"Piecework" by David Brin

            I have, unfortunately, not read much of David Brin's work. I have, however, read the first chapter of The Postman, and I was absolutely enthralled by the story. I would love to purchase the book and read it further, and maybe more of Brin's work, because, though I haven't read much yet, I can already tell he's a writer well worth delving into. After reading the first chapter of The Postman, though, I wanted to see if I happened to have any sort of short fiction of his (I knew I didn't have any novels). I happened to find one story, “Piecework”.

            I will admit, I have only finished it once, and it wasn't terribly long ago. I still don't understand certain intricacies, like why exactly the profession the title refers to, that of using women as surrogates for various products, is called piecework in the first place. I don't know if it's a simple usage, such as simply implying women are producing pieces of various technology and such, or a symbolic usage, such as the double entendre potentially implied with the title (piecework/peacework), but something like this doesn't seem to be entirely necessary for understanding the whole story and its implications.

            The implications, on the other hand, I do understand. For the most part, anyway. The society featured within the story seems to be reliant on pure emotional and pleasurable instinct, taking the philosophy of hedonism to its peak, even to the point where some will attempt to stop those who seek to break the mold. Because of this, society is saturated by basic primal instincts, such as sex and hunger, and various pleasurable influences, including drugs and television. In fact, the television shows described in particular are soap operas, which are shows which tend to represent what society in general goes through, and they usually rely on the primal urges of humankind to increase the drama represented. This further shows how addicted to constant pleasure the people are, so much so that they seem to need it on a persistent basis, always seeming to need some kind of fix lest they break down.

            It's even how they live, hence is how the profession the title represents grants people the ability to continue to survive. At least, that's the case most of the time. Products seem to be transferred through impregnation, but another option that is available is through simple implantation of eggs without intercourse (at least, that's how I'm understanding it, I could be wrong; if so, I'll take another look at a later time). The main character, Ia, goes the latter route within the story, which helps characterize her. She is the intellectual type on the path to success, not reliant on her emotions to get by in life, and therefore seems to be an overall more mature character than her counterparts. This is further confirmed by the quite positive ending of the story, which is perfectly fitting for this story, and I don't think could've ended any other way, because the ending shows exactly why the society featured in the story shuns climbing the ladder.

            Brilliantly done, Mr. Brin. If I could stand up and applaud in front of you, I would. Interesting and exquisitely written, the story itself was a pleasure to read. I eagerly look forward to reading more works of yours.

            Additional super fun fact: This story totally has no religious symbolism in it. There is no way Ia has anything to do with the Virgin Mary and the whole criticism of hedonism has no ties to any religious ideology whatsoever, particularly Christianity.