History Literature / ThisPerfectDay

** Chip and Lilac read a Pre-U novel where an elderly character gets a transplant to prolong his life. In Unified society, members die at age 63, and members learn that the lifespan of members in the Pre-U was far, far shorter, so this information is stunning. The book sets up this information as if it reflects on the recent death of an older member of their secret society, but [[spoiler:it actually foreshadows TheReveal of Wei Li Chun's virtual immortality.]]

As Chip grows up, he manages to suppress his sickness and do his best to be happy, helpful, and normal. But there are other sick Members who have learned to conceal their sickness, who meet in secret in the city, and who have had their eye on Chip for a long time. Once among them, Chip will finally learn the explosive secret of UNICOMP and change the world forever.

''This Perfect Day'' is a 1970 science-fiction {{coming of age story}} by Creator/IraLevin, the story of a boy named Li [=RM35M4419=] (aka "Chip") who grows up about 200 years in the future. His world, known as "The Family", is unified under the authority and control of a [[MasterComputer gigantic supercomputer]] named UNICOMP, a computer that allocates resources, assigns jobs, and makes every important decision with perfect machine efficiency.

Unfortunately, the computer tends to wipe out creativity, initiative, and passion in pursuit of its efficiency. It attempts to control people by drugging them.

This story is about how Chip learns and relearns the truth about this society, learns ways to fight it and escape from it, and falls in love.

* BadassGrandpa:
** Papa Jan. He helped build UNICOMP as a young man, came to regret it, then inspired Chip to destroy it, and gave him information on how to do so. He taught Chip how to pass through scanners without touching his bracelet. He did exactly what he wanted, despite the oppressive nature of the society he once helped create.
** [[spoiler: Wei Li Chun also counts, since his current body is that of a former athlete, and he keeps it in peak condition.]]

* IronicNurseryRhyme: The page quote [[spoiler: secretly gives away TheReveal]]

* SingleBiomePlanet: Earth has been converted to one of these with the aid of weather-control technology. It only rains at night, on a pre-published schedule, while natural disasters such as earthquakes have been all but abolished thanks to [[AppliedPhlebotinum a vaguely described "seismo-valve"]]

* BadassGrandpa: Papa Jan. He helped build UNICOMP as a young man, came to regret it, then inspired Chip to destroy it, and gave him information on how to do so. He taught Chip how to pass through scanners without touching his bracelet. He did exactly what he wanted, despite the oppressive nature of the society he once helped create.

* FalseUtopia

* InnocentFanserviceGirl: Members of the Family frequently walk the halls naked. The book opens on a playground full of hundreds of naked children.

* PunchClockVillain: What Chip inadvertently becomes, working as a Genetic Taxonimist to further genetically engineer humanity into boring sameness.

* NoNudityTaboo: Members of the Family frequently walk the halls naked. The book opens on a playground full of hundreds of naked children.

** Chip and Lilac read a Pre-U novel wherein a character gets a heart transplant to prolong his life. In their society, members die at 63, and they have been told that the lifespan of members in the Pre-U was far, far shorter, so this information is stunning. The book sets up this information as if it reflects on the recent death of an older member of their secret society, but [[spoiler: it actually foreshadows TheReveal of Wei Li Chun's virtual immortality.]]

* AIIsACrapshoot: Notably averted, as UNICOMP does EXACTLY what it's designed to do: run humanity with absolute efficiency.

''This Perfect Day'' is a 1970 science-fiction {{coming of age story}} by Ira Levin, the story of a boy named Li [=RM35M4419=] (aka "Chip") who grows up about 200 years in the future. His world, known as "The Family", is unified under the authority and control of a [[MasterComputer gigantic supercomputer]] named UNICOMP, a computer that allocates resources, assigns jobs, and makes every important decision with perfect machine efficiency.

* ChekhovsGun
** Papa Jan's tunnel. Karl's picture of the horse. The leaf-shaped dry spot on the stone. The boat waiting on the beach. The blue patches covering up the islands on pre-unification maps.
** Papa Jan talking about the tunnel and wanting things, Chip talking to Lilac and King about the islands, Dover talking about the islands as devious prisons.

* TheComplainerIsAlwaysWrong: Practically the national motto of The Family.

* CrapsaccharineWorld: The world of The Family ''seems'' to be a utopia, with poverty and hunger and violence all eliminated, where everyone is happy and helpful and satisfied. But it has a dark secret. Then, of course, there's the island of Majorca/Liberty, which has more freedom, but less of everything else good.

* FantasticSlurs: Natives of Majorca call immigrants "steelies", after their bracelets, and unawakened members of The Family back on the mainland "dummies". Immigrants return the favor by calling the natives "Lunkies", but not where they can hear it.
* FoodPills: Every meal for every member of The Family consists of a "totalcake", a vaguely described confection that provides all needed calories and nutrients, along with a choice of tea or coke as a beverage. Halfway through Chip's life, totalcakes finally become available in "a pleasing second flavor".

* InherentInTheSystem: On the one hand, you've got The Family, whose helpful, unselfish, pacifist members would never think of hurting anyone, while the computer that controls every aspect of their lives euthanizes them at age 62 to conserve resources. On the other hand, you have the islands, which are either anarchic hellholes where the [[AnarchyIsChaos Law of the Jungle]] rules (Americanueva/Falklands) or tyrannical military dictatorships complete with an Apartheid system (Liberty/Majorca). You can't solve the problems of either without creating the problems of the other one.

* OneWorldOrder: Bob Wood, one of the four semi-mythical founders of The Family (one of the two that Ira Levin made up), got his claim to fame by presenting the unification treaty that unified the world under computer control. We learn nothing else about him, not even the manner of his death.

* RestrainingBolt: Everyone in The Family gets one, via treatments and genetic engineering, to make them quiet, peaceful, helpful members of society, who are not distracted by sex or emotions and go about their assigned tasks cheerfully and willingly.

* {{Zeerust}}: In a parody of ultra-modern 1960's architecture from the likes of Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe, all buildings in the world of The Family are huge, functional, featureless, windowless slabs of concrete. Several other aspects intended to look futuristic now look downright quaint, such as the luggable "telecomps" and airports with outside escalators to the planes rather than enclosed jetways.

* WeCanRuleTogether: When Chip finally reaches UNICOMP HQ on a mission to destroy it, [[spoiler: he is offered to chance to join the Programmers, who have deliberately left paths to rebellion as a test of sorts]].

* GroinAttack: The initial response to RapeIsLove.
* InherentInTheSystem: On the one hand, you've got The Family, whose helpful, unselfish, pacifist members would never think of hurting anyone, while the computer that controls every aspect of their lives euthanizes them at age 62 to conserve resources. On the other hand, you have the islands, which are either anarchic hellholes where the LawOfTheJungle rules (Americanueva/Falklands) or tyrannical military dictatorships complete with an Apartheid system (Liberty/Majorca). You can't solve the problems of either without creating the problems of the other one.

* MachineWorship: Taken quite literally. Religion has been abolished, but the Family now regards UniComp as an omniscient and benevolent God. Chip is seen submitting research to UniComp with a preface that sounds very much like something from a confessional booth.

* RapeIsLove: Chip rapes Lilac while kidnapping her away to the island. She forgives him once she is "herself" again, and the whole incident is shuffled away very quickly.

* ScienceMarchesOn: Many of the scientific miracles of the novels world have either become commonplace ("telecomps" are now known as "laptops") or obsolete (a supercomputer large enough to require a mountain to be hollowed out for its processors). The easily subverted barcode bracelets and scanners would more likely be replaced by an implanted microchip.

* BadassGrandpa: Papa Jan. He helped build UNICOMP as a young man, came to regret it, then inspired Chip to destroy it, and gave him information on how to do so. Taught Chip how to pass through scanners without touching his bracelet. Did exactly whatever he wanted to, despite the oppressive nature of the society he once helped create.

* EvilVersusEvil: The Family Versus Majorca. One is a dystopia that brainwashes its citizens to conform to its idea of perfection, while the other is an outright repressive police state. People who escape from the former wind up mistreated by the latter.

* LaResistance: The under treated members Chip joins quickly discard any notions of attacking UNICOMP, and content themselves with smoking tobacco and having a little extra sex. The Islanders try to attack UNICOMP on a regular basis, but always fail due to infiltrators joining the strike teams and sabotaging their sabotage efforts. Chip eventually becomes a sort of one-man resistance movement [[spoiler: when he is taken inside the secret ruling circle of Programmers.]]

----

* OneWorldOrder: Bob Wood, one of the four semi-mythical founders of The Family (one of the two that Ira Levin made up), got his claim to fame by presenting the unification treaty that unified the world under computer control. We learn nothing else about him.

* BadassGrandpa: Papa Jan. He helped build UNICOMP as a young man, came to regret it, then inspired Chip to destroy it, and gave him information on how to do so. Taught Chip how to pass through scanners without touching his bracelet. Did exactly whatever he wanted to, despite the oppressive nature of the society he once helped create. Wei Li Chun also counts, since his current body is that of a former athlete, and he keeps it in peak condition.

* EvilVersusEvil: The Family Versus Majorca-one is a dystopia that brainwashes its citizens to conform to its idea of perfection, while the other is an outright repressive police state. People who escape from the former wind up mistreated by the latter.

* FoodPills: Every meal for every member of The Family consists of a "totalcake", a vaguely described confection that provides all needed calories and nutrients, along with a choice of Tea or Coke as a beverage. Halfway through Chip's life, Totalcakes finally become available in "a pleasing second flavor".

* InherentInTheSystem: On the one hand, you've got The Family, whose helpful, unselfish, pacifist members would never think of hurting anyone, thanks to the drugs and genetic engineering, but the computer that controls every aspect of their lives euthanizes them at age 62 to conserve resources. On the other hand, you have the islands, which are either anarchic hellholes where the Law of the Jungle rules (Americanueva/Falklands) or tyrannical military dictatorships complete with an Apartheid system (Liberty/Majorca). You can't solve the problems of either without creating the problems of the other one. Chip still decides that, if he can't beat the system, he'll break it.
* LaResistance: The under treated members Chip joins quickly discard any notions of attacking UNICOMP, and content themselves with smoking tobacco and having a little extra sex. The Islanders try to attack UNICOMP on a regular basis, but always fail due to infiltrators joining the strike teams and sabotaging their sabotage efforts. Chip eventually becomes a sort of one-man resistance movement inside the secret ruling circle of The Programmers.

* TheMole: Shepherds like Dover are sent out to the islands by the Programmers to join groups coming to attack UNICOMP and prevent as much bloodshed as possible, as well as ensure there's no actual threat to UNICOMP, and help co-opt the attackers into joining the Programmers.
* NewSpeak: Aside from making "fight" and "hate" into horrible cusswords, everyone is referred to as a "member" of the Family, not as a "person". Males are "brothers" and females are "sisters" within the family. People who act selfishly, violently, or try to exercise any sort of freedom are called "sick" and given treatments to "cure" them of these tendencies and desires. When rumors are whispered of secret island societies outside of UNICOMP's control, the inhabitants thereof are called "incurables" or "untreatables".

* PunchClockVillain: What Chip inadvertently becomes, working as a Genetic Taxonimist to further genetically engineer humanity into boring sameness. Also, arguably, what everyone else is forced to become as treatments and such force them to snitch on their fellow members and enforce conformity.
* RapeIsLove: Chip rapes Lilac while kidnapping her away to the island, and once they reach the island, they get married and have a kid.

* SalvagePirates: When Chip and Lilac first approach Majorca, they are met at sea by a rowboat sailed by "Darren Costanza", who uses the name of the military dictator of the island as a pseudonym, and he steals their boat and leaves them floating alone in the middle of the sea.
* ScannableMan: Everyone has metal bracelets with their nameber on them, which must be touched to scanners in most doorways, to obtain permission from UNICOMP to enter or exit.
* ScienceMarchesOn: The sort-of-portable "telecomps" resemble early-generation laptops, UNICOMP's memory banks are huge steel boxes that must be kept supercooled at all times to preserve their superconductivity. Not a bad extrapolation for the era it was written in, but much of it seems laughably outdated today. On the other hand, despite being written a decade after the DNA code was cracked, Chip's job as a Genetic Taxonomist involves looking at genes through a microscope to tell them apart by visual appearance alone. At one point, new microscopes are introduced that reveal differences between genes "once thought to be identical".
** Also the bracelets themselves. A modern author would use implanted RFID chips. Although that would make them much harder to counterfeit and "false touch".
* SingleBiomePlanet: Earth has been converted to one of these with the aid of weather control technology. It only rains at night, on a pre-published schedule.
* SpaceBrasilia: Every building in every city has been built post-Unification, so they are all basically the same featureless blank slabs of windowless concrete. However, there are a few references to certain cities having older-style layouts with narrower plazas between buildings, monorail systems prone to breakdowns, and so forth. And, while living with the Programmers, Chip participates in the Architecture Council, debating changes to building styles for future city construction and renovation.
* ThereAreNoTherapists: [[SubvertedTrope Subverted]]. There are far too many therapists. Everyone is assigned an "adviser", a sort of combination psychiatrist, father-confessor, and parole officer. Once a week, everyone must visit their adviser, confess their sins (violent or selfish thoughts or actions) and snitch on anyone else they saw acting violently or selfishly, or even acting slightly odd in any way whatsoever.
* UnusualEuphemism: "Fuck" is a perfectly acceptable term for the act of sexual copulation among the Family, with no pejorative connotations. "Fight" and "hate" are horrible cuss words to them, however, and "cloth" is slang for lies or other untruths.

* YouAreNumberSix: Everyone in the Family has one of eight first names, then two letters, two numbers, another letter, and four more numbers. The first two numbers are even the last two digits of the year of their birth.
* YouMeanXmas: Despite literally no one being religious any more, they still have a Christmas holiday. Plus Marxmas, apparently on Karl Marx's birthday. And New Year's Day is now Unification Day, complete with the traditional greeting of "Happy New Year! Happy U Year!" Wood's and Wei's birthdays are also holidays, but don't get cutesy names.

* RavenHairIvorySkin: Snowflake, one of the undertreated members, has pale, snow-white skin.

* MismatchedEyes: Chip has one brown eye and one green one. While living with the Programmers, he agrees to have this fixed, and his green eye replaced with a normal brown one, as part of his scheme to fool Wei Li Chun into thinking Chip was adapting to his new life with the Programmers.