((Frequencies))

When I think of Joshua Ortega's debut novel, ((Frequencies)), I think of yellow posts. You know what I'm talking about: those short yellow posts that run in groups of two along the walkway leading to the Communication Building, designed to keep cars from driving through. While walking to my classes this week, I came face to face with a yellow post on which a sticker was carelessly slapped, advertising ((Frequencies)), the publishing company, its Web site and anything else that might further incite interest. Since I had not started the book yet, the whole situation seemed very odd to me. What was the big deal about this book? Why is it all over our campus? Since starting the book, it is becoming clearer: it's all about the brainwashing. After reading the book, I'd say the publishing company is trying to make a point about modern and futuristic society.

One of the funniest things about books these days is the pages before the title comes into view. In ((Frequencies)), there is a full page of reviews for the book, followed by another page for the publishing company. Of course, these reviews are all glowing portrayals of how wonderful ((Frequencies)) is and how everybody loves the book. It's almost like the publisher is trying to brainwash you before you even read it. I found myself asking: "Am I not allowed to like this book?"

The brainwashing must have worked on me because I can now say without many reservations that ((Frequencies)) is the next big piece to a puzzle built on the uncertainties of the future of society. Don't let the book's science-fiction exterior turn you off. It's not Star Trek. The book is set in Seattle, 2051, where one major corporation owns just about everything from Bellevue to Redmond to downtown (sound familiar?). Cars fly. Clones, color-changing humans, and animals are found throughout dispatches and office buildings. Only a percentage of the population is "real." Everyone comes standard equipped with an implemented tracking device. One gadget can contain voice activated TV, telephone, and alarm. Up from the ashes of a family dynasty come problems that all families struggle with: the children's fight for independence, and the process children go through to learn the difference between right and wrong. The books asks, "Should we be allowed our freedom, or should we sacrifice freedom for security?" Ridden with conspiracy, the questions are never answered.

Those who remember George Orwell's 1984 might be able to guess where Ortega got his inspiration. In the novel, a government agency has been designated to monitor people's thoughts. If a person's thoughts are too abstract, he is arrested by authorities and displaced from society, just as in 1984. However, much of the novel is unique to the 21st Century. ((Frequencies)) is chalk full of new vocabulary, brilliant quotations, signs and symbols, and true to modern society, everything has a logo. The inclusion of contemporary issues like cloning and the power of the monopoly makes the "thought police," (or "Freemons" as they are called in ((Frequencies)),) seem not as threatening as how our society will change as a whole in the coming decades.

Joshua Ortega was a former staff writer for this very newspaper and much of the introductory plot is set on this very campus, with characters being alumni to the UW. The book is a treat because it makes the places we pass everyday somewhat surreal. The book as a whole can make a person really sit down and think about what our world will be like in 50 years. How will our society change? Do we want it to? The concepts contained within the novel are vast and complex. For all of the story's cheesy romance and technical dialogue, ((Frequencies)) buzzes of a new world order. It is official ... I have been brainwashed. ((Frequencies)) rocks.

((Frequencies)) is published by Omega Point Productions and can be found at any major book retailer for $17.76