Lockdown (The Fringe #4)
Page 30
Plenty of the things I uncovered never actually made it into the book, but they still helped inform my writing.
For instance, land mines are still a problem in more than a third of the world’s countries. Fortunately, an organization called Apopo has been training rats to detect the TNT in buried mines, and the Mine Detection Agency in Afghanistan uses dogs to sniff out explosives. Owen obviously wouldn’t have had access to one of these “hero rats” or explosive-sniffing canines, so he used the old probing method that’s been around for decades.
Another detail I left out was the issue of safe sex within the compound. Incorporating the right details in those scenes is extremely difficult, but one study published in Psychology of Women Quarterly found that condom use in books (or the lack thereof) can impact women’s perception of safe sex, so I thought it was important to clarify that aspect of the book.
Because the compounds are closed ecosystems, anyone entering the compound after it was founded would have been rigorously screened for infection to prevent the spread of disease. Assuming no Recon operatives had any direct contact with drifters, there would be little risk of contracting a sexually transmitted infection.
Since compound leaders don’t want tier-three workers reproducing, birth control would come standard issue with placement. I decided that in the future, the burden of birth control may fall on the men — especially in a society that may need a wave of babies to sustain the population. There are several interesting methods of male birth control in the works right now, including a painless ultrasound procedure that reduces sperm count for about six months.
One of the most fascinating topics I investigated was prisons. The idea for the pink jumpsuits in the cages was initially inspired by Arizona’s Tent City, an open-air jail where inmates are forced to wear pink underwear as punishment. But there’s another reason for the pink outfits: The color pink can reduce anger and aggression, and prisons in Switzerland have actually painted cells pink to calm down inmates.
While some prisoners might consider this cruel and unusual punishment, it’s nothing compared to the so-called “enhanced interrogation techniques” used by the CIA that inspired the Answer Man’s torture methods.
Most of the techniques described in a 2014 report from the Senate Intelligence Committee were too horrific to use in this book, but the waterboarding, induced hypothermia, sleep deprivation, and sensory overload are all real methods employed by the U.S. government.
Yes, the CIA did reportedly blast music twenty-four hours a day to break down detainees’ will. These “torture songs” included “Slim Shady,” “Hit Me Baby One More Time,” “We Will Rock You,” and the theme from Sesame Street.
A group of artists — including members of R.E.M. and Pearl Jam — demanded that the government release the names of songs used for torture. And according to the White House, music is no longer used to torture prisoners.
This just goes to show that artists can make an impact by raising awareness. Governments, corporations, and politicians rely on people’s ignorance and apathy to do the things they do.
It’s no coincidence that Constance’s headquarters is located in the dark Information tunnels: Corruption thrives in the shadows, and as long as no one knows what atrocities are being committed, no one can stop them.
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