A Note on Pronouns

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This novel portrays a future civilization in which all aspects of individuality, including race and gender, are ruthlessly suppressed. This necessitates certain artificialities in the use of pronouns. She/her/hers are used throughout, even for obviously male characters. In a similar fashion, it is rude and offensive to use I/me/my in polite society (‘dropping the I-bomb’), since doing so proclaims your importance as an individual. We/us/our are used by persons who conform to the diktats of society; rebels and ne’er-do-wells drop the I-bomb with relish, as do the artificial intelligences (AIs).

To provide a literary vehicle for these artifices, the conceit is adopted that everyone in this society speaks a future language called Panglobal, constructed in a manner similar to Orwell’s Newspeak, to suppress the expression of unwanted concepts.

English is now a classical language, used on occasion by educated individuals. Passages and words spoken in it have been indicated as follows: [English] This sentence is in English. This notation has been omitted for loanwords such as mother and love which have crept into Panglobal despite the best efforts of the authorities.