Imagine
life in the future where you MUST have sex
at least five times a day. I know some of
you are thinking, "Hey, if it's the
law, then let me not break the rules!"
Or you may even think you are ready for
a future with non-stop sex. But add this
to the equation, it is sex without pleasure
and emotion, and you MUST have sex in order
to live, otherwise you die. And after each
sexual encounter, you are depressed and
must live in a world where you must take
anti-depressants in order to not fall into
dark despair. Yeah, that makes you think
about how good you would really feel if
there weren't any feelings or emotions involved.
In a. a. Clifford's novel, SexLife, we are
in New York City in the year 2268 A.D. It
is a time when computers manage the world;
the subways fly and fat can be taken off
a person in a matter of minutes. However,
the people in this future time have an incurable
disease, CMB, which makes it necessary for
everyone to have sex at least five times
a day in order to survive. If they fail
to get "fixed" they will succumb
to the effects of CMB, which stands for
Chronic Metabolic Breakdown. The body basically
turns into a mass of seething and puss filled
sores, and dead flesh. In addition, this
disease has killed sexual gratification.
The brain has lost its ability to feel pleasure
during sex. So ‘fixing’ this
disease to keep from dying requires having
sex, with the ‘fixing’ only
being temporary. Meaning after three to
six hours, one must be ‘fixed’
before their stage progresses to death.
During this futuristic time, prostitutes
are elevated to a higher standard in life.
They are highly successful and very much
in demand. The prostitutes, or PSP as they
are known, save lives.
This novel revolves around the life of Joe,
clinical philosopher, who meets Vella, a
young woman he virtually bumps into one
day. During this encounter, Joe experiences
what he has only seen in old erotica tapes,
an erection not brought on by the need to
be ‘fixed’ because he is going
through a stage. From this brief interaction,
Joe and Vella's lives change. We watch as
Joe becomes obsessed with finding Vella
because what they share is what the world
wants back, sex with pleasure. They both
crave and give into the sexual pleasure
they have discovered with each other, but
with no other human beings. For Joe and
Vella, their experience brings a change
in their lives; although it may feel good,
it costs them their freedom.
I have never been a fan of science fiction
novels. SexLife has changed that for me.
It was a wonderful change of pace to learn
new definitions for words, actions and futuristic
gadgets. I was amazed at how engrossing
this story was. I was fully engaged from
the very beginning. It made you reflect
about our lives today and the emphasis we
put into sex, based on the arousing feeling
we normally obtain from it. Imagining sex
without pleasure, but necessary to sustain
life, and to live life with drugs is quite
unnerving. It is a well thought out story
with a beautiful moral behind it, "Emotion
is the treasure of my soul, and Love Is
Life's Ambition." Without emotions
one can never be whole, giving ones heart
to another is a beautiful treasure. Totally
different, well-crafted, full of moral symbolism
and Highly recommended.
courtesy of www.imanivoices.com
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Sex
Life
By A. A. Clifford, Gary Hardwick
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