A Perfect World with Little Freedom:
The Zen Engine by robertdmoores

With Green Punk in mind, Robert D. Moores pens a fantastical story set in the future called The Zen Engine. A system of A.I. robotics has streamlined living conditions, and seems to control many human decisions based on "compatibility". Travelling from place to place is as easy as teleporting, which sounds fun, and Moores definitely describes it in a nifty way. Except on occasion, when stepping into a teleporter, people are randomly kidnapped and sent to a place of the Machine's choosing to take part in various experiments.

Gavin Burke was once a New Arrival, but after three years, he's come to almost appreciate the machines. They can anticipate needs, and make sure their subjects are well-cared for. Though they're categorically prisoners, Gavin believes when humans are chosen, it's not a punishment. When seventeen-year-old Anna arrives, half-naked and confused, he helps her navigate their strangely perfect environment. As he becomes her protector, she reminds Gavin (largely deprived of everyday human interaction) what it means to be human.

Moores is deft at pulling the reader in with spot-on dialogue and humor:

Anna laid her head on his collarbone, invading his nostrils with the scent of her shampoo.

"You're not really a hugger, are you?" she remarked.

"I thought I was doing all right," he said.

"No. You're like a tree branch wrapped around my shoulders."

"I think a certain amount of stiffness is normal and appropriate between strangers."

"But I'm forty-one percent more distraught than a normal stranger," she reminded him. "Can you at least give me forty-one percent more hug?"

The Zen Engine manages to pair high-tech A.I. with a green-centered approach. Before the Machine's took over his life, Gavin lived in the real world, which he describes as "shit". However, in the pursuit of a perfect environment, what sort of freedoms might people have to give up?

Prop The Zen Engine on your shelf right now!

Books I nearly reviewed and are worth checking out if you're in the Greenpunk mode:

If and Only If by Avis_Caerulea

And

Enhanced and Broken by axhahaha