The Future We Left Behind, 1.4 by Mike Lancaster

Thousands of years in the future the divide between humanity and technology has become nearly unrecognizable. Each thought, each action is logged, coded, backed up. Data is as easily exchanged through the fiber-optic-like cables that extend from fingertips as it might be through ordinary conversation. It's a brave new world: A world that the Straker Tapes say is a result of many human "upgrades." But no one is sure whether the Straker Tapes are a work of fiction or an eerie peek into an unimaginable past. 

Nearly sixteen-year-old Peter Vincent has been raised to believe that everything that the backward Strakerites cling to is insane--an utter waste of time and potential. Since his father is David Vincent, genius inventor of the artificial bees that saved the world's crops and prevented massive famine, how could Peter believe anything else?

But when Peter meets Alpha, a Strakerite his own age, suddenly the theories about society-upgrades don't sound quite so crazy, especially when she shows him evidence that another upgrade is imminent. And worse, there may be a conspiracy by the leaders of the establishment to cover it up. A conspiracy spearheaded by Peter's own father.

Gripping and full of unexpected twists, The Future We Left Behind takes the unsettling questions raised in Human.4, and flips them entirely. What if we knew that the very way we live was about to be changed in an instant, and we could stop it? And what if everything we are sure we know is entirely wrong?

I read the first book, 4.0, and just loved it.  So I was really excited to read The Future We Left Behind.  I was a bit off-put when I started to read it though because it happens a thousand years after the first book.  I should have realized though, what with the first one being .4 and this one 1.4.  That means that the humans have been upgraded quite a few times.

The humans have filaments, which let them link into one another and the big brain of everything.  It's quite alien-like.  Peter is the narrator is this installment and he isn't sure he believes everything the way he was raised.  He's taking a literature course (if his father finds out, he's toast) and he's staying off of the link (kind of like the internet) more and more.  He's enjoying life, in an archaic way.  

When his famous father comes up with a way for them to expand, the data is getting to full and people are losing memories, Peter decides that there may be more to the Straker tapes then he thought.  Most folks find them just a legend, but there are those that still believe it is true.

The Future We Left Behind is a startling view of technology and is easily relatable to today's techno world.   I found Peter and his new friends to be very intelligent and also true to their age, teenagers.  Lancaster does a very good job of keeping things moving as well as leaving much food for thought.  I thoroughly enjoyed it but I urge you to pick up the first book in the series first so that you experience the whole package.  

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.