A Prayer for the Crown-Shy

The balance between nature and technology is a distinguishing element of the nature/technology ideal of solarpunk fiction, and it stands in contrast to cyberpunk, a genre in which technology and nature are visibly out of balance (See: Background). In A Prayer for the Crown-Shy, Chambers demonstrates the importance of such a balance as well as alternate views of the role of technology in human life.

Historically, Panga is a civilization that grew too dependent on technology, evidenced by their use of robots to staff their factories and produce consumer goods. This dependence became so complete that when the robots became sentient and chose to leave civilization in what is called the Transition, the humans experienced a long and difficult period of adjustment. Humans eventually learned to care for themselves, and they established a post-currency economic system based on mutual exchange rather than on consumerism. They call the previous period the “Factory Age” and view it negatively. The shared cultural memory of their history makes Pangans wary of technology and careful in its use.

From the start, Chambers shows that Dex is comfortable with the limited use of technology. They carry a pocket computer that allows them access to email, information, and accounting.