The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn | Teen Ink

The Bar Code Tattoo by Suzanne Weyn

January 5, 2013
By GregoryAndTheHawk BRONZE, Washoe Valley, Nevada
GregoryAndTheHawk BRONZE, Washoe Valley, Nevada
1 article 0 photos 0 comments

The Bar Code Tattoo is a futuristic story that takes place in the year 2025. Kayla Marie Reed has been suspicious of these tattoos from the start because of how her father had changed after getting one. He had become depressed and died after finding out the secret to the tattoos, which is not revealed until later in the story. Of course, her friend Amber thinks she's "so out there" on this. Though, the tattoos were viewed as "more efficient" and "easier" (as if we don't have enough technology doing that)than the e-cards they carry around. And as they get more popular, more and more people found it to be a hassle to carry around the cards.
The tattoos are meant to hold bank information, identification records, medical history, your address, etc. But a group called "Decode" is soon joined by Kayla. They believe there is something deeper to the bar code tattoos, that these things violate certain amendments, and that the people should have the right to choose the bar code or not.
The company that sells the tattoos is called "Global" which is, you guessed it, the biggest company in the world. Their CEO is even the president of the United States, ya'll. Whoever thought that was a good idea is just...no, but anyways.
Soon, they find out that the bar codes not only hold all of their personal information, but genetic, as well. These tattoos somehow determine if you are desirable or undesirable simply by your genes. Which is completely fair, I guess.
I believe that I would probably be one of the first to fall for the bar code tattoo. It would completely lure me in with all the non-paperwork i would have to do. Plus, I'm a bandwagoner, a completely shameful conformist. I know we all like to think we would be in the main character's place, and be smarter than that, but a lot of us are not. This is why it's so wrong for the corporation to take advantage of the masses like that. The way I saw it, they tried to make the people feel like they were imbeciles if they didn't get the tattoo, and that might have been one reason it was so popular.
All in all, it was a good book and I am looking forward to reading the sequel; "The Bar Code Rebellion"


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