Stuart Neilson

GalleryASD fiction Moon, Elizabeth - The Speed of Dark

Moon, Elizabeth - "The Speed of Dark"
Lou Arrendale is a skilled data analyst working in a supportive work environment, living in a near-future world in which autism and other genetic defects have been eliminated from everyone younger than himself. Workplace accomodation - as in real life - is a conditional benefit, provided only to exploit the exceptional talents of some unique individuals. His unscrupulous employer develops a cure for autism, offering Lou the chance to be 'normal', and also offering his employer the chance to exploit his remarkable pattern-matching skills without the additional cost of employment accomodation. "How fast is the speed of dark?", asks Lou, knowing that it must recede at least as fast as light proceeds. But how fast does ignorance spread? Despite Lou's growing maturity and understanding of adult relationships, as well as the opportunity of an intimate relationship he had never hoped for, Lou must make a decision on whether to lose his current self and accept the cure. The book does address a central theme of the neurodiversity movement - cure or acceptance? I found the ending, and decision, unsatisfactory.
Infinity Plus review
www.elizabethmoon.com