Literaturklub: Menschmaschinen (mit Enno Stahl)

The future is already here and it suffers from the present ... What do you do when you come to in the middle of a city, no longer knowing who you are or where you come from? Twenty-year-old Marcos suddenly finds himself in this scenario - as if he had fallen from outer space: His memory seems to have been wiped clean. He embarks on a restless search for his identity through the gigantic techno city of RheinRuhr, which in 2053 stretches from the former Dortmund to Cologne and Mönchengladbach. He is helped by the young woman Tonya and the shady detective Berlinguer. Both seem to be pursuing their own interests. Marcos can't trust anyone. All traces lead to the genetics giant TransGen Inc., where Marcos will make a shocking discovery and learn the truth about his origins. A novel about our social future: the right-wing populist parties rule Europe, but in the face of unbounded market fundamentalism, that doesn't mean much. Everyone fights only for themselves. There is no continuous state administration. The EU is no more than a vassal of an overpowering China, squeezed between the USA and Russia, both of which are dominated by totalitarian rulers and are in warlike competition with each other. All humans are implanted with a chip (the so-called Interier Console [IC]), through which they have constant access to the Allnet. Using 3D printers, they produce almost all of their everyday items themselves, if they can afford it. There are few jobs and therefore few opportunities to earn more than the meagre basic income. Androids and genetically engineered clone specialists are creating additional pressure on the severely reduced labor market.

"A popular misconception expects the future to at least get rid of the present, for something better or worse. In 'Menschmaschinen', Enno Stahl shows that the future can weigh on the present like an unresolved past - even tomorrow." (Dietmar Dath)

In conversation with Adrian Kasnitz, Enno Stahl presents his new novel Menschmaschinen (parasitenpresse), which is richly illustrated with 20 drawings by Roland Bergère.