Make Room! Make Room! is set in an overpopulated New York City in 1999 (33 years after the time of first publication). Thirty-year-old Police Detective Andy Rusch lives in half a room, sharing it with Sol, a retired engineer who has adapted a bicycle to generate power for an old television set and a refrigerator. When Andy lines up for their continually reducing water ration, he witnesses a public speech by the "Elders", older people forcibly retired from work. A riot breaks out after a nearby food shop has a surprise sale on "soylent" (
soy and
lentil) steaks. The shop is looted by the mob. Billy Chung, an 18-year-old
Taiwanese-American, grabs a box of steaks. He eats some of them and sells the rest to raise enough money to land a job as a
Western Union messenger boy. His first delivery takes him into a fortified apartment block, complete with the rare luxuries of air conditioning and running water for showers. He delivers his message to a rich
racketeer named "Big Mike" O'Brien and sees Shirl, Mike's 23-year-old live-in
mistress. Billy leaves the apartment but fixes it so he can get back into the building later. He breaks into Mike's place, but when Mike catches him in the act, Billy accidentally kills him and flees, empty-handed. A piece of evidence may connect an out-of-town crime boss who may be trying to expand into New York City, a threat to Mike's associates. They see to it that Andy keeps working on the case, in addition to his regular duties. During his investigation, Andy becomes enamored of Shirl. He ensures that she is permitted to stay in the apartment until the end of the month. During this month, they enjoy the luxuries. Afterwards, Shirl moves in with Andy. Shirl soon becomes disappointed with how little time the overworked Andy has for her. She eventually sleeps with a wealthy man she meets at a party. To evade capture, Billy leaves the city, eventually breaking into the abandoned
Brooklyn Navy Yard, where he comes to live with Peter, who is eagerly awaiting the new millennium as the end of the world. Soon they are attacked and displaced by a trio. They find a new home in a car. Months after the murder, Billy decides to visit his family, believing the police have lost interest in him. Meanwhile, Sol decides he can no longer remain passive in the face of humanity's overpopulation crisis. He joins a march to protest the overturning of a legislative bill that supports
population control. Sol is injured in a riot and catches pneumonia. A few days after his death, an obnoxious family takes over his living quarters, making Shirl and Andy's life much more miserable than before. Andy stumbles upon Billy Chung, cornering him in his family's home. When Billy moves to attack Andy with a knife, he stumbles, and Andy accidentally shoots and kills him. The gangsters have lost interest by this point, but his superiors disavow Andy's actions, and he is temporarily demoted to ordinary patrolman. When he returns to his quarters, he finds Shirl has left him. Andy is on patrol in
Times Square on New Year's Eve, where he spots Shirl among rich party-goers. As the clock strikes midnight, Andy encounters Peter, who is distraught that the world has not ended and asks how life can continue as it is. The story concludes with the Times Square screen announcing that "Census says United States had biggest year ever, end-of-the-century, 344 million citizens." ==Concept and creation==