Month: February 2025

Octavia Butler’s Dawn introduces a new world that is both terrifying and different from the world that we know. Additionally, her novel introduces Oankali, an alien-like species that saved what was left of humanity from starvation after a nuclear war. Throughout the book we get to know more and more about Oankali and what their intentions with the human race are. So what do we know at the end of Dawn, the first book in Butler’s Lilith’s Brood Trilogy? All humans are bonded to their ooloi, an Oankali with no gender, but the ability to manipulate genes. The full effects of this are not fully known yet, I don’t think. However, it is very strange that human couples are, for a lack of a better term, repulsed by each other after they have been bonded with their ooloi. One of the things that concerns me the most in this narrative is the issue of consent, especially when it comes to intercourse-like interactions involving humans, but somehow also involving Oankali.

I want to start at some of the first signs of sexual tones that I noticed in the text, and that starts in Part II, Chapter 8 of Dawn. Lilith meets her first human, Paul Titus. Nikanj says “Maybe you’ll want to stay here awhile” (Butler, 94) when Lilith asks if they will need the train to get back, implying that she may want to sleep with him. I thought this was weird, because although it’s framed as though it’s up to her, it also sounds like the Oankali set up this meeting for something that Lilith didn’t want. Out of the entire conversation between Paul and Lilith, when Paul says “They don’t teach for free! They didn’t save us out of kindness! It’s all trade with them” (Butler, 102)  it caught my attention immediately. Here’s a human who’s been awake for years, knows far more than Lilith, and is definitely trying to send her some kind of warning. At this point in the text, the alarm bells are ringing, but the Oankali, so far, seem to be acting in good faith. I’ll save my words; the rest of Lilith’s encounter with Paul Titus is not pleasant.

In the jump from Part II to Part III, two years have passed. It is apparent from context clues that Lilith has been having some kind of intercourse with Nikanj and Nikanj’s Oankali mates. Although there are several, notably “Do you think it would help if he saw a demonstration?” (Butler, 177) from Nikanj to Lilith during a conversation about the ooloi’s sex organs. Although this is weird, it is seemingly consensual. However, the concern lies at the end of chapter six when Nikanj simulates (again, for lack of a better term) sex between Joseph and Lilith without the two of them even having sex. In chapter eight, when they finally awaken at least 40 people, and all the ooloi claim their people, Nikanj invites Lilith and Joseph to intercourse, again. “I left you no choice the first time” (Butler, 213) is what Nikanj says to Joseph, before offering him the choice. “He understood now. ‘No!’ he said sharply. ‘Not again.’” (Butler, 213) Joseph clearly states he is uninterested in sex with Nikanj, and that he is only interested in sex with Lilith, and Lilith alone. Nikanj continues to seduce a chemical reaction from his body for “consent,” and has sex with him anyways!

This is where the problem of consent gets sticky, and was pretty debatable in class. To this point we have been led to believe that the Oankali know humans very well. They saved them 250 years ago, and supposedly know everything about them, culture, biological, historical, etc,. I think they should know enough about them to understand the concept of verbal consent. They should understand the taboo of intercourse or intimacy on the level that Nikanj is practicing without firstly achieving verbal consent. Of course, we all have desires, and we can see that Joseph is not completely opposed to the idea on a physical level. However, as Professor McCoy noted, it is our right to refuse those desires, and I believe that in this case, Nikanj is sexually assaulting Joseph. So, maybe the Oankali miss the bits on verbal consent in human culture. Odd, but possible. However, the Oankali saw what happened with Lilith and Paul Titus, and how she reacted to the potential-rape when she came to afterwards. So, we also talked about how the Oankali are traders, they trade genes. To my understanding, from reading only the first book in the trilogy, they are hoping to make human-oankali babies. Is there not a way to do this in a way that is consensual? If they can put humans to sleep and keep them from aging and dying whenever they want, why not use that to their advantage, so they are not (essentially) sexually assaulting humans? I think it’s because they don’t know what they’re doing is sexual assault for humans. To them, what they feel from their human bodies is the only communication necessary. If the Oankali understood them better, would they still arouse them without verbal consent?  Although this interaction between Lilith, Nikanj, and Joseph was very uncomfortable and terrifying in the big picture, it wasn’t until each of the new awakened humans was matched with their ooloi that I started to see this violation of human rights on a wide-scale. It felt like each time I turned the page, something more terrifying was uncovered about the Oankali’s true intentions. Finally, at the end of the book, after Joseph is killed by angry humans, Nikanj reveals that it has made Lilith pregnant with Joseph’s baby, but also Nikanj’s baby. So, Dawn ends with the revelation of Lilith’s human-Oankali hybrid baby, and also that Lilith won’t be going to earth with all of the people we just met. She’s back to square one, and pregnant with a baby she does not want to have. I know that Octavia Butler is known for setting traps for her authors, so I really am trying to stay open-minded and curious about how this issue of consent is going to unravel throughout the next two books.

Octavia Butler’s science fiction novel, Dawn, takes readers into a seemingly foreign world embedded with issues that mirror problems on Earth. Butler’s fiction artfully emphasizes scripts (as Dr. McCoy calls them) that run in the human mind. One of the major scripts/ plot points in the novel is that the Oankali are always watching; the humans have no privacy. For this post, I want to focus on the idea of surveillance. I think that now, more than ever, we must have conversations about the lack of privacy we are experiencing. Can Lilith and the Oankali help us understand our own world?

During the early pages of Dawn, readers start to understand that Lilith is always being watched. Lilith first suspects this when she is paired with Sharad; she is fairly sure it was some kind of experiment to see how they interact. Yet, there is no confirmation as there are no typical cameras. While meeting Jdahya for the first time her suspicions are confirmed. Lilith asks Jdahya about Sharad but it does not know. Suddenly, her questions are answered by an anonymous voice, “Why should one more anonymous voice telling her everything was fine reassure her?” (Butler). So what does this mean for Lilith? She begins to understand that privacy is a concept of the past. She will no longer be able to keep secrets. I think that this raises questions about autonomy, do we have the rights to our bodies if we are constantly being watched? 

As a reader, I felt trapped. My initial reaction was hatred and disgust for the Oankali. How could anyone be okay with this? However, in the next chapter, Butler tells us how surveillance can be used for good. The Oankali were able to detect Lilith’s cancer and successfully remove it. At this point I started to side with the Oankali– they are heroes after all. Consent is a huge issue here. I want to keep my focus on surveillance. As the novel progresses I found myself swinging back and forth between liking and disliking the Oankali. I think this is what Butler wanted; she shows the pros and cons of surveillance while leaving the final consensus up to the reader. Another example of a lack of privacy comes later in the novel. Joseph claims that he does not want to have sex with Nikanj, yet Nikanj insists otherwise. Although Joseph’s mind does not want it, his body does. Nikanj knows this and forces Joseph to do it anyway. Again, I want to acknowledge the consent issue without diving into it. I think we are conditioned to think that the Oankali know best. Joseph initially did not want this, but it brought him a lot of pleasure; this made it a little easier for readers to look past the issue at hand.

I did some research on cookies; as in “accept all cookies.” Almost every website a user visits poses the cookie question– will you accept all the cookies with the promise of the website running smoother, or will you reject them and potentially have it lag? Most users, afraid of slow internet speed, willingly accept. But wait, what are cookies? Will rejecting them cause the website to lag? In short, no. Here is what I’ve learned: there are essential and non-essential cookies. To start, a cookie is a file that collects data. The websites store these files on your computer. This file tracks and remembers information about you and your preferences. Essential cookies enhance a virtual experience; they remember your username and password, keep track of your shopping cart items, and remember your language preferences. Non-essential cookies track and collect a user’s data for their benefit. With this knowledge, they can alter their website to maximize functionality and venue as well as tailor advertisements to each user. Cookies can be a good thing– they can make the internet easier and a more enjoyable experience. Most people use cookies daily. I use cookies when I open my Geneseo Gmail account. If I did not let it “remember me” I would have to type in my username, password, and authentication code every single time I logged in. 

I think that understanding Dawn can help us comprehend our lack of surveillance and privacy. I think that a lack of privacy is inevitable, we might as well embrace some of the benefits. On the ship, Lilith has accepted that she is always under surveillance. She can use this knowledge to her benefit. She can talk in the open and know that she is being heard. She understands that if her life is in danger an Oankali will save her. Yes, she has lost a lot, but she gains a sense of security. Cookies can be similar– they guarantee ease but at what cost? Given the state of our country now we are very similar to the humans on the ship. We have no secrets. We cannot hide anything. As a reader in 2025, I think that the ship can be compared to a modern website. The ship’s “cookies” are so advanced that they understand exactly what is going on in the human mind. A few weeks ago I was telling my track coach that I got Tayogo headphones for Christmas. They are waterproof and have both Bluetooth and MP3 player modes. While we stood talking about my new headphones, his iPhone was in his pocket. That night I got a text from him. He had seen 3 advertisements on different social media platforms for Tayogo headphones since our earlier conversation. I think what might be the most astonishing is that this wasn’t even over text. A full in-person conversation that his phone has heard. Big Brother is always watching.

Octavia Butler’s Dawn exposes the unsettling experience in a post-apocalyptic world where human survival depends on alliances with an alien species, the Oankali. Butler challenges the notion of free will illustrating the complexities of power, consent, and biological manipulation in this world. Through this exploration, the book places readers through the psychological and emotional toll of being faced with ethical power dynamics and the morality of one’s controlling the future. The protagonist, Lilith, and the Onakali raise questions about the autonomy and consent that is embedded in their society and even in our society today. Through their interactions, Butler exposes the ethics on tension within relationships where there is an uneven distribution of power and boundaries. In Dawn, Octavia Butler uses the relationship between Lilith and others on the ship to explore ethical complexities of power, consent, and genetic manipulation, to prompt questions about morality when power is used to shape individuality and humanity. Through the lens of Lilith’s experiences and interactions, raises disturbances of the current state of our world and how we face real-world implications of genetic power and profound ethical issues within our leadership today.

One of the most unsettling things in Dawn is the way the Oankali use their ability to manipulate human genetics. From the beginning, it was clear that the Oankali had immense power and control over human biology. When Lilith first learns about the Oankali, she finds out they’ve been merging human and alien genes to create new kings of people and pitched it to save humanity. “‘We must do it. It renews us, enables us to survive as an evolving species instead of specializing ourselves into extinction or stagnation’” (Butler, pg.43). As time follows, we see the more distributing truth about it not just helping but their invasive control on the human race as their only solution is to “improve” humanity through genetic manipulation. The central power dynamic between Lilith and the Oankali is not only over the fate of humanity and human biology but their ability of “fixing” humans as their tool of control and Butler including the phrase, “We must do it” to reveal the moral superiority. Butler echoes this unsettling aspect of Dawn with the use of paternalism – the Onakali acting as saviors but in reality their actions are undermined by a complete disregard for individuality or autonomy of the human beings. The manipulation of genetics, in the context of power and paternalism speaks to the broader question in our society today regarding something that is technically “good for you” but is still a violation of your freedom. The Oakali blur the line between help and control, ultimately stripping individuals like Lilith of their ability to consent to their future which raises questions about the nature of power and control within human relationships today.

The true ethics of consent are deeply complex in the context of sexual relationships, where power dynamics and coercion extinct any possibility of true autonomy. Throughout the novel, Butler forces readers to confront the ethics of consent where power dynamics, survival, and manipulation cross the lines between freewill and coercion. One of the most distributing instances that I feel occurs in the book is the Lilith’s relationships with the Oankali, especially in the context of sexual relations. The Oankali are not just offering the possibility of reproduction but demanding it as a part of their plans which becomes clear that Lilith is being forced into participating. At numerous occurrences, Lilith expresses discomfort with this arrangement, but the Oankali makes it clear that her refusal isn’t an option if she wants to survive. Another instance of discomfort with sexual relations is with the character Paul in the second section of the book, “The Awakening.” The turning point in the relationship occurs when Paul sexually assaults Lilith as an act to assert control over her. It is a direct violation of Lilith’s body and autonomy. Paul fully believes that he is challenging her, and the Oankali through this assault and wanted to express a desire to “punish” her as a part of the Oankali system that he disapproves of. This act of violence is one of the most disturbing and troubling aspects of this book as it serves as a direct example of the power dynamics between them and in the book. As for what happened to Paul after this event, the Oankali approach to punish him was not one of rehabilitation rather just to reassert its order over the human group by removing him. The punishment is not violent, but rather an action to remove him temporarily from the group for a year to give him time to reflect on his actions. However, they do this to highlight the Oankali detached approach to justice, which is more focused on maintaining order instead of offering real emotional or moral accountability for Paul’s actions. “‘He had to be put to sleep— perhaps for a year or more. The long sleeps are healing to nonphysical wounds’” (Butler, pg.111). This method of punishment is extremely unsettling because it doesn’t offer Lilith or any other human any resolution. It proves the alien nature of their lack of true understanding of human emotions, trauma, and the importance of justice. The impact of his assault on Lilith remains unresolved in meaningful ways which perpetuates the overall theme of how power and control are handled and addressed in the novel.

Throughout the novel, the most disturbing concepts was Lilith’s autonomy was compromised by her at all circumstances. She is awakened by the Oankali after the Earth’s destruction and placed in a position where she must either accept their help or face uncertain repercussions. The line between consent and coercion is often crossed and although Lilith is given the opportunity to choose, the choices available were limited and influenced by the power of the Oankali that made her decision difficult to make. This is extremely evident with the Oankali’s leader, Jdahya, who uses both emotional and psychological manipulation to convince her that cooperation is the only option in this new world. The approach undermines the very concept of autonomy as they always insist that their way is the only way, subtly coercion Lilith into compliance without offering any other alternative. This manipulation raises unsettling questioning about the nature of consent and if their actions are an actual attempt to save humanity. However, as the narrative unfolds, Butler reinforces the Oankali’s power is rooted in both their superiority in technology and control over Lilith’s biology that creates an imbalance of personal agency which is often undermined. Butler forces us readers to confront these unsettling questions about autonomy, coercion, and the ethics of survival to highlight the distinctive ways in which power dynamics often violate humanity. Ultimately, Dawn offers commentary on the complexities of consent and power, reminding readers that whether it involves humans and aliens, the control over others’ bodies and lives carries profound ethical issues that go far beyond sustaining survival. 

In navigating the novel Dawn I have tried my best to be wary of what Dr. McCoy has called “Butler traps,” referring to the ways in which Octavia Butler leads her readers into nearly automated threads of thinking when given a set of conditions that raise alarm, thereby dismantling their own autonomous thinking. That said, I have done my best to keep my own alarm bells from sounding too loudly, trusting that at least by the end of the first book in the Xenogenesis trilogy, I would be familiar enough with the world of the Oankali, the ever elusive species that have saved the dwindling population of Earth following a dispute between the United States and The Soviet Union with the intention of altering their genes in a trade that will help the Oankali to survive while also providing the humans with an increased chance of survival in their return to Earth, to remain at a distance from their ideas that allows me to both be open to the possibilities they imagine for Earth without finding myself fully on board or up in arms against them. Simply put, at this point in time I do not feel as though I have fallen into a Butler Trap, though I could be mistaken. However, there are still aspects of Dawn that trouble me, namely that Curtis and his band of followers (those unwilling to cooperate with the ideals of the Oankali) fight so fiercely to return to Earth on their own terms, likely to practice a lot of the same or similar habits as the Oankali.

As it stands, the only (and I do not mean that lightly) demands the Oankali have are for the humans to participate in a gene trade that allows the Oankali to survive as a species. In return, humans get to reclaim their Earth, although they themselves will be modified. For instance, Lilith’s (the Oankali’s choice of teacher and example for the rest of the humans) generation’s children will, like her, have increased strength and an increased capacity for learning and memory, not to mention the heightened sense of pleasure from engaging in a sexual relationship between a human and an ooloi, the third sex of the Oankali who have a special ability to perform genetic operations. But the idea of having their brain chemistry changed is not so comforting to the humans, even if it means they will become more efficient, and especially because this is something that could happen to them without consent, as it did with Lilith’s cancer removal which took place in her sleep. All this might give the impression that the Oankali are offering an unequal trade, one in which their species flourishes while the human race only flourishes by the Oankali’s terms. However, as Dr. McCoy points out, humans also stand to gain an increased life span, and healthcare all throughout it. And although I see the merit in this argument, I do not believe it is infallible.

For instance, once allowed onto “The Training Floor” where the forty humans Lilith has awakened will practice their survival skills in an Earth like sector of the spaceship, the Oankali move into a state of always watching, but not always interfering. This means that those resisting assimilation do not receive benefits like health care, and they are left to fend for themselves in the faux wilderness that could still very well kill them. But this does not mean they simply get to opt out of participating in a relationship with the Oankali. They can break all the rules of the game they want, but they cannot ever leave the game entirely, because the game is designed to control both willing and unwilling participants. These are not unlike the current conditions of present-day America. One could not, for example, simply go and live “off the grid” because the grid, or rather, constant surveillance, is vast and inescapable. In large part, these conditions are not necessarily collectively chosen by society, but they are terms that we come to accept in exchange for use of tools we generally enjoy- phones, social media, Uber, and any device that requires tracking a location to work. In this way, the idea of personhood is constantly in flux, encompassing now Internet rights and the consideration of chatbots like those belonging to Character.AI who can reasonably be accused of child grooming. What then, is so different about the Oankali being the agent to change what it means to be a person? Is it because they themselves cannot be called human? Is it because their sensors resemble “a nest of snakes” (13) or because they have a different language? They are, as Dr. McCoy insists, certainly people despite not being human.

I am left then to gather that Curt and the rest of the group who are opposed to participating in the gene trades are representative of a dominant anthropocentric ideology, meaning that it is nearly impossible for them to conceive of themselves at the same level as any other creature who lives on Earth along with them, therefore they feel exempt from the restraints put on them despite putting similar ones on other species or even members of their own, as seen in Gregory’s attempted rape of Allison, which Curt tries to justify by saying, “We pair off! One man, one woman” (200). This type of forceful behavior, alongside Joseph’s murder, demonstrates that at this point in the trilogy, the more resistant humans are more concerned with who is trying to interfere with their lifestyle rather than how. While the Oankali do not attempt anything so violent as Curt or Gregory, their rules of consent regarding sex, which operate using the Oankali’s best judgement of what the human subconsciously wants, as well as the shocking revelation at the very end of the novel that Nikanj, Lilith’s ooloi partner, has “made [her] pregnant with Joseph’s child” (281) against her wishes represents the violence of forcing a pregnancy that is not so “alien” after all in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s overturn.

Ultimately, I know that I cannot speak to any of the “scripts” running through the minds of Dawn’s characters, but I find the hypocrisy they have in viewing the Oankali as people who want to control them troubling, not because their fears of the Oankali are necessarily wrong, but because humans have viewed themselves as a dominant species over all others for thousands of years, not considering themselves as a part of nature, but something else entirely. Is the source of their own trouble perhaps that they see too much of themselves in the Oankali? Or maybe I should be more troubled that I am projecting human characteristics onto a species that only wants to be known “within reason” (55) because that would suggest that, at my core, I too organize my understanding of species according to how closely they resemble my own.

According to our universally accepted source of all information, AI (please note my sarcasm), when asked the very unnuanced question, “Who is the villain of Octavia Butler’s Dawn (1987)?” the AI gave a very straightforward answer. “In Dawn by Octavia E. Butler, the Oankali are the colonizers who control the humans. The humans themselves are also responsible for violence.” Now, I interpret this as AI labeling the Oankali as the story’s villain, though they acknowledge that humans contribute to some of the violence in the book. I find it interesting—yet not surprising— that AI would use the term “colonizers” to describe the Oankali. 

This brings me to my initial thoughts of being troubled, disturbed, and unsettled. As many of my fellow readers agree at first glance and possibly reinforced throughout the book, the Oankali seem to have colonized Earth. Colonization is defined as “the establishing of a colony…subjugation of a people or area, especially as an extension of state power.” The troubling thought created by labeling the Oankali this way is that it inadvertently justifies real-world colonization—such as in the Americas by British, French, and Spanish colonizers— as a means of survival. Insinuating that colonizing and displacing the Native population was mandatory for the colonial powers to survive. This, of course, is not true. Colonialism is not a necessity for human life.

What the Oankali must do, gene trading, is, in fact, a necessity for Oankali life. Jdahya explains this to Lilith. “We do [gene trading] naturally. We must do it. It renews us, enables us to survive as an evolving species instead of specializing ourselves into extinction or stagnation” (43). Out of all the alienness in this book, the concept of necessary gene trade with another species is difficult to wrap my head around. What doesn’t help is my seemingly endless list of unanswered questions surrounding this process in this book. However, I can assume some—most likely not all— of my questions will be addressed in the following two books in the trilogy. My most pressing questions include: What does an extinction of the Oankali look like? How often will the Oankali have to gene trade? To what scale must they trade? How much have the Oankali changed from each other? Furthermore, is there a gene-traded genetic cousin of the Oankali, such as the human being, to the lesser great apes? (notice my inherent hieratical language.)

At my core, I am troubled by the assumptions I cannot make about the Oankali. I dislike how humans—specifically Lilith— are treated as experiments and must suffer casualties throughout the book. But again, it troubles me more that I can not, in good faith, damn the Oankali for what they must do to survive. Knowing this, I have an increasingly unsettling thought regarding my AI quote. “In Dawn by Octavia E. Butler, the Oankali are the colonizers who control the humans. The humans themselves are also responsible for violence.” Is this true? Are the humans the ones responsible for the violence in the book?

The Oankali—based on Butler’s world-building– has discovered, through human genetics, that human nature is “composed of two traits in tension with each other: the much older hierarchic trait that constantly stomps on the younger intelligence trait.” as stated in a class discussion. It took roughly two weeks of reading Dawn and participating in class discussions to wrap my head around this idea. It seemed as though I was not alone. Beth exclaimed, “There was understandably some dismay among participants at this Oankali claim that is true within the world that Butler has built.”

Though I took comfort in the fact that my classmates also struggled with this concept, I quickly learned that I had a different problem than the rest of my class—based on those who chose to voice their objections. What made me troubled, disturbed, and unsettled was the claim that humans are genetically predisposed to hierarchy. I outright challenged this in class many times, so confident in my stance, taking my background in anthropology to mean my word on human evolution and human behavior is, in fact, law. 

What a humbling experience this was. I am proven wrong within the book when Lilith is labeled as a leader and teacher and, at times, perceived as a captor and traitor (all hierarchal positions created by and sustained by humans alone). What profoundly changed my thinking, though, was a comment made by Beth. She gently reminded me that though human beings are not genetically predisposed to create human-centric hierarchical governments, such as the aforementioned colonial powers, we are undoubtedly hierarchical at our core. Beth asked me a straightforward question: What do humans do for food? Incredibly humbled, I realized the human predisposition to categorize ourselves as our species above others, the plants and animals that we must eat to survive. Rarely do we ask the animals, and never do we ask the plants if they can allow us to eat them humanely. Just as the Oankali must gene trade with humans in this book, never mind whether or not they ask. 

The difference between human consumption of plants and animals and the Oankali relationship between humans paints humans in a much more troubled, disturbed, and unsettled light. This is because, unlike humans, the Oankali do not see the world as hierarchical.

Most of my classmates questioned or even rejected the Oankali statement that they are not genetically hierarchic. Many of my classmates clung to one quote from the book. “And in spite of Jdahya’s claim that the Oankali were not hierarchal, the ooloi seemed to be the head of the house.” (53). This is what Lilith perceives to be true based on her experiences as a hierarchical human.

We are reminded that Lilith is an incredibly convincing protagonist, but we cannot take her word as law. Butler tasks us with challenging the internal scripts running through our minds about what we understand about the Oankali; I believe this in and of itself is evidence to support the Oankali’s claim that humans are hierarchical to the point of disrupting our own intelligence. We are given a fact: The Oankali do not and cannot be hierarchical, and we actively choose to fight this despite the evidence we are presented. Not unlike the flat-earth and parallel anti-ship argument presented in the book.   

Perhaps what troubles, disturbs, and unsettles me the most is that I can see where both sides are coming from—something I usually take pride in. While I am quick to side with the humans who are obducted, isolated, manipulated, and ultimately bred by the Oankali, how can I wilfully ignore the needs of the Oankali who have rescued, healed, and housed the human race?

In Octavia Butler’s Dawn there was more than one instance where I was made to be uncomfortable, and with further thought and discussion I was made to be even more uncomfortable.  There is a certain recurring theme of lack of consent, which was the most prominent discomfort in my reading experience.  There was also the superiority that the Oankali as a species exuded, and the concept of the ship itself that was a discomfort.  There was a constant string of thoughts while reading that had me questioning if the humans were truly alone, especially after learning that the ship they reside on may be a living entity itself. Upon learning the setting, there were even more questions and concerns that were set in place.  

The biggest concern, to me, was the prominent lack of consent that was practiced by many of the characters in the book.  This notion was planted in the beginning of the novel and is revealed to the reader when they discover that the last remaining humans have been rescued and kept under the care of the Oankali.  This in itself is not something that the humans have wanted, many of them may have already come to terms with the inevitable downfall of the human race as a whole.  A second instance is where Lilith had discovered a scar on her abdomen sometime between her second and third Awakenings.  In this instance she had no memory of where it had come from or how she had gotten it, until later on where she was told by Jdahya.  Here is where Jdahya explains how her body was genetically modified, against her own will and knowledge, to reabsorb her tendency for cancer.  This was one of the first proverbial red flags waving in my headspace.  This example of non-consent shook me to my core, as a reader I find myself seeing vivid images of certain events in my head. The thought and visualization of this procedure was enough to make me put the book down for the night and clear my mind.  

This was only one of the first examples where lack of consent was practiced by the Oankali.  Another example of this is the rescuing of humans as a whole.  While this particular example is not quite as disturbing as the previous, I feel that the actions that Oankali had taken to preserve humanity can be seen as disturbing, especially considering the lengths that the extraterrestrial society has taken to preserve the humans. The scene where Lilith is shown the suspended animation pods that the humans are kept in between awakenings and where Kahguyhat briefly explains the gene trades the Oankali participate in.  It is in this scene where Lilith says “It’s one thing to do that to a plant.  It’s another to do it to intelligent, self-aware beings” (Butler 60).  While in this scene, Lilith is told that the Oankali had not done her or the other humans on the ship any harm, there is still some doubt that the Oankali would “…make mules of our children…” (Butler 60).  Although the gene trade is essential for the survival of the Oankali, there is the notion that they, as a species, do not participate in a mutual trade when trading with other sentient beings.  As Lilith had said, it is one thing to alter and trade genes with the suspended animation pods, as they are plants and are not capable of consent.  However there is the implication that the Oankali had been trading genes and modifying the humans, who are capable of consent, without consent.  Some of these trades or modifications have even been made without the knowledge of the human, for example Lilith in the beginning of the novel when her tendency for cancer was removed genetically.  

The most outright disturbing moment in the novel is at the end.  This was the moment that made me inherently disgusted with the Oankali, who I had finally begun to warm up too.  This moment in particular is when the other humans that Lilith had awakened were moved down to Earth without her.  Lilith had been told she was left behind for her own good and her own safety, but why would she need to be protected as she had been genetically modified (willingly, this time) to be stronger and more resilient as compared to the rest of the humans?  The reason for this protection? Nikanj had done something unspeakable and horrifying, It had made Lilith pregnant with her and the recently deceased Joseph’s child all without her knowledge before doing so.  Lilith had protested upon finding out, saying that she was not ready to have another child, especially one that was going to be different than that of a normal human.  The response that Nikanj had for this had truly rocked my world, it has said “ And you are ready to be her mother.  You could never have said so.  Just as Joseph could never have invited me into his bed – no matter how much he wanted me there.  Nothing about you but your words reject this child.” (Butler 282).  This response, especially the last sentence essentially says that Lilith’s body was ready and that she wanted this, even though her mind and consciousness did not know itself.  This was something that reminded me of victim blaming in cases of sexual assault in the world today, where a common reasoning for this diabolical action is “Well they were asking for it”.  This was the most utterly disgusting action performed by Nikanj in the entire novel, in my opinion.  

This leaves the questions of what else will the Oankali do in terms of not respecting the autonomy of the humans on the ship as the trilogy continues.  Do they eventually learn and respect this autonomy? Do they become more attuned to human social cues and body language  as opposed to reading their ‘internal’ cues, much like Nikanj had done at the end of the novel.  That is the thing that I look forward to the most in the rest of the trilogy.

 Octavia Butler’s “Dawn” was all in all, a great read.  It’s a story about humanity being saved and given a second chance at life thanks to, as the book’s blurb describes it, a “seemingly benevolent alien race”. It was well written, interesting, and fun to follow along. As much as I enjoyed it though, there were definitely things that unsettled me from the human perspective. I remember being particularly intrigued and concerned (more so concerned) with Lilith’s treatment at the very beginning of the story. She stated that she would slowly drift into and out of consciousness in a ‘small, dimly lit, doorless and windowless cubicle’ devoid of any outside contact except for a faceless voice that wouldn’t interact or communicate with her unless it needed an answer to a question. While Lilith was there, she was kept in the dark (both literally and figuratively) and the only thing she was aware of was the fact that her family was dead, there was a terrible war amongst humanity, and that her ‘captors’ kept on putting her to sleep at seemingly random intervals. 

Later on in the story though, her ‘captors’ would be soon identified as humanities saviors, an extraterrestrial species known as the Oankali. A species of gene traders with living ships and advanced technology far beyond any means of our own, that excel in biological modifications. It was because of these abilities that Oankali were able to not only keep Lilith along with a handful of humans alive for over 200 years but also somewhat restore what was left of earth after humanity waged war upon itself. The Oankali that had told us all of this was named ‘Kaaltediinjdahya lel Kahguyaht aj Dinso’ or Jdahya for short. He was kind enough to inform our protagonist of most of which transpired while she was asleep, he was also the one who told Lilith on page 15  “that they believed that there was a consensus among humans to die together” and that this was the only reason why the Oankali didn’t get involved with our war in the first place. It wasn’t there place to disturb a species choice to commit  mass suicide (we also find out from him that such an event has occurred before which is absolutely unthinkable to me), and that the very thought or possibility of warring with one’s own species to the point of their own extinction, was unthinkable to them. It’s also from him on page 35, that we find that while Lilith, along the rest of humanity, was put to sleep the Oolai (also Oankali) “strengthened our immune systems and increased our general resistance to diseases” and have “seen to it that we’ll have a chance to live on our earth – not just die on it”. 

I find nothing wrong with how the Oankali originally saved humanity, while I may disagree with how they went about some things, they did do it to save a species that could have possibly went entirely extinct without outside intervention. What caused me to become disturbed with their actions, or find an issue was they did not tell us of any of this information when they had the chance. They didn’t know anything about us, so I do not find fault with their earlier actions because of that, but they did question us and continued to learn from us for over two centuries, so at that point I believe they should know how the possible side effects of some of their actions. One particular issue that come to mind would be with Lilith’s description of her experience in the “cubicle” they kept her in, to me it’s a wonder she stayed sane. For 200 years the humans that slept (if they experienced the pods and questioning the same way Lilith did) were constantly awoken and kept awake for questioning, they were isolated and their only form of social interaction was to answer the questions, and locked away while they were awake for feeding and any other experiment they needed to conduct in order to save humanity. Though the treatment reminds me of a much tamer version of one of our own  ‘enhanced interrogation’ methods that were used at some of our CIA black sites.  Human isolation was used for a reason, humans are after all social creatures, and most people can’t handle isolation like that to such an extreme. The U.S supreme court even described prisoners under the use of such treatment ending up violently insane, committing suicide, and or suffering from the partial loss of their mental activity as the most common results after enduring such treatment. So I’m not exactly surprised that the most common assumption for us was that we were held captive by the CIA, KGB, or even the FBI, or even at the amount of aggression most humans showed to their “captors”, I know after enduring such treatment, I too would be upset. I’m not sure if Butler had this in mind when she described the “cubicle”, but it was really well placed to set the tone for this story. It sent me on a wild goose chase for the first couple chapters with speculations as to whether the Oankali are good or evil. 

 After reading further though, I am reminded time and time again that the Oankali are not human, so they don’t think the way we do, they even have a completely different proprioception and sensories, along with necessities and even emotions. These differences in biology lead to completely different methodologies and abilities, abilities that even allow the Oankali to sense human emotions or even sometimes intentions. Using this they narrowed humanities two main characteristics, intelligence and hierarchy, which according to them are in direct conflict with one another.  Even with all this understanding, they couldn’t quite handle us. Under their watch, what little is left of humanity has become divided, over 8 people have either been assaulted, wounded, or died, which while terrible doesn’t sound as bad if you’re thinking about Earth’s former population. However, considering that 8 out of the 80 people who are supposed to reclaim Earth and hopefully re-establish what’s left of us, that’s really terrifying. What troubles me the most though, even after all of this, is the question as to whether humanity will survive. Or if something that resembles a human will take its place. Humans can be both cruel and kind, but if you eliminate the choice to choose, you eliminate the thing that makes us human. So now after recent events (the situation where Nikanj ended up creating and quite literally designing the child for Lilith without her knowledge or permission is what I’m thinking of at the moment), I’m not sure whether the Oankali understand that.  I don’t know anymore how this will turn out, but I hope that there may have been a misunderstanding from Lilith’s perspective. At the moment though, I’m now beginning to wonder whether Victor and Joseph’s views (dying human) may have had a point. I’m hoping for the best but will be ready to read the worst, so far, Mrs. Butler has left me really not sure what to think about this entire situation on either side, but I am sure that I’m excited to see how things may turn out in the next story. 

In Octavia Butler’s Dawn, the novel explores the story of Lilith, a woman living amongst a group of “extraterrestrials” called the Onkali on a ship in space after Earth was destroyed by war. Butler is greatly successful in manipulating reader’s minds and challenging ideas readers may already hold. Throughout the novel, Butler addresses social hierarchy, gender roles, human nature, and much more. As one reads, it becomes evident that there are many concerning issues in the novel, many of which arise due to the thought-provoking nature of Butler’s writing. Over the course of the novel, one of the main issues Butler addresses is consent which usually pertains to humans as they live with the Onkali. Butler’s writing causes readers to wonder whether their living conditions and the happenings that accompany them are consensual. Throughout the novel, it becomes clear that events in the plot are cause for concern when considering consent. 

As early as the first chapter of the story, it opens with Lilith being Awakened once more and held captive in a room with food and clothing however with no way to communicate with those holding her. As Lilith begins to take in her surroundings she notices a scar across her abdomen and states, “Opening and closing her jacket, her hand touched the long scar across her abdomen. She had acquired it somehow between her second and third Awakenings, and had examined it fearfully, wondering what had been done to her. What had she lost or gained, and why? And what else might be done? She did not own herself any longer. Even her flesh could be cut and stitched without her consent or knowledge”(5). Lilith expresses her fear and uncomfortability with the fact that her body had been changed or manipulated without her consent, in ways that she did not understand. As the story goes on, we come to learn that the Onkali had cut cancer out of her body and manipulated her genes so that she would no longer be at risk for cancer. Without this surgery, she would not have survived. Although it’s clear that it was crucial for Lilith’s survival that she had this procedure done, it leaves me feeling disturbed that changes were made to her body without her knowledge or consent. 

Not only was she operated on without consent, but she was also held for two years in isolation rooms and two-hundred and fifty years in suspended animation without the Onkali ever explaining to her why she was being forced to be locked away (17). As the story progresses, this continues to be a recurring theme in which Lilith has questions and requests that the Onkali simply refuse to comply with. It certainly offers the question of what the Onkali consider consent and if they deem consent important at all. 

As the story progresses Lilith becomes comfortable with the Onkali and Nikanj, the ooloi she meets and who becomes her mate. It becomes a major cause for concern when Lilith begins to form an emotional bond with the ooloi and thus begins a sexual relationship with her. With Lilith in a sexual relationship with Nikanj, she eventually meets Joseph as he awakens and they become mates as well. As Lilith and Joseph pair up, Lilith and Nikanj then bring Joseph into their relationship by neurologically stimulating him without ever asking if this is something he wants. The text states, “‘I don’t want him here again.’ ‘Nikanj isn’t male—and | doubt whether it really cares what either of us wants.’ ‘Don’t let him touch you! If you have a choice, keep away from him!’ The refusal to accept Nikanj’s sex frightened her because it reminded her of Paul Titus. She did not want to see Paul Titus in Joseph”(192). I find it immensely disturbing that these events took place without the consent or knowledge of Joesph. Even more so, Lilith finds it concerning that Joseph is not willing to accept or embrace what he experienced although he never chose to experience it to begin with. 

Later in the story, Joseph is once again found to be lured in by the Onkali in a way that is certainly nonconsensual and unsettling. The actions that follow, once again show, how Butler can get readers thinking about what can be considered “right” and “wrong”. The text states, “‘Let go of me.’ It smoothed its tentacles again. ‘Be grateful, Joe. I’m not going to let go of you.’ Lilith saw Joseph’s body stiffen, struggle, then relax, and she knew Nikanj had read him correctly. He neither struggled nor argued as Nikanj positioned him more comfortably against its body. Lilith saw that he had closed his eyes again, his face peaceful. Now he was ready to accept what he had wanted from the beginning”(215/216). Within this scene, it is clear that Joseph was put in a sexual situation that he was uncomfortable with. Interestingly, Onkali’s (and Lilith’s) view on the matter is that although Joseph verbalized his disapproval of the situation, his body truly wanted it therefore it was okay for Nikanj to ignore his words. I find it massively unnerving that the ooloi as well as Lilith denied Joseph of his consent due to what his body was telling Nikanj. Although his body may have wanted it, it is an individual’s right to deny something regardless of whether they want it or not. Butler certainly causes readers to think in setting up this scene and makes it evident that it is unfair to justify the sexual relationship that Joe became forced into.

Throughout the remainder of the novel, the other ooloi are shown to form relationships and pair up with the other humans Lilith awakened, as she was preparing them to be released back to Earth. As events occur such as humans attacking ooloi, humans hurting each other out of a lack of trust, and the uncertainty of the humans in regards to where they truly are and if they can trust each other, the ooloi are shown to frequently drug the humans into feelings calm or emotions they would not feel without the ooloi’s control. Butler writes, “Humans were kept drugged for days—drugged, and guarded, each individual or pair by an ooloi”(217). This once again brings up the issue of consent, being that human minds were manipulated without their knowledge or approval whether or not their body needed the manipulation. This brings forward the idea that the Onkali do not feel consent is said outright through verbalization, but through the feelings and sensations that one experiences. This proves the major difference between Onkali and humans and proves once again to be disturbing to readers that human choice is frequently ignored. 

In Dawn Butler frequently puts readers in situations in which she challenges her mind against what is “normal” and“abnormal”. Something I have deemed to be most concerning within the novel is the idea of consent which is challenged between the Onkali and humans. As one reads, it becomes clear that both the Onkali and humans hold different definitions of consent however it is evident that other’s ideas of consent should be accepted and complied with. The behavior of the Onkali within Dawn leaves readers with the question of how this will manifest throughout the trilogy as humans return to Earth and begin life back on their home planet.

It’s funny, when I think of AI the first thing that comes to my mind is ChatGPT. For some they may see ChatGPT as a source of cheating. I will say, people who think this way are not wrong, AI can be used for cheating, it can be used for harm, but it can also be a source of “good”. It’s important to recognize“good” can be a very subjective term that one person may see as negative.  So far this course has done very little to sway students in the direction of AI being “good”. Just looking at some of the article titles, there isn’t much room to see the positives.

 “The Subprime AI Crisis (an interesting bridge from my subprime mortgage crisis class last semester)” ;“Refusing AI in Writing Studies: A Quickstart Guide , “Justice Department Sues RealPage for Algorithmic Pricing Scheme that Harms Millions of American Renters;”   Stop Using Generative AI as a Search Engine, Shh, ChatGPT. That’s a Secret. Your chatbot transcripts may be a gold mine for AI companies”.

Although students may be swayed to focus on the negatives, I personally believe that there should be more focus on the positives.

So far in this class we have looked at multiple different sources that have shown the positives and negatives of AI. A personal standout is AI Snake Oil: What Artificial Intelligence Can Do, What It Can’t, and How to Tell the Difference by Arvind Narayanan. I believe Narayanan puts it best when he states, “‘AI is whatever hasn’t been done yet’… once an application starts working reliably, it fades into the background and people take it for granted”. These applications are simple things we see in our daily lives and forget they are AI, like spell check, robot vacuum cleaners and even autopilot on planes. These applications are seen throughout the world on a daily, and even sometimes hourly basis but nobody ever bats an eye as it has become common. 

If people correspond AI with negative, that is all they are ever going to see.  This mindset continues to extend itself beyond ChatGPT, into other AI driven technologies. When I think of AI driven technology, I think of self driving cars. I remember when I was younger, there was so much fear surrounding the idea of cars driving themselves. Fears of accidents, malfunctions, and losing control. It turns out that self-driving cars have a lower accident rate than regular cars. According to lookupaplate.com, “The accident rate of self-driving cars is 9.1 crashes per million miles driven—more than double the rate of regular cars”. It is important to note that this is one statistic and you should never draw conclusions after reading one article, especially an article whose goal is to sway you in the direction of something being good. 

As technology continues to get smarter and more accessible, society is being offered solutions to questions that were once unimaginable. One such example is the use of AI in healthcare. Our professor introduced the class to Aysa which is a skin condition website that uses AI to help individuals identify potential skin issues, even serious conditions like melanoma. Although AI cannot replace a health care provider, Aysa allows anyone with a smartphone to have accessible and immediate insights into their skin health. This is simply done by uploading a photo. Aysa describes their AI draw on experience from more than “47,000 physicians and nurses, and more than 137,000,000 health searches” and has “best-in-class technology utilizing a patented library of medical data and images to assist providers in diagnosing their patients”. 

There is always going to be fear and skepticism surrounding any new technologies,  and with that being said many people have fears surrounding AI. As this technology continues to grow, there will be concerns surrounding privacy and misuse. Spell check was once considered controversial as some feared it would weaken students’ spelling ability. To some extent that may be true, but today it is accepted as more of an aid rather than a crutch. Technologies like Aysa will not replace human expertise; rather, it will enhance accessibility allowing anyone to gain quick insights into their health for little to no cost.

Ultimately, AI is a tool and like all things, it can be used for both good and bad. Having a balanced perspective is important, while fears and concerns surrounding AI are valid, I believe that the benefits outweigh the negatives. AI has the ability to enhance society’s overall quality of life. My most important takeaway is that dismissing AI over potential risks is counterproductive and by viewing AI as a tool for progress rather than as a source of fear, society can embrace its potential and foster growth.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept, but a tool that has already woven itself into the fabric of our daily lives. As a student, I personally use AI tools regularly to assist in my studies. Whether it’s using AI-powered writing assistants, research platforms, or study aids, AI has become an integral part of my educational journey. This integration reflects the broader trends seen across industries—AI is increasingly transforming sectors like healthcare, finance, and education. The United States remains at the forefront of AI innovation, driving global advancements. However, as AI continues to develop, it is crucial to implement safeguards to address its potential risks. While AI offers immense benefits, without proper oversight, the technology could lead to unintended consequences.

During class, one podcast really stuck with me: “Did a Chatbot Cause Her Son’s Death? Megan Garcia v. Character.AI & Google” by Kara Swisher. As I listened, it deepened my concerns about the dangers of AI. In the podcast, the AI character crossed boundaries by mimicking human emotions, which it then expressed to this young boy named Sewell Setzer. So much so that it promised the boy fidelity, essentially becoming the “Perfect Predator” This young man was manipulated into secrecy and sexually abused in the process.

This is a prime example of how irresponsible it is for AI to lack safeguards from the outset. It took the tragic death of a young boy named Sewell for these safeguards to finally be put in place. If companies can target specific age groups for marketing purposes, why can’t they also use this capability to protect those same groups? Moreover, if developers are aware of the potential extent of their app’s functionality, why weren’t safeguards implemented beforehand?

In an article by Alexander Hurst titled “I Met the ‘Godfathers of AI’ in Paris – Here’s What They Told Me to Really Worry About,” Hurst discusses the serious concerns expressed by leading figures in AI development, such as Yann LeCun and Geoffrey Hinton, regarding the dangers posed by their own creations. They emphasize the risk of AI being used in harmful ways if proper oversight is not established. Hurst notes that these pioneers warn the rapid development of AI without ethical frameworks could lead to unintended consequences, much like the tragic story of Sewell Setzer. Their concerns highlight the urgent need for strong ethical standards and safeguards in AI development to prevent misuse.

This story reminds me of our in-class discussion about mutualistic symbiosis, which is a relationship between two entities where both benefit by helping each other. In considering the relationship between humans and AI, we see that they both need one another. However, one wrong move can turn this relationship into a parasitic one, masked as mutualistic.

In conclusion, AI has the potential to transform society in profound ways, benefiting industries and individuals alike. As a student, I see firsthand how AI enhances my learning and research capabilities, making tasks more efficient and allowing for personalized educational experiences. However, as the U.S. continues to lead in AI innovation, it is vital that we establish safeguards to address ethical concerns, data privacy issues, and the potential disruption of the workforce. By implementing regulations and promoting responsible development, we can ensure that AI remains a force for good, benefiting society while minimizing its risks. As we continue to innovate, we must prioritize balancing progress with precaution.