Technological Advancements

The posthuman body in the Xenogenesis trilogy written by Octavia Butler can be compared to the present day world. After having read the chapter about this trilogy which includes humans basically being forced to change in a way they do not want to, I realized how this problem can be compared to our way of life right now. The main character Lilith “feels she has become nothing more than a “useful [tool],” an “experimental animal” (Baccolini and Moylan 2003, 97). She has her reasons for the way she feels. The Oankali are a superior alien race who has much greater technological advancements than humans do. They are the ones who force humans to “change for the better” in the alien’s eyes. Lilith has cancer, but the Oankali cure it, “For instance, her genetic tendency to cancer has been “repaired,” but she feels this to have been a violation” (Baccolini and Moylan 2003, 97). The Oankali forcing change upon the human race relates to our world today because we are going through the same idea of “change” right now. Many people think that improving our technology is a fantastic feat, and it is. With these advancements though, comes a forced change in the way of life, which some people are completely against.

The majority of the group that is against change in technology is the elderly or just older people in general. They are so use to the ways back in the 20^th century that life has become much more complicated for them now. The large leap has been forced upon humans and we have no choice but to adapt even if we are against the idea. If you are not technologically savvy in present day, then many problems will arise. Everywhere we go and everything we do involves technology, including buying groceries, paying bills, using the internet for almost everything, and most of all getting higher paying jobs that involve technology. People in their forties and fifties are going back to school to get a degree, just so they can get the qualifications in order to become employed at a decent paying job. Life is not easy right now with all of the change that is being forced on the human race, not just with technology, but also with the economy and how bad it is right now.

In my mind the Oankali represent the change in our lives today and the main character, Lilith represents the vulnerability and disagreement of the human race. Even though her cancer is cured she basically states that she is not happy with herself just because she feels used. I am sure many people today feel “used” when they purchase a product and it does not work properly or it breaks within a few days. As if the company was just selling the product knowing there would be a flaw and they just wanted to test it. The only way that change will progress, is for failure to come along with it during the journey of exploring endless possibilities.