A future of horrors

Egypt, 2023. A country in a state of complete collapse. The middle class has vanished, and we have a tiny, superwealthy and totally immoral upper class ensconced in the gated community of Utopia. They are protected by US Marines who, true to form, shoot first and ask questions later. People here have names such as Germinal and Larine, and indulge in the most decadent acts imaginable. Afraid of being ripped to shreds by those on the outside if they tried to flee to the airport in case there is a revolution, they have built private airports inside Utopia.

Following the total disintegration of the structures of the state, the middle class in Egypt has ceased to exist. The Others, the masses who live outside the walls of Utopia, have been reduced to eating dogs for supper. Disease, drugs, violence and prostitution are rife. Government services — the very notion of government, in fact — are non-existent, as the most extreme form of economic neo-liberalism prevails in the land.

Ahmed Khaled Towfik, one of the Arab world's best known horror and sci-fi writers, paints a chilling portrait of a scary new world. The Arabic original was written in 2009, more than a year before the Egyptian revolution. In his disclaimer, Towfik says that the Utopia mentioned in the novel and the characters are imaginary, but he "knows for certain that this place will exist soon".

Our unnamed protagonist from Utopia is bored to death. "I wake up … Smoke a cigarette. Drink coffee. Shave. Fix the wound on my forehead to make it look terrible. Have sex with the African maid … Pour some milk on the eggs and beat them with a fork. Throw the disgusting mixture in the trash … Wolf down some roasted meat. Stick my finger down my throat … and puke on the carpet … With a charcoal pencil, I draw slogans on the wall … In one hour I have done everything and there's nothing left in life that interests me or that I want."

He is seeking the ultimate thrill — entering the land of The Others, and returning with a trophy to embalm (a finger or a hand) after murdering some poor soul. Merely kidnapping and killing for sport inside Utopia one of the hundreds of Others who stream into the gated community everyday to do the menial work is not fun anymore. The Utopian is content in the belief that should things get out of control, a phone call to his billionaire father will ensure that the Marines fly in and retrieve him from the wolves on the other side, even if that means gunning down a few hundred of the Others.

He sneaks into the land of The Others along with his girlfriend, disguised as one of the servants leaving Utopia. He is immediately in trouble, having been seen karate-chopping one of The Others. As a mob bays for his blood, his life is saved by the intriguing Gaber, who throws some drugs into the crowd and watches as they lose all interest in the invader from Utopia and fight like animals for the narcotic.

Gaber has managed to retain the last semblance of humanity, a commodity in short supply in the land of The Others. As the novel progresses and we learn that the Utopian has no scruples whatsoever, it is difficult to relate to Gaber's drive to save the duo.

The intruder rapes Gaber's tuberculosis-ridden sister even as Gaber is finalising the plan for his return to Utopia. The Utopian stoops to his lowest by murdering Gaber and chopping off his arm as a trophy once The Other has taken him to the edge of his gated community. It is in what happens next that the suspense of the novel lies, as Gaber's actions are vindicated.

UtopiaBy Ahmed Khaled Towfik, Bloomsbury Qatar Foundation Publishing, 176 pages, £9.99