|
This discussion about lack of credibility in the donation process is illustrative of one of the books biggest weaknesses, or from a different perspective one of its biggest strengths. The book is not about the cloning process or the science. The world in which it is set is probably one of the most sketchy dystopian worlds I have ever come across. But I don't believe that the author was lazy. It was quite deliberate. The author clearly wanted to write about particular things, and that's what he did. Personally I don't think it worked very well, but opinions differ.
The author left us to fill in the details ourselves almost completely. How we did so is a big factor in whether we found the book at all realistic. I think if we look to the actual state of medical science the organ donation is a nonsense. In the real world organs are essentially used for one thing. Transplant directly from a donor to a recipient. Organ transplants do not cure cancer or other diseases unconnected with the organs function. Nor can organs be used to create miracle cures. This effectively blows criticisms of the credibility of the donation process out of the water. Our science does not apply. In the book organs are harvested for research. They are harvested for miracle cures, perhaps for use in drug production. We just don't know. We do know that they are needed to cure otherwise incurable diseases in some unexplained manner. We simply don't know whether there is some medical reason for the donation process. It is not hard to imagine such reasons. The author just wanted to tell a particular story.
|