The Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler

BY KARYN STICKEL

One of the features of this edition of TechCentury is the essay from the winner of our student writing contest. This is the fifth year of doing the contest and has become one of my favorite parts of the publication. Every year, we offer different prompts for the students and for this competition, one of the prompts was “What is your favorite science fiction story, why, and how is engineering involved in the storyline?” This prompt precipitated discussion amongst the TechCentury Editorial Board, and it was decided to premier a book review from The Engineering Society of Detroit members in future issues. As the Chair of the TechCentury Editorial Board, I am pleased to be able to write the inaugural column in which we hope is a recurring series.

As I was considering the theme of this issue, primarily focused on climate change, I could not help but think of a book that speaks to this in a stark manner. In Octavia Butler’s 1993 post-apocalyptic novel Parable of the Sower, she imagines a near future Los Angeles that has been ravaged by global climate changes, economic crises, and social unrest. The novel, told through the eyes of 15-year-old Lauren Olamina, takes place in the early 2020s, starting in 2024, only a year away from where we are now. Lauren and her family are living in a gated community with limited access to clean water, food, and electricity. They are forced to fight off attacks from the outside and their daily lives are consumed with survival. While the world is not in the dire straits that the book supposes, there are warning signs that Ms. Butler has laid out. One of the underlying themes throughout the book is the idea of water shortage, which is the cause of much of the unrest. As water is an essential part of life, these shortages give rise to black markets, crime, and corruption. While the current flooding in California makes this seem unlikely at this point, the region has been in drought conditions for many years, with 2022 being the second driest year in the last 128 years, according to drought.gov/ states/California.

While water shortages are not imminent, scientists and officials are planning for the time when water in the West is not readily available. The Colorado River Aqueduct, which provides water for a significant part of Southern California, receives water from the Colorado River Basin. We have all read stories about Lake Mead, part of the basin, and its plummeting water levels after prolonged drought conditions. These plummeting water levels have brought about sensational stories about finding murder victims from the 1970s, but represent a threat to the water supply that provides drinking water, along with agricultural water, to many communities. This not only threatens drinking water, an essential part of life, but could potentially threaten crops as well, leading to food shortages, as also brought to light in this novel.

Engineers, scientists, leaders, and residents must work together to address this growing concern. Water conservation efforts are underway, but it is likely they will need to be stepped up. This dystopian novel offers up a bleak futuristic view of where we could be heading. At its heart, it examines the desperate measures that people will take to protect their loved ones and the dangers that arise when societal norms collapse.

Fantasy and science fiction can often offer an escape from the real world. While this novel is less fantastical, and has some realistic qualities, the faith of the main character Lauren, through some truly heartbreaking events, brings the story to life.