(Found) Looking for book

[D@rk2Light]

I read this book in high school (we had just evolved past chiseling in stone) and I am trying to find it. Future society where the population was controlled by weekly injections. The government controlled all aspects of life. The main character was a child (early teen?) who was told by his grandfather (who disappeared soon after) to devise a way to avoid the injections. I think the child’s name was Pip or Chip. The child succeeds and eventually leads a revolt to overthrow the government. I thought it was “A Brave New World“ by Aldous Huxley, but I don’t think that is correct. Thanks in advance!

 

[Dave]

The injections would fit This Perfect Day by Ira Levin and the protagonist was indeed called Chip. His grandfather teaches him to be nonconformist. At the end of the book, it rains for the first time during the day.

I'm excited that I might know one of these for once. it isn't quite that old though, 1970? Otherwise, I have a whole host of other books with central computers and revolutions.

 

[otistdog]

@Dave -- not to hijack the thread, but would you mind listing some of those? There's one that I can't remember which I always thought was This Perfect Day, but on rereading that one didn't seem right.

 

[Dave]

We is too early to have a computer but it does have the same elements of state control, mass surveillance, conformity and rebellion.

Nineteen Eighty-Four also doesn't have a computer but has the same elements along with brain washing. The rebellion fails though

Huxley's other novel Island has control by drugs and hypnotherapy.

Colossus has a supercomputer that takes control of mankind.

Piano Player has a computer that controls the United States economy.

Childhood's End has computing machinery possessed by the Overlords that administer to the humans.

The White Mountains and sequels has children "capped" living under the control of machines.

For sake of completeness The Terminal Man and Interface have individual people controlled by computers.

There will be more examples, there is a list of fictional computers here:

Obviously, there are also the Terminator and Matrix film franchises too.

 

[D@rk2Light]

The injections would fit This Perfect Day by Ira Levin and the protagonist was indeed called Chip. His grandfather teaches him to be nonconformist. At the end of the book, it rains for the first time during the day.

I'm excited that I might know one of these for once. it isn't quite that old though, 1970? Otherwise, I have a whole host of other books with central computers and revolutions.

That is it! Thank you!!

 

[hitmouse]

Huxley's other novel Island has control by drugs and hypnotherapy.

Is that really about control? I read it more as a therapy to open the mind, overcome neurosis etc, in contrast to the industrial machine that takes over at the end of the book.

 

[hitmouse]

Apologies for the weird formatting above.