Built-in obedience: Nekropolis (2001) by Maureen F. McHugh

Scrambling for hope in a bleak near-future Morocco

Nekropolis (2001) is the fourth - and to date, final - novel by the American writer Maureen F. McHugh. Like her much better known debut China Mountain Zhang (1992), this is what could be termed “mundane” science fiction. McHugh’s characters live in an oppressive near-future scenario, but are powerless to change it - the best they can hope for is to live the best life they can.

Set in an alternate future Morocco, Nekropolis focuses on Hariba, a young woman modified for obedience to a contract owner. She begins to view the world differently upon meeting Akhmim, a synthetic human also condemned to a life of service. They long for a life of freedom, and to be together - but learn that these goals may be incompatible. 

A flawed but intriguing novel on the borderline between SF and realist fiction, Nekropolis is about control and agency, hope, and the costs of pursuing personal freedom in an autocratic society.

City of the dead

Nekropolis takes its name from an area dominated by mausoleums in an unspecified city in near-future Morocco. Hariba’s mother makes a meagre living there, making elaborate paper flowers which are bought by visiting mourners. In order to raise money, at 21 Hariba is “jessed”. This is a techno-biological procedure which allows a human to be made obedient to the owner of a service contract. Hariba surrenders her autonomy, and goes into service in a wealthy household.

There, she meets Akhmim, a lab-grown construct largely indistinguishable from a natural human. He too is an obedient servant, in his case by design. They form a loving relationship, although each sees it somewhat differently. In time, Hariba seeks to breach her contract and flee Morocco - but this imposes a harsh cost on herself, her family, and Akhmim. In this world, a person is bought cheaply but freedom comes at a steep price.

Chains of DNA

The future Morocco setting is a large part of what makes Nekropolis distinctive, but is also a weakness. McHugh’s knowledge of the Arab world, and of Islam, seems slight. As the Science Fiction Encyclopaedia puts it mildly, McHugh’s feminist “disdain for Moslem attitudes towards women is not entirely seasoned by knowledge”. The novel never approaches a believable depiction of a future Morocco.

The depiction of technological change also leaves something to be desired. At no point does McHugh really sell or make convincing the whole concept of “jessing”. For contract holders, it has little perceptible advantage over the many real-life forms of slavery and compulsion. When Hariba defies her contract, the effect is an unpleasant but strictly temporary illness. Similarly, Akhmim’s not strictly human nature is not explored in any depth.

As in China Mountain Zhang, McHugh offers glimpses of futuristic culture - for example, Hariba and Akhmim are made to take roles in a partially holographic parlour game designed to entertain their wealthy “betters”. While brief, this is one of the more interesting aspects of this future scenario when taken at the level of SF. The sense is that in this future Morocco, technology is mainly a means to control the poor and amuse the rich - it is not put to any higher purpose. There are slight glimpses, though, of the world outside where more favourable conditions are present.

Mountain to climb

On other levels Nekropolis is effective. McHugh's structure is again similar to China Mountain Zhang in that the book is divided into a small number of lengthy sections, focusing on different characters. The focus of these is quite tight, allowing McHugh to expose how the characters perceive each other and lending valuable extra depth.

For example, the section following Akhmim shows that he has a different view of his relationship with Hariba. It shows his deep connection with other harni, or synthetic humans. What the reader learns, but which Hariba cannot understand, is that Akhmim has a special connection with his own people which she can neither become a part of, nor replicate. This lends a tragic quality to what could have been a broadly conventional love affair. As ever, McHugh is disinclined to provide easy answers.

The moral seriousness, tight focus, and character depth of Nekropolis are its principal strengths. While this is a work of science fiction, the SF elements are fairly slight and not explored in much detail. It is instead the realist elements which work more strongly. Ultimately this is a less charming novel than China Mountain Zhang, but well worth a look for those who enjoyed McHugh's earlier and better known work.