The Water Knife

In the novel, wealthy citizens in the Southwest have enough money to buy their way across borders and into arcologies like the Cypress developments in Las Vegas or the Taiyang in Phoenix. The wealthy are largely unaffected by the drought and dust storms that the poorer people living outside of the arcologies endure. The people in these apartments often take for granted the water, privacy, and comfort they are afforded. At one point in the novel, Maria is observing Ratan in his apartment: “At one time she’d had all these things, too. Simple basic things. Faucets. A room of her own. A/C. And she’d taken them all for granted, just as this man did. He didn’t realize the magic of his life” (178). What’s more, poor people like Maria are often at the mercy of the wealthy in order to survive. Maria sleeps with Ratan not only to pay rent, but also so she can do her laundry and take a shower with his water. As she puts it: “But it wasn’t the money that mattered. Lingering here—that was everything” (178). Wealth inequality that already existed is further exacerbated when a necessity like water is priced like a luxury because of how scarce it’s becoming. There is a redirection of wealth in the novel. People give up all their expensive clothes, houses, and belongings so they might have a chance at hiring a coyote who will guide them across the Colorado River to Nevada or California, where water is more readily available. Water is money and power, and there are those who have water and those who don’t. Angel’s character is a well-paid spy and mercenary at the beginning of the novel. After Case decides he might be double-crossing her and cancels his expense account, Angel experiences the difference in lifestyles between those with money and those without money in the new Southwest.