The Windup Girl at its’ foundation is another science fiction novel that revolves around a futuristic society stricken with social issues, corporate dominance and an altered climate that affects everything. Basically, the society set in 23rd century Thailand is a mirror image of our capitalistic society in present day America. What I mean by this is that Paolo Bacigalupi has created a fictional society that revolves around climate change and how it has altered society in detrimental ways. For example, in terms of The Windup Girl, global warming has raised water levels around the world and carbon fuel sources are no longer available. The only form of creating energy is by using wound springs to store energy. This is where, Emiko, an A.I. and the windup girl comes into play. To make matters even worse, corporations have complete control over certain aspects of society. In terms of this novel, many of these corporations have complete control over food and are dominant enough to hold that over the heads of society. Another aspect that is apparent in the novel is the notion of embezzlement that takes place with Hock Seng. To compare everything with our society, it is a fact that rising ocean levels and depletion of fossil fuels is something that coincides directly with climate change. It is also an obvious fact that mega corporations exist and reign over society as a whole. The biggest and best example I can use is Apple. Apple is a mega corporation that almost has complete control over an entire market and therefore can dominate society.
