The past two nights I have shared my man-cave/workshop with a praying mantis. I think it is attracted by the red light coming from the fantasy football trophy hanging on the wall. At any rate, I consider it my new pet, and a sign of good luck.

I read a little bit about the praying mantis on Wikipedia and that led me to Aldous Huxley and his novels Brave New World (which I have read) and Island (which I have not.) I was surprised and excited to realize that I have the same themes in the Peaceful, Brave, and Just. Beyond the praying mantis figure in the Peaceful and Just, which is the anthropomorphized villain Darshan Marat, the entire idea of my world is that mankind revolted against science turned bad, then left science behind for the benefit of any who could use it; some realize or discover the benefits, and some struggle to keep anyone from its dangers.

Just as in real life, science has the potential to do both good and bad. Are the wards taking over humankind (Brave New World) or do they exist in service of humankind, expanding our potential (Island)? Because the wards are sentient, they may even have motives that extend past the needs of humanity. It is up to the individual characters to discover the benefits and pitfalls of the knowledge contained within them.