The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon is a sci-fi book that looks at the near future and its perfect society and the people who don't fit. More specifically, there is now a cure for autism at birth, but this group of people just missed getting the cure, so they work for a corporation, a pharmaceutical corporation that, along with its other research, finds a possible cure for the older functioning autistic adults. What makes a person who he is? The main character volunteers for the procedure, and what is most interesting are the "normal" people who he interacts with who don't want him to change. They know he's different, and they like his differences. But, he still doesn't fully understand human interactions. Who really does? But, he wants a chance to go beyond what he can. He knows he can get overstimulated and then will shut down. He has great coping skills for stressful situations - but he wants more.
I love this character because he helped me understand my own son just a smidgeon more. Elizabeth Moon has her own autistic son and tried to find out how his mind worked to write this book. She writes more about her own challenges, which any parent of an autistic child should read.
Autism, sci-fi/fantasy, writing, and my family are my main interests in life. Not necessarily in that order, depending on the day. Hope I post more!!
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