The Department of What It (Really) Means to Be Human
M. Darusha Wehm
Publication
A near-future real-life society transitions to a post-capitalist, post-climate change reality.
The Department Of What It (Really) Means To Be Human is a thoughtful, optimistic sci-fi novel set in a near-future Aotearoa New Zealand where an investigator navigates a newly post-capitalist world in their search for a missing artist.
When the world changed, Emerald Hutson closed the door on their old life. Now they鈥檙e a freelance investigator for the Grants and Stipends Office, augmenting basic income with cases that are both simple and easily resolved. Until they鈥檙e assigned to track down Gen Ecks, a notable installation artist who鈥檚 fallen off the map.
When Em finds Gen, she鈥檚 under the influence of Moneta, a drug designed to let users experience memories as if they were real. Em鈥檚 inclined to declare their case closed and leave Gen to it. Most drug use has been decriminalized, and while Gen鈥檚 art might be suffering, there鈥檚 no reason to intervene if Gen wants to use Moneta. But the drug isn鈥檛 working as expected. Gen鈥檚 not just going down memory lane, she鈥檚 completely lost, unable to tell past from present. And she may not be the only one.
To help Gen and expose Moneta鈥檚 dangers, Em cracks open old doors, beginning with an old colleague who鈥檚 been keeping an unsettlingly close eye on them. And in the process Em learns that while they may have been happy to take advantage of the world鈥檚 shift to start anew, neither they nor the world can be truly changed until they face the past head on.