Cory Doctorow is a science fiction writer, blogger and technology activist. Doctorow is the author of many science fiction books, including “Little Brother”.
Cory Doctorow, author of “Little Brother”. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Doctorow
Many of his books focus on technology law and policy, and reflect his views of civil liberties and social activism. Doctorow is also a contributor to The Guardian, the New York Times and Wired, as well as many other newspapers and magazines. In addition to writing, Doctorow was the Director of European Affairs for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, which is a foundation dedicated to freedom in technology law, policy, standards and treaties. He also co-founded a peer-to-peer software company, called OpenCola. Doctorow has a degree in computer science from the Open University in the United Kingdom. Doctorow has a great deal of experience with technology and technology law, and this is reflected in his 2008 fiction novel, “Little Brother”.
“Little Brother” is set in San Francisco, and centers around high school student, Marcus Yallow, who also goes by the Internet username, W1n5t0n. Marcus and his friends, Darryl, Jolu and Van are extremely well-versed in technology and gaming. Their favorite game, an Alternate Reality Game called Harajuku Fun Madness, requires them to go on a quest for clues all around the city. One fateful afternoon, Marcus and his friends venture into San Francisco in search of a clue, and find themselves amidst chaos after a terrorist
Source: Cory Doctorow’s website. http://craphound.com/littlebrother/download/
attack the bay bridge and a BART station. Marcus and his friends are detained by the Department of Homeland Security, and questioned about their Internet use. The DHS questions, tortures and threatens the friends, violating their constitutional rights. In the weeks following the terrorist attack, the DHS increases surveillance of the entire city in hopes of catching terrorists in the city, but victimizes thousands of innocent people and violates the Bill of Rights in the process. Marcus decides to fight for his rights, and he and his friends wage their own technological war on the DHS, using their technological intelligence to mess up the DHS security system.
Marcus and his friends are extremely intelligent, and use their intelligence and computer skills to fight for their rights. I think this novel reflects the types of wars we will potentially have to fight for our rights in the future. In the past, people have fought for their constitutional rights in the conventional ways of protesting and rallies. However, this novel depicts a new way that our constitutional rights can be taken away, and how we may have to defend our rights in the future. It is scary to think just how easily it would be for the government to track our every move–ultimately stripping us of our privacy– especially as our society becomes more and more reliant on technology. This has made me realize just how uninformed I am about technology and the consequences it could have on our society in the future.