Playground: A Novel

Todd recalls the time he spent with Ina and Rafi. She had the idea of a “lecture series” in which each of them would deliver a lecture to the other two about the thing that meant most to them. Rafi was reluctant but went through with the idea to please Ina. Todd remembers spending time with his mother in her small apartment, when she didn’t want to talk about the ways that his father (her husband) “messed [them] both up, badly” (218). For his lecture, Todd introduced Ina and Rafi to CRIK, the supercomputer with the early AI model. He preloaded information about the Pacific Islands to impress Ina, who was more taken back by the art database on the proto-internet system. He told his friends about his deep love for computers, though Rafi cast doubt on Todd’s reasons for doing so.

Rafi reluctantly attended Ina’s lecture, where she showed off her studio. In the center of the room was a “massive 3D collage” resembling a totem (222). She explained the sculpture’s significance with regard to her identity as a Pacific Islander and a daughter and then dashed the sculpture with blue paint. At first, Todd was horrified, but then he saw the watery effect of the paint and realized that Ina had made him and Rafi part of the performance and creation of the final piece.

Finally, Rafi had to deliver his lecture. He took his friends into his private room at the back of the library, which was full of esoteric old books. Rafi read from his unfinished poems, sonnets about his guilt for breaking up his parents’ marriage and the death of his sister. Ina kissed Rafi, and Todd slipped outside. Afterward, they attended a performance of Shakespeare’s The Tempest. The play moved Ina to tears, and as they walked home in wintery conditions, she was astonished to see snow for the first time. Not long after this, Todd had “the brainstorm that would shape the rest of [his] life” (235). Rafi moved out of the dorm and in with Ina while he pursued a postgraduate degree in American literature. Todd saw Rafi less frequently.

At 36, Evelyne struggled to come to terms with her realization about her sexuality. She believed that Bart was “the world’s most gentle and accommodating man” (236), with whom she had two children. She also had a career to think about at a time when lesbian sexuality could threaten to limit her professional prospects. A picture magazine commissioned her to author an article about Truk Atoll, a part of the ocean that is an “immense graveyard” for the sunken ships of World War II. Thinking that the article might bring closure for her mother, who mourned the wartime loss of her brother at sea, Evelyne accepted the commission. As ever, Bart stayed at home to manage the household and his career. Evelyne dove down amid the wrecks and discovered a paradise of life: Fish, plants, and coral thrived in the reclaimed environment. She swam between the scuttled ships and the dead sailors, snapping photos of sharks. When she returned, she wrote to her mother about the “final resting place” of her Uncle Phillipe and then wrote the article, which referenced Arial’s song from The Tempest (243). Four years later, after her mother’s death, Evelyne found a copy of the article in her mother’s house.

Todd remembers the early years of his career as his “golden age.” He spent all his time on software development, working on the early versions of what eventually became Playground. He didn’t see much of Rafi, Ina, or anyone else, nor did he have time for romantic relationships. He was tangentially aware of Rafi working on his thesis and Ina sculpting a canoe from a fallen tree.

One day, when he and Rafi met for lunch, Todd talked about his plans for Playground as a giant social media network where people could interact with one another. Rafi gave him an important piece of advice: “[G]amify it.” In an excited frenzy, they sketched out the initial drafts of the systems that made Playground so addictive. They drew on their history of competitive game playing, narrative, and human psychology. By the meeting’s end, Todd was quite excited. He offered to bring Rafi onboard, telling him that “there were fortunes to be made” (252), but Rafi turned him down. The rejection hurt Todd, but he threw himself into work on Playground. He soft-launched the software, which proved as addictive as Rafi said it would be. Around this time, Ina emailed Todd. She was concerned about Rafi, who had delayed finishing his thesis for unknown reasons. Todd, “still bitter” about Rafi’s rejection, didn’t go to see him.

While living with Ina, Rafi receives a late-night phone call from his mother. He’s yet to tell her about his plans to propose to Ina. His mother worries about his prospects for the future. She encourages him to come and work with her in government administration. Rafi knows that such a career would be the death of him but can’t explain this to her. He doesn’t know how to tell anyone that he’s happiest researching and rewriting his thesis; he doesn’t want to finish it. He returns to bed and, three months later, his mother dies.

Todd tells his AI device about the Playground launch. He showed his professor, who helped him secure funding options. Investors offered vast sums of money, but he chose the option that allowed him to retain control of the company. When he started his company, he employed five people, but it rapidly expanded. Amid the chaos of the launch, Ina appeared in his apartment, distraught because Rafi seemed as though he’d never submit his thesis. Ina described an argument she had with him, in which she threatened to leave town without him unless he submitted his thesis.

Todd recognized his own competitiveness with Rafi at the root of her complaints. He described to her the deep guilt that Rafi felt over his sister’s death and the end of his parents’ marriage, incidents that Rafi had spoken about only with Todd. As the night drew on, Todd invited Ina to stay with him. When he insisted that he sleep on the floor and she in the bed, she realized that he was in love with her. She said nothing. In the morning, Rafi arrived at Todd’s apartment. Todd knew that Rafi felt betrayed that his two closest friends were meeting behind his back. When Ina revealed what Todd told her about Rafi’s guilt, Rafi left. He refused “to be analyzed by two people who have no clue” (267). Ina chased after Rafi. Todd didn’t hear from Rafi again despite his attempts to reach out. All he received from Ina was a plea to “stop making things worse” (268). Todd learned that Ina went to Tahiti, while Rafi moved into a tenement building.

Around this time, Todd’s burgeoning success demanded that he move to San Francisco. Before he went, Todd made one last effort to speak to Rafi. The meeting was terse and unproductive. When Todd moved to California, he wrote to Rafi regularly. From afar, he learned that Rafi submitted his thesis. The messages remained unanswered, so Todd threw himself into work, making success his “vindication and revenge” (271). Now, Todd speaks to the AI device as a product of this long work process. He believes that he’s on the cusp of “raising all the dead” (271).

The Makatean people prepare for the referendum. Didier asks Palila to invite a remote hermit to the vote since she’s the only person he’ll talk to. Didier visits Ina and Rafi to invite them to another meeting. He sees Ina’s garbage sculpture and feels that it’s powerful but doesn’t understand why. During the visit, he thinks about the two children. Their actual parents were Makatea natives who died tragically. Rafi and Ina adopted the children, offering to raise them on the island. They’re “old enough to be the children’s grandparents” (274). Palila visits the hermit, Tamatoa, with whom she has a romantic past. Tamatoa lives remotely and hates outsiders. Palila invites him to share his feelings at the community meeting.

At his house, Didier talks to Roti about the vote. She eases his anxieties, and he appreciates her even more. Later, he visits Evelyne, whom he finds teaching Kinipela to play the piano. In the following days, Didier prepares the presentation using technology that the US consortium sent him. He’s nervous as he stands before his constituents. The short computer-generated promotional video impresses Makatean residents through the lure of lavish homes and promises of development. The “clever” marketing impresses Didier. Afterward, the residents debate the film’s merits and intentions. They have many unanswered questions. In addition to stacks of literature, Didier says, the consortium provided access to a prepared AI machine named Profunda to answer their questions. They boot it up. The machine gives in-depth and honest answers to their “fast and furious” questions and impresses the residents (288), especially when it admits that Kinipela’s concerns about negative effects on the local wildlife are justified. The residents spend the next week bombarding the AI machine with questions.

In the following days, Evelyne dives with the manta rays again. She almost dies while trying to free one ray from a net with her knife. Wai dives down to help her and the ray. When they return the next day, the manta ray appears again as if thanking them. The Makatean residents spend 10 days asking Profunda every question they can. As the referendum approaches, Didier tries to bring calm to the “chaos of democracy” (297). The residents make their final pitches before the voting rules are set. They have one final question for the AI machine: The residents want to know who’s behind the consortium. Profunda returns with profiles of the US businesspeople involved. When Rafi sees the name Todd Keane, he calls out in horror.