"Scythe (Arc of a Scythe)" by Neal Shusterman
https://www.amazon.com/Scythe-Arc-Neal-Shusterman/dp/144247243X/

Book number one of a three book science fiction series. I read the well printed and well bound trade paperback published by Simon & Schuster
Books in 2017 that I bought in 2025. I do not know if I will buy the following books in the series yet.

Several hundred years in the future, mankind has built a utopia. No
more disease, no more death from aging, no one lacks anything that they
truly need. Many people are now two hundred or more years old. Even accidental deaths are routinely reversed in less than a week in revival centers. People go into centers whenever they feel like it to get their
ages reversed to 25 years or whatever they prefer.

All of Earth's governments have capitulated to Thunderhead, the massive
AI, artificial intelligence, that took over the internet years ago. Thunderhead is instantly available to any human for any task or
confidence such as picking out the color of today's shirt or driving
your car. If you have a problem that your nanites cannot handle then Thunderhead will call the EMTs to take you to the revival center.

But, there is a downside to the utopia. Earth's population is slowly increasing. So a group of people took up the task of reducing the
population. They are called Scythes and they exist outside of the duty
and awareness of Thunderhead. The Scythes are required to glean around
250 people per year each by any means that they want to use: knifes,
guns, poison, flamethrowers, etc.

Socrates once loosely said "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?" Who will
guard the guardians? For the Scythes have become corrupt.

My rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Amazon rating: 4.6 out of 5 stars (21,111 reviews)

Lynn


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)

Lynn McGuire wrote:

"Scythe (Arc of a Scythe)" by Neal Shusterman
ÿÿ https://www.amazon.com/Scythe-Arc-Neal-Shusterman/dp/144247243X/

Book number one of a three book science fiction series.ÿ I read the well printed and well bound trade paperback published by Simon & Schuster
Books in 2017 that I bought in 2025.ÿ I do not know if I will buy the following books in the series yet.

Several hundred years in the future, mankind has built a utopia.ÿ No
more disease, no more death from aging, no one lacks anything that they truly need.ÿ Many people are now two hundred or more years old.ÿ Even accidental deaths are routinely reversed in less than a week in revival centers.ÿ People go into centers whenever they feel like it to get their ages reversed to 25 years or whatever they prefer.

All of Earth's governments have capitulated to Thunderhead, the massive
AI, artificial intelligence, that took over the internet years ago. Thunderhead is instantly available to any human for any task or
confidence such as picking out the color of today's shirt or driving
your car.ÿ If you have a problem that your nanites cannot handle then Thunderhead will call the EMTs to take you to the revival center.

But, there is a downside to the utopia.ÿ Earth's population is slowly increasing.ÿ So a group of people took up the task of reducing the population.ÿ They are called Scythes and they exist outside of the duty
and awareness of Thunderhead.ÿ The Scythes are required to glean around
250 people per year each by any means that they want to use: knifes,
guns, poison, flamethrowers, etc.

Socrates once loosely said "Quis custodiet ipsos custodes?"

Socrates didn't speak Latin. That phrase first appeared in a satire of Juvenal, second century.

But Socrates was interested in the issue. He proposed a guardian class
who would be educated (or we might say brainwashed) against seeking
power themselves. I've only read a synopsis of his argument and I can't
say I understand it.

But your author is a clever fellow.

Athens did have guardians in Socrates' time. They were Scythians.

There were over a thousand of them, they carried whips, short swords,
and short bows. They had the power to arrest and detain citizens,
though they were slaves themselves and their work was overseen by
magistrates. Part of their job was to prevent political meetings from breaking out into riots.

They were favoured slaves owned by the state instead of an individual, a status far more comfortable than that of other slaves or many free
people, but if they overreached their power they could be sent to the
mines without the formality of a trial.

In a way their slave status answered Socrates' question. Citizen police
have rights, and it can be difficult to prosecute them. Slave police
have no rights, and can be tortured to give evidence.

William Hyde


--- PyGate Linux v1.5.12
* Origin: Dragon's Lair, PyGate NNTP<>Fido Gate (3:633/10)