Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow

I am sure some would say, 'So what? That doesn't change anything. The shortness of our lives, the moment of death that we all face, is the ultimate arbiter of what is right and wrong. What this suggests for ourselves is fascinating: that morality itself is based on our mortality. They may reduce a person's prestige ('Whuffie') for a short time, but it is not difficult for the 'victim' of any of these crimes to remain close friends or become close friends with his or her 'victimizers' once he or she is 'rebooted.' Adultery, theft, destruction and even murder have no real negative value. Only the tangible creations of an individual or a team ('ad-hoc') have value. The only real immorality in Down and Out seems to be the destruction of another's work. In a world where death and disease are over, where scarcity is barely remembered, it becomes clear that morality, even our morality today, is formed and shaped by mortality - or the lack thereof. I won't go into the story itself with any detail, as I don't want to spoil anything, but Doctorow's finest achievement in Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom is the way he explores the question of morality. One of the many complaints I hear about Cory Doctorow's Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom is that it is 'shallow.' Readers see a shallowness in character, a shallowness in the work they choose, a shallowness in story depth, and a shallowness in the story's morality.ĭown and Out in the Magic Kingdom may seem shallow, but there is a great deal of depth to be found if one approaches the book with a willingness to overcome the prejudices and perspectives of our current culture, to project oneself into the mindset and morality of the future world Doctorow has created. (It's only his fourth death and revival, after all.) Now it's war.

Worse: it appears this new group has had Jules killed. For Jules, this is an attack on the artistic purity of Disney World itself. A new group has taken over the Hall of the Presidents, and is replacing its venerable audioanimatronics with new, immersive direct-to-brain interfaces that give guests the illusion of being Washington, Lincoln, and all the others. Now, though, the 'ad hocs' are under attack. Now in the keeping of a network of 'ad-hocs' who keep the classic attractions running as they always have, enhanced with only the smallest high-tech touches. He's lived long enough to see the cure for death and the end of scarcity, to learn ten languages and compose three symphonies.and to realize his boyhood dream of taking up residence in Disney World.ĭisney World! The greatest artistic achievement of the long-ago twentieth century. Jules is a young man barely a century old.

Down and Out in the Magic Kingdom by Cory Doctorow