It has often been noted that some of the best science fiction doesn't just transport you into a brand new world of futuristic technology or extraterrestrial life, but acts as a statement on our current climate and a comment on society as a whole. "Day 5 (What He Found)" is both a pounding, sinister techno banger but also a fascinating, and wholly original comment on where our addiction to communication could eventually lead us.
With The Acid Caves Vol 1, Esther Joy has created an intoxicating, otherworldly narrative that explores a future where all aspects of real human connection have been lost to virtual lives that are lived out through technology and what the ultimate repurcussions could be. The story follows Silipur who illegally leaves her own planet to get to earth in search of pure human connection and energy, but what she finds when she gets there is not quite what she expected.
Esther Joy has explained how "Day 5 (What He Found)" fits into the wider story and adds the final piece to the puzzle: "At this point in time, earth's resources are so depleted due to the dying planet that humans now live in small communities and are responsible for there own care. People of all trades were divided equally into these small ‘compounds’ in a hope of creating equal opportunity and self-sufficiency. No state or overarching power exists, only the heads of each compound.
Silipur is on earth but the human condition is so different and near impossible to comprehend that her emotional state has left her too weak to move. Collapsed in a side street, a young man walking by finds her and carries her to the hostel he is staying in. These hostels exist for those who did not have family or friends they could join the compound with or were considered vulnerable. The man who finds Silipur is Liken."
