Cyril Maithily Gupta's Blog

Once in a thousand years he’s born;
A sign, a warning, an evil omen.
He’ll arrive like a storm from the horizon;
And drink the blood of a million men.

Here I lie in my cell. A lonely, defeated and humiliated mass of flesh, looking forward to death more eagerly than I ever looked to life. For propelled by ambition I became the ultimate destroyer of men, someone that would make even death pale in comparison.
When they took me out for my walk yesterday I saw the remains of the metropolis that was once New Delhi, my hometown. For miles and miles on a stretch the only thing visible was a dark giant pile of concrete and steel, electricity crackling here and there, sending sparks running from the Earth to the sky.
The world has become a graveyard, filled with innumerous dead rotting bodies, and some that are still alive but will be soon dead and rotting.
And it’s all because of me.
***
It began on the most beautiful day of my life. One of those rare days at the end of the winter when the sun shines brightly, but the wind is still cool and refreshing, a day that I wouldn’t have traded for an eternal life in heaven. ‘Today is the day that time will never forget.’ I thought as I walked briskly in the university’s wide corridor.
Born of a Swiss mother, I was almost as illustrious a scientist as my Indian father. I nodded to a couple of research students who stood in the corridor, gaping at me with awe. I fully deserved that kind of treatment. At the young age of 36, I headed the physics department of my university, a post I earned by virtue of my tireless and groundbreaking work on the structure of sub-atomic particles. I had shot to fame with my very first paper in the Science journal; praise and recognition flowed in by the gallon. But even then I knew I was made for even bigger things.
As I got into the elevator for the upper levels, I thought about the last few years. They had been full of struggle. Thanks to the initial euphoria over my newfound status as a world known scientist, I had secured the government grant needed to build the lab for my dream project, but the money flow was squeezed a little while later, even when I revealed the nature and the sensitivity of my work to the regime. I had to literally become a marketing man to convince the government to keep funding me.
‘Not the right job for a scientist. Takes away the concentration from my research.’ I Thought as I patted my golden Matiz. I loved my car. ‘It is almost irrational. How I substitute materialistic possessions like my car and my computer for real live family members. If people knew I had names for them, they’d put me in a loony bin. I would look great as a mad scientist.’ I laughed at my own thoughts. My parents were dead by the time I was 24, I was the only child and marriage never occurred to me. I lived a luxurious but quite life in my 2 room flat in the heart of town.
As I drove my car, I felt on top of the world. All those laborious days and sleepless nights had finally borne fruit. For the first time I had concluded my experiment successfully. I had transported instantaneously a sugar cube to the other end of the room without carrying it. The prototype of the ‘Transponder’ was ready and I was on my way to meet the Prime Minister to disclose the full details to him.
I dreamed of my invention as I drove to the Prime Minister’s house. The transponder was a device from the realm of science fiction, something that would change the way the world functions. It was a discovery as big as the wheel, and maybe ten times more important.
Getting into the Prime Minister’s home was no problem, the security check was done and over in 2 minutes. Apparently, they were expecting me. I was guided to an office deep inside the palatial building. The PM sat behind a huge rosewood desk talking animatedly with his young aide, the communications minister. He gestured me to sit and continued his conversation.
The Prime Minister was an old man, his face crisscrossed with wrinkles, reflecting the enormous responsibility and the years he carried.
I was a bit surprised to see the communications minister there, this was top secret material, nobody but the PM knew the full details of the nature of my research.
“So Mr. Ronald Khosla, you bring us good news eh?” Said the Prime Minister in his trademark style.
“Please call me Ronald sir, but this is more than just a good news, it’s a revolution.”
“Really? I expect you have achieved full success then. The government has poured a lot of money in your project.”
“Nothing less than that. I’d be glad to reveal the details to you. If…” I glanced at the communications minister.
The Prime Minister stared at me quizzically, then suddenly realized what I was implying. “Oh! I expect you already know Prakash Mittal, our communications minister and my nominated successor. He has full security clearance. You don’t have to hold back anything. Please go on.”
“In that case, let me begin.” I said, and told my story.
The PM and his aide were no men of science, and I knew I had to begin from the scratch. “I expect you already know that all matter in the universe is composed of atoms, which in turn are made up of sub atomic particles. This is true for in-animate objects, like this desk, and even for living organisms like us.”
“I am sure you must have heard about Einstein’s relativity theory that suggests that matter in its native form cannot travel faster than light or even at near lightspeed.” I gave a dramatic pause and stood up. “That is, if you do it conventionally.”
They were staring at me with rapt attention as I walked to the center of the room. “My method, you see, breaks the tradition a bit.” I took out the sugar cube that I had transported earlier. “See this cube? A normal vehicle carrying this would need energy to propel it from one place to another, the transponder however, does the same thing by converting the cube itself into energy.” I looked at them for reaction but there was none so I continued.
“Matter cannot travel as fast as light, but energy can, and I’ve found a way to convert matter into energy and back into matter. My transponder actually converts matter into a new type of sub atomic particle that I call ‘Minuton’, beams it safely anywhere, and assembles it back into solid matter in an instant. The device works principally by using an anti-electro magnetic beam to…”
My speech was cut short by the sound of applause. The PM and his aide were clapping loudly, their faces radiating with smiles. “You don’t have to go into technical details Ron. I won’t understand a thing. Congratulations on your achievement, your discovery will make our country the greatest nation on Earth. I would like to see a demonstration immediately.”
“That can be arranged.”
The PM visited my laboratory with his full security regalia for the demo, this time I transported a kettle filled with tea instead of the sugar cube. I felt at the top of the world for the second time that day when I saw his eyes go wide when the kettle slowly appeared at the end of the room.
“Can you build a man sized transponder?” Asked the PM when the demo was over.
“I can make them bigger, as big as you want. Big enough to transport heavy machinery, there’s no limit to the size, and there are no major extra costs.” I said.
“Brilliant! In that case we shall arrange to put your discovery in production immediately.”
The communications minister was staring at the device with a lost look on his device, suddenly he turned to me and said. “Ron have you told anyone about this?”
“No. Not yet.” I said.
“You do understand how sensitive and explosive this development is. We wouldn’t want this going into any other country’s hands, would we?”
“Definitely not.” I could guess what he was hinting at.
“Right. Ron, I want you to keep this a complete secret, tell no one that your research is successful until you get clearance from the PM’s office. Not even family members.”
“I don’t have a family. You don’t have to worry Mr. Mittal, I love my country as much as you do. I would do nothing that would harm its interest.” I was quite piqued by the attack at my sincerity.
“Oh no! I did not mean that. No one can doubt your patriotism. I am sorry if you thought that. I was just telling you about the sensitivity of the matter, that is all.” He shifted uneasily in his chair.
“Thanks. I’ll keep that in mind sir.” I said in my iciest tone possible. His discomfort made me feel a lot better.
The PM sensed the tension in the air and rose. “We must leave now Ron, but before going, I am glad to appoint you the acting head of the Science Research Organization. You can shift your laboratory there and work with the other great minds of our country.”
Everyone in the room shook hands with me and congratulated me for becoming the head of the country’s most prestigious research organization. It was a dream come true.
Suddenly the PM spoke again. “Oh yeah. One more thing Ron. I would like you to submit your complete research documents to my office. I need to get a technical viability check done.”
“Of course. I have everything ready, I will submit them by tomorrow.”
***
I shifted to SRO the very next day. My spacious office, the giant library and the excellent facilities available in the lab kept me busy. I went about my new job with enthusiasm of a newcomer, talking to our greatest scientists, exchanging views on the quantum theory, and refining the existing facilities of the lab to make them even better. I hardly noticed anything was wrong until one day it suddenly occurred to me.
A complete two months has passed since I had first shown the demonstration to the PM, and there had been no communication about further production of the Transponder. I decided to find out what was happening. I called up the PM on the number he had given me, but he was in an important meeting, his secretary promised to pass on the message as soon as he came back.
I waited for an entire day for the call, then suddenly I remembered the communications minister. He was with the PM all the time. I dialed his number, He picked the phone himself.
“Hi, this is Ronald Khosla. Do you remember me?” I asked.
“Ron.” He laughed. “What a question. Who can forget you, you’re the greatest scientist alive.”
“Uh. Thanks. Well, it’s been many days and I was wondering what happened to the scheme to mass produce the Transponder.”
“Oh, these are official matters Ron. Delays happen. There are lots of things to do, patents, registrations, technical viability research, training, but don’t you worry, I have people working on it.”
“Any idea how long it will take?” The red tape was beginning to bother me.
“I do not really know Ron, Maybe a few more days. I will keep you updated.” He said and hung up.
I spent the next month puzzling over the government’s apparent lack of interest in the Transponder Project. The communications minister never called back, and my calls to the PM’s office still went un-answered. By the end of the month I realized something was seriously wrong and went into the grip of a strong paranoia. I was afraid they were trying to steal my invention from me.
I tried one last desperate call to the PM’s office.
“I am sorry, he’s busy. I’ll ask him to call you back when he’s free.” The man on the phone gave me the standard brush off, but I wasn’t buying it this time.
“Look mister, this is the fifth time I am calling this week. Did you tell the PM I called?”
“I told you, he’ll call you when he’s free.” He said in a stony voice, he was trying to intimidate me.
I felt my blood boiling with rage. “Is that so? Well pray he’s free soon, because this is a matter of national security. If he doesn’t answer my call, our country is going to loose the biggest discovery of the millennia to some over-industrialized western nation that doesn’t even deserve it.”
There was a moment of silence. Then, “I’ll see what I can do” said the voice and hung up.
Five minutes later I was talking to the PM.
“Hi Mr. Khosla, I just got your message. I have been a bit busy so couldn’t talk to you earlier, but believe me it was your project that I was busy with.” He said even before I could say hello.
“That’s alright sir. I just wish that you had kept me informed.” I said, feeling apologetic for my earlier behavior.
“We can correct that now. This evening I am organizing a meeting with some of the country’s best economists and defense experts about the Transponder, Would you care to attend?”
‘Would I care to attend? Does an otter have teeth?’ I thought as I murmured a polite yes.
“Be at my office at 7 sharp then. The meeting begins at 7.30, but I need to get a word with you.”
***
The three hours I spent waiting for the meet were the longest three hours of my life. I reached the PM’s office at 7 to the dot, and was promptly led into his room.
“Ah. Ron, have a seat please.” He was not being formal, a good sign. “Before we attend that meeting, I need to tell you something. There are some problems putting the Transponder in production.” He could have hit me with a sledgehammer and it would have hurt a lot less.
“What sort of problems? I did a complete research, all the components are available easily.” I stammered after I got over the initial shock.
“It’s not the actual production I am talking about. You see… some of the experts I consulted have expressed apprehensions over mass production of the Transponder. They say it will be a very dangerous move.”
“Whaaa.. Do you mean? What sort of experts are these?” I was amazed someone could call such a discovery dangerous.
“We’ll be meeting them right now. I suggest you regain your composure until at least you’ve heard them out.”
I went to the meeting with fear in my heart and rage in my soul. Apart from the PM and the communications minister, there were two other men in the room, one of them wore a general’s uniform and the other I recognized, he was Ratikant Basu, the country’s most famous economist. I was literally ready to tear apart the first man who dared to question the viability of my project, but I decided to wait until I had heard the so called ‘experts’ speak.
“Undoubtedly the Transponder is a great invention that will revolutionize travel, but it’s effect on the world’s economy is going to be disastrous.” Ratikant Basu started. “My analysis suggests that the launch of the transponder will cause world’s most severe recession that will last for not less than 120 years, during this period almost all the major industries will be ruined permanently and un-employment rates will be well over 80 per cent. There will be no improvement unless the population of Earth falls below 4 billion from the present 6 billion.”
“This is pure shit. You are talking out of your head. Where the hell did you get these figures.” I yelled unable to control my rage.
“Pardon me Mr. Khosla, but with all due respect, our methods of research are just as scientific as yours.” Basu glared at me. “Have you ever tried questioning what powers the world’s economy…? It is the lack of contact between the buyer and the producer. Do you understand? No? Let me try and make it clearer.”
“Everything that is purchased by a consumer is made by a manufacturer, but it is impossible for the manufacturer to sell directly to the consumer due to the distance and lack of communication between them. The importer, the distributor, the dealer and the store-owner, they all make their living from a commodity before it reaches you, by providing you only one service, getting you what you need. Then there are ancillaries like transporters and packagers who make a living transporting material.”
“Now imagine a world with the Transponder. Everything that you wish to buy is suddenly available right to your home direct from the manufacturer curtsy the Transponder. Just dial the correct number. You could reach any factory in an instant, it doesn’t matter if he’s located in south east China, the jungles of Africa or the north-pole.”
“Between the factory and your home about 5 families will loose their living to the transponder. It would have already killed the transport industry irrecoverably. Rail, airlines, road transport, everything dead because nobody would need them anymore. It will also kill the regional or small time manufacturers that exist solely because of the extra cost and time needed to transport material from a distant manufacturer. About 1.5 billion people who work with non-manufacturers will loose their jobs, and the amount of revenue loss, it will run into trillions. ”
“The government would loose revenue too. There will be no longer any control over import and exports. No import duties possible, no custom duties applicable because goods will be transported direct to home and government wouldn’t be able to monitor them. 120 years is a conservative estimate Mr. Khosla, sometimes I fear that humanity may never be able to recover from that recession if it happens?” Basu sighed and stopped speaking.
I was stupefied for a long while. “This can’t be true, can it?”
“I am afraid we’ve got more bad news for you Ron.” This was the PM. “General Baljinder Singh Rathore has yet to present his analysis.”
“With your permission sir.” Said the General and stood up.
“Mr. Basu presented the economic side of the Transponder admirably. I will present a different perspective. The effect of the transponder on the security of our nation.”
“As Mr. Basu said, unemployment will increase sharply with the introduction of the Transponder unit. This will be the basis of the security threat we foresee. Have you noticed how quickly pople hit the streets in response to a slight cut in salary or even a delay in raise? Economic pressures of the kind brought by the Transponder will cause a public backlash unforeseen ever in the world. We have all witnessed the rioting and looting that followed the bankruptcy of Argentina, after transponder, you can expect a similar reaction multiplied some 100 times.”
I found myself unable to utter a protest this time.
“The newly unemployed people will take to the streets, they will organize strikes, rallies and marches and quickly graduate to rioting. According to the figures that Mr. Basu gave me more than one-third of our country’s working population will loose its job and when that a mob of that size starts rioting, it will be impossible to control. Even if we succeed in imposing a curfew, it will close down the industries that are still working, causing a chain reaction that will kill the entire economy.”
Unable to hear my biggest achievement torn to shreds so terribly I closed my mind, withdrawing, unaware of the universe.
“Ron! Ron!” I woke to the Prime Minister speaking my name. He was shaking my shoulder and had concern written all over his wrinkled face. “Are you alright?”
“Yes. I am fine now.” I managed to say. I composed myself. “Well then gentlemen, I understand that the party is over. We will not be producing the Transponder.”
“Who said that?” Spoke all the 4 people at once.
“What? I… I don’t understand. What is the meaning of all this then.”
Ratikant Basu spoke again. “We were merely presenting the foreseen sequence of events once the Transponder is mass produced. We haven’t told you we won’t be mass producing it.”
“You have foreseen a calamity, the total destruction of civilization. How can you even think of mass producing the Transponder in such a situation.”
“I am afraid we do not have an alternative Mr. Khosla.”
“What do you mean?” I demanded.
“By inventing the Transponder device, you have proved that it is possible. If we refuse to acknowledge its existence now, it’s quite conceivable that in future some other country will discover it, and might not be as reluctant to mass produce it.”
“You mean?”
“If some other country invents the Transponder, our destruction will be more assured than if we ourselves invent it.”
“That doesn’t give us an excuse to make this device. Why should we become the destroyers of the world? I will not work on the mass production of the Transponder.” I surprised at how quickly I had become strongest critic of the Transponder from the biggest supporter.
“You are a scientist Ronald. Look at this from another angle.” Basu was clearly making a plea now. “Knowledge cannot be suppressed forever. It is inevitable that the Transponder will be discovered and resulting destruction will happen. You will not be able to stop it then. But After a while, no matter how long a while it is, people will adapt, civilization will adjust itself to the Transponder and humanity will be back on its track.”
“But why now? Why me?” I spoke, more to myself than the others.
“Don’t be numbed by self pity Khosla.” Said Basu sharply. “You’ve done us a great favor by inventing Transponder before anyone else. We are in a position of advantage over the rest of the world.”
The prime minister spoke up. “We are in a tough spot Ron, if we make the Transponder we become the destroyers of civilization, if we don’t, we’ll be the victims. Events leave us no choice but to proceed?”
“Besides, we have a plan.” Said the General suddenly lighting up. “There is no way that we can stop the economical and the cultural shakedown that will happen. However, we are in a position to mold things such that the world sustains the crisis with minimum damage. Mr. Basu has calculated that if our plan works the world will be back on the path to progress in 25 years. We’ll be alive to see it Mr. Khosla.”
“How is that possible?” I asked.
“With a regime of strict control.” The General’s expression hardened. “We’ll have to unite the entire world under a single government.”
I was horrified. “You are talking about…”
“World domination.” The General’s voice was stern. “Nothing less will do.”
“This is crazy. I will not be a part of this.” I almost shouted.”
“You already are Ron. There’s no way you can avoid that. The cat is out of its bag, and this cat is a tiger.” said the Prime Minister, and that was it.
***
So I decided what was best for the world, and offered the prime minister all assistance in saving it from imminent destruction. The plan was simple, bring the entire world under one order to prevent wars between countries, and establish a very strong disciplinary force to keep rioters in check, meanwhile establish efficient public welfare agencies to prevent poverty.
We waited for 15 more days while the strategy was given finishing touches and preparatory measures were made.
Finally on exactly three and a half months from the day I discovered the Transponder we told the world about its discovery and that the first pair was in place already, transporting people from Delhi to Mumbai. The whole world immediately went into an euphoric cheer that I witnessed from my drawing room on the TV. They were calling me the greatest scientist ever borne.
I was invited to conferences, made a fellow of every scientific society on the planet, and nominated for the Nobel Prize that everybody knew I was sure to get. Every detail about my past was dug up and people read about my boring life as if it was the most interesting thing in the world. I had found the fame I had longed for, but I wasn’t excited. All I wanted to do was go back to the quite and peaceful days when I was still unknown.
The government had already taken a patent on the Transponder on my name, and was charging other countries colossal sums to sell them Transponder units. They kept the units on short supply, and put other countries on allocation, nudging up the price further, and ensuring that no country got enough units to effect its economy badly.
Inside our country laboratories were being established and scientists worked relentlessly on perfecting arms and ammunition. The army started a recruitment program on war footing, and soon new training camps sprung up all over India, filled with excited new recruits.
With exclusive rights to the Transponder, the government’s clout in the world politics went up sharply, no country wanted its supply of Transponder units suddenly stopped, so no one objected even when the government started purchasing weapons and war machines by the thousands. Several countries even offered to supply arms in exchange for the transponder units.
In a very short while, the government had the largest and the best-equipped army of the world, we had guns from Israel, rockets from China, submarines from Russia, tanks from Germany and fighter planes from USA. The world had given the instruments of its own defeat willingly.
***
It was 12 months from the invention of Transponder, we were sitting in an emergency meeting called by the Prime Minister. The cast was same as earlier, me, the general, the economist and Prakash Mittal. Only the Prime Minister spoke.
“Gentlemen, the time has come. We have reached the culmination point of all our efforts. As I speak our soldiers are busy pulling a coup in 23 leading nation of the world, if everything goes according to the plan, we will have achieved the biggest political coup of the world with virtually no bloodshed.”
“What? But how?” I was truly astonished at the pace with which things were moving.
Everyone in the room smiled, then the Prime Minister spoke again. “It was easy Ron, in every Transponder unit around the world, we have installed a tiny component that monitors and regulates traffic so we know where each Transponder unit is. I had earlier taken the liberty of gifting each leader of the world his very own personal Transponder unit, and right now our soldiers are arriving at target destinations using the locations of very same Transponders as co-ordinates.” The Prime Minister looked at his watch. “We should be getting a detailed report in exactly five minutes.”
“So this is where it all ends.” I said.
“No Ron actually, this is where it all begins.” Said the Prime Minister.
The next five minutes were spent in absolute silence, broken occasionally when one of the men shuffled in his chair. The Prime Minister sat with his hands placed palm down on the table, concentrating on his fingernails. I was bursting to speak, but the silence choked the words in my throat.
Suddenly a door opened and the Prime Minister looked up. “General Bedi, what news have you brought.” The General walked inside, he was a tall, muscular man, with an impressive personality. You could tell he belonged to the army with a single look at him.
“Our mission is partly successful sir, all nations except three have surrendered, and we will be going to war with them. I have already set the forces on alert, we have the surprise on our side, it shouldn’t be a long war.”
“I am glad to hear that, take extreme precautions General, if we make a mistake, we will have to pay dearly.”
“We will make it sir, we are prepared for this moment.” He paused for a moment. “The nukes are deployed and waiting for your orders sir.”
“Nukes? Did you say nukes?” A nuclear attack was the last thing I could wish for in this war.
The Prime Minister turned to General Bedi as if he had heard nothing, “You may go ahead with the plan General.”
The General saluted smartly and left the room. I lost my voice for a little while, and when it came out it was only a croak. “What are you going to do.”
“Just making sure we are not defeated.”
“You will not drop the nukes will you?”
“I am sorry Ron, but this is the way it has to be. We are going to nuke Islamabad, and some nuclear sites of Pakistan.”
“What? You can’t do this you monster, you will kill millions of people.” I was too angry to control myself.
Everyone in the room looked at me with a horrified expression but nobody spoke. The PM looked hurt, he sighed and began “I am not a monster Ron. These nukes have very small payloads, just enough to wipe out the targets. I am afraid some people will die, but we will save a lot of other people who would have died later if we didn’t do this.”
“But why nuke?”
“Consider this life insurance Ron. Only 8 countries in the world have nuclear weapons and everybody is aware of the terrible destruction that a nuke can cause. By using our nukes we would show the world that we are prepared to go to any extent, this will at least frighten the smaller countries into submission.”
“I don’t agree with your reasons. Nukes are too dangerous to be used, even in a war situation. I demand that you stop this immediately, like right now.” I stood up and shouted at the top of my voice.
Nobody seemed to agree with me.
***
They’ve placed me under arrest. I am not allowed to go out or meet anyone, but they’ve allowed me access to the newspaper and the TV. Now I am only a mute spectator to the ongoing drama.
Our nukes killed thousands of people, but they achieved the Prime Minister’s objectives only partly. Several countries surrendered when threatened with a nuke, Russia joined us as an ally willingly when told of the purpose, and we managed to capture nuclear sites of all other countries using the Transponder to beam soldiers directly to them, but several countries became even more determined to struggle against what they termed neo-imperialism.
With our large army and weapons the soldiers are advancing slowly, capturing new lands as they reach them, but it’s taking time, more time than the government expected. Meanwhile resisting aircrafts bomb India daily, some come even as far as New Delhi, but they return defeated every time, for the army uses the Transponders to beam soldiers directly into the aircrafts, who destroy them, or worse capture them and use them against the enemy itself.
The Transponders units sold to the rest of the world have stopped working, tipping the scales on our side, the enemy never knows when a group of soldiers will materialize out of the thin air and blast them to pieces, they live in terror.
Yes, we are winning this war, but the prize is not what we wanted. By the time we finish this war, the world will be a broken place, filled with zombies who will live in fear, without a shred of hope or optimism in their heart. It will be a long time before anybody even thinks of progress in this place.
The resisting forces call the transponder ‘Mankind’s Last Invention’ for it is their belief that by the end of this war there will be no men left to invent anything. I am content to be a prisoner. It is a price that I am willing to pay for doing what I did.

I’ve been too busy to write on the blog of late. With launches of the new blogvani and codebix.com and work to do on astrobix.com I couldn’t get any time for the blog.

All I’ve been writing of late are book reviews anyhow. So just to keep the record straight and lest you think I haven’t been reading any book, here’s a list of book’s I’ve read while I was away minding my own business the last month.

1. On Intelligence by Jeff Hawkins – Awesome book if you are interested in learning how the brain works on a scientific level. I am enthused by Jeff’s drive to develop true AI. The book also gave me really beautiful insight into what intelligence really is and how the classic Turing’s test is so unequipped to define machine intelligence.

This is definitely a recommended book for you if you have a natural, in-born interest for all things science.

2. Microtrends by Mark Penn – Well, this book was overhyped. I’ve read better books on the topic. Maybe if I hadn’t read them earlier I’d be impressed. I found it very similar to books like Freakonomics, Tipping Point, et al.

3. Superfreakonomics – You’d think that an awesome book like Freakonomics would spawn an acceptable sequel, but nah. Superfreakonomics begins with that classic American insult they have created for the rest of the world. First it was the Japanese, then Chinese and now it’s the Indians who have small penises. Yeah, that’s the result of all that awesome ‘economics’ research done by the guys who wrote Superfreakonomics. I’ve quickly forgotten the authors’ name, but I imagine they would be a bunch of ol’ American Yanks who think Texas is the dominant country on the planet. Yah!

4. Revolt in 2010 & Methuselah’s Children – That’s one book not two. But actually they are two novellas bunched together. The stories are quite different even though the events are connected. I guess this is the beginning of R A Heinlein’s Future History series which is so loved. It’s good.

5. Time Enough for Love – Again by R A Heinlein. I am still reading it.

Hmm… Are they all? Well, these are all the new books I’ve read. I re-read some of the old ones while I was waiting for the new books to be delivered.

The next book I have waiting in line is Revolutionary Wealth by Alvin Toeffler. I read Future Shock and The Third Wave from him earlier and was much impressed. This ought to be good. And yeah, coming in some days is The Door Into The Summer by R A Heinlein.

Wow. Good reading.

Farnham’s Freehold from Robert A Heinlein has upset me a little. Robert Heinlein finds it very hard to be uncontroversial I guess. He apparently wrote every book with a mission to show a different and not necessarily beautiful facet of this world.

It says on the cover of this book that it is science-fiction’s ‘Most controversial novel’. Most controversial? I don’t think it deserves that title, there have been others with more dangerous themes. But it certainly would have been very controversial in the 60s when it was written. But I think it was controversial for all the wrong reasons.

Back in the 60s when the black people of America had only just gained a better standing in the society, a novel like Farnham’s Freehold which turns racism head-over-heels would certainly cause a ruckus. After all which white person could come to terms with a society of black rulers who have mindless white slaves who they consider animals and have doctors called ‘vets’ to treat them. Heinlein’s concoction was a slap on the face to white-supremacists. It was a mirror of the most ugly sorts showing them what they were by exaggerating the treatment they mete out to blacks, only this time the recipients were white.

So it was controversial and it had more than a few people fuming and damning. But that’s not what got my goose. Living in India and in this millennia, I am a bit immune to color-racism, but living in India there is a different picture of family that I have. I think people totally missed that point. They totally didn’t bring family into picture when they struck up a controversy. The family portrayed in Heinlein’s book is more than dysfunctional, it’s a victim. It’s a victim of an overbearing, ego-maniacal, paranoid father figure who apparently doesn’t give a damn about the rest of the people in the family even though he pretends to think that he does. That guy is also the book’s protagonist.

Only in a Heinlein book can a protagonist be so vile, disgusting, selfish, uncaring, and totally get away with it. I didn’t feel much sympathy for the lead in the novel at all even though Heinlein made an effort to make him seem fair and just in many places. But that’s a useless sort of a complain, because why should anyone expect any lead character of any book to be a moral example?

Leaving the characters be, the most interesting aspect of the book is how it compares the contemporary civilization with a possible future, and how the customs and rituals of the imaginary civilization seem so horrific while our own savage and unfair practices can be easily ignored.

Going back two thousand years we are appalled at the savagery of human civilization. Heinlein makes you appalled at the savagery two thousand years on, while the people in the future of Heinlein’s book are just as appalled at ours.

I received ‘The Orphans of the Sky’ by R A Heinlein yesterday. The book is pretty small, pocket-book sized. It didn’t take me long to finish it off again. Again because I have read it once earlier a long time ago and didn’t remember the title so I ordered it again.

I am left with a deep sense of dissatisfaction not because the book was not good, but because I could remember the story before it unfolded and by ordering a book that I had already read earlier I missed reading a fresh Heinlein book. But on to the review:

The book is about a giant spaceship that has set sail for a distant star. It’s apparently a slower than light generations ship because too many years have passed. The residents of the ship have forgotten their origins and believe the ship is the entire world. Operating the ship has become a religion and the society has re-structured itself in accordance. The manuals of the ship’s operation are relics of the past, and hardly anybody understands physics anymore.

Adding to the complexities is a bunch of human beings mutated by radiation who’re outcasts from the society and live hiding in the unexplored areas of the ship. The story is about how one man discovers the truth and prods others to accept and take the ship to its destiny. He is not a politician unfortunately and fails in the game of power. He and some of his friends make it to a habitable planet, but most of the other residents of the ship are still ‘making the trip’.

This is an adventure story by Heinlein, but yet again the book reminded me of the Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy. It’s humorous only in parts, but the character Joe-Jim, a two-headed mutant of the story is quite like ‘Zaphod’ of Hitch-hiker’s guide to the galaxy. It is easy to see that Douglas Adams did base Zaphod on Joe-Jim. Zaphod has the same disrespect for others and disproportionate sense of self-worth just like Joe-Jim.

Heinlein has been inspiration to too many people. I can be no exception. I am a big fan of Heinlein’s writing style and I guess I’ve consciously or unconsciously used that style in my own writing. But more than that not a long time ago I had begun writing a fresh story that I called ‘Savants All’, which was also about a bunch of people who are trying to make a similar long journey, but they are immortal humans. The story was about their expectations, disappointments, a trip back home, and a war that was on a brink of being lost. I haven’t finished that story yet. But I hope I will one day.

I’ve been developing packaged software for most of my working life, my transition to web was late but it seems permanent because I am enjoying web development like I’ve never enjoyed it before. Thanks in parts to ASP.Net MVC that finally allowed me to take web development seriously.

Coming from the packaged application world, one difference I am enjoying very much is that a website gives a developer much more flexibility than a packaged app does. If I find a bug I can fix it now and all my users are updated immediately. I can take a website online earlier and allow the initial users to beta test it for me, telling me what’s wrong so that I can fix it.

In packaged software once you ship you’re done. At least for a while. Testing is a tougher job, and shipping is even tougher with all those installation issues that crop up. Updating the app is also very difficult and you’ve got to make it opt-in. It’s also costlier. On the Internet users expect to upgrade and flow with the changes but not on the desktop.

As a developer I find the net a more liberating platform because it puts me in control. Of course there’s a heightened security risk to take care of but there’s no piracy!

I’ve found myself working, improving, fixing web applications that I made a year ago, and I can immediately bring the fix online. That way it seems that a website application project seems to have no end in the development cycle. Which is not only fun, but keeps people like me in demand.

I’ve heard it said by other (older and more experienced programmers) that after a few years a majority of programmers end up becoming quirky in some way or the other. It’s supposed to be a phenomenon of sorts. Today I am at home working on my new project and I am desperately looking for a diary and pen. I just realized that’s my odd programming quirk. I have a compelling need to make a list and write down exactly what my micro-goal is before I can start programming.

Every morning when I get to the office I go to a new page in my notebook, put down the date and make a serialized list of all the programming objectives I want to achieve in the day. Then as I finish each I tick them off. Most days I am not able to finish all the items in the list, but the days I am, I feel high. If I run out in the middle of the day like I did today, I have to note down the fresh item before I can start working on it. Mind you it has to be on a notebook with a pen and not on the computer. I’ve tried to keep lists on the computer and never succeeded.

I guess it must have started as an organizing habit with me trying to set goals for the day. I don’t know when it became a compulsion.

So I ran out of the things I want to do this evening at office and at home I have to look at my project and decide what I want to do next. I find myself hunting for a pen and a notebook and suddenly I realize that it doesn’t make any sense. So I tried to start programming without noting down and I just can’t begin. I can’t decide what I want to work on now. I’ve been meandering around my UI and code for 20 minutes taking out time to check mail and a couple of websites in the middle. And now I am writing this post just so I can put in black-and-white what my compulsion is so that I will know and try to correct it. I will make an attempt later.

Right now I need to find a pen and a notebook so that I can get it down and start working.

Are you tired of seeing Robert Heinlein books reviews from me yet? Well, let me apologize now, but it’s not going to stop for quite a while. You see R A Heinelein wrote a lot of books, and I am not quitting until I’ve read the last one.

Not that I haven’t been reading other stuff. I also read half of The Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas Friedman, but I misplaced the copy in my home, and the jungle of books that I have, I can’t find it for the life of me. So I won’t be writing a review until i find the copy.

Meanwhile, here’s a double Heinlein treat for you:

Double Star by Robert Heinlein

I’ve said it before that Heinlein does not deal with the science of physics, but rather the science of the society and the person. Double Star deals with the latter. It’s a mind-scan of Lorenzo Smythe, an out of work actor who is hired/coerced to impersonate an out of action political figure.

Lorenzo is not your usual ham, he was trained to be a real ‘trouper’ by his now dead dad who wouldn’t have anything less than perfection from Lorenzo.

So Lorenzo might hate politics, have no respect for the policies of Bornforte and be an all-out xenophobe, yet when he begins to act like Bornforte, he becomes Bornforte. It becomes his best performance yet, and eventually he cannot distinguish his own self anymore.

The novel’s catchline says “Every stand-in dreamed of the starring role – but what actor would risk his life for the chance?”

Lorenzo risks his life and he does not lose it, but Lorenzo dies. Being Bornforte does not leave any room to be Lorenzo.

All through this book Lorenzo speaks out to you. You learn about his thoughts, motives, drives, passions, fears. It’s a most beautifully done first-person narrative, and the character is a treat. Of course Heinlein doesn’t leave politics alone either. The Martians or Venusians that humans are reluctant to award equal status to can be taken as a metaphor for a lot of things. The new District 9 is not any better at this.

Tunnel in the sky by Robert Heinlein

I am yet to be bored by Heinlein. I read Double Star within 24 hours of acquiring it and Tunnel in the sky within 18 hours of reading Double Star.

Tunnel in the sky is about Rod Walker, a teenager in a normally defunct family (now don’t ask me what that means) who is thought of not having what it takes to make it in a world which is all about adventure and seeking a life in new challenging planets.

In a high-school survival test Rod Walker is marooned on a distant planet full of unknown dangers and threatening beasts. His aim was to survive for only a week, but when the expected recall-signal fails to arrive Rod realizes he will be there forever.

The story describes how Rod survives, and helps many others also there for the test to survive. He learns to share, lead, follow, build, destroy, challenge, fight and give up. He plays his part in building a community that’s savage in their daily-routine but humane in their hearts.

He becomes the leader of that community and witnesses marriages, deaths and births. The group learns to survive major challenges and eventually reconcile themselves to their new lives, learning how to enjoy it. That’s when the rescue party arrives. But Rod doesn’t feel he can go home any more.

Civilization isn’t built in a day, and it certainly doesn’t evolve the way shown in Tunnel in the sky, but it takes people who sacrifice an innovate. The kind of people who are in this book.

The micro-society in the book is no different than a nation. Each individual can be related to a certain force working in our own society. Reading about how they work together and against each other in the book gives you a look at how our own world gets by.

This is certainly a book worth recommending though it gets a bit repetitive in the middle. You expect more action than there is. Heinlein also lets an important thread  (of the planet’s extinct civilization) unexplored which is very disappointing for a reader like me.

–

I’ve already ordered 2 more books from flipkart.com and they should be arriving in 2 weeks. It’s not a short wait for a book-crazy-maniac like  me but I think I ought to wait cause it certainly isn’t a good idea to spend all my money in a go buying all the books at once. Let me go broke one book at a time.

Meanwhile I’ve also read bits from The Clash of Civilizations And Remaking of The World Order by Samuel Harrington but I think The Lexus and the Olive Tree was a better book on the same topic. I ought to find it and finish it.

When you get an unlimited internet connection from Airtel don’t forget to read the fine print. The plan is not actually unlimited the way you expect it to.

Airtel has introduced a ‘Fair Usage Policy’ which is very unfair to its customers. Under this policy a buyer who’s got a 1 MBPS connection (paying Rs. 1699 for it every month) is only allowed to use up to 20 GBs in a month. If the usage goes above it the buyer’s Internet speed is degraded to 512 KBPS. On the 2 MBPS connection too the limit is the same 20 GBs.

20 GBs? Ridiculous! Someone with a 2 MBPS connection can download 20 GBs in 3 days. They have the audacity to call it ‘Fair Use’!

Fair use for who? For Airtel who doesn’t care a fig for its customers anymore in a bid to maximize their profits?

Well, it’s not going to work for long. The first chance I get I am going to migrate to an Internet connection that is not so limiting.

Another company Tata Indicom has caught up on the fair use nonsense too. They told me that the fair use for the Internet connection was 20 GBs, when I asked them what would they do after I crossed 20 GBs they were unclear. ‘Send you a SMS’. Umm.. How’s that making sense? Every time you send me a SMS I get a shooting pain through my leg? Or you want to remind me of bad Karma that I am doing, crossing your fair use limits?

Well, it’s moronic policies like these which introduce fresh competition into the market.

So I am looking for an ISP with an ounce of sense.

What would you do if you won a spacesuit in a contest? Wear it in your backyard of course, and then be kidnapped by an alien spacecraft and visit the Moon, Pluto another star and then another galaxy. Sounds like some adventure eh? And what if you could come back from all that in a few weeks time. That’s what Russ does in Heinlein’s epic tale that spans distances that the human mind will break down before imagining.

This is the kind of work that books like Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy are inspired from. Of course HGTTG is much more awesome. After all, Arther Dent just needed his bath-towel robe and multiple strokes of luck to save the galaxy, while it took Russ a spacesuit, a near genius IQ and an ultra-sharp survival instinct to fight off the aliens.

This book strongly reminded me of Douglas Adams’ HGTTG (which was written much later incidentally, and on a bigger scale). It had the same irreverent humor in tough situations. Delightful characters who were a treat to watch. Aliens that managed to be both bumbling and frightful at the same time and a journey that’s beyond anything you’d ever expect.

Heinlein set the bar when he takes you the Magellanic Cloud at the Federation of the Three Galaxies at the meeting of the Security Council which is going to judge whether to kill all humanity by putting to trial on behalf of our race: a Neanderthal man, a Roman Centurion, A high-school pass out boy, and a thirteen year old girl.

Awesome!

This could only be upped by something like The Restaurant at the End of Time.

So like I said this was a wholly enjoyable read which is evident from the fact that I got this book yesterday night and I am through with it today night between Work, food, bath and family.

This is a great book and everyone who is interested in quality space humor should own a copy.

Oh, and the next time you go out into the backyard decked in your space-suit, don’t call on Radio for an imaginary person called ‘Peewee’, no telling who might pick you up.

Reading Heinlein’s astounding science fiction I never thought about how long ago it really was when he wrote them. Reading this book reminded me.

The first and the last manned moon mission till date was in 1969 and over 30 years later we have yet to send human beings to Moon or to any other planetary body of consequence. All the money that should have gone into space research has been eaten by weapons development program, and – television.

The book ‘The Man Who Sold The Moon’ is about one man’s dream to reach the moon and how he makes the journey possible and ultimately fulfills his dream. The story is about the last ‘robber baron’ businessman or maybe the first of the ‘new robber barons’, an individual who can do anything legal or slightly illegal as long as he achieves the end he believes in. The end justifies the means wholly in this book from Heinlein.

The Man Who Sold The Moon is set in the 1950s, the past. The cliched conscience-less businessman was as alive then as he is now. But in Heinlein’s book his purpose is higher, sort of like Arjun in the Bhagvad Geeta.

The Man who sold the Moon is actually a Novella and a short story. The central character is the same, but the stories are set decades apart. In the second story the lead character’s initial excursion to the Moon caused rapid advancements in spaceship technology and humanity fulfilled the dream of establishing a colony on Moon. It’s a dream that still eludes us, and today the number of people who believe we will make it to outer-space are lesser than what they were 50 years ago.

It’s a shame because Heinlein has a splendid vision for the future, and we find ourselves unable to live it.