"Silence Descends: The End of the Information Age, 2000―2500" is not as
much a novel as it is an imaginary book of non-fiction: a history of the
future, written in the year 2500―a look back at where we have yet to go.
"Silence Descends" is a cautionary tale; it is a critique of "the
Microsoft mentality"―the belief in the power of technology to save us.
This is the story of how the information age goes awry, and rather than
enhancing our lives, actually leads to the breakdown of society. The
atomic destruction of the former Stalingrad by what will be suspected as
fascist militants will become the first in a series of steps that will
lead to the end of society as we will know it. Mixing real personalities
with imaginary individuals from the future, George has done his research
on this one, even if most of it is made up. References include Mary Xian
(Night Thoughts, 2012), Carmen Jaeger (The First Day of Spring, 2029),
Arthur Hong (RageRoots, 2041), Aldous Huxley (Brave New World, 1932) and
George Orwell (Nineteen Eighty-Four, 1949). "Silence Descends" includes
black and white photographs by Rosalee Hiebert.