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Reviewed by Stefan Vucak for Readers' Favorite
The Madness by W.W. Hennemann starts with Devon-7. He had read the ancient books and knew about love, sex, and marriage – reserved only for the Reproductive Caste – and the knowledge was driving him mad with released desire. He considered resuming his daily Morning Pill that prevented the Madness. He refused, determined to become an Active Drone. Diagnosed with a Genetic Impurity, a mutation legacy from the Nuclear Period, he was forbidden to reproduce. Armed with the knowledge, he set out to become a full Reproductive. However, by not taking the Pill, his behavior changed, as did his body, and he feared discovery by the Supervisors, who would force him to take the Pill, or worse, physically castrate him. He managed to alter his computer identity to be a Reproductive and assigned himself a female. That is when his real problems surfaced.
In this short story, W.W. Hennemann immediately plunges the reader into a rigidly controlled world of Reproductives, Active Drones, Workers, and Warriors, administered by the State. Genetically defective males and females were forbidden to reproduce, the directive enforced by taking a daily Pill or physical sterilization. Only the Pure could enjoy physical intimacy. A grim world, but the natural desire to love cannot be so easily suppressed, as Devon-7 found. The Madness is a simple story, but W.W. Hennemann manages to weave all the social structural elements into a readily understood whole while maintaining interest in Devon-7’s determination to procreate at any cost. An interesting foray into a different kind of social order that readers will find diverting and entertaining.
