In the dystopian future world of The Last Book in the Universe, the remainder of the world’s population’s ability to remember is inhibited by several factors. Most broadly, the incident of the Big Shake itself and the division of time between “backtimes” and now has had a profound impact on collective memory, what has been deemed important to remember, and what was physically lost during or after the event. While some like Ryter have made a point of remembering historical events and literature from before the Big Shake, this is an unusual mission for those who live in the Urb. Since the introduction of using mindprobes, or directly inserting needles into one’s skull to induce storytelling via electrodes, it has become harder for people to remember their own individual pasts, let alone a collective history; probing has also made it less tempting for humans to fixate on or prepare for the future because they can easily become lost in a "trendie." Mongo the Magnificent has been looping in a trendie for over a year; before that, Spaz had only heard of 24-hour long probes. Life in the Urb is difficult, but without collective memory and a connection to their history as a group, society has grown dysfunctional and disjointed.