The Secret Under My Skin

This is an extremely good book about possible consequences of all the environmental problems that are going on right now. The book takes place in the year 2368.

The problems with the environment were every bit as bad as expected and worse. Rising sea level has caused the destruction of some cities, and other problems have led to the end of democratic rule (at least in Canada where the story takes place), and draconian measures by a group called The Commission that has seized power.

There was a thing called the technocaust when scientists were blamed for the problems (and not the greedy multi-national corporations), and many were killed. The main character, whose name at the start is Blay, is living in a orphanage of a type, but it's really a work camp for young children.

There is also a person called a bio-indicator who takes a position that has her or him monitoring the environment for toxins; the person is basically the 'canary in the coal mine.' There's a nearby village that has an intense dislike of any advanced technology, and spends most of its time weaving.

Blay ends up getting picked by a woman that is due to become the next bio-indicator, and the story takes off from there. Blay is basically the woman's helper, but she really ends up doing most of the work that Marella, the bio-indicator-in-waiting, should be doing.

There's some really good stuff about how propaganda has been fed to the children in the work camps to make them believe certain people are evil when they aren't. Blay learns that what she has been told has little if any relevance to reality.

She helps Marella train, learns about what is basically a resistance movement, gets a crush on a guy, helps on a vision quest, tries to find out about her own background, and discovers that she has abilities she never knew she had.

There's also a peasant's uprising, of a sort, and a lot of interaction between the Weaver's Guild and the military.

The book is an excellent preview of what could very well happen if the man-made climate problems are not dealt with effectively, and if the anti-scientific right-wing groups get their way.

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