Limes inferior
Encyclopedia
Limes inferior is a social science fiction
dystopia
n novel
written in 1982 by the Polish author Janusz A. Zajdel. Limes inferior, one of Zajdel's best known works, is a dystopia showing a grim vision of a future society resulting from a merger of the two systems competing at the time - communism
and capitalism
. It is a seemingly free society, which is in fact tightly controlled through a system of electronic biometric ID cards (Keys), censored media and other forms of social control.
It was recognized as the best science fiction novel in Poland in 1982.
'Argoland' has an awkward monetary system
- its currency are green, red and yellow points. Their value is different - red points are almost valueless - only basic items like basic food can be bought for them, green points have a bit higher value and only yellow points have real value. Conversely, only employed are paid any yellow points, the more the higher their class. That means only those with class over 4 (and practically 3 because there is a shortage of jobs for class 4 and no jobs for lower classes) can get any yellow points officially. Therefore a black exchange market for points flourishes.
The 'points' are kept on a 'Key' which serves as an electronic wallet. The Key displays the class of its bearer and its other functions are activated by owner's touch on a built-in fingerprint reader. The Key is similar to modern PDAs
serving as an ID card, credit card
, a watch, a calculator and a biometric reader.
Agroland is a city-state, located on the shores of lake Tibigan. The countryside is said to be uninhabited with farms operated by robots. The novel alludes that the whole humanity lives in such cities and leaving a city is not possible (vehicles used by the citizens of Agroland cease to operate at the city borders). Travel between city-states is possible but restricted and therefore not available to general population. However, people at large seem not interested in leaving their city being sure that life in other city-states is exactly the same as in theirs.
Official government or economic structure of Agroland is not discussed in the book. Religion
of any kind is also totally absent. However many aspects of social control like stupidators added to cheap food to keep lower classes under control, tracing people through their 'points' transactions etc. are discussed in detail.
), is a lifter who "helps" people cheat during the computer controlled IQ exams by giving them the correct answers through a micro-radio communicator or taking the exam for them. Sneer, who is officially only a level 4, could easily become the top level 0, but he prefers his medium level which doesn't attract much attention. In addition to lifters a whole gallery of black market figures is presented - there are downers (who use their low IQ to provide realistic 'stupid' answers for those who want to keep their class artificially low like Sneer), chameleons (black market point dealers), key-makers (providing all sorts of illegal, special purpose Keys).
The story starts when Sneer is questioned by an undercover police agent on the street and unintentionally reveals his intelligence by his answers (or so Sneer thinks). As a result a few hours later his Key is locked and he is told to report to a testing station for an IQ test. Knowing that in such situation "electro-hipnosis" is used to prevent subjects from hiding their true intelligence he solicits help of a "downer". He finds a suitable specialist through another "lifter" - Karl Pron.
He goes to the testing station with the "downer", who takes his Key and goes inside leaving Sneer waiting outside. A few minutes later Sneer sees the "downer" arrested.
Without his Key he faces the reality of not having a shelter and being able to even find anything to eat without points. Wandering through the city he sees some of the misery of life in Agroland he didn't notice before. Finally, he meets mysterious Alice who gives him shelter and some mysterious clues about a singer and a song about the lake Tibigan.
In the morning he meets the "downer" and learns how he secured his release through a ruse - he reported Sneer's Key as found on the street. Sneer goes to the central Police station and retrieves his Key, but the experience makes him uncomfortable and he starts to look at his world in a different way. He visits his parents and an old friend, a doctor, revealing to the reader the history of this world and some further facts about it. He also tries to listen to the song Alice told him about and discovers that theoretical freedom of press is in fact a fiction as some songs etc. can be prohibited.
Meanwhile Sneer is hired by a government official (a 'zero') to monitor the scientific lab dealing with Keys - The Key Institute. Working undercover as a doorman Sneer discovers to his amazement that the Key Institute that should know everything about the Keys having designed them is in fact studying them as if they were an alien object.
Meanwhile his "lifter" friend Karl Pron tests a new counterfeited Key, which gives the owner an unlimited amount of points. This Key was ordered by the group of '0's - who in fact work in the lab on which Sneer is now spying upon.
When Sneer obtains the super Key he is taken to the meeting with top officials of the local government - where he learns that the social system of 'Argoland' is in fact an experiment imposed upon the humanity by the Aliens. The 'over-zeroes' form a ruling class, which suppresses dissent fearful of the Aliens but permits all kinds of irregularities which they see as preserving the human nature of people.
The end is largely mystical but it suggests that with the help of Alice Sneer succeeds in saving the humanity, though it is not clear exactly how he achieves that.
in the former Soviet bloc countries, where open criticism
of the government was dangerous and subject to censorship
, this book was interpreted by many as in fact a criticism of the system disguised as an SF novel to evade censorship
. However, it can be interpreted more broadly as a novel on how would a system resulting from a mix or convergence of the main systems then competing - communism
and capitalism
- look like. Some argue that many of the author's visions - for example possibility of totalitarian control on a large scale through digital systems without tracking any single individual in particular - can be seen as existing in the current world.
Many aspects of the 'Argoland' society, seemingly fictional to the book Western readers, represented an every-day situation in communist countries. For example in the shortage economy
, luxury good
s were available from a state-run chain of shops (like Pewex
) selling products only for hard to obtain foreign currency.
Social science fiction
Social science fiction is a term used to describe a subgenre of science fiction concerned less with technology and space opera and more with sociological speculation about human society...
dystopia
Dystopia
A dystopia is the idea of a society in a repressive and controlled state, often under the guise of being utopian, as characterized in books like Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four...
n novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written in 1982 by the Polish author Janusz A. Zajdel. Limes inferior, one of Zajdel's best known works, is a dystopia showing a grim vision of a future society resulting from a merger of the two systems competing at the time - communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
. It is a seemingly free society, which is in fact tightly controlled through a system of electronic biometric ID cards (Keys), censored media and other forms of social control.
It was recognized as the best science fiction novel in Poland in 1982.
Setting
The story is set in a fictional 'Argoland'. All citizens in Argoland are divided into 7 social classes (numbered from 0 to 6) based on their IQ. 'Zeroes' are the top, governing class. The class of a citizen determines what job he gets, and his pay ('red, green and yellow points'). Only people with class between 0 and 4 get any jobs, any promotion is depending on the class more than achievement. This is further true because the economy seems to be centrally controlled government run socialism, that is private property is limited and small private enterprises operate only on the fringes of the general economy.'Argoland' has an awkward monetary system
Monetary system
A monetary system is anything that is accepted as a standard of value and measure of wealth in a particular region.However, the current trend is to use international trade and investment to alter the policy and legislation of individual governments. The best recent example of this policy is the...
- its currency are green, red and yellow points. Their value is different - red points are almost valueless - only basic items like basic food can be bought for them, green points have a bit higher value and only yellow points have real value. Conversely, only employed are paid any yellow points, the more the higher their class. That means only those with class over 4 (and practically 3 because there is a shortage of jobs for class 4 and no jobs for lower classes) can get any yellow points officially. Therefore a black exchange market for points flourishes.
The 'points' are kept on a 'Key' which serves as an electronic wallet. The Key displays the class of its bearer and its other functions are activated by owner's touch on a built-in fingerprint reader. The Key is similar to modern PDAs
Personal digital assistant
A personal digital assistant , also known as a palmtop computer, or personal data assistant, is a mobile device that functions as a personal information manager. Current PDAs often have the ability to connect to the Internet...
serving as an ID card, credit card
Credit card
A credit card is a small plastic card issued to users as a system of payment. It allows its holder to buy goods and services based on the holder's promise to pay for these goods and services...
, a watch, a calculator and a biometric reader.
Agroland is a city-state, located on the shores of lake Tibigan. The countryside is said to be uninhabited with farms operated by robots. The novel alludes that the whole humanity lives in such cities and leaving a city is not possible (vehicles used by the citizens of Agroland cease to operate at the city borders). Travel between city-states is possible but restricted and therefore not available to general population. However, people at large seem not interested in leaving their city being sure that life in other city-states is exactly the same as in theirs.
Official government or economic structure of Agroland is not discussed in the book. Religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
of any kind is also totally absent. However many aspects of social control like stupidators added to cheap food to keep lower classes under control, tracing people through their 'points' transactions etc. are discussed in detail.
Plot summary
The hero, Adi Cherryson, also known as Sneer (named after one of Zajdel's fellow science fiction writers Adam Wiśniewski-SnergAdam Wisniewski-Snerg
Adam Wiśniewski-Snerg was a Polish science fiction author. He was born in Płock, Poland.Although unpopular during his life, after his suicide he became recognized as one of the most significant authors of Polish SF...
), is a lifter who "helps" people cheat during the computer controlled IQ exams by giving them the correct answers through a micro-radio communicator or taking the exam for them. Sneer, who is officially only a level 4, could easily become the top level 0, but he prefers his medium level which doesn't attract much attention. In addition to lifters a whole gallery of black market figures is presented - there are downers (who use their low IQ to provide realistic 'stupid' answers for those who want to keep their class artificially low like Sneer), chameleons (black market point dealers), key-makers (providing all sorts of illegal, special purpose Keys).
The story starts when Sneer is questioned by an undercover police agent on the street and unintentionally reveals his intelligence by his answers (or so Sneer thinks). As a result a few hours later his Key is locked and he is told to report to a testing station for an IQ test. Knowing that in such situation "electro-hipnosis" is used to prevent subjects from hiding their true intelligence he solicits help of a "downer". He finds a suitable specialist through another "lifter" - Karl Pron.
He goes to the testing station with the "downer", who takes his Key and goes inside leaving Sneer waiting outside. A few minutes later Sneer sees the "downer" arrested.
Without his Key he faces the reality of not having a shelter and being able to even find anything to eat without points. Wandering through the city he sees some of the misery of life in Agroland he didn't notice before. Finally, he meets mysterious Alice who gives him shelter and some mysterious clues about a singer and a song about the lake Tibigan.
In the morning he meets the "downer" and learns how he secured his release through a ruse - he reported Sneer's Key as found on the street. Sneer goes to the central Police station and retrieves his Key, but the experience makes him uncomfortable and he starts to look at his world in a different way. He visits his parents and an old friend, a doctor, revealing to the reader the history of this world and some further facts about it. He also tries to listen to the song Alice told him about and discovers that theoretical freedom of press is in fact a fiction as some songs etc. can be prohibited.
Meanwhile Sneer is hired by a government official (a 'zero') to monitor the scientific lab dealing with Keys - The Key Institute. Working undercover as a doorman Sneer discovers to his amazement that the Key Institute that should know everything about the Keys having designed them is in fact studying them as if they were an alien object.
Meanwhile his "lifter" friend Karl Pron tests a new counterfeited Key, which gives the owner an unlimited amount of points. This Key was ordered by the group of '0's - who in fact work in the lab on which Sneer is now spying upon.
When Sneer obtains the super Key he is taken to the meeting with top officials of the local government - where he learns that the social system of 'Argoland' is in fact an experiment imposed upon the humanity by the Aliens. The 'over-zeroes' form a ruling class, which suppresses dissent fearful of the Aliens but permits all kinds of irregularities which they see as preserving the human nature of people.
The end is largely mystical but it suggests that with the help of Alice Sneer succeeds in saving the humanity, though it is not clear exactly how he achieves that.
Interpretation
As with much utopian and dystopian fictionUtopian and dystopian fiction
The utopia and its offshoot, the dystopia, are genres of literature that explore social and political structures. Utopian fiction is the creation of an ideal world, or utopia, as the setting for a novel. Dystopian fiction is the opposite: creation of a nightmare world, or dystopia...
in the former Soviet bloc countries, where open criticism
Criticism
Criticism is the judgement of the merits and faults of the work or actions of an individual or group by another . To criticize does not necessarily imply to find fault, but the word is often taken to mean the simple expression of an objection against prejudice, or a disapproval.Another meaning of...
of the government was dangerous and subject to censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
, this book was interpreted by many as in fact a criticism of the system disguised as an SF novel to evade censorship
Censorship
thumb|[[Book burning]] following the [[1973 Chilean coup d'état|1973 coup]] that installed the [[Military government of Chile |Pinochet regime]] in Chile...
. However, it can be interpreted more broadly as a novel on how would a system resulting from a mix or convergence of the main systems then competing - communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
and capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
- look like. Some argue that many of the author's visions - for example possibility of totalitarian control on a large scale through digital systems without tracking any single individual in particular - can be seen as existing in the current world.
Many aspects of the 'Argoland' society, seemingly fictional to the book Western readers, represented an every-day situation in communist countries. For example in the shortage economy
Shortage economy
Shortage economy is a term coined by the Hungarian economist, János Kornai. He used this term to criticize the old centrally-planned economies of the communist states of the Eastern Bloc...
, luxury good
Luxury good
Luxury goods are products and services that are not considered essential and associated with affluence.The concept of luxury has been present in various forms since the beginning of civilization. Its role was just as important in ancient western and eastern empires as it is in modern societies...
s were available from a state-run chain of shops (like Pewex
Pewex
Pewex was a chain of hard currency shops in communist Poland...
) selling products only for hard to obtain foreign currency.