Deathcast
A novella from No Way Home
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Summary
Deathcast: A Dystopian Vision from L.A. Davenport’s No Way Home
In a world where control and compliance are disguised as wellness, Deathcast pulls readers into a hauntingly familiar yet disturbingly totalitarian future. Patrick, branded as SSKB578, is a man caught between loyalty and rebellion, bound by a system where every movement is monitored, every interaction suspect. Meanwhile, his young daughter, Poppy, learns early that even family bonds can be overshadowed by society’s demands.
Under the government’s relentless gaze, those who falter are subjected to “Permanent Correction,” a euphemism hiding a terrifying reality. As Patrick’s world collides with underground movements, his family’s fragile stability unravels, revealing the horrors masked by health contracts, compulsory pledges, and “motivational realignment” programs designed to strip individuals of any trace of defiance.
Davenport’s novella is a sharp, thought-provoking look at a society taken over by its own obsession with order and wellness. Deathcast is a chilling reminder of the fine line between safety and oppression, forcing us to question how far we are willing to go in the name of progress.
In a world where control and compliance are disguised as wellness, Deathcast pulls readers into a hauntingly familiar yet disturbingly totalitarian future. Patrick, branded as SSKB578, is a man caught between loyalty and rebellion, bound by a system where every movement is monitored, every interaction suspect. Meanwhile, his young daughter, Poppy, learns early that even family bonds can be overshadowed by society’s demands.
Under the government’s relentless gaze, those who falter are subjected to “Permanent Correction,” a euphemism hiding a terrifying reality. As Patrick’s world collides with underground movements, his family’s fragile stability unravels, revealing the horrors masked by health contracts, compulsory pledges, and “motivational realignment” programs designed to strip individuals of any trace of defiance.
Davenport’s novella is a sharp, thought-provoking look at a society taken over by its own obsession with order and wellness. Deathcast is a chilling reminder of the fine line between safety and oppression, forcing us to question how far we are willing to go in the name of progress.
Background
This started out as three entries on my old blog, The Marching Band Emporium, then became the script for an hour-long drama, before finally ended up as a novella. All the way along, it was a cautionary tale.
There is something disturbingly evangelical about the modern Wellness movement. One is seen as morally reprehensible, fundamentally wrong even, if one does not ensure that one’s health is maximised and one’s burden on society is minimised. One has to follow a strict diet, ideally involving nothing dying in the process (although with no thought to the environmental cost), and to do nothing that might be thought counter to ideal health. It is religion (faith in the purity of the advocated products) and extremism (against naysayers and ‘law’ breakers) rolled into one.
Do you think I’m exaggerating? Just look at how first smokers, then obese people and now anyone who consumes sugar are vilified and shamed online and in the media. It is a series of modern witch hunts that seem always to be pointing to the same conclusion: ‘offenders’, as in smokers, overeaters, sugar addicts, are not only harming themselves but are harming all of us, and therefore need to be stopped and punished.
The arguments run like this: a smoker is both disgusting and killing those around them; an obese person is both disgusting and abusing the health system; someone who ‘pushes’ sugar on their children is both disgusting and committing child abuse. Faced with that sort of damning, black-and-white thinking, how can you argue otherwise that they are not only wrong but next to evil and need to be punished?
To reiterate, I haven’t made these things up. That is what people say, in print and online, apparently happy to stand by their beliefs enough to see them go on record.
Where will it all end? Hopefully not in the dystopian future I depict in Deathcast, in which Wellness has been elevated to a state-level religion and any contraventions are punishable by death, but it could if we’re not careful.
As a society, we need to remember that collective responsibility should always be finely balanced with personal choice and freedom. If someone wishes to smoke, that is their issue. Yes, I agree with banning smoking in workplaces because of the effect on non-smokers, but only that. Obesity is an issue for the person themselves, as is eating sugar. We can and should advise people the best way to live, so that they can live a happy, healthy and productive life, but if they chose another path, we have to respect them and not condemn them.
Learn more about the meaning of the word Deathcast.
There is something disturbingly evangelical about the modern Wellness movement. One is seen as morally reprehensible, fundamentally wrong even, if one does not ensure that one’s health is maximised and one’s burden on society is minimised. One has to follow a strict diet, ideally involving nothing dying in the process (although with no thought to the environmental cost), and to do nothing that might be thought counter to ideal health. It is religion (faith in the purity of the advocated products) and extremism (against naysayers and ‘law’ breakers) rolled into one.
Do you think I’m exaggerating? Just look at how first smokers, then obese people and now anyone who consumes sugar are vilified and shamed online and in the media. It is a series of modern witch hunts that seem always to be pointing to the same conclusion: ‘offenders’, as in smokers, overeaters, sugar addicts, are not only harming themselves but are harming all of us, and therefore need to be stopped and punished.
The arguments run like this: a smoker is both disgusting and killing those around them; an obese person is both disgusting and abusing the health system; someone who ‘pushes’ sugar on their children is both disgusting and committing child abuse. Faced with that sort of damning, black-and-white thinking, how can you argue otherwise that they are not only wrong but next to evil and need to be punished?
To reiterate, I haven’t made these things up. That is what people say, in print and online, apparently happy to stand by their beliefs enough to see them go on record.
Where will it all end? Hopefully not in the dystopian future I depict in Deathcast, in which Wellness has been elevated to a state-level religion and any contraventions are punishable by death, but it could if we’re not careful.
As a society, we need to remember that collective responsibility should always be finely balanced with personal choice and freedom. If someone wishes to smoke, that is their issue. Yes, I agree with banning smoking in workplaces because of the effect on non-smokers, but only that. Obesity is an issue for the person themselves, as is eating sugar. We can and should advise people the best way to live, so that they can live a happy, healthy and productive life, but if they chose another path, we have to respect them and not condemn them.
Learn more about the meaning of the word Deathcast.
Cover Design
The cover for Deathcast was designed by the brilliant David Löwe.
To find out how David approaches design in general, and the covers for No Way Home and Dear Lucifer and Other Stories in particular, I talked to him, asking him first of all how he comes up with his ideas.
To find out how David approaches design in general, and the covers for No Way Home and Dear Lucifer and Other Stories in particular, I talked to him, asking him first of all how he comes up with his ideas.
© L.A. Davenport 2017-2024.
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Deathcast | Pushing the Wave