Dark Life explores the difficulty of self-acceptance in the face of a society with strong prejudices. Pioneer children like Ty, who have spent a significant amount of their development undersea have evolved abilities to adapt to their environment. These abilities are called Dark Gifts due to the derogatory name for pioneers, Dark Life. Most pioneers and Topsiders worry that such gifts indicate neurological damage. When Ty’s parents discover his gift still exists, “Their expressions were of shock, grief, and worst of all, regret” (127). For pioneer parents, such reactions come from a place of concern and lack of knowledge. For many Topsiders, the bogeyman of Dark Gifts validates their prejudices toward pioneers. On the more extreme end, people like Ranger Grimes believe that “Living in the Dark makes [pioneers] crazy. Makes them see things that aren’t there […] If we was supposed to fill up our lungs with liquid, God would have made us fish” (74).

Ty understands the dangers of being different due to his Dark Gifts, the perception of Topsiders, and Doc’s medical experiments. He has spent his youth hiding his abilities and has convinced others to hide their gifts. He knows he is healthy and that Dark Gifts are not something to be concerned over, but he also knows how everyone else around him sees Dark Gifts as something awful.