following a calamity referred to as the ruin, society has been reorganized. conflict, pain, and suffering have been mostly removed from human experience, but emotion, love, freedom, individuality, and joy have also been removed. babies are brought into being through genetic engineering, and sexual desire is chemically suppressed. all memories of the past are held by one person, the receiver of memory, for the purpose of shielding the rest of the community from pain. the receiver of memory and his/her protégé are the only persons able to see in color, an ability otherwise eliminated from the community to prevent envy. the community is ruled by elders, including a chief elder.