This document provides a summary of the short story "Billenium" by Pedro Amado and Felipe Rolon Righetti. It describes the story's themes of overpopulation and lack of space in the future. The main characters, John Ward and Henry Rossiter, discover a secret room but eventually lose their privacy when they allow two women to rent part of the space and their large family moves in. The title "Billenium" refers to a future time of extreme overpopulation being humanity's greatest problem. Key symbols in the story include the wardrobe representing freedom and beauty, and the small living cubicles symbolizing a lack of space and freedom. The tone is portrayed as pessimistic as the characters see no hope for the future

1. Billenium
By: Pedro Amado and Felipe Rolon Righetti

2. Index
Information about the author
Description of characters
Relevance of the title
Tone
Theme
Symbolism

3. James Graham Ballard
He was born in Shanghai, China, on
Nobembre 15, 1930. He was an English
novelist and a key figure in the New Wave
movement in science fiction. Among his
most famous works are the “Atrocity
Exhibition”, “ Empire of the sun” and
“Crash”, each of which was later adapted
into a feature film. He did in London,
England on April 19, 2009.

4. Characters
John Ward
Henry Rossiter
Judith and Helen Waring

5. John Ward
He is the protagonist, a middle age man who isn´t married, he works as a librarian
and he is the one that founded the “Secret Room”
Henry Rossiter
He is ward´s closest friend, he works in Insurance Department at City Hall and has
access to census statics. He is who urges Ward to let the girl move in.
Judith and Helen Waring
They are the girls who Henry Rossiter and John Ward let move into their room.
These girls seem to be nice at first, but end up bringing practically their whole
family in, being really disrespectful.

6. Relevance of the title
The story describes a situation in the future when the population of the world has
grown so much that there is no space for people to live or to have a normal life.
The space each persons can have is regulated by the city council.“Billenium”
makes reference to a time in the future where overpopulation will be the biggest
problem to human race.

7. Tone: Pessimistic
Because we can see when we read the story that the characters don't have any
type of hope for the future, because they know that the situation is not going to
change. The characters as well maintain/have a passive role( they don´t do
anything to change their situation)

8. Themes
Over population/ Lack of responsibility
Power and loss of privacy
Distraction of beauty

9. Over population/ Lack of responsibility
The story has a message about what happened when people are not “controlled”
in which case as a result there is overpopulation. They used an important place
such as to live because of the lack of space.

10. Power and loss of privacy
The discovery of the room make John Ward and Henry Rossiter powerful because
for so many years they were living in a reduced space, and now they had an
enormous place for them to feel really comfortable. Also when the girls move into
the room they started earning money from the rent and that make them powerful(
they were landlords ) but they lost there privacy when they let move all the whole
family practically of Judith and Helen Warin.
“ The small rentel he charged the others paid for the little food he needed”

11. Distraction of beauty
They live in small cubicles and they can't put things because there were no space.
The story shows how beauty is lost because of overpopulation. Important places
like cathedrals, churches, town hall are destroyed because they are used by
people to live. And also the wardrobe is very significant, because when they
move it, there is a “new world”, a longer space room. It symbolises Freedom and
also Beauty in the sense that it was a Victorian wardrobe it comes ot it´s belongs
to the past that Ward and Rossiter didn't know about.
“It was a beautiful wardrobe, without doubt, but when it was gone it would make
the room even longer”

12. Symbolism
The wardrobe is very significant, because when they move it, there is a “new
world”, a longer space room. It symbolises Freedom and also Beauty in the sense
that it was a Victorian wardrobe it comes ot it´s belongs to the past that Ward and
Rossiter didn't know about.And also the “Cublicle” symbolises the lack of freedom
of space. They have a limited size and eveyone had to respect it and like with it.