The Giver

Following a calamity referred to as The Ruin, society has been reorganized. Conflict, pain, and suffering have been mostly removed from human experience. However, 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, to shield the rest of the community from pain. The Receiver of Memory and their protégé are the only people able to see in color, which is otherwise eliminated from the community to prevent envy. The community is ruled by elders, including the Chief Elder.