HOPE IN THE MIST
Imagine a world where urbanisation is out of control; where technology indulges every human whim; where global warming has raised sea levels; and where a former country house, run as a theme park, is the embodiment of a rural idyll. Lifeform Three, Roz Morris’ elegantly chilling novel, portrays an England that is spiritually bleak and emotionally soulless, yet somewhere in the swirling grey mists lies a sliver of hope.
The “hero” of this science fiction allegor is Paftoo a bod programmed to work as a groundsman at Harkaway Hall. Like his robotic colleagues, Paftoo’s life is built around menial labour and penetrating the minds of the park’s Intrepid Guests (visitors), before manipulating them into buying useless products from the estate’s gift shops. The bods are content with their lot, never questioning what they do or why they do it. One day is no different to the next. When morale is in danger of flagging, they either raise their productivity levels or bunch up for a group hug or sing song. Paftoo is the outsider in their ranks. At night when the other bods shut down to recharge, he dreams of the Lost Lands past, struggling to make sense of the images that follow him into the morning. What do they mean? Is he the only one having these thoughts? How can he stop them from being deleted? What is the connection with Lifeform Three?
This may be a clichéd statement, but Morris has written a book that is genuinely difficult to put down. It works because of the lyrically gentle way she eases the reader into a world where compassion and decency are missing. In their place is cold mechanisation, where even the animals and insects are categorised by number rather than species. A moral vacuum lies at its centre; beauty is destroyed without thought and money is valued above everything else. We are grateful for Paftoo’s dreams and the curiosity that wills him to make sense of them. They are the light in a dystopian darkness and we applaud his search for the answers.
The novel has a deeply brooding atmosphere and its undertones of danger and subterfuge reminded me of PD James’ The Children of Men. Although the storylines are different, both novels share a redemptive quality driven by the notion that a price must be paid if bad situations are to be made better. Paftoo survives a brutalising system with his individuality intact, but only after witnessing the cruelty of the theme park managers.
This is literary science fiction writing at its best and Morris’ book has deservedly drawn comparisons with Margaret Atwood, Ray Bradbury and other pioneers of the genre. Lifeform Three is a powerful, thought provoking story that raises questions about artificial intelligence, the importance of self-awareness and the value of character. It also confronts the reader with a bold, disturbing vision of the society that awaits us if we allow ourselves to slide into complacency.
Reviewed by Juliette Foster
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