1 and #2?
Jad's slow realization that everything about their life did change. They are not a nascent (child) any longer, and so must ease into adulthood, suffering the loss of innocence we all do and realizing their greater part in society.
Subtext to this drama is the deep exploration of the utopian society in which they live, with a dose of the transition from today to that future in snippets of backstory and hints at the Tumultuous Times (current day) from before. At its core, it's a story about the resilience of humanity and our ability to bounce back from difficult times. I think I really need to write a story like this right about now, in all its goodness! This book will be about kindness, overcoming self, and caring!
(Don't worry Dystopian Lovers, it's just one book. Once I'm finished, I'll be right back into the dark stuff ;) ).
