The Execution Channel
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The Execution Channel, a science fiction novel by Ken MacLeod, focuses on the early decades of the 21st century. The military of the United States of America and some of its allies have conducted a war on terror for some time and terrorist atrocities have continued, including an unspecified one at Rosyth in Scotland. Divisions between ethnic groups have formed as a result.
The novel takes it's title from a mysterious TV channel that broadcasts state-sponsored executions.
[edit] Plot
The novel follows the lives of software developer James Travis and his daughter Roisín. Roisín, a pacifist living at a peace camp outside RAF Leuchars, has witnessed and recorded the unloading of a strange device from an aircraft. She then receives a text-message from her brother Alec — who serves in the British army in Central Asia — apparently warning her of impending trouble. As she and her fellow protestors leave the area, an enormous explosion devastates both the air-base and the neighbouring town.
She also witnesses an attack on Grangemouth Refinery.
Unknown to her, her father has been working as a spy. He witnesses the ethnic cleansing of Britain's Muslims and their migration to France. He also witnesses an attack on Spaghetti Junction.
Other characters include a blogger who specialises in conspiracy theories, Mark Dark; and his mother, Sandra Hope, who works at a camp for eco-refugees in the United States. Some other bloggers work for an intelligence agency, writing under various pseudonyms to spread disinformation.
[edit] Alternate history
- Al Gore won the United States presidential election, 2000, and was succeeded by Hillary Clinton.
- The September 11, 2001 attacks targeted Boston and Philadelphia.
