Dystopian Future

The novel takes places in a dystopian future America. A passing detail in Chapter 1.20 implies that the story is set in the year 2008, which is only 14 years after the book’s 1994 publication date. (It is possible that there are also elements of alternate history in the novel's historical timeline.) In the world of the novel, America is ruled by a totalitarian government that has banned things as basic as asking questions. Only government agents known as inquisitors can ask questions (or private inquisitors, such as Metcalf, that have been licensed by the government.) When Metcalf is arrested by the government and placed in a six-year cryo-freeze, he awakes to find that the government has expanded its power by erasing the memories of most citizens and forcing citizens to use handheld electronic devices that store censored versions of their memories.

Oakland

The novel is set in the city...