Set in the year 2025, Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler depicts a dystopian world of anarchy and a woman who attempts to overcome it. Lauren Oya Olamina, who possesses the supernatural gift of hyperempathy, lives in Los Angeles — or what's left of Los Angeles, anyway. Experiencing a life of immense loss in a society that has been destroyed by disease, war, and climate change, Lauren begins to develop a new belief system she calls Earthseed and makes it her mission to travel beyond Earth to save mankind.