Author Matt Witten’s new mystery novel, “51%,” is both scary and suspenseful, and it points clearly to a problem which presents a major trap for America. No, it’s not about the potential takeover of the country and the world by artificial intelligence. That subject has already been treated in numerous articles, essays, videos, and some excellent novels. But in “51%,” an equally dangerous trap for the U.S.A. is at the heart of this complex novel. This time, it’s the all-too-likely takeover of the country by the world of corporations and powerful syndicates, groups of those companies and institutions. Even as the U.S. exists right now, huge corporations are so ubiquitous and so powerful that it sometimes feels hopeless to attempt to overcome their power. And that is essentially what this novel is about.
First: the setting of the novel is itself fascinating — the condition of the city of New York about twenty years from now. The night sky is completely covered by holograms depicting the beauty of the syndicates and the alleged liberty they provide. No stars, no moon, no nature. And for the citizens, no more financial woes, no worries about the future, no stressful decisions about occupational strife. The weight of stress are gone. Everything will be provided through help from and decisions made by the syndicates — which now own everything of importance to human beings: the medical world, the places of relaxation, the sources of food, the availability of vehicles and all other forms of transportation, the political world, the financial systems, the police departments, And the people.
Ergo, the novel’s title. Every person carries a chip which has been securely implanted into the body. That chip ensures that everyone is, to one degree or another, a slave of the system, of the syndicates. Most significantly, when an individual needs money, he or she can always procure it through the auspices of the syndicate that owns his or her chip. “Here’s money for your kid’s education, kindergarten through college. And we, your dedicated syndicate, will add only 20% of your life to the percentage of you that we already own. And when that percentage of you reaches 51% — voila! We now own you. We will decide everything about your future and your life. We own more of you than you do.” (paraphrase.)
Second is the multiplicity of important characters, both protagonists and antagonists; both very good folks and very evil ones. It’s almost impossible to center in on one protagonist of the novel because so many cast members play such important roles in the two primary plots. Even a summary must recognize their actions, beliefs, and ideals. Witten emphasizes the presence of the most significant characters by placing their particular names at the headings of each chapter. And he wisely names some chapter headings “Everyone,” again both good guys and bad guys. Here is a list of several of the characters who rate inclusion in the chapter headings. It’s important to also point out the ways their actions influence the unfolding of the two main plots. The search for the murderer of a beautiful young woman can be labeled plot #1, and the plans and execution of those plans to escape the bonds of the syndicates can be labeled as plot #2.
Characters:
(1) Juke: a good man (though flawed, of course, like all well-drawn characters) and a good cop, whose job is to solve murders. He has experienced his share of tragedies, but through thick and thin, he stubbornly sticks to his goal of always acting on his belief that everyone, rich or poor, great or small, immigrant, minority, or poverty-stricken, deserves his full attention as he pursues his goal of solving every crime that he comes across. Unfortunately for Juke, that decency costs him dearly because only rich or famous people who are involved in murder cases bring in the money, potentially thousands of dollars, that the police department cares about. Cases involving only poor people bring Juke a payment of about 18 dollars. We quickly become aware that the police department is, in fact, the NYPD, Inc., owned top-to-bottom by a syndicate. That’s why it’s referred to by those who don’t exactly love it as “Dinc,” which is one of many clever future colloquialisms or slang expressions coined here by Witten. So when Juke insists on finding the murderer of a beautiful young woman whose body he finds in the street — beaten, raped, and run over — twice — by a car, solving the case will net just a few dollars for Dinc and almost nothing for him and his partner. That’s plot #1.
(2) Haylee: Juke’s new partner, another flawed but decent human being. Her main problem is that she is pregnant, and the father of the baby she carries is her former partner, who was tragically killed while in the process of capturing a criminal, and whose death Haylee blames on herself. On top of that tragedy, she’s desperate for more money because she’ll need it to enable her daughter-to-be to be “enhanced,” an ultra-expensive medical procedure which ensures that a baby will grow up to be able to compete with others for successful educational and occupational careers. Haylee does not wish to sell herself to her corporate bosses. Perhaps above all, she does not want to put herself in danger of becoming a 51%-er. She wants her life to be her own. And now she’s stuck with Juke, who refuses to look for wealthy connections. She apparently has nowhere to turn.
(3) Safiya: the brilliant and beautiful founder and head of the New York 19, a group which she has put together for the purpose of defeating America’s syndicates. Her plan is to form the most effective resistance to the corporate world that owns America. She is the main character of the novel’s plot #2, the most suspenseful element of the novel and the one that best represents the novel’s primary theme: fight the power, even if and when the the power’s influence is overwhelming, even when it owns everything and everyone in the country. Safiya has helped discover a method to “D-chip” people, and her plan is to D-chip the folks in New York 19, to escape with all the members to Canada — which is NOT a corporate-owned entity — and from that place and time to teach everyone in the U.S. the process of D-chipping. She is a dangerous young woman. She is also Juke’s ex-lover. He still loves her, and perhaps she still loves him. All to be decided.
(4) The Red Queen: a most important character even though she’s not a person. She is a zillion pound steel AI monster. (Well, maybe two tons.) And the world’s most efficient detective/investigator as she sniffs out (even without a nose) anyone who might pose a threat to the syndicates or the Dincs. She possesses absolutely no redeeming qualities. A terrific character.
(5) Talia: the murdered beautiful young immigrant whose life had been taken even before the novel begins. But, as a member of the New York 19, she exerts tremendous influence over both plots — the search for her murderer and the plans for The Great Escape.
(6) Jeannie and Cheyenne: minor good-guy characters who play increasingly important roles in the escape to Canada as well as the D-chipping process.
(7) Diego: Talia’s lover and maybe her murderer. A crime of passion? He also plays an important role in the climactic scenes of the novel.
(8) Rey: Safiya’s present boyfriend who leaves all the dirty work to her but still emerges as a heroic figure.
(9) Karolyn: Deputy Director at “The Agency.” A villainous, arrogant, officious, ambitious creep whose greed and thirst for power, promotions, and money are her primary characteristics. She poses a terrible threat to anyone who may be involved with the Resistance.
(10) Billingsley: another arrogant villain, this one the very essence of corporate evil. He’s an ultra-wealthy jerk who is quite capable of ruining the lives of people who are desperate for financial help. He’s also sly and tricky, especially when he turns on the charm. He’s the type who sincerely wishes that all poor people and minorities would automatically become 51%-ers.
We must note here that ALL the villains are so so deliciously evil that you’d like to take a big ugly bite out of all of them. Their ultimate plan, mentioned specifically only once but very openly and frighteningly, is to use the chips that will have been implanted in every single “enemy’s” brain to make everyone happy and obedient. They will be more than willing to absorb all the drugs that will be shot into them so that they can forever be perfectly happy and willing to do nothing to alter their drug-induced lazy contentment. They will, in other words, do anything their corporate masters deem useful and not do anything their masters deem dangerous. Their lives will match those of the citizenry of Huxley’s “Brave NewWorld” — they’ll be brainless and powerless.
But back to the unfolding of plot #2: The night of the planned escape turns into an exciting taste of a finely tuned action/suspense novel. All the the blood and gore; all the revenge; all the suspense involved in the courageous but long-shot escape attempt; all the sadness of loss; maybe all the schadenfreude of sweet success, even if it’s temporary. And all the suspense and action comes shooting off the pages of this extraordinary novel, right into the brain of the fascinated and excited reader.
So there we have it — Matt Witten’s venture into the novelistic worlds of murder mystery, suspense, political commentary, action, and even something of a touching love story, all-in-one. An amazing effort by the author; a terrific and extremely enjoyable experience for the readers. And there should be many of those.
This review was first posted on Bookreporter.com.