Exhalation

Chiang again employs the structure of telling a story within a story.

One story focuses on a journalist in the near-future from the first-person perspective. This narrator sees that technological advancements have impeded his daughter Nicole’s ability to write. Adding to his familial issues, Nicole’s mother, Angela, leaves the family to “[crisscross] the globe” (185).

In this world, millions of people, including Nicole, use lifelogs. Lifelogs involve wearable cameras that record video of their lives. The company Whetstone creates an upgraded lifelog system called Remem. Remem pulls up recorded memories instantaneously without the speaker even needing to speak.

The narrator starts writing an article about “the potential downsides of Remem” (190). He points to Remem creating unnecessary squabbles between couples, ending relationships. He speaks to a Whetstone representative, Erica, who believes Remem will more often help people “become more forgiving” (193). The journalist is skeptical, feeling that “In most cases we have to forget a little bit before we can forgive” (198). He points to a bad fight he still remembers where his daughter Nicole yelled at him, blaming him for her mother leaving. This fight served as a wakeup call for the narrator, who over the next few years strove to improve his relationship with his daughter.