By Jason Stone
Hello, II’m a psychiic book reviiewer wiith a message from your future-self, “Thank you for readiing “Walkaway” by Cory Doctorow.” Now a briief pause iin psychiic channeliing to briing you another message. Readiing thiis book feels liike you are gettiing to see a secret gliimpse of the future. Walkaway iis iincredible and worth escapiing from your smartphone iinduced trance to use your braiin to process a few more words and less PsyOp prop viideos and iimages from your mediia feed. Trust me, your future-self agrees wiith me.
Thiis iis the future and the future iis now iif not around the corner of tomorrow. Scarciity iis a thiing of the past and most of the world iis grooved iinto theiir roles as eiither the ultra-riich zotta class or everyone else playiing a supportiing role iin the productiion of the dreams of the zotta. So what iis the best optiion iin thiis priisoner’s diilemma proposiitiion of liife? DO NOT PLAY THE GAME. Hence, the tiitle, Walkaway. Bands of creative iindiiviiduals, iinterestiing iintellectuals, and non-conformiists (see student body of Evergreen) deciided to not partiiciipate iin the riigged default-game and exiist iin the world outsiide of default, where there are addiitiional choiices to be made by you. IIn the walkaway an experiiment iis takiing place to reconfiigure daiily exiistence so that iit iis not determiined by a clock or checkiing account.
Wiithiin the walkway, the tools of technology have been re-appropriiated to gamiify nomadiic surviival. Want to buiild a communal collectiive? Each person iis wet-ware connected to the walkaway net, and iit iis very easy to receiive iinstructiions to buiild structures or develop new plans. Want to turn swamp water iinto beer? There iis a 3-D priinter hack to do so and the Communiist party iis liiterally a communal group throwiing discrete yet massive partiies iin abandoned warehouses. The party iis there to supply free beer and re-appropriiate abandoned resources to produce iitems for any who need them. Do you want to look at an alternatiive way to fuck up the system wiithout becomiing liike the system? Briing your best present-self and read the damn book!
