Butler’s text starts in the year 2024, where it is apparent the community that the protagonist, Lauren, lives in has been shaped by climate change and its effects. The first chapter implies that Lauren’s stepmother lived through a time when things were “normal.” As stated by Lauren’s stepmother, “Kids today have no idea what a blaze of light cities used to be–and not that long ago” (6). From this quote, it can be said that climate change didn’t have an immediate effect on the community. However, Lauren is now experiencing these effects. In the second chapter, Lauren is riding her bike to a church where she is to be baptized. While riding her bike, Lauren points out the conditions of some people in the community. As stated by Lauren, she sees “People stretched out, sleeping on the sidewalks…[and] at least three people who weren’t going to wake up again, ever. One of them was headless…” (9). Lauren also sees a naked, filthy woman. The conditions of these people almost make it seem like Lauren is living in an apocalyptic setting. This apocalyptic setting is further displayed when Lauren explains that her father once had a church, but after “it had been slept in by the homeless, robbed, and vandalized several times, someone poured gasoline in and around it and burned it down” (8). In addition, Lauren explains that instead of going to the church to be baptized, she could’ve been baptized in the bathtub at home. She states that doing this “Would have been cheaper and safer…” (8). Based on this statement, we can observe that climate change has made going outside dangerous for people. Lauren tells the others that being baptized at home would’ve been fine with her, but to the adults, “Going outside to a real church was like stepping back into the good old days when there were churches all over the place and too many lights and gasoline was for fueling cars and trucks instead of for torching things” (8). From this statement, it can be said that in the past, people were living “normal” lives. The adults believe that things like cars and trucks using gasoline were part of the “good old days.” But, this is ironic since cars and trucks using gasoline have contributed to the current state of the community since vehicles burn gases when they run. This released gas then stays in the atmosphere which contributes to climate change. This shows that everything happening in the community right now whether it’s less lights, people on the sidewalks, etc., weren’t seen or expected. 

All the things happening in the first few chapters of Butler’s text display the idea of Nixon’s “slow violence.” Nixon defines “slow violence” as violence that occurs over some time and out of sight, while violence has immediate impacts. Based on the text, we can see that the current state of Lauren’s community is most likely due to human activity like the burning of fossil fuels that contributed to climate change. As seen in the first chapter, Lauren’s stepmother states that kids today don’t know anything about how cities used to be blazes of light. This implies that all human activity that occurred then didn’t have any impact until now. In addition, Lauren makes observations about the people she sees during her bike ride where she sees people on the sidewalk and people who are dead. We can also infer that it is dangerous to be outside when Lauren states that being baptized at home would be safer than going to the church. Lauren’s observations help us see how her community has been affected by climate change. Furthermore, we can see that many people didn’t see this kind of future coming because the adults considered gasoline being used for cars and trucks as part of the “good old days,” even though it only made things worse. Therefore, the idea of “slow violence” is present in Butler’s text since Lauren’s community wasn’t always an apocalyptic-like place and many people can’t see that they have contributed to the current state of the community.