''Czarne oceany'' (literally ''"Black Oceans"'') is a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

novel by Polish writer

Jacek Dukaj Jacek Józef Dukaj (pronounced: ; born 30 July 1974) is a Polish science fiction and fantasy writer. His fiction explores such themes as alternate history, alternative physics and logic, human nature, religion, the relationship between science a ...

, published in Poland by

Supernowa The Independent Publishing House NOWA (, meaning 'new' or 'nova') was the first underground publishing house in the Polish People's Republic (see samizdat). After opening in 1977, it soon became the largest independent publisher in Communist Pol ...

in 2001. The novel fits in the

hard science fiction Hard science fiction is a category of science fiction characterized by concern for scientific accuracy and logic. The term was first used in print in 1957 by P. Schuyler Miller in a review of John W. Campbell's ''Islands of Space'' in the Novemb ...

genre, describing the late-21st century Earth facing

technological singularity The technological singularity—or simply the singularity—is a hypothetical point in time at which technological growth becomes uncontrollable and irreversible, resulting in unforeseeable consequences for human civilization. According to the ...

. The novel received the prime Polish award for sci-fi literature, Janusz A. Zajdel Award, for 2001.

Development

The novel was cut down at the publisher's request from over 1000 pages to fewer than 500. The first seven chapters as well as several extra chapters which were cut from the printed versions are published free on Dukaj's website.

Plot summary

The world

The year is around 2060. The

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

is still a leading power, but European and Asian powers are trailing close behind it. Technology has advanced, with

biotechnological Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists in the field are kn ...

implants allowing people control over computers via brain-computer interfaces. Full immersion

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a Simulation, simulated experience that employs 3D near-eye displays and pose tracking to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video gam ...

is common, as well as 'Orto Virtual Reality' - mixing virtual reality with our reality, in effect '

skinning Skinning is the act of skin removal. The process is done by humans to animals, mainly as a means to prepare the meat beneath for cooking and consumption, or to harvest the skin for making fur clothing or tanning it to make leather. The sk ...

' our reality in a form of

augmented reality Augmented reality (AR), also known as mixed reality (MR), is a technology that overlays real-time 3D computer graphics, 3D-rendered computer graphics onto a portion of the real world through a display, such as a handheld device or head-mounted ...

. Much of the elite is

genetically engineered Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of technologies used to change the genetic makeup of cells, including th ...

as well, with AIs being increasingly common. In many ways this is a dark,

cyberpunk Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting said to focus on a combination of "low-life and high tech". It features futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and cyberwa ...

-kind of a world. However, the conflicts of this future era rely more on

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

and market forces than sophisticated military hardware. In this world the

stock market A stock market, equity market, or share market is the aggregation of buyers and sellers of stocks (also called shares), which represent ownership claims on businesses; these may include ''securities'' listed on a public stock exchange a ...

is the new battleground for nations and megacorps. Technological trends are far from only ones explored by Dukaj in his book. He portrays the futuristic

bureaucracy Bureaucracy ( ) is a system of organization where laws or regulatory authority are implemented by civil servants or non-elected officials (most of the time). Historically, a bureaucracy was a government administration managed by departments ...

, political power struggles behind private sector, government and the military, and changes in culture. Dukaj extrapolates from the current trend of increasing

lawsuits A lawsuit is a proceeding by one or more parties (the plaintiff or claimant) against one or more parties (the defendant) in a civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. T ...

and

political correctness "Political correctness" (adjectivally "politically correct"; commonly abbreviated to P.C.) is a term used to describe language, policies, or measures that are intended to avoid offense or disadvantage to members of particular groups in society. ...

: in his world many people willingly live under constant

mass surveillance Mass surveillance is the intricate surveillance of an entire or a substantial fraction of a population in order to monitor that group of citizens. The surveillance is often carried out by Local government, local and federal governments or intell ...

of the New Etiquette (NEti), which registers all their actions so that they couldn't be falsely accused of some "personal offense crime".

The story

The main character, Nicholas Hunt, is an American politician and

lobbyist Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by various entities, in ...

, closely involved with some branches of secret military research including

paranormal Paranormal events are purported phenomena described in popular culture, folk, and other non-scientific bodies of knowledge, whose existence within these contexts is described as being beyond the scope of normal scientific understanding. Not ...

activities. He is not a

hero A hero (feminine: heroine) is a real person or fictional character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through feats of ingenuity, courage, or Physical strength, strength. The original hero type of classical epics did such thin ...

: as Dukaj himself describes him, he is "a cynical, egoistic bureaucrat, whose main motivation for all of his decisions in his job is, it seems, covering his ass". Currently he has lost an internal power struggle and is assigned to oversee what seems like a dead-end, low-key project. Soon, however, his project starts to gain more importance, as scientists explore some promising theories from the borders of

memetics Memetics is a theory of the evolution of culture based on Darwinian principles with the meme as the unit of culture. The term "meme" was coined by biologist Richard Dawkins in his 1976 book '' The Selfish Gene'', to illustrate the principle that h ...

and

telepathy Telepathy () is the purported vicarious transmission of information from one person's mind to another's without using any known human sensory channels or physical interaction. The term was first coined in 1882 by the classical scholar Frederic ...

, including study of potential lifeforms that would use

meme A meme (; ) is an idea, behavior, or style that Mimesis, spreads by means of imitation from person to person within a culture and often carries symbolic meaning representing a particular phenomenon or theme. A meme acts as a unit for carrying c ...

s just as we use

gene In biology, the word gene has two meanings. The Mendelian gene is a basic unit of heredity. The molecular gene is a sequence of nucleotides in DNA that is transcribed to produce a functional RNA. There are two types of molecular genes: protei ...

s, and develop new sciences like ''psychomemetics''. Suddenly a strange cataclysm takes place, with millions of people worldwide going insane and many densely populated areas becoming a 'no-go' zone. Nicholas Hunt is not sure if this is an alien invasion, a result of military or corporate experiment, anew step in human evolution, or the result of the transformation into a post-

world.

Awards

The novel received the prime Polish award for science fiction literature, Janusz A. Zajdel Award, for 2001.

Analysis

The novel was discussed in the context of

transhumanism Transhumanism is a philosophical and intellectual movement that advocates the human enhancement, enhancement of the human condition by developing and making widely available new and future technologies that can greatly enhance longevity, cogni ...

and cyberpunk.

Reception

In 2001 in his review for ''

Gazeta Wyborcza (; ''The Electoral Gazette'' in English) is a Polish nationwide daily newspaper based in Warsaw, Poland. It was launched on 8 May 1989 on the basis of the Polish Round Table Agreement and as a press organ of the Solidarity (Polish trade union), t ...

'',

Wojciech Orliński Wojciech Orliński (born 24 January 1969 in Warsaw) is a Polish journalist, writer, and blogger. In the 1990s, he was a member of the Polish Socialist Party. Between 1997 and 2021, he was a regular columnist for Gazeta Wyborcza. From 2011 to ...

, praised the book for its vivid and realistic portrayal of the near future, although criticized the plot for being somewhat convoluted, and some dialogues for being too much of infodumps. He also noted that the book has gained a cult status years before its actual publication.

References

External links

2003 Interview with Jacek Dukaj at Wotmania.com
* Reviews

*
Description of book on Jacek Dukaj's page
* Reviews

Detailed summary of Black Oceans in English

Passage from Black Oceans (English translation)
*
Chapters 1-7Chapter 13
{{Jacek Dukaj Polish novels 2001 novels Polish science fiction novels 2001 science fiction novels 21st-century Polish novels Cyberpunk novels Novels by Jacek Dukaj