The Traveler

Title: The Traveler: A Novel
Author: John Twelve Hawks
Publisher: Doubleday, July 2005
Hardcover: 464 pages
ISBN: 038551428X

I recently finished listening to the audio version of The Traveler. The book describes a not-too-distant world in which a secret organization is determined to bring about a perfectly controlled society by creating a virtual panopticon. Central to their plan are the travelers, people with the ability to travel to other dimensions. The story follows two of the last travelers, Michael and Gabriel, and Maya, who belongs to an order sworn to protect them.

I found the book highly enjoyable with well-developed characters and a compelling storyline. I didn’t find the idea that we are living in a virtual panopticon particulary shocking; all you have to do is look around to know that our personal, private spaces are smaller every day. That said, in the era of the Patriot Act, the book is certainly timely. What I found more interesting however, were the ways in which different characters tried to keep their lives outside the sphere of the panopticon. I was particulary intrigued by the New Harmony community, a small enclave of people that chose to live off the grid, while still embracing the use of technology. In the interview that followed my version of the book, Mr Twelve Hawks said that although this was a fictitious community, it was based on communities already in existence. Although some research has turned up many different intentional communities and cohousing communities, I haven’t been able to find anything quite like what he described.

The last element that is often mentioned when discussing this book is the publicity hype that surrounded it, including the Evergreen Foundation website and the Hollis Martial Arts School website. This is not wholly uncommon in publicity campaigns however. What is a bit more uncommon is the author’s interaction with the world. Mr. Twelve Hawks clearly believes that the virtual panopticon is a reality. He lives his life “off the grid”: he as no credit cards, no driver’s license, uses only a satellite phone and uses a voice synthesizer to disguise his voice. As he puts it “The Vast Machine is the very powerful