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Unnecessary Pothole is unnecessary
Changed line(s) 7,8 (click to see context) from:
It's 2008, TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. Leisha Camden is a BornWinner: her daddy's rich, her mama's good-looking, she's got blonde hair, blue eyes... and the latest genemods, the one that make you [[TheSleepless not need to sleep]]. This particular genemod is a very new technology, and Leisha is only the 21st human being ever born with it. The other 19 are healthy, sane, cheerful and incredibly smart; all of them go on to become luminaries in their fields. The 20th was shaken to death by parents who [[RealityEnsues hadn't reckoned on a baby that cried 24/7]].
to:
It's 2008, TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. Leisha Camden is a BornWinner: her daddy's rich, her mama's good-looking, she's got blonde hair, blue eyes... and the latest genemods, the one that make you [[TheSleepless not need to sleep]]. This particular genemod is a very new technology, and Leisha is only the 21st human being ever born with it. The other 19 are healthy, sane, cheerful and incredibly smart; all of them go on to become luminaries in their fields. The 20th was shaken to death by parents who [[RealityEnsues hadn't reckoned on a baby that cried 24/7]].
24/7.
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%%* BioAugmentation: The Change syringes, full stop.%%ZCE, word cruft
to:
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%%* CuteClumsyGirl: Miranda Sharifi, like all other Supers.
Changed line(s) 44 (click to see context) from:
%%* GoneHorriblyWrong: The Change syringes.%%How?
to:
--> '''Miranda''': "Our goal was to make Livers free of donkey domination. Autotropic. We didn't know they . . . you . . . would so quickly regress to infantile dependence."
Changed line(s) 46,47 (click to see context) from:
%%* HealingFactor
%%* {{Hikikomori}}: Theresa Aranow
%%* {{Hikikomori}}: Theresa Aranow
to:
%%*
* {{Hikikomori}}: Theresa
Changed line(s) 72 (click to see context) from:
%%* PolarOppositeTwins: Leisha and Alice, non-identical twins.%%Polar opposites how?
to:
Changed line(s) 77,78 (click to see context) from:
%%* TheSingularity: The Change syringes are a soft version.
%%* TheSleepless
%%* TheSleepless
to:
%%* TheSleepless
* TheSleepless: literally the entire conceit of the series, though it ends up going quite a bit further.
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%%* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture
to:
Changed line(s) 90,91 (click to see context) from:
%%* TheUnfavourite: Alice.
%%* UptightLovesWild: Jackson Aranow and Cazie Sanders. Deconstructed.%%Deconstructed how?
%%* UptightLovesWild: Jackson Aranow and Cazie Sanders. Deconstructed.%%Deconstructed how?
to:
%%*
* UptightLovesWild: Jackson Aranow and Cazie Sanders.
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%%* PurpleEyes: Diana Covington
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Changed line(s) 11,12 (click to see context) from:
The other emphasis of the trilogy, the ''real'' emphasis, is prejudice. WhatMeasureIsANonHuman Every single character in the series is asking this, and what's interesting is that every single character in the series has a different way of defining 'human.' To most people, the Sleepless—intelligent, overachieving, blessed with superb emotional stability—aren't human... especially when it's discovered that the Sleeplessness gene unlocks some sort of radical HealingFactor, making the Sleepless functionally immortal. To the Sleepless, ''{{Muggles}}'' aren't human: not because they have to waste a third of their life in comatose nonproductivity, but because they prefer to {{Wangst}} and bask in the culture of entitlement rather than apply themselves. With FantasticRacism flying in both directions, it isn't long before open hostilities and byzantine plans begin to sprout.
to:
The other emphasis of the trilogy, the ''real'' emphasis, is prejudice. WhatMeasureIsANonHuman Every single character in the series is asking this, and what's interesting is that every single character in the series has a different way of defining 'human.' "human". To most people, the Sleepless—intelligent, overachieving, blessed with superb emotional stability—aren't human... especially when it's discovered that the Sleeplessness gene unlocks some sort of radical HealingFactor, making the Sleepless functionally immortal. To the Sleepless, ''{{Muggles}}'' aren't human: not because they have to waste a third of their life in comatose nonproductivity, but because they prefer to {{Wangst}} and bask in the culture of entitlement rather than apply themselves. With FantasticRacism flying in both directions, it isn't long before open hostilities and byzantine plans begin to sprout.
Changed line(s) 24 (click to see context) from:
** At one point, while introducing the dangers of Genetic Engineering, we see genetically engineered grass kept in a glass prison. We're told that it's so super-capable that if released, it would outcompete every other plant on the planet and within a few years nothing would live on earth except this grass and a few large trees, which would be dying. A bit of FridgeLogic ensued when you consider that this means it's better at living in the deserts than a cactus, better than living in brackish swamps than a mangrove, and somehow better at living in the ocean than kelp and algae, all in one plant... except '''''[[FreakierThanFiction it almost happened for real]].''''' Though instead of "everything except this grass" it would have been [[http://www.cracked.com/article_18503_how-biotech-company-almost-killed-world-with-booze.html "everything except this alcohol-producing slime."]]
to:
** At one point, while introducing the dangers of Genetic Engineering, genetic engineering, we see genetically engineered grass kept in a glass prison. We're told that it's so super-capable that if released, it would outcompete every other plant on the planet and within a few years nothing would live on earth except this grass and a few large trees, which would be dying. A bit of FridgeLogic ensued when you consider that this means it's better at living in the deserts than a cactus, better than living in brackish swamps than a mangrove, and somehow better at living in the ocean than kelp and algae, all in one plant... except '''''[[FreakierThanFiction it almost happened for real]].''''' Though instead of "everything except this grass" it would have been [[http://www.cracked.com/article_18503_how-biotech-company-almost-killed-world-with-booze.html "everything except this alcohol-producing slime."]]slime"]].
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%%
%%Zero-context examples are not allowed on wiki pages. All such examples have been commented out -- please add proper context before uncommenting them. An example should explain HOW it is an example.
%%
%%Zero-context examples are not allowed on wiki pages. All such examples have been commented out -- please add proper context before uncommenting them. An example should explain HOW it is an example.
%%
Changed line(s) 17,24 (click to see context) from:
* AbusiveParents: There have been cases for parents of Sleepless children.
* ACupAngst: Diana Covington has some of this going on.
* ArtisticLicenseBiology: science currently believes that long-term sleeplessness is impossible, as sleep serves as a necessary pressure valve for a number of mental, emotional and physiological processes; for instance, mood imbalance is associated with sleep deprivation. Kress {{handwave}}s this via InsaneTrollLogic ("Exactly--remove sleep entirely and the mood disorders will disappear with it!"), but since sleeplessness is a NecessaryWeasel we put up with it.
** At one point, while introducing the dangers of Genetic Engineering, we see, kept in a glass prison, a genetically engineered grass. We're told that it's so super-capable that if released, it would outcompete every other plant on the planet and within a few years nothing would live on earth except this grass and a few large trees, which would be dying. A bit of FridgeLogic ensued when you consider that this means it's better at living in the deserts than a cactus, better than living in brackish swamps than a mangrove, and somehow better at living in the ocean than kelp and algae, all in one plant.
*** ...Except '''''[[FreakierThanFiction it almost happened for real]].''''' Though instead of "everything except this grass" it would have been [[http://www.cracked.com/article_18503_how-biotech-company-almost-killed-world-with-booze.html "everything except this alcohol-producing slime."]]
* BecomingTheCostume: the whole point of Theresa Aranow's biofeedback techniques.
* BioAugmentation: the Change syringes, full stop.
* BreadAndCircuses: the entire post-Y-energy society functions this way. The Sleepless are the intellectuals, the "donkeys" are genemod {{Muggles}} and bureaucrats, and the "Livers" are the remaining 90%: the mental scrapheaps who are ''told'' they are the top of the pile because they get to live lives of "aristo leisure" with donkeys doing all the work for them.
* ACupAngst: Diana Covington has some of this going on.
* ArtisticLicenseBiology: science currently believes that long-term sleeplessness is impossible, as sleep serves as a necessary pressure valve for a number of mental, emotional and physiological processes; for instance, mood imbalance is associated with sleep deprivation. Kress {{handwave}}s this via InsaneTrollLogic ("Exactly--remove sleep entirely and the mood disorders will disappear with it!"), but since sleeplessness is a NecessaryWeasel we put up with it.
** At one point, while introducing the dangers of Genetic Engineering, we see, kept in a glass prison, a genetically engineered grass. We're told that it's so super-capable that if released, it would outcompete every other plant on the planet and within a few years nothing would live on earth except this grass and a few large trees, which would be dying. A bit of FridgeLogic ensued when you consider that this means it's better at living in the deserts than a cactus, better than living in brackish swamps than a mangrove, and somehow better at living in the ocean than kelp and algae, all in one plant.
*** ...Except '''''[[FreakierThanFiction it almost happened for real]].''''' Though instead of "everything except this grass" it would have been [[http://www.cracked.com/article_18503_how-biotech-company-almost-killed-world-with-booze.html "everything except this alcohol-producing slime."]]
* BecomingTheCostume: the whole point of Theresa Aranow's biofeedback techniques.
* BioAugmentation: the Change syringes, full stop.
* BreadAndCircuses: the entire post-Y-energy society functions this way. The Sleepless are the intellectuals, the "donkeys" are genemod {{Muggles}} and bureaucrats, and the "Livers" are the remaining 90%: the mental scrapheaps who are ''told'' they are the top of the pile because they get to live lives of "aristo leisure" with donkeys doing all the work for them.
to:
*
** Science currently believes that long-term sleeplessness is impossible, as sleep serves as a necessary pressure valve for a number of mental, emotional and physiological processes; for instance, mood imbalance is associated with sleep deprivation. Kress {{handwave}}s this via InsaneTrollLogic
** At one point, while introducing the dangers of Genetic Engineering, we
*** ...Except
* BreadAndCircuses:
Changed line(s) 26,34 (click to see context) from:
* ControlFreak: Roger Camden; Jennifer Sharifi
* CoolOldGuy: Billy Washington
* CourtroomEpisode: volume two of the first book.
* CreatorProvincialism: there are a grand total of two scenes in the entire trilogy that take place outside of America.
* CursedWithAwesome: Sleeplessness is perceived that way, due to the immense amount of FantasticRacism leveled at it.
** The Superbrights even more so. Almost a deconstruction of SuperIntelligence: they're so smart that they think in clouds of word association, or even in pure mathematics. Their bodies have to be "revved to the edge of biochemical hysteria" to support all that grey matter, leading to rampant stuttering, poor motor control and terrible difficulties with verbal language. And, of course, they get FantasticRacism leveled against them ''by their own creators''.
* CuteClumsyGirl: Miranda Sharifi, like all other Supers.
* DeadpanSnarker: everyone, but particularly Diana Covington.
* DeepCoverAgent: Diana Covington.
* CoolOldGuy: Billy Washington
* CourtroomEpisode: volume two of the first book.
* CreatorProvincialism: there are a grand total of two scenes in the entire trilogy that take place outside of America.
* CursedWithAwesome: Sleeplessness is perceived that way, due to the immense amount of FantasticRacism leveled at it.
** The Superbrights even more so. Almost a deconstruction of SuperIntelligence: they're so smart that they think in clouds of word association, or even in pure mathematics. Their bodies have to be "revved to the edge of biochemical hysteria" to support all that grey matter, leading to rampant stuttering, poor motor control and terrible difficulties with verbal language. And, of course, they get FantasticRacism leveled against them ''by their own creators''.
* CuteClumsyGirl: Miranda Sharifi, like all other Supers.
* DeadpanSnarker: everyone, but particularly Diana Covington.
* DeepCoverAgent: Diana Covington.
to:
* CourtroomEpisode:
* CreatorProvincialism:
* CursedWithAwesome: Sleeplessness is perceived that way, due to the immense amount of FantasticRacism leveled at
**
Changed line(s) 36,37 (click to see context) from:
* EmotionlessGirl: Jennifer Sharifi
* FantasticRacism: ''everywhere'', best organized through the "We-Sleep" movement started by Calvin Hawke. One of the interesting bits of its presentation, though (and the reason for the "Franchise/XMen" analogy), is that, unusually, the hated minority is also the power class.
* FantasticRacism: ''everywhere'', best organized through the "We-Sleep" movement started by Calvin Hawke. One of the interesting bits of its presentation, though (and the reason for the "Franchise/XMen" analogy), is that, unusually, the hated minority is also the power class.
to:
* FantasticRacism:
Changed line(s) 39,51 (click to see context) from:
* FreudianTrio: name-checked in reference to the evolved American society. The Sleepless run the economy, genemod "donkeys" live in secure enclaves and run for office, and the "Livers," the unwashed masses who form 92% of the country, live on BreadAndCircuses provided by those elected officials and powered by cheap Y-energy. Amusingly, while the donkeys are IdleRich, it's the Livers who are ''told'' (and believe!) they are the ''actual'' IdleRich: after all, the donkeys serve them, don't they?
* GenerationXerox: two generations apart, a boy named Tony dies and creates a rift between the super-intelligent and the {{Muggles}}.
* GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke
* GoneHorriblyWrong: the Change syringes.
* GoodLawyersGoodClients: averted. The only client we ever see Leisha take on is a SpearCarrier for the local BatmanGambit.
* HealingFactor
* HikikoMori: Theresa Aranow
* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: the most basic principle of Jennifer Sharifi's--excuse me, ''Sanctuary's''--philosophy is that the smaller, smarter community has no obligation to serve the larger, dumber one. To prevent her community of Sleepless from falling under the domination of [[{{Muggles}} Sleepers]], she commissions the Superbrights--a smaller, smarter community serving her larger, dumber one.
** And then it happens again the third book, and it's even messier.
* HotForTeacher: Drew Arlen for Leisha, who is an odd combination of adoptive mother, teacher and best friend.
* IJustWantToBeNormal / IJustWantToBeSpecial: one of the core conflicts of the series.
* IllGirl: Theresa Aranow
* IntimidatingRevenueService: The ultimate antagonist in the first book - as the "[[{{Transhuman}} Sleepless]]" are smarter than the smartest human and can work twice as many hours, this puts them in a superhuman ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_bracket tax bracket]]'' - whichever government holds their citizenship can claim a staggering '''92%''' of their income.
* GenerationXerox: two generations apart, a boy named Tony dies and creates a rift between the super-intelligent and the {{Muggles}}.
* GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke
* GoneHorriblyWrong: the Change syringes.
* GoodLawyersGoodClients: averted. The only client we ever see Leisha take on is a SpearCarrier for the local BatmanGambit.
* HealingFactor
* HikikoMori: Theresa Aranow
* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: the most basic principle of Jennifer Sharifi's--excuse me, ''Sanctuary's''--philosophy is that the smaller, smarter community has no obligation to serve the larger, dumber one. To prevent her community of Sleepless from falling under the domination of [[{{Muggles}} Sleepers]], she commissions the Superbrights--a smaller, smarter community serving her larger, dumber one.
** And then it happens again the third book, and it's even messier.
* HotForTeacher: Drew Arlen for Leisha, who is an odd combination of adoptive mother, teacher and best friend.
* IJustWantToBeNormal / IJustWantToBeSpecial: one of the core conflicts of the series.
* IllGirl: Theresa Aranow
* IntimidatingRevenueService: The ultimate antagonist in the first book - as the "[[{{Transhuman}} Sleepless]]" are smarter than the smartest human and can work twice as many hours, this puts them in a superhuman ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_bracket tax bracket]]'' - whichever government holds their citizenship can claim a staggering '''92%''' of their income.
to:
* FreudianTrio: name-checked Name-checked in reference to the evolved American society. The Sleepless run the economy, genemod "donkeys" live in secure enclaves and run for office, and the "Livers," "Livers", the unwashed masses who form 92% of the country, live on BreadAndCircuses provided by those elected officials and powered by cheap Y-energy. Amusingly, while the donkeys are IdleRich, it's the Livers who are ''told'' (and believe!) they are the ''actual'' IdleRich: after all, the donkeys serve them, don't they?
* GenerationXerox:two Two generations apart, a boy named Tony dies and creates a rift between the super-intelligent and the {{Muggles}}.
* %%* GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke
* %%* GoneHorriblyWrong: the The Change syringes.
syringes.%%How?
* GoodLawyersGoodClients:averted.Averted. The only client we ever see Leisha take on is a SpearCarrier for the local BatmanGambit.
* %%* HealingFactor
* HikikoMori: %%* {{Hikikomori}}: Theresa Aranow
* HoistByTheirOwnPetard:the The most basic principle of Jennifer Sharifi's--excuse Sharifi's -- excuse me, ''Sanctuary's''--philosophy ''Sanctuary's'' -- philosophy is that the smaller, smarter community has no obligation to serve the larger, dumber one. To prevent her community of Sleepless from falling under the domination of [[{{Muggles}} Sleepers]], she commissions the Superbrights--a Superbrights -- a smaller, smarter community serving her larger, dumber one.
**one. And then it happens again the third book, and it's even messier.
* HotForTeacher: Drew Arlen has the hots for Leisha, who is an odd combination of adoptive mother, teacher and best friend.
* IJustWantToBeNormal / IJustWantToBeSpecial: one %%* IJustWantToBeNormal: One of the core conflicts of the series.
* %%* IllGirl: Theresa Aranow
* IntimidatingRevenueService: The ultimate antagonist in the first book- -- as the "[[{{Transhuman}} Sleepless]]" are smarter than the smartest human and can work twice as many hours, this puts them in a superhuman ''[[https://en.[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_bracket tax bracket]]'' - bracket]], meaning that whichever government holds their citizenship can claim a staggering '''92%''' of their income.
* GenerationXerox:
* GoodLawyersGoodClients:
* HoistByTheirOwnPetard:
**
* HotForTeacher: Drew Arlen has the hots for Leisha, who is an odd combination of adoptive mother, teacher and best friend.
* IntimidatingRevenueService: The ultimate antagonist in the first book
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* LadyDrunk: Elizabeth Camden.
to:
%%* LadyDrunk: Elizabeth Camden.
Changed line(s) 55,57 (click to see context) from:
* MamaBear: Jennifer Sharifi
** KnightTemplarParent
*** ProtagonistCenteredMorality: a {{Deconstruction}} of the kind of person who would even ''think'' they have this.
** KnightTemplarParent
*** ProtagonistCenteredMorality: a {{Deconstruction}} of the kind of person who would even ''think'' they have this.
to:
** KnightTemplarParent
*** ProtagonistCenteredMorality: a {{Deconstruction}} of the kind of person who would even ''think'' they have this.
Changed line(s) 59,60 (click to see context) from:
* MayDecemberRomance: amongst Sleepless, this can be common. Possibly justified by the lack of aging.
* MightMakesRight: one of the guiding principles of Sanctuary, when you get down to it. "We don't recognize that weakness has a moral claim on competency."
* MightMakesRight: one of the guiding principles of Sanctuary, when you get down to it. "We don't recognize that weakness has a moral claim on competency."
to:
* MayDecemberRomance: This can be common amongst Sleepless, this can be common. Possibly justified by the lack of aging.
as they do not age.
* MightMakesRight:one One of the guiding principles of Sanctuary, when you get down to it. "We don't recognize that weakness has a moral claim on competency."
* MightMakesRight:
Changed line(s) 62,64 (click to see context) from:
* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: not even discussed, just taken for granted. A big theme of the series is technology running away with itself, and a key measure of various characters is how willing they are to use whatever new tech has come along, regardless of whether their goals are beneficial or not.
* MuggleBornOfMages: six Sleepless marriages produce sleeping children during the 21st century, due to genetic regression to the mean. The five born on Sanctuary are [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer quietly done away with]].
* {{Nanomachines}}
* MuggleBornOfMages: six Sleepless marriages produce sleeping children during the 21st century, due to genetic regression to the mean. The five born on Sanctuary are [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer quietly done away with]].
* {{Nanomachines}}
to:
* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: not Not even discussed, just taken for granted. A big theme of the series is technology running away with itself, and a key measure of various characters is how willing they are to use whatever new tech has come along, regardless of whether their goals are beneficial or not.
* MuggleBornOfMages:six Six Sleepless marriages produce sleeping children during the 21st century, due to genetic regression to the mean. The five born on Sanctuary are [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer quietly done away with]].
* %%* {{Nanomachines}}
* MuggleBornOfMages:
Changed line(s) 68,84 (click to see context) from:
* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Sleepless; to a much larger extent, [=SuperSleepless=].
* ParentalFavoritism: Roger to Leisha; Elizabeth to Alice.
* PlayfulHacker: Lizzie Francy.
* PluckyGirl: Lizzie, again.
* PolarOppositeTwins: Leisha and Alice, non-identical twins.
* PurpleEyes: Diana Covington
* RebelliousSpirit: Tony Indivino
* ReplacementGoldfish: subtext on the part of Jennifer Sharifi suggests that all her lovers are an attempt to fill the hole left by Tony Indivino.
* SassyBlackWoman: Annie Francy
* TheSingularity: the Change syringes are a soft version.
* TheSleepless
* SpaceStation: the Sleepless eventually retreat to one, which they call Sanctuary.
* TheSpock: ''all'' Sleepless, by virtue of being unable to sleep and thus having no access to the safety valve of the unconscious. (Seriously, Leisha dies at the age of 106. She sleeps ''once'' in her life, when she takes a drug at age 16. Imagine being conscious for 90 years straight, by the way.)
* StepfordSmiler: all the characters to a certain extent—being a Sleepless means being an instant celebrity—but Jennifer Sharifi the most. Leisha's mother Elizabeth as well, for the short time she's in the story.
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome in every book after the first.
* SupportingProtagonist: the second book's central character is Miranda Sharifi. She does not narrate.
* SwitchingPOV: the first book features primarily Leisha, with help from, in order: Susan Melling, Jordan Watrous, Jennifer Sharifi, Drew Arlen and Miri Sharifi. The second is all [[PointOfView first-person]] narration from Drew, Billy Washington and Diana Covington. The third uses Lizzie Francy, Jennifer Sharifi, and Jackson and Theresa Aranow.
* ParentalFavoritism: Roger to Leisha; Elizabeth to Alice.
* PlayfulHacker: Lizzie Francy.
* PluckyGirl: Lizzie, again.
* PolarOppositeTwins: Leisha and Alice, non-identical twins.
* PurpleEyes: Diana Covington
* RebelliousSpirit: Tony Indivino
* ReplacementGoldfish: subtext on the part of Jennifer Sharifi suggests that all her lovers are an attempt to fill the hole left by Tony Indivino.
* SassyBlackWoman: Annie Francy
* TheSingularity: the Change syringes are a soft version.
* TheSleepless
* SpaceStation: the Sleepless eventually retreat to one, which they call Sanctuary.
* TheSpock: ''all'' Sleepless, by virtue of being unable to sleep and thus having no access to the safety valve of the unconscious. (Seriously, Leisha dies at the age of 106. She sleeps ''once'' in her life, when she takes a drug at age 16. Imagine being conscious for 90 years straight, by the way.)
* StepfordSmiler: all the characters to a certain extent—being a Sleepless means being an instant celebrity—but Jennifer Sharifi the most. Leisha's mother Elizabeth as well, for the short time she's in the story.
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome in every book after the first.
* SupportingProtagonist: the second book's central character is Miranda Sharifi. She does not narrate.
* SwitchingPOV: the first book features primarily Leisha, with help from, in order: Susan Melling, Jordan Watrous, Jennifer Sharifi, Drew Arlen and Miri Sharifi. The second is all [[PointOfView first-person]] narration from Drew, Billy Washington and Diana Covington. The third uses Lizzie Francy, Jennifer Sharifi, and Jackson and Theresa Aranow.
to:
*
%%* ProtagonistCenteredMorality: A {{Deconstruction}} of the kind of person who would even ''think'' they have this.
%%* PurpleEyes: Diana Covington
* ReplacementGoldfish:
* SpaceStation:
* TheSpock:
* StepfordSmiler:
* SupportingProtagonist:
* SwitchingPOV:
Changed line(s) 87,94 (click to see context) from:
* ThemeNaming: Miri's group calling itself The Beggars.
* ThemeTwinNaming: Leisha and Alice are both variations on the name 'Alicia'. The novel never mentions whether this was intentional on the part of any characters.
* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture
* UndeadTaxExemption: averted. Sanctuary Orbital--yes, the space station--is the property of a corporation licensed in New York State, and thus subject to the IRS. Tax ratios start at 64.8% and, by the end of the book, have reached a staggering ''92%''.
* TheUnfavourite: Alice.
* UptightLovesWild: Jackson Aranow and Cazie Sanders. Deconstructed.
* TheVirus: two kinds. One is for KillEmAll purposes, which Sanctuary uses in a ''Series/TwentyFour''-terrorist-style plot; the other is to make everyone into a HikikoMori by inducing a strong aversion to novelty (worse than it sounds, especially in times of democratic election) and is ''much'' more successful.
* WaifProphet: Theresa
* ThemeTwinNaming: Leisha and Alice are both variations on the name 'Alicia'. The novel never mentions whether this was intentional on the part of any characters.
* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture
* UndeadTaxExemption: averted. Sanctuary Orbital--yes, the space station--is the property of a corporation licensed in New York State, and thus subject to the IRS. Tax ratios start at 64.8% and, by the end of the book, have reached a staggering ''92%''.
* TheUnfavourite: Alice.
* UptightLovesWild: Jackson Aranow and Cazie Sanders. Deconstructed.
* TheVirus: two kinds. One is for KillEmAll purposes, which Sanctuary uses in a ''Series/TwentyFour''-terrorist-style plot; the other is to make everyone into a HikikoMori by inducing a strong aversion to novelty (worse than it sounds, especially in times of democratic election) and is ''much'' more successful.
* WaifProphet: Theresa
to:
* UndeadTaxExemption:
* TheVirus:
Changed line(s) 97,98 (click to see context) from:
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: once per novel.
to:
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Changed line(s) 38 (click to see context) from:
* TheFettered: Leisha is (or tries to be) a good person and has enormous faith in the AmericanPoliticalSystem.
to:
* TheFettered: Leisha is (or tries to be) a good person and has enormous faith in the AmericanPoliticalSystem.UsefulNotes/AmericanPoliticalSystem.
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Added DiffLines:
***...Except '''''[[FreakierThanFiction it almost happened for real]].''''' Though instead of "everything except this grass" it would have been [[http://www.cracked.com/article_18503_how-biotech-company-almost-killed-world-with-booze.html "everything except this alcohol-producing slime."]]
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How To Create A Works Page explicitly says "No bolding is used for work titles."
Changed line(s) 2,3 (click to see context) from:
''Beggars in Spain'' is a UsefulNotes/NebulaAward-winning story by Creator/NancyKress, released in 1993. (The original novella, corresponding to the first quarter of the novel, won; the expanded version didn't.) It was followed by '''Beggars And Choosers''' and '''Beggars Ride'''.
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''Beggars in Spain'' is a UsefulNotes/NebulaAward-winning story by Creator/NancyKress, released in 1993. (The original novella, corresponding to the first quarter of the novel, won; the expanded version didn't.) It was followed by '''Beggars ''Beggars And Choosers''' Choosers'' and '''Beggars Ride'''.
''Beggars Ride''.
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* AbusiveParents: There have been cases for parents of Sleepless children.
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* IntimidatingRevenueService: The ultimate antagonist in the first book - as the "[[{{Transhuman}} Sleepless]]" are smarter than the smartest human and can work twice as many hours, this puts them in a superhuman ''[[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tax_bracket tax bracket]]'' - whichever government holds their citizenship can claim a staggering '''92%''' of their income.
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''Beggars in Spain'' is a NebulaAward-winning story by Creator/NancyKress, released in 1993. (The original novella, corresponding to the first quarter of the novel, won; the expanded version didn't.) It was followed by '''Beggars And Choosers''' and '''Beggars Ride'''.
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''Beggars in Spain'' is a NebulaAward-winning UsefulNotes/NebulaAward-winning story by Creator/NancyKress, released in 1993. (The original novella, corresponding to the first quarter of the novel, won; the expanded version didn't.) It was followed by '''Beggars And Choosers''' and '''Beggars Ride'''.
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One part BioPunk, one part ComicBook/{{X-Men}}-style discrimination, one part [[GreyAndGrayMorality head-spinning moral quandaries]]. Oh, and a guy who figures out how to manipulate the subjective unconscious and make people dream.
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One part BioPunk, one part ComicBook/{{X-Men}}-style ComicBook/XMen-style discrimination, one part [[GreyAndGrayMorality head-spinning moral quandaries]]. Oh, and a guy who figures out how to manipulate the subjective unconscious and make people dream.
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* FantasticRacism: ''everywhere'', best organized through the "We-Sleep" movement started by Calvin Hawke. One of the interesting bits of its presentation, though (and the reason for the "Franchise/{{X-Men}}" analogy), is that, unusually, the hated minority is also the power class.
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* FantasticRacism: ''everywhere'', best organized through the "We-Sleep" movement started by Calvin Hawke. One of the interesting bits of its presentation, though (and the reason for the "Franchise/{{X-Men}}" "Franchise/XMen" analogy), is that, unusually, the hated minority is also the power class.
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[[quoteright:315:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/beggarsinspainbadass.jpg]]
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* DeweyDefeatsTruman: The first novel was released in 1994. Just about the only bet it missed was the rise of Microsoft, but seeing as how Kevin Baker, the first Sleepless, is a software genius and would have been (out)competing Bill Gates' empire at some point, that miss becomes glaring.
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* HistoryMarchesOn: The first novel was released in 1994. Just about the only bet it missed was the rise of Microsoft, but seeing as how Kevin Baker, the first Sleepless, is a software genius and would have been (out)competing Bill Gates' empire at some point, that miss becomes glaring.
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One part BioPunk, one part ComicBook/{{X-Men}}-style discrimination, one part [[GreyAndGrayMorality head-spinning moral quandaries]]. Oh, and a guy who figures out how to manipulate the subjective unconscious and make people dream. And an absurd political system where 92% of America are either the idle rich or the serfs living on BreadAndCircuses.
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One part BioPunk, one part ComicBook/{{X-Men}}-style discrimination, one part [[GreyAndGrayMorality head-spinning moral quandaries]]. Oh, and a guy who figures out how to manipulate the subjective unconscious and make people dream. And an absurd political system where 92% of America are either the idle rich or the serfs living on BreadAndCircuses.
dream.
* FreudianTrio: name-checked in reference to the evolved American society. The Sleepless run the economy, genemod "donkeys" live in secure enclaves and run for office, and the "Livers," the unwashed masses who form 92% of the country, live on BreadAndCircuses provided by those elected officials and powered by cheap Y-energy. Amusingly, while the donkeys are IdleRich, it's the Livers who are ''told'' (and believe!) they are the ''actual'' IdleRich: after all, the donkeys serve them, don't they?
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* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: the most basic principle of Sanctuary's philosophy is that the smaller, smarter community has no obligation to serve the larger, dumber one. To prevent her community of Sleepless from falling under the domination of [[{{Muggles}} Sleepers]], she commissions the Superbrights--a smaller, smarter community serving her larger, dumber one.
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* HistoryMarchesOn: The first novel was released in 1994. Just about the only bet it missed was the rise of Microsoft, but seeing as how Kevin Baker, the first Sleepless, is a software genius and would have been (out)competing Bill Gates' empire at some point, that miss becomes glaring.
* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: the most basic principle ofSanctuary's philosophy Jennifer Sharifi's--excuse me, ''Sanctuary's''--philosophy is that the smaller, smarter community has no obligation to serve the larger, dumber one. To prevent her community of Sleepless from falling under the domination of [[{{Muggles}} Sleepers]], she commissions the Superbrights--a smaller, smarter community serving her larger, dumber one.
* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: the most basic principle of
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* PlayfulHacker: Lizzie Francy
* PluckyGirl: Lizzie, again
* PluckyGirl: Lizzie, again
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* PlayfulHacker: Lizzie Francy
Francy.
* PluckyGirl: Lizzie,againagain.
* PluckyGirl: Lizzie,
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* TeenGenius: Lizzie Francy. (Yes, there are a gazillion Sleepless wandering around who qualify, but Lizzie is the most jarring example because she's a Liver, part of the SilentMajority who are paid with BreadAndCircuses to be dumb and unambitious.)
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* TeenGenius: Lizzie Francy. (Yes, there are a gazillion Sleepless wandering around who qualify, but Lizzie is the most jarring example because she's a Liver, part of the SilentMajority who are paid with BreadAndCircuses ''paid'' to be dumb and unambitious.)
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* UptightLovesWild: Jackson Aranow and Cazie Sanders.
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* UptightLovesWild: Jackson Aranow and Cazie Sanders. Deconstructed.
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* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: a couple of prominent characters (Drew Arlen particularly, but Richard Keller as well) just disappear into the ether.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters
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* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: a couple of prominent characters (Drew Arlen particularly, but also Richard Keller as well) and Kevin Baker, the other two Sleepless besides Leisha who are not strongly affiliated with Sanctuary) just disappear into the ether.
*YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters
YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters: once per novel.
*
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One part BioPunk, one part ComicBook/{{X-MEN}}-style discrimination, one part [[GreyAndGrayMorality head-spinning moral quandaries]]. Oh, and a guy who figures out how to manipulate the subjective unconscious and make people dream. And an absurd political system where 92% of America are either the idle rich or the serfs living on BreadAndCircuses. It's a little down on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism, but when have tropers ever found that a bad thing?
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One part BioPunk, one part ComicBook/{{X-MEN}}-style ComicBook/{{X-Men}}-style discrimination, one part [[GreyAndGrayMorality head-spinning moral quandaries]]. Oh, and a guy who figures out how to manipulate the subjective unconscious and make people dream. And an absurd political system where 92% of America are either the idle rich or the serfs living on BreadAndCircuses. It's a little down on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism, but when have tropers ever found that a bad thing?
BreadAndCircuses.
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* WhamLine: "Do you know Creator/LaRochefoucauld on superiority? '''Le vrai moyen d'être trompé c'est de se croire plus fin que les autres''.'" [[hottip:Trans:"The truest way to be deceived is to think oneself more knowing than others."]]
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* WhamLine: "Do you know Creator/LaRochefoucauld on superiority? '''Le vrai moyen d'être trompé c'est de se croire plus fin que les autres''.'" [[hottip:Trans:"The [[labelnote:Trans]]"The truest way to be deceived is to think oneself more knowing than others."]]"[[/labelnote]]
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* GundamJack: one of the big moves of the rebellion in the second book.
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** At one point, while introducing the dangers of Genetic Engineering, we see, kept in a glass prison, a genetically engineered grass. We're told that it's so super-capable that if released, it would outcompete every other plant on the planet and within a few years nothing would live on earth except this grass and a few large trees, which would be dying. A bit of FridgeLogic ensued when you consider that this means it's better at living in the deserts than a cactus, better than living in brackish swamps than a mangrove, and somehow better at living in the ocean than kelp and algae, all in one plant.
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* FantasticRacism: ''everywhere'', best organized through the "We-Sleep" movement started by Calvin Hawke. One of the interesting bits of its presentation, though (and the reason for the "XMen" analogy), is that, unusually, the hated minority is also the power class.
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* FantasticRacism: ''everywhere'', best organized through the "We-Sleep" movement started by Calvin Hawke. One of the interesting bits of its presentation, though (and the reason for the "XMen" "Franchise/{{X-Men}}" analogy), is that, unusually, the hated minority is also the power class.
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* TheVirus: two kinds. One is for KillEmAll purposes, which Sanctuary uses in a ''Series/TwentyFour''-terrorist-style plot; the other is to make everyone into a HikikoMori and is ''much'' more successful.
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* TheVirus: two kinds. One is for KillEmAll purposes, which Sanctuary uses in a ''Series/TwentyFour''-terrorist-style plot; the other is to make everyone into a HikikoMori by inducing a strong aversion to novelty (worse than it sounds, especially in times of democratic election) and is ''much'' more successful.
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* IWantMyJetpack: It's well after 2008 and bioengineered superpeople still don't exist. (And, with many countries passing reactionary, Luddite preemptive legislation against human genetic manipulation, it's unlikely they ever will.)
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* IWantMyJetpack: It's well after 2008 came and bioengineered superpeople still don't exist. (And, with many countries passing reactionary, Luddite preemptive legislation against went and human genetic manipulation, it's unlikely they ever will.)engineering is still in its infancy, to the chagrin of many young white first-worlders who want to become Übermenschen.
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One part BioPunk, one part {{X-MEN}}-style discrimination, one part [[GreyAndGrayMorality head-spinning moral quandaries]]. Oh, and a guy who figures out how to manipulate the subjective unconscious and make people dream. And an absurd political system where 92% of America are either the idle rich or the serfs living on BreadAndCircuses. It's a little down on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism, but when have tropers ever found that a bad thing?
to:
One part BioPunk, one part {{X-MEN}}-style ComicBook/{{X-MEN}}-style discrimination, one part [[GreyAndGrayMorality head-spinning moral quandaries]]. Oh, and a guy who figures out how to manipulate the subjective unconscious and make people dream. And an absurd political system where 92% of America are either the idle rich or the serfs living on BreadAndCircuses. It's a little down on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism, but when have tropers ever found that a bad thing?
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no idea if Leisha\'s innocent enough for Hair of Gold Heart of Gold
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It's 2008, TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. Leisha Camden is a BornWinner: her daddy's rich, her mama's good-looking, HairOfGold, Eyes Of Blue... and the latest genemods, the one that make you [[TheSleepless not need to sleep]]. This particular genemod is a very new technology, and Leisha is only the 21st human being ever born with it. The other 19 are healthy, sane, cheerful and incredibly smart; all of them go on to become luminaries in their fields. The 20th was shaken to death by parents who [[RealityEnsues hadn't reckoned on a baby that cried 24/7]].
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It's 2008, TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. Leisha Camden is a BornWinner: her daddy's rich, her mama's good-looking, HairOfGold, Eyes Of Blue...she's got blonde hair, blue eyes... and the latest genemods, the one that make you [[TheSleepless not need to sleep]]. This particular genemod is a very new technology, and Leisha is only the 21st human being ever born with it. The other 19 are healthy, sane, cheerful and incredibly smart; all of them go on to become luminaries in their fields. The 20th was shaken to death by parents who [[RealityEnsues hadn't reckoned on a baby that cried 24/7]].
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link to new author page
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''Beggars in Spain'' is a NebulaAward-winning story by Nancy Kress, released in 1993. (The original novella, corresponding to the first quarter of the novel, won; the expanded version didn't.) It was followed by '''Beggars And Choosers''' and '''Beggars Ride'''.
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''Beggars in Spain'' is a NebulaAward-winning story by Nancy Kress, Creator/NancyKress, released in 1993. (The original novella, corresponding to the first quarter of the novel, won; the expanded version didn't.) It was followed by '''Beggars And Choosers''' and '''Beggars Ride'''.
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'''Beggars in Spain''' is a NebulaAward-winning story by Nancy Kress, released in 1993. (The original novella, corresponding to the first quarter of the novel, won; the expanded version didn't.) It was followed by '''Beggars And Choosers''' and '''Beggars Ride'''.
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Blue Eyes is being split into different tropes (Creepy Blue Eyes,Innocent Blue Eyes, Occult Blue Eyes and Icy Blue Eyes) as per this thread
because it\'s not just about having that eye colour, it\'s about what traits blue eyes supposed to symbolise and blue eyes is constantly being misused for \"X has blue eyes\", so anything that doesn\'t fit the split off tropes or Zero Content Examples will be removed. This goes for most of the Common Eye Colours tropes as well
because it\'s not just about having that eye colour, it\'s about what traits blue eyes supposed to symbolise and blue eyes is constantly being misused for \"X has blue eyes\", so anything that doesn\'t fit the split off tropes or Zero Content Examples will be removed. This goes for most of the Common Eye Colours tropes as wellChanged line(s) 3,4 (click to see context) from:
It's 2008, TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. Leisha Camden is a BornWinner: her daddy's rich, her mama's good-looking, HairOfGold, [[BlueEyes Eyes Of Blue]]... and the latest genemods, the one that make you [[TheSleepless not need to sleep]]. This particular genemod is a very new technology, and Leisha is only the 21st human being ever born with it. The other 19 are healthy, sane, cheerful and incredibly smart; all of them go on to become luminaries in their fields. The 20th was shaken to death by parents who [[RealityEnsues hadn't reckoned on a baby that cried 24/7]].
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It's 2008, TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. Leisha Camden is a BornWinner: her daddy's rich, her mama's good-looking, HairOfGold, [[BlueEyes Eyes Of Blue]]...Blue... and the latest genemods, the one that make you [[TheSleepless not need to sleep]]. This particular genemod is a very new technology, and Leisha is only the 21st human being ever born with it. The other 19 are healthy, sane, cheerful and incredibly smart; all of them go on to become luminaries in their fields. The 20th was shaken to death by parents who [[RealityEnsues hadn't reckoned on a baby that cried 24/7]].
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Namespace stuff.
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It's 2008, TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. Leisha Camden is a {{Born Winner}}: her daddy's rich, her mama's good-looking, HairOfGold, [[BlueEyes Eyes Of Blue]]... and the latest genemods, the one that make you [[TheSleepless not need to sleep]]. This particular genemod is a very new technology, and Leisha is only the 21st human being ever born with it. The other 19 are healthy, sane, cheerful and incredibly smart; all of them go on to become luminaries in their fields. The 20th was shaken to death by parents who [[RealityEnsues hadn't reckoned on a baby that cried 24/7]].
A CyberPunk novel by way of GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke, the ''Beggars'' trilogy has a lot of technology in it, obviously; in addition to "genemods", as they're called, there's Cold Fusion, invented by a guy named Kenzo Yagai. He also invented Yagaiism, which Kress admits to having based on {{UsefulNotes/Objectivism}}. The particular emphasis of Yagaiism is that all contact should be mutually beneficial: if you don't get anything out of helping someone, it's not just stupid but immoral to do so. Leisha, a devout Yagaiist, agrees with this idea... but isn't always able to square that away with the fact that, if she meets a [[TitleDrop beggar in Spain]], it would be just as wrong not to give him a dollar. Hmm. DoesNotCompute.
A CyberPunk novel by way of GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke, the ''Beggars'' trilogy has a lot of technology in it, obviously; in addition to "genemods", as they're called, there's Cold Fusion, invented by a guy named Kenzo Yagai. He also invented Yagaiism, which Kress admits to having based on {{UsefulNotes/Objectivism}}. The particular emphasis of Yagaiism is that all contact should be mutually beneficial: if you don't get anything out of helping someone, it's not just stupid but immoral to do so. Leisha, a devout Yagaiist, agrees with this idea... but isn't always able to square that away with the fact that, if she meets a [[TitleDrop beggar in Spain]], it would be just as wrong not to give him a dollar. Hmm. DoesNotCompute.
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It's 2008, TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. Leisha Camden is a {{Born Winner}}: BornWinner: her daddy's rich, her mama's good-looking, HairOfGold, [[BlueEyes Eyes Of Blue]]... and the latest genemods, the one that make you [[TheSleepless not need to sleep]]. This particular genemod is a very new technology, and Leisha is only the 21st human being ever born with it. The other 19 are healthy, sane, cheerful and incredibly smart; all of them go on to become luminaries in their fields. The 20th was shaken to death by parents who [[RealityEnsues hadn't reckoned on a baby that cried 24/7]].
A CyberPunk novel by way of GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke, the ''Beggars'' trilogy has a lot of technology in it, obviously; in addition to "genemods", as they're called, there's Cold Fusion, invented by a guy named Kenzo Yagai. He also invented Yagaiism, which Kress admits to having based on{{UsefulNotes/Objectivism}}.UsefulNotes/{{Objectivism}}. The particular emphasis of Yagaiism is that all contact should be mutually beneficial: if you don't get anything out of helping someone, it's not just stupid but immoral to do so. Leisha, a devout Yagaiist, agrees with this idea... but isn't always able to square that away with the fact that, if she meets a [[TitleDrop beggar in Spain]], it would be just as wrong not to give him a dollar. Hmm. DoesNotCompute.
A CyberPunk novel by way of GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke, the ''Beggars'' trilogy has a lot of technology in it, obviously; in addition to "genemods", as they're called, there's Cold Fusion, invented by a guy named Kenzo Yagai. He also invented Yagaiism, which Kress admits to having based on
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* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome in every book after the first.
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* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome in every book after the first.
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* TheVirus: two kinds. One is for KillEmAll purposes, which Sanctuary uses in a ''TwentyFour''-terrorist-style plot; the other is to make everyone into a HikikoMori and is ''much'' more successful.
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* TheVirus: two kinds. One is for KillEmAll purposes, which Sanctuary uses in a ''TwentyFour''-terrorist-style ''Series/TwentyFour''-terrorist-style plot; the other is to make everyone into a HikikoMori and is ''much'' more successful.
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* DifferentAsNightAndDay: Leisha and Alice, non-identical twins.
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* PolarOppositeTwins: Leisha and Alice, non-identical twins.
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move to namespace
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'''Beggars in Spain''' is a NebulaAward-winning story by Nancy Kress, released in 1993. (The original novella, corresponding to the first quarter of the novel, won; the expanded version didn't.) It was followed by '''Beggars And Choosers''' and '''Beggars Ride'''.
It's 2008, TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. Leisha Camden is a {{Born Winner}}: her daddy's rich, her mama's good-looking, HairOfGold, [[BlueEyes Eyes Of Blue]]... and the latest genemods, the one that make you [[TheSleepless not need to sleep]]. This particular genemod is a very new technology, and Leisha is only the 21st human being ever born with it. The other 19 are healthy, sane, cheerful and incredibly smart; all of them go on to become luminaries in their fields. The 20th was shaken to death by parents who [[RealityEnsues hadn't reckoned on a baby that cried 24/7]].
A CyberPunk novel by way of GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke, the ''Beggars'' trilogy has a lot of technology in it, obviously; in addition to "genemods", as they're called, there's Cold Fusion, invented by a guy named Kenzo Yagai. He also invented Yagaiism, which Kress admits to having based on {{UsefulNotes/Objectivism}}. The particular emphasis of Yagaiism is that all contact should be mutually beneficial: if you don't get anything out of helping someone, it's not just stupid but immoral to do so. Leisha, a devout Yagaiist, agrees with this idea... but isn't always able to square that away with the fact that, if she meets a [[TitleDrop beggar in Spain]], it would be just as wrong not to give him a dollar. Hmm. DoesNotCompute.
The other emphasis of the trilogy, the ''real'' emphasis, is prejudice. WhatMeasureIsANonHuman Every single character in the series is asking this, and what's interesting is that every single character in the series has a different way of defining 'human.' To most people, the Sleepless—intelligent, overachieving, blessed with superb emotional stability—aren't human... especially when it's discovered that the Sleeplessness gene unlocks some sort of radical HealingFactor, making the Sleepless functionally immortal. To the Sleepless, ''{{Muggles}}'' aren't human: not because they have to waste a third of their life in comatose nonproductivity, but because they prefer to {{Wangst}} and bask in the culture of entitlement rather than apply themselves. With FantasticRacism flying in both directions, it isn't long before open hostilities and byzantine plans begin to sprout.
And then things go ''really'' OffTheRails.
One part BioPunk, one part {{X-MEN}}-style discrimination, one part [[GreyAndGrayMorality head-spinning moral quandaries]]. Oh, and a guy who figures out how to manipulate the subjective unconscious and make people dream. And an absurd political system where 92% of America are either the idle rich or the serfs living on BreadAndCircuses. It's a little down on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism, but when have tropers ever found that a bad thing?
----
!!This series features examples of:
* ACupAngst: Diana Covington has some of this going on.
* ArtisticLicenseBiology: science currently believes that long-term sleeplessness is impossible, as sleep serves as a necessary pressure valve for a number of mental, emotional and physiological processes; for instance, mood imbalance is associated with sleep deprivation. Kress {{handwave}}s this via InsaneTrollLogic ("Exactly--remove sleep entirely and the mood disorders will disappear with it!"), but since sleeplessness is a NecessaryWeasel we put up with it.
* BecomingTheCostume: the whole point of Theresa Aranow's biofeedback techniques.
* BioAugmentation: the Change syringes, full stop.
* BreadAndCircuses: the entire post-Y-energy society functions this way. The Sleepless are the intellectuals, the "donkeys" are genemod {{Muggles}} and bureaucrats, and the "Livers" are the remaining 90%: the mental scrapheaps who are ''told'' they are the top of the pile because they get to live lives of "aristo leisure" with donkeys doing all the work for them.
* BrotherSisterIncest: Miri's regard for her brother Tony seems to be a bit more than familial. The exact motivations behind this are never explained, and in the end nothing actually happens between them.
* ControlFreak: Roger Camden; Jennifer Sharifi
* CoolOldGuy: Billy Washington
* CourtroomEpisode: volume two of the first book.
* CreatorProvincialism: there are a grand total of two scenes in the entire trilogy that take place outside of America.
* CursedWithAwesome: Sleeplessness is perceived that way, due to the immense amount of FantasticRacism leveled at it.
** The Superbrights even more so. Almost a deconstruction of SuperIntelligence: they're so smart that they think in clouds of word association, or even in pure mathematics. Their bodies have to be "revved to the edge of biochemical hysteria" to support all that grey matter, leading to rampant stuttering, poor motor control and terrible difficulties with verbal language. And, of course, they get FantasticRacism leveled against them ''by their own creators''.
* CuteClumsyGirl: Miranda Sharifi, like all other Supers.
* DeadpanSnarker: everyone, but particularly Diana Covington.
* DeepCoverAgent: Diana Covington.
* DifferentAsNightAndDay: Leisha and Alice, non-identical twins.
* EmotionlessGirl: Jennifer Sharifi
* FantasticRacism: ''everywhere'', best organized through the "We-Sleep" movement started by Calvin Hawke. One of the interesting bits of its presentation, though (and the reason for the "XMen" analogy), is that, unusually, the hated minority is also the power class.
* TheFettered: Leisha is (or tries to be) a good person and has enormous faith in the AmericanPoliticalSystem.
* GenerationXerox: two generations apart, a boy named Tony dies and creates a rift between the super-intelligent and the {{Muggles}}.
* GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke
* GoneHorriblyWrong: the Change syringes.
* GoodLawyersGoodClients: averted. The only client we ever see Leisha take on is a SpearCarrier for the local BatmanGambit.
* GundamJack: one of the big moves of the rebellion in the second book.
* HealingFactor
* HikikoMori: Theresa Aranow
* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: the most basic principle of Sanctuary's philosophy is that the smaller, smarter community has no obligation to serve the larger, dumber one. To prevent her community of Sleepless from falling under the domination of [[{{Muggles}} Sleepers]], she commissions the Superbrights--a smaller, smarter community serving her larger, dumber one.
** And then it happens again the third book, and it's even messier.
* HotForTeacher: Drew Arlen for Leisha, who is an odd combination of adoptive mother, teacher and best friend.
* IJustWantToBeNormal / IJustWantToBeSpecial: one of the core conflicts of the series.
* IllGirl: Theresa Aranow
* IWantMyJetpack: It's well after 2008 and bioengineered superpeople still don't exist. (And, with many countries passing reactionary, Luddite preemptive legislation against human genetic manipulation, it's unlikely they ever will.)
* LadyDrunk: Elizabeth Camden.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: the first novel alone is 88 years long; ''Beggars Ride'' ends in 2121. This is inevitable.
* MamaBear: Jennifer Sharifi
** KnightTemplarParent
*** ProtagonistCenteredMorality: a {{Deconstruction}} of the kind of person who would even ''think'' they have this.
* ManicPixieDreamGirl: deconstructed in the person of Cazie Sanders.
* MayDecemberRomance: amongst Sleepless, this can be common. Possibly justified by the lack of aging.
* MightMakesRight: one of the guiding principles of Sanctuary, when you get down to it. "We don't recognize that weakness has a moral claim on competency."
* MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness: Despite being [[AsimovsThreeKindsOfScienceFiction social sci-fi]], the first book of the series falls pretty squarely into Type 4: the feasibility of sleeplessness is the only departure from reality, though that does branch off into the functional-immortality stuff. Later books contain a soft singularity later, but it too is brought on by a spiraling cascade of consequences stemming from the sleeplessness genemod.
* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: not even discussed, just taken for granted. A big theme of the series is technology running away with itself, and a key measure of various characters is how willing they are to use whatever new tech has come along, regardless of whether their goals are beneficial or not.
* MuggleBornOfMages: six Sleepless marriages produce sleeping children during the 21st century, due to genetic regression to the mean. The five born on Sanctuary are [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer quietly done away with]].
* {{Nanomachines}}
* TheNeedsOfTheMany: Opposing this idea when they're considered the "few" is the guiding principle of Sanctuary. Of course, when they are the "many", they have no problem applying it to their own engineered offspring.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Drew Arlen's "The Warrior" concert, which Miri ordered him to create in order to combat societal breakdown, actually makes more people join the rebel conspiracy ''driving'' that breakdown.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Sleepless stop aging physically in their 20s or 30s.
* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Sleepless; to a much larger extent, [=SuperSleepless=].
* ParentalFavoritism: Roger to Leisha; Elizabeth to Alice.
* PlayfulHacker: Lizzie Francy
* PluckyGirl: Lizzie, again
* PurpleEyes: Diana Covington
* RebelliousSpirit: Tony Indivino
* ReplacementGoldfish: subtext on the part of Jennifer Sharifi suggests that all her lovers are an attempt to fill the hole left by Tony Indivino.
* SassyBlackWoman: Annie Francy
* TheSingularity: the Change syringes are a soft version.
* TheSleepless
* SpaceStation: the Sleepless eventually retreat to one, which they call Sanctuary.
* TheSpock: ''all'' Sleepless, by virtue of being unable to sleep and thus having no access to the safety valve of the unconscious. (Seriously, Leisha dies at the age of 106. She sleeps ''once'' in her life, when she takes a drug at age 16. Imagine being conscious for 90 years straight, by the way.)
* StepfordSmiler: all the characters to a certain extent—being a Sleepless means being an instant celebrity—but Jennifer Sharifi the most. Leisha's mother Elizabeth as well, for the short time she's in the story.
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome in every book after the first.
* SupportingProtagonist: the second book's central character is Miranda Sharifi. She does not narrate.
* SwitchingPOV: the first book features primarily Leisha, with help from, in order: Susan Melling, Jordan Watrous, Jennifer Sharifi, Drew Arlen and Miri Sharifi. The second is all [[PointOfView first-person]] narration from Drew, Billy Washington and Diana Covington. The third uses Lizzie Francy, Jennifer Sharifi, and Jackson and Theresa Aranow.
* TeenGenius: Lizzie Francy. (Yes, there are a gazillion Sleepless wandering around who qualify, but Lizzie is the most jarring example because she's a Liver, part of the SilentMajority who are paid with BreadAndCircuses to be dumb and unambitious.)
* TeenPregnancy: DeconReconSwitch. Because of the BioAugmentation ubiquitous in the third book, Lizzie gets pregnant because she wants BabiesEverAfter, and it seems she would've played the trope straight until [[TheVirus the first major plot twist]] takes things out of her hands.
* ThemeNaming: Miri's group calling itself The Beggars.
* ThemeTwinNaming: Leisha and Alice are both variations on the name 'Alicia'. The novel never mentions whether this was intentional on the part of any characters.
* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture
* UndeadTaxExemption: averted. Sanctuary Orbital--yes, the space station--is the property of a corporation licensed in New York State, and thus subject to the IRS. Tax ratios start at 64.8% and, by the end of the book, have reached a staggering ''92%''.
* TheUnfavourite: Alice.
* UptightLovesWild: Jackson Aranow and Cazie Sanders.
* TheVirus: two kinds. One is for KillEmAll purposes, which Sanctuary uses in a ''TwentyFour''-terrorist-style plot; the other is to make everyone into a HikikoMori and is ''much'' more successful.
* WaifProphet: Theresa
* WhamLine: "Do you know Creator/LaRochefoucauld on superiority? '''Le vrai moyen d'être trompé c'est de se croire plus fin que les autres''.'" [[hottip:Trans:"The truest way to be deceived is to think oneself more knowing than others."]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: a couple of prominent characters (Drew Arlen particularly, but Richard Keller as well) just disappear into the ether.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters
----
It's 2008, TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture. Leisha Camden is a {{Born Winner}}: her daddy's rich, her mama's good-looking, HairOfGold, [[BlueEyes Eyes Of Blue]]... and the latest genemods, the one that make you [[TheSleepless not need to sleep]]. This particular genemod is a very new technology, and Leisha is only the 21st human being ever born with it. The other 19 are healthy, sane, cheerful and incredibly smart; all of them go on to become luminaries in their fields. The 20th was shaken to death by parents who [[RealityEnsues hadn't reckoned on a baby that cried 24/7]].
A CyberPunk novel by way of GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke, the ''Beggars'' trilogy has a lot of technology in it, obviously; in addition to "genemods", as they're called, there's Cold Fusion, invented by a guy named Kenzo Yagai. He also invented Yagaiism, which Kress admits to having based on {{UsefulNotes/Objectivism}}. The particular emphasis of Yagaiism is that all contact should be mutually beneficial: if you don't get anything out of helping someone, it's not just stupid but immoral to do so. Leisha, a devout Yagaiist, agrees with this idea... but isn't always able to square that away with the fact that, if she meets a [[TitleDrop beggar in Spain]], it would be just as wrong not to give him a dollar. Hmm. DoesNotCompute.
The other emphasis of the trilogy, the ''real'' emphasis, is prejudice. WhatMeasureIsANonHuman Every single character in the series is asking this, and what's interesting is that every single character in the series has a different way of defining 'human.' To most people, the Sleepless—intelligent, overachieving, blessed with superb emotional stability—aren't human... especially when it's discovered that the Sleeplessness gene unlocks some sort of radical HealingFactor, making the Sleepless functionally immortal. To the Sleepless, ''{{Muggles}}'' aren't human: not because they have to waste a third of their life in comatose nonproductivity, but because they prefer to {{Wangst}} and bask in the culture of entitlement rather than apply themselves. With FantasticRacism flying in both directions, it isn't long before open hostilities and byzantine plans begin to sprout.
And then things go ''really'' OffTheRails.
One part BioPunk, one part {{X-MEN}}-style discrimination, one part [[GreyAndGrayMorality head-spinning moral quandaries]]. Oh, and a guy who figures out how to manipulate the subjective unconscious and make people dream. And an absurd political system where 92% of America are either the idle rich or the serfs living on BreadAndCircuses. It's a little down on the SlidingScaleOfIdealismVsCynicism, but when have tropers ever found that a bad thing?
----
!!This series features examples of:
* ACupAngst: Diana Covington has some of this going on.
* ArtisticLicenseBiology: science currently believes that long-term sleeplessness is impossible, as sleep serves as a necessary pressure valve for a number of mental, emotional and physiological processes; for instance, mood imbalance is associated with sleep deprivation. Kress {{handwave}}s this via InsaneTrollLogic ("Exactly--remove sleep entirely and the mood disorders will disappear with it!"), but since sleeplessness is a NecessaryWeasel we put up with it.
* BecomingTheCostume: the whole point of Theresa Aranow's biofeedback techniques.
* BioAugmentation: the Change syringes, full stop.
* BreadAndCircuses: the entire post-Y-energy society functions this way. The Sleepless are the intellectuals, the "donkeys" are genemod {{Muggles}} and bureaucrats, and the "Livers" are the remaining 90%: the mental scrapheaps who are ''told'' they are the top of the pile because they get to live lives of "aristo leisure" with donkeys doing all the work for them.
* BrotherSisterIncest: Miri's regard for her brother Tony seems to be a bit more than familial. The exact motivations behind this are never explained, and in the end nothing actually happens between them.
* ControlFreak: Roger Camden; Jennifer Sharifi
* CoolOldGuy: Billy Washington
* CourtroomEpisode: volume two of the first book.
* CreatorProvincialism: there are a grand total of two scenes in the entire trilogy that take place outside of America.
* CursedWithAwesome: Sleeplessness is perceived that way, due to the immense amount of FantasticRacism leveled at it.
** The Superbrights even more so. Almost a deconstruction of SuperIntelligence: they're so smart that they think in clouds of word association, or even in pure mathematics. Their bodies have to be "revved to the edge of biochemical hysteria" to support all that grey matter, leading to rampant stuttering, poor motor control and terrible difficulties with verbal language. And, of course, they get FantasticRacism leveled against them ''by their own creators''.
* CuteClumsyGirl: Miranda Sharifi, like all other Supers.
* DeadpanSnarker: everyone, but particularly Diana Covington.
* DeepCoverAgent: Diana Covington.
* DifferentAsNightAndDay: Leisha and Alice, non-identical twins.
* EmotionlessGirl: Jennifer Sharifi
* FantasticRacism: ''everywhere'', best organized through the "We-Sleep" movement started by Calvin Hawke. One of the interesting bits of its presentation, though (and the reason for the "XMen" analogy), is that, unusually, the hated minority is also the power class.
* TheFettered: Leisha is (or tries to be) a good person and has enormous faith in the AmericanPoliticalSystem.
* GenerationXerox: two generations apart, a boy named Tony dies and creates a rift between the super-intelligent and the {{Muggles}}.
* GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke
* GoneHorriblyWrong: the Change syringes.
* GoodLawyersGoodClients: averted. The only client we ever see Leisha take on is a SpearCarrier for the local BatmanGambit.
* GundamJack: one of the big moves of the rebellion in the second book.
* HealingFactor
* HikikoMori: Theresa Aranow
* HoistByTheirOwnPetard: the most basic principle of Sanctuary's philosophy is that the smaller, smarter community has no obligation to serve the larger, dumber one. To prevent her community of Sleepless from falling under the domination of [[{{Muggles}} Sleepers]], she commissions the Superbrights--a smaller, smarter community serving her larger, dumber one.
** And then it happens again the third book, and it's even messier.
* HotForTeacher: Drew Arlen for Leisha, who is an odd combination of adoptive mother, teacher and best friend.
* IJustWantToBeNormal / IJustWantToBeSpecial: one of the core conflicts of the series.
* IllGirl: Theresa Aranow
* IWantMyJetpack: It's well after 2008 and bioengineered superpeople still don't exist. (And, with many countries passing reactionary, Luddite preemptive legislation against human genetic manipulation, it's unlikely they ever will.)
* LadyDrunk: Elizabeth Camden.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: the first novel alone is 88 years long; ''Beggars Ride'' ends in 2121. This is inevitable.
* MamaBear: Jennifer Sharifi
** KnightTemplarParent
*** ProtagonistCenteredMorality: a {{Deconstruction}} of the kind of person who would even ''think'' they have this.
* ManicPixieDreamGirl: deconstructed in the person of Cazie Sanders.
* MayDecemberRomance: amongst Sleepless, this can be common. Possibly justified by the lack of aging.
* MightMakesRight: one of the guiding principles of Sanctuary, when you get down to it. "We don't recognize that weakness has a moral claim on competency."
* MohsScaleOfScienceFictionHardness: Despite being [[AsimovsThreeKindsOfScienceFiction social sci-fi]], the first book of the series falls pretty squarely into Type 4: the feasibility of sleeplessness is the only departure from reality, though that does branch off into the functional-immortality stuff. Later books contain a soft singularity later, but it too is brought on by a spiraling cascade of consequences stemming from the sleeplessness genemod.
* MorallyAmbiguousDoctorate: not even discussed, just taken for granted. A big theme of the series is technology running away with itself, and a key measure of various characters is how willing they are to use whatever new tech has come along, regardless of whether their goals are beneficial or not.
* MuggleBornOfMages: six Sleepless marriages produce sleeping children during the 21st century, due to genetic regression to the mean. The five born on Sanctuary are [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer quietly done away with]].
* {{Nanomachines}}
* TheNeedsOfTheMany: Opposing this idea when they're considered the "few" is the guiding principle of Sanctuary. Of course, when they are the "many", they have no problem applying it to their own engineered offspring.
* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Drew Arlen's "The Warrior" concert, which Miri ordered him to create in order to combat societal breakdown, actually makes more people join the rebel conspiracy ''driving'' that breakdown.
* OlderThanTheyLook: Sleepless stop aging physically in their 20s or 30s.
* OmnidisciplinaryScientist: Sleepless; to a much larger extent, [=SuperSleepless=].
* ParentalFavoritism: Roger to Leisha; Elizabeth to Alice.
* PlayfulHacker: Lizzie Francy
* PluckyGirl: Lizzie, again
* PurpleEyes: Diana Covington
* RebelliousSpirit: Tony Indivino
* ReplacementGoldfish: subtext on the part of Jennifer Sharifi suggests that all her lovers are an attempt to fill the hole left by Tony Indivino.
* SassyBlackWoman: Annie Francy
* TheSingularity: the Change syringes are a soft version.
* TheSleepless
* SpaceStation: the Sleepless eventually retreat to one, which they call Sanctuary.
* TheSpock: ''all'' Sleepless, by virtue of being unable to sleep and thus having no access to the safety valve of the unconscious. (Seriously, Leisha dies at the age of 106. She sleeps ''once'' in her life, when she takes a drug at age 16. Imagine being conscious for 90 years straight, by the way.)
* StepfordSmiler: all the characters to a certain extent—being a Sleepless means being an instant celebrity—but Jennifer Sharifi the most. Leisha's mother Elizabeth as well, for the short time she's in the story.
* SuddenSequelDeathSyndrome in every book after the first.
* SupportingProtagonist: the second book's central character is Miranda Sharifi. She does not narrate.
* SwitchingPOV: the first book features primarily Leisha, with help from, in order: Susan Melling, Jordan Watrous, Jennifer Sharifi, Drew Arlen and Miri Sharifi. The second is all [[PointOfView first-person]] narration from Drew, Billy Washington and Diana Covington. The third uses Lizzie Francy, Jennifer Sharifi, and Jackson and Theresa Aranow.
* TeenGenius: Lizzie Francy. (Yes, there are a gazillion Sleepless wandering around who qualify, but Lizzie is the most jarring example because she's a Liver, part of the SilentMajority who are paid with BreadAndCircuses to be dumb and unambitious.)
* TeenPregnancy: DeconReconSwitch. Because of the BioAugmentation ubiquitous in the third book, Lizzie gets pregnant because she wants BabiesEverAfter, and it seems she would've played the trope straight until [[TheVirus the first major plot twist]] takes things out of her hands.
* ThemeNaming: Miri's group calling itself The Beggars.
* ThemeTwinNaming: Leisha and Alice are both variations on the name 'Alicia'. The novel never mentions whether this was intentional on the part of any characters.
* TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture
* UndeadTaxExemption: averted. Sanctuary Orbital--yes, the space station--is the property of a corporation licensed in New York State, and thus subject to the IRS. Tax ratios start at 64.8% and, by the end of the book, have reached a staggering ''92%''.
* TheUnfavourite: Alice.
* UptightLovesWild: Jackson Aranow and Cazie Sanders.
* TheVirus: two kinds. One is for KillEmAll purposes, which Sanctuary uses in a ''TwentyFour''-terrorist-style plot; the other is to make everyone into a HikikoMori and is ''much'' more successful.
* WaifProphet: Theresa
* WhamLine: "Do you know Creator/LaRochefoucauld on superiority? '''Le vrai moyen d'être trompé c'est de se croire plus fin que les autres''.'" [[hottip:Trans:"The truest way to be deceived is to think oneself more knowing than others."]]
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: a couple of prominent characters (Drew Arlen particularly, but Richard Keller as well) just disappear into the ether.
* YourTerroristsAreOurFreedomFighters
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