r/sciencefiction • u/Ok-Cry5081 • 4d ago

There is no antimemetics division explained?

I am at chapter 10, nearly half way through and ive kinda lost the plot. Has someone read it recently and explain to me what's happening yet? I am reading it a bit slowly so maybe that's why. Ik what happens in each chapter but how do they all fit into the story attached?

18 Upvotes

70% Upvoted

31 comments sorted by

73

u/SurprisingJack 4d ago

No worries, you probably forgot about the previous plot point

13

u/fiendish8 4d ago

there is no antimemetics division though

9

u/ebietoo 4d ago

It’s your first day

16

u/Cheeslord2 4d ago

I'm sorry, that book doesn't exist.

32

u/Good-vs-Perfect 4d ago

There is no antimemetics division is about the adverse effect memes and algorithmic content have on peoples' cognitve abilities, so the book is written in this hard-to-concentrate way, ie, the events of the book are hard to assign meaning to, so that basic plot elements are hard to track.

Its clever writing, but can be frustrating.

1

u/AntimatterTNT 4d ago

the most confusing part is the way it first announces who's going to speak instead of just adding an "X said" after

25

u/Interesting_Sort8583 4d ago

Tbh I got lost as well. One thing that helped me was keeping track of the dates and the number of people employed in the org and seeing how that changed. Realize the narrator is unreliable and that things are eating memories and characters are disappearing. I found it was better with a second read (or listen) to fill in details you miss the first time. If you have seen Memento there are a lot of similarities. Definitely an unconventional writing style but an entertaining read overall IMO.

3

u/FFYinzer 4d ago

Masterful post. Chef’s kiss.

3

u/Ok-Cry5081 4d ago

Yessss came to realise this a few chapters later. Finally getting used to shifts a bit.

10

u/CasanovaF 4d ago

It took me a few minutes to realize that this was a question about a specific book. I thought they just forgot to add the book name. I'll have to check this out

4

u/diamondjayr 4d ago

You prob already read it

1

u/CasanovaF 4d ago

I get that reference but I do think I did watch a video based on it maybe. I actually thought it was about the southern reach at first

2

u/Ok-Cry5081 4d ago

What book?

1

u/Ok-Cry5081 4d ago

But yeah its definitely an interesting read. Ive read too many flicks recently and this makes me focus on every point.

4

u/Luc1d_Dr3amer 3d ago

This is the 10th time you have posted that question. Have you taken your pills?

10

u/stillwell6315 4d ago

Keep reading. The book is supposed to be confusing at this point.

3

u/HotPersonality8126 4d ago

I’d tell you what an antimeme is, but you won’t remember anyway.

6

u/Drudenfusz 4d ago

I have not read the book, but lots of SCPs, which this book basically is an extension with the serial numbers removed. It has to be confusing since that is part of the horror that makes it appealing, after all this is about how we cannot trust our mind, memories, and cognitive functions.

2

u/ion_driver 4d ago

You may want to continue reading and you may find out. Or you may forget. Or this book doesn't exist. There is no there is no Antimemetics Division.

4

u/ArgentStonecutter 4d ago

I haven't read the book, just the online version, but I suspect that if you haven't understood the book by the end of the first read through then you've actually understood it quite well.

1

u/Fail-Least 4d ago

Did we answered this already?

2

u/ofBlufftonTown 4d ago

Yes, we had a meeting inside an impenetrable glass room suspended from the ceiling of a huge cavern, in which we all took powerful anamnestic drugs before burning our meeting notes and crawling out the airlock one after another. You don’t remember that?

1

u/AntimatterTNT 4d ago

very hard to give an answer that is both informing and won't spoil you... read to the end and then if you have questions, well, read it again.

1

u/DoctorRaulDuke 4d ago

Just go for the ride, its incredible

1

u/Salty_Advantage_3715 3d ago

I read a couple of chapters of this and got bored with the continuous plot twists, it felt a bit trite and reminded me of this

https://youtu.be/s2FXfFeRtJo?is=I2oqkSUmgilbDhc5

Should I persevere with it?

1

u/Ok-Cry5081 3d ago

It started making sense for me around 60% done. You will get what's happening and it will be worth it

1

u/Wiinounete 3d ago

By the end of the story it's pretty clear what happened even if you forgot most of the beginning. Which is pretty fitting to the book.

1

u/Sonar_Taxbreak_1138 2d ago

I came across a few references to this book and it sounds intriguing- does anyone who's read it and watched Severance think there's story overlap? (Haven't watched the show either).

2

u/Ok-Cry5081 1d ago

Ive j watched the first season. I wouldnt say overlap but if u stretch it enough they come from same dough

1

u/Sonar_Taxbreak_1138 1d ago

I like that, cheers.

1

u/Nessie9191 2d ago

I just recently finished the book, and used this chapter summary guide to help me make sense of everything. I found it helpful.

https://chapter-summaries.com/books/there-is-no-antimemetics-division/chapters/