The Bar Code Tattoo

“The explanation went more or less like this: Only a few of the most experienced artists were required to input drawings into computer art data banks. These computer-generated images were used to create all other artwork. No art school would award a scholarship to a student weak in data-imaging—a student like her.”

This passage illustrates a key aspect of the worldbuilding that is essential to the series. The passage also indicates the author’s critique of the burgeoning influence of AI-generated artwork in the real world, for in the context of the novel, one specific kind of AI artwork has completely overtaken the art world, eliminating human creativity and individuality.

“The tattoo was impersonal and […] demeaning. But her father had known all that before he’d gotten it.”

In this passage, Kayla acknowledges that her father was well aware of the tattoo’s harmful effects, even though he acquiesced to obtaining a tattoo himself. This fact illustrates how powerful the pressures of the majority can be. Resistance to Conformity is easier said than done, especially when it causes major inconveniences. This context renders the bravery of the resisters all the more notable.

“He was reading Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and had come to the part where Voldemort’s evil helper was revealed to Harry. ‘It’s true,’ her father had said thoughtfully, putting down his e-reader for a moment. ‘It isn’t always easy to recognize your true enemy.’”

The statement “It isn’t always easy to recognize your true enemy” is a key theme within many dystopian and science-fiction novels. Often, technological advancements are seen as beneficial in terms of convenience, but as the novel demonstrates, they can also provide an avenue for detrimental control, oppression, and violations of privacy.

“All her life she’d had little warnings, premonitions about what was to come. Sometimes the premonitions really came true. But other times, they didn’t. So she’d learned not to pay too much attention to them.”

This passage foreshadows the latent psychic abilities that Kayla will later come to embrace and develop. While these premonitions are only a physical feeling at this point in the novel, as her strength of mind becomes stronger and she begins to speak out against the bar code tattoo, Kayla will begin having full-blown visions of the future.

“Our civil liberties have been shrinking ever since the turn of the last century. We lost a lot of civil rights because people became convinced it was the only way to stay safe. We’ve been losing more freedoms and rights ever since.”

Mfumbe’s statement constitutes a warning on several levels. In addition to warning Kayla and Amber about the bar code tattoo, he also delivers a more general warning about approaching new developments in society with curiosity and, if need be, with suspicion and caution. His words imply that not all developments are as beneficial or harmless as they seem.

“Face it: Any group that controls the world’s food controls the world. AgroGlobal owns all the food. If they decide not to sell seed to a certain group or nation, they can do that. Any group who defies AgroGlobal can last just one growing season before they begin to starve. They control you, too. They know everything about you—where you’ve been, what you’ve bought, what your doctor prescribed for you, what books and magazines you read. And more. Much more.”

This passage represents the author’s broader purpose of delivering a pointed social critique on real-world issues surrounding the harmful actions of capitalistic governments and institutions. By exploring the idea that one all-powerful corporation has the power to starve out whole nations and ruin any entity that defies it, the author crafts a powerful warning against complacency and urges average citizens to critique and question existing systems of power.

“Much about you could be discovered through a credit card or e-card, it’s true. But with the bar code, our last shreds of privacy are being destroyed.”

This statement also serves as a warning to always be curious and informed about how technology is advancing. The novel also implies that new developments for convenience’s sake are not free; they must be paid for by the currency of personal data. This passage emphasizes the fact that such an invasive process occurs so gradually that the harmful invasions of privacy might go unnoticed until it’s too late.

“How had all this happened to them? The Thorns’ lives were ruined. Her own family’s, too. Her father dead, her mother completely messed up. She’d gone from having family to feeling completely alone in the world. This awful loneliness was new to her. At first she didn’t even recognize it for what it was. She only knew it as a gnawing ache in the pit of her stomach. As she stood there, though, the ache transformed into an overwhelming fear, the feeling that she was vulnerable to some unknown danger and there was no one to help her. She had no one to turn to and she wasn’t enough on her own, wasn’t strong or smart enough for all the challenges.”

The tone of deep despair in this passage reflects the fact that the bar code tattoo has wrecked the lives of everyone closest to Kayla. It has torn apart families, caused multiple deaths by suicide, and permanently damaged relationships. The insensitivity of this development is highlighted by this passage’s blunt description of the devastating effects of this dehumanizing tattoo.

“Without admitting it to herself, she’d assumed she wasn’t equal to any of them—not in brains, courage, or even in the ability to express herself. Her first impulse was to claim she had nothing to say, but there was an idea that had been forming in her mind.”

Before gaining a sense of community through KnotU2, Kayla feels alone in her resistance. This loneliness almost convinces her to give in and get the tattoo despite her negative feelings toward it. However, her friends at KnotU2 give her the confidence to speak out and resist conformity, thereby strengthening her mind against those who wish to sway her opinion.

“I believe that this bar code branding is wrong. It’s dehumanizing, reducing each person to a number. I know we’ve been headed in this direction for nearly a century now. People have had social security numbers for ages, but that number was created to connect and individual to a social security account, not as an identity tag.”

By comparing the bar code tattoo to a realistic “improvement” of social security numbers, Weyn employs applicable real-world examples of how easily the methods of cataloging people can quickly become harmful and invasive. This realism greatly increases the emotional impact of the novel.

“Daily, I see fellow Americans who work hard, and have achieved a certain success, falling down the social and economic ladder for no ascertainable reason. Conversely, I see people rising in society at a sudden and meteoric rate. What information is contained in those bar code lines that is causing this? I challenge President Loudon Waters to stop denying there is some other information stored in the bar code and to come clean with the American people.”

This passage indicates the novel’s use of a traditional element of dystopian fiction, one in which the distrust of the government’s questionable operations becomes a key facet of the resistance movement. Senator David Young’s open criticism of the deceitful politics and lack of transparency in the U.S. government brings attention to this fear.

“If she didn’t get the code, she couldn’t make a move. And if she did get it—the world wouldn’t want her. It didn’t want to pay her insurance. This sickening realization—this unbearable feeling of being counted out—is what her mother had been trying to protect her from.”

This passage illustrates the lose-lose situation in which Kayla finds herself upon learning that she is likely predisposed to conditions that will cause her to be ostracized from society if she gets the bar code tattoo. However, if she refuses the tattoo, she will automatically be ostracized. Her determination to resist takes great strength of will, and she demonstrates her resilience when she pushes back against society’s expectations despite the hopelessness of her situation.

“A jolt of panic ran through her. This was it—the beginning of the end of her life. The mark of mental illness would be on her. The mark of this or any serious illness would forever exclude her from real achievements in life because no one would ever want to hire her for fear of having to pay her doctor bills.”

The consequences of the bar code tattoo on people’s lives are presented with realistic bleakness. This passage effectively exemplifies the loss of hope and vigor that occurs upon the realization that one is destined to die or to experience a mental health condition. Kayla’s horror in this section exemplifies the intense level of social stigma that accompanies certain mental health conditions. Rather than creating a society that accepts people’s differences, the author has created a dystopian society that condemns people to social ostracization and financial hardship due to factors that are entirely beyond their control.

“She imagined her own version of their ad. Global-1, bringing you all the bar code has to offer—total invasion of privacy reaching down into the very intimate spiral of your DNA.”

In this quotation, Kayla employs irony to call attention to the lies that Global-1 is feeding citizens through the media. Media is often viewed as a credible source of news, but by reimagining the ad in her own words, Kayla deconstructs the underlying propaganda and the sinister agenda that such advertising is designed to mask, highlighting the fact that the everyday commercials that surround her have been warped by the whims of those controlling the narrative.

“I fell and broke my hip a while back. We didn’t dare go to the hospital, because once you’re over eighty—I was eighty-one last January—you don’t come out of the hospital.”

Mava’s statement in this passage illustrates the desensitization of the medical field. Not only are those with unfavorable genetics being abandoned and ostracized from all aspects of life including health care, but even the elderly with exceptional genetics are abandoned after a certain age. In this context, people like Mava cannot trust hospitals not to subtly instigate their deaths for the sake of convenience.

“You become the monster you fear most, so the monster won’t overtake you.”

This statement from the elderly Toz puts into words how Global-1 has corrupted Kayla’s society. Many people, such as Nedra, were once resisters but were forced to conform to society’s demands to survive. While such people might once have embraced an ethical approach to life, they have since been corrupted, becoming viciously ambitious to thrive in a society that makes mere survival difficult at best.

“A third passenger in the car was identified as seventeen-year-old Kayla Marie Reed. Ms. Reed is currently a fugitive wanted for the homicide of her mother, Mrs. Ashley Reed.”

The matter-of-fact tone of this passage belies the depths of its false claims, emphasizing the fact that the media has been completely taken over by those who would exploit its reach to ruin people’s reputations and regain control of dissenters. This moment therefore illustrates the political leaders’ lack of morality. The sense of betrayal is further emphasized by the fact that Nedra is delivering this story, actively and remorselessly betraying a personal friend.

“They sat together for a moment without speaking. After a few minutes, he pulled a pack of peppermint gum from his shirt pocket and offered it to her.”

Since the very beginning of the novel, Mfumbe has been the only character to give Kayla all the emotional support she deserves. This passage mirrors the earlier scene in which Mfumbe offers her a piece of gum after her father’s death. While such a gift is a simple act, it comes from the heart, illustrating how impactful empathy can be even in its simplest form.

“A further culprit in Mfumbe’s downfall is a wanted criminal named Kayla Marie Reed. This young woman, also once affiliated with Decode, is wanted for the murder of her very own mother. She is also a suspect in the deaths of Mava and Toz Alan, who mysteriously crashed into a cement wall while driving Kayla to an unknown destination. How or why she caused their car to crash is still a mystery, but the young criminal remains a fugitive from justice.”

Alongside the desensitizing influence of technology is the insensitivity of the media. Not only is the media infamous for spreading hatred and propaganda but it is entirely fabricated by those who control the society. The cruelty of Kayla’s society is shown in the obvious lies spread by the media to encourage citizens to aid in Kayla’s capture.

“Glancing at herself in the beaver pond, she couldn’t believe how much she’d changed. Her hair was matted and filthy. Sharp cheekbones jutted from her thin face. Her hands had become scratched, hardened claws and her eyes were dull from sickness.”

This passage illustrates how much change Kayla’s character has experienced over the past several months. Though she is more feral and uncivilized, she is freer and happier than ever before.

“In this world she was one living creature among many living things, not the only kind of creature in an environment of steel and glass.”

Kayla’s bleak outlook on city life as an “environment of steel and glass” illustrates her belief that the values of civilized society are killing the best of humanity. The sterility of the image evokes a sense of being caged, and this is contrasted strongly with her willingness to embrace a more natural, off-grid lifestyle that allows her to reconnect with all aspects of life.

“People everywhere have begun developing heightened psychic ability. Many of them are here in the mountains because those are the people resisting the tattoo.”

The benefits of Resistance to Conformity are shown through the evolution of bar code tattoo resisters’ experiences. Their heightened psychic abilities exemplify their strength of mind and their resistance to conforming to the will of Global-1’s dystopian society.

“The earth gives [energy] back to you. Trees do, too. Animals will share their primal energy if you are kind to them. You must stay in close contact with those things that are good and strong in your life. You must stay in touch with those people whom you love and who love you. That’s what returns energy to you.”

Once again, The Desensitizing Influence of Technology is implicitly emphasized when the author explores its very opposite. By connecting to the wilderness of the mountains, the resisters are reenergized and reclaim a vigor for life that was lost amongst the stone and brick of the city.