Beggars in Spain and Beggars and Choosers by Nancy Kress
"Beggars in Spain" and its sequel "Beggars and Choosers" explore a futuristic society shaped by advanced genetic modifications. The narrative begins with the birth of Leisha Camden in 2008, amidst a world transformed by a revolutionary energy source. Leisha, designed to be Sleepless—capable of living without sleep—faces societal resentment and complex dynamics between Sleepless and Sleepers, the latter experiencing aging and societal challenges. As Leisha navigates her identity, she grapples with the philosophical implications and social divides that arise, particularly with groups advocating for separation from Sleepers and radical genetic enhancements.
In "Beggars and Choosers," the perspective shifts to Diana Covington, an agent investigating illegal genetic experiments, reflecting broader societal tensions regarding genetic modifications. The impacts of these experiments resonate through communities, leading to disintegration and a desperate call to return to pre-modification lifestyles. The story culminates in the characters confronting ethical dilemmas and the consequences of their choices, leaving open questions about the future of this genetically altered society. The series presents a rich commentary on class, identity, and the moral complexities of scientific advancement, encouraging readers to reflect on the implications of such societal changes.
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Beggars in Spain and Beggars and Choosers
First published:Beggars in Spain (1992; as novella, 1991) and Beggars and Choosers (1994)
Type of work: Novels
Type of plot: Science fiction—future history
Time of work: The twenty-first and twenty-second centuries
Locale: Earth and Sanctuary, a space station orbiting Earth
The Plot
Beggars in Spain opens in the year 2008 with the birth of Leisha Camden. The world is prosperous, thanks to the discovery of a cheap energy source by Kenzo Yagai. Roger Camden is a leading Yagaiist, embracing Yagai’s philosophy of an individual’s responsibility to do the appropriate thing. He is determined to produce a perfect daughter and insists on a modification to ensure that Leisha never needs to sleep, so that she will be more useful to the community.
Leisha is intellectually brilliant and develops rapidly. As she grows older, she is aware of the resentment toward her from her unmodified sister and others. Unable to talk to her family about her feelings, she discovers the existence of other Sleepless, and they form a community, keeping in regular contact. Sleepers become fearful and envious of the achievements of the Sleepless, particularly following the discovery that it is sleep that causes the aging process, so that the Sleepless will not age at the same rate as ordinary people. Some members of the Sleepless community propose building themselves a community apart from the Sleepers, but Leisha believes in the integration of Sleepless and Sleepers and refuses to go into Sanctuary, a space station orbiting Earth.
This first schism among members of the Sleepless community is mirrored by a further schism within Sanctuary when one group, led by Jennifer Sharifi, begins genetic experiments to further enhance the abilities of the Sleepless. Sharifi is ruthless in pursuit of her goal. Adopting a radical definition of community as a group of people whose purpose is to serve the whole, she ruthlessly expels or murders anyone whom she considers incapable of being part of the community, even her own grandson. She also has no sympathy for Sleepers and is keen to form her own nation distinct from the United States. The country benefits from taxing Sleepless technology, so it is unwilling to agree to secession. Sharifi plans to blackmail the United States by threatening to release a plague. When the Supersleepless, who are the product of Sharifi’s experiments and already are disturbed by her callousness, learn of her plans, they take control of the space station from her, hand her over to the authorities, and leave for their own hideaway.
On Earth, Leisha has adopted a Sleeper boy, Drew Arlen, a member of the faux-aristocratic Liver faction who is looking for revenge against Sanctuary for killing his grandfather and is determined one day to own it. Unable to settle and unable to adapt to “donkey” ways, in which he would have to work for a living, he is a source of trouble in Leisha’s home until he is accidentally crippled by Leisha’s great-nephew, Eric, in a fight. Even this does not stop him from continuing on a path to destruction. In a dangerous attempt to save him from a life of waste, Eric forcibly treats him with a drug that unleashes an ability to induce lucid dreams in others, including the Sleepless. Leisha also tries to respond to the increasing divisions among pro-Sleeper organizations that promote their shoddy goods at the expense of superior Sleepless products, on the basis that they are primarily philanthropic in their aims. Society is in upheaval because of a curious division between “donkeys,” Sleepers who are prepared to continue working, and Livers, a faux-aristocratic section of the Sleeper population. Their relationship is an uneasy symbiosis, whereby the donkeys provide for the Livers in return for their votes. By the end of the book, the situation is still unresolved, although Leisha remains confident that Sleepers and Sleepless can live in an integrated society.
Beggars and Choosers presents a very different world, partly through the eyes of Diana Covington, a roving agent for the Genetic Standards Enforcement Agency. She is hunting for Miranda Sharifi, who is believed to be performing illegal genetic experiments. As becomes clear, other groups also are performing experiments and are releasing products into the environment in an attempt to return to a time before gene modification was the norm. The effects of unauthorized gene modification are shown through the eyes of Billy Washington, a Liver whose community gradually is disintegrating as services fail.
Drew Arlen’s lucid dreaming ability is being employed by the Supersleepless to inspire the Livers to return to the donkey way of life in the face of this disintegration, but Arlen is ambivalent about continued genetic experimentation. Miranda Sharifi argues that in this instance, she does know best. Sharifi is imprisoned for her work, but not before producing an antidote to a plague released by an illegal organization, thus demonstrating her willingness to help Sleepers. The book closes with the certainty that a new order has been established but no certainty as to what shape it will take.