主人公Eilish Stackは、科学者であり4児の母親です。独裁政権と化した政府に夫が突如連れ去られ行方知れずとなります。本を読んでいるあいだ、戦火に逃げまどい、故郷を追われる難民のことが頭から離れませんでした。現代の写し絵のようなこの物語をデストピアン小説と呼ぶなら、我々はどう抗えばいいのでしょうか。予言者の歌（Prophet song)はとうに聞こえてきているはずなのに。

Where is the boundary between dystopian novels and reportage? I guess there isn’t any.

In this story, the government in Ireland morphed into a dictatorship seemingly overnight, capturing people unjustly labeled as insurgents. In reality, they were just ordinary people who never plotted to overthrow the country. However, most of them ended up being executed after or during torture. Eilish Stack, a mother-of-four protagonist, lost her husband at the onset of turmoil. As I read it, the image of refugees fleeing from sheer violence flashed into my mind. How could I leave our house, feeling my loved one might come back home any time soon, then we might be able to go somewhere safe together?

Yet, you notice the blast of shells flying over your head and bombs dropping very near your house. Each of us is utterly vulnerable. Besides, it is some of us that can be veritable enemies, not the governments. Those who hoard money by taking advantage of the desperation of others. I do not feel any sentiment from them, let alone empathy. Even worse,  the international response to local conflicts is excruciatingly slow.

How can we counter this story, or reality, although the Prophet’s song has already sang for every single one of us?