Imagine someone identified the part of the brain that was responsible for every bad thought, every bad deed, every act of terror and every brutal crime. Wouldn't it be a good idea to, well, whip it out? That was the starting point for my latest book, The Killables. Because scientists have identified the bit of the brain, the amygdala, that seems to be where lots of dark thoughts originate, the bit that is enlarged in psychopaths, the bit that many scientists are investigating further as the possible root of human evil.
The trouble is, mass brain surgery probably isn't entirely sensible or practical. I mean, there aren't enough hospitals, for one thing. Or enough brain surgeons. Certainly not enough money to do everyone in the world, and you'd have to operate on everyone, otherwise there'd be no point. And then there's the tricky issue of getting some volunteers for the brain surgeons to practice on. Anyone game? Thought not…
Then again, the great thing about writing fiction is that you get to change reality if you want to. So I got to wondering, what if we fast-forwarded into the future a few years? How about if there had been a big war, a war that destroyed most of humankind, that left small pockets of people desperately trying to survive. And how about if amongst those people was a brain scientist, the very man who had identified the amygdala as the dangerous part of the brain? And how about if he was also a brain surgeon? Wouldn't his idea suddenly become more palatable? Not just palatable but desirable? If the world had just been destroyed by a war on terror, if you had seen unspeakable violence and lost everyone you loved, wouldn't you think that maybe removing everyone's amygdala wasn't such a far-fetched idea after all? Welcome to the world of The Killables!
Evie and Raffy live in the City, the place where evil doesn't exist, where it's been removed, where everything is good. Only things are never that simple, are they? Well, I never think they're simple anyway. The trouble is, as soon as you strive for perfection, you become paranoid about things going wrong. Ever been inside someone's perfect home and been glared at for even attempting to sit down on the sofa because you might squish the cushions in the wrong way? Or not wanted to wear a pefect new pair of shoes in case you ruin them? Perfection doesn't last; can't last, because we aren't perfect. We might manage to be pretty perfect for a short period of time, but ultimately we can't sustain it because we're flawed, fundamentally. It's what makes us human – our weakness for chocolate, our inability to keep a straight face when someone's saying something very serious with spinach in their teeth, our saying one thing and doing quite another… And actually, personally I think perfection is over-rated. I like sofas that look lived-in, books that are far from pristine, people who snort with laughter and regularly say the wrong thing – far more entertaining than those who always have a bright smile and never put a step wrong.
Except in the City, no one else seems to feel like that; it is only Evie and Raffy who seem to feel suffocated by the rules and restrictions imposed on its citizens to keep them perfect; by the System that labels them A-D according to how 'good' they are; by the weekly Gatherings where everyone gives thanks and promises to fight evil.
And then Raffy discovers something that changes his label from a B to a K, the label no one talks about. K for Killable. Which means his only chance of staying alive is to leave the safety of the City for the world outside. Evie knows she has to go with him, but it's when they escape that they discover the lies that the City has been built on, the web of deceit that has surrounded them all their lives, and just why the City is so keen to keep its citizens hidden behind its walls…
I hope you enjoy the Killables, and I look forward to hearing what you think!
Gemma Malley
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