Day 27 : Temporal Paradox

A temporal paradox, time paradox, or time travel paradox is a paradox, an apparent contradiction, or a logical contradiction that is associated with the idea of time and time travel.

And this is something that has been around for as long as we've had science fiction. Some of the best grossing movies of all time are based on time travel. Most of them end up the same way. How all our attempts to change the present only causes the past to repeat itself. Take 11.22.63 for example, both the book and the new TV show. It is like a cautionary tale for any nerd who dreams of travelling to the past and change it. It does have an brilliant ending though, will make you weep.

Time travel does that all the time apparently. Every single story they've written around it has ended with mourning and bitter disappointment. Including this week's Game of Thrones episode, which has got everyone weeping rivers of tears.

There is thing called causal loop. Doctor Who goes on and on about it a bunch of times. It is inevitable. You see your present is built by your past. So if you go to the past and change something to benefit your future, the present as you knew it doesn't exist any more. It becomes something else, something unforeseen. There are a lot different variations of this, the grandfather paradox, Novikov self-consistency principle. I confess I've only spent a little over a weekend on them. But I think I have learnt enough to say this much, this is way too complicated. There is no real way to just go in change what we want to and not mess shit up. 

Damn. That episode though. right in the guts. I remember right from the beginning in both books and show, everyone asking why Hodor used that one word for everything. Now we know. Because this wise-ass Bran went back in time used his mind of the past to get to his mind in the present to execute his will. Well the needle got stuck at 'Hold the door' which became Hodor, the only word the kid would ever know. And this is how people would know him in future, including Bran.

Paradox.

Your past crafts your present which is a stepping stone into your future. Things has to go through a series of specific sequence of events and actions. That is how things got to way things are now, and how things will turn in the future. Even a little deviation in those events are going to change a lot of things as we know it. People are trying to figure out a way out of this loop for ages. No progress yet. End of story.


There. We have just solved Time Travel. Pfft.

Day 21 : The Martian Chronicles - Book Review

The sci-fi world is field with a lot of absurd stories. Most of them tacky and campy filled with plot holes the size of the Grand Canyon. But some times along the way comes a book that is filled such character and gumption that no matter how much you'd like to be the cynic, you still end up being mesmerized by the sheer scope of the book.

And Ray Bradbury with this pint sized masterpiece achieves the improbable. He will make you believe that at the core of science fiction, lies true humanity with all of its foibles.

I am a big fan of the Twilight Zone show. And this book really reads like something like that show. It is sort of an anthology series that is set like a chronicles of the events that occur on the red planet since the first landing of humans from planet Earth. As each landing progresses and more men land on the new planet, we see changes occur on Mars. And as in Earth, the home specie dwindles and dies away as it is on our own planet when man takes over new landmass. We take over and destroy everything strange to us of the conquered.

Mars is described to be inhabited by a very intelligent and cerebral specie that lives in harmony with nature and enjoys the mellow life. For your reference purpose, remember the Na'vi people from the Avatar movie. (Bradbury did it first.) The couple chapter of man's visit to Mars did not end well for men. But then the Martian's were the big dog during that time. And they shared the sense of ownership with our specie. But loss of those first visitor's didn't stop naive Earthlings to put an end to attempting to colonize the new planet. As the new visits became more frequent, the home specie's population started to dwindle. The cause, a stupid strange disease brought over by the Earthlings and their rockets. A disease that has been found a cure for decades ago by scientists on Earth. But for Martians it proved deadly, rendering most of cities planet dead or dying.

The sudden demise of the Martian race, brought forth heightened influx of Human expeditions into Mars. Around this time is one of my favorite chapter in the book. The protagonist, Spender, is a archaeologist who lands along with a crew of assorted pricks who starts messing up the serenity of the Martian wastelands. He doesn't like it, wanders off into the barrens finds a dead city with a house with a huge collection of Martian books and arts. He starts learning more about their culture and discovers new respect for them. And doesn't like the idea of mankind coming over to this planet and destroying everything with their mining and other corporate interests. He plots a plan to delay the mining expeditions by a few decades till the scientists and archaeologists get a chance to research and learn more about the Martian's history. Captain Wilder, their leader, is the only who understands his plight. But even he cannot let Spender have his way, and he himself cannot name a single reason why he shouldn't. All he knows is that's what is expected of him..

There is a lot many more incidents and events detailed out in this book. Until the very end, in the year 2026, Earth is nothing more than planet torn and shredded with war and atomic bombs. Human specie is only a handful. Martian specie is all but forgotten. Mankind and humanity just words in books.

This is basically a cautionary tale about the progress of science and how mankind's conscience would not ever catch up with the developments in science. Love, hate, memory, greed, hunger, envy, distrust, all are very much deep rooted into our souls. And until we ever get around to discover a means to live in harmony amongst ourselves. There is no hope for us to live amongst other races in other planets.

I do hope we do figure it all out. I sure would love to visit Mars, if that is possible one day. I hear sandboarding is going to be real fun down there.

Day 32 : Goodness v/s Hal 9000

Of late I've become more conscious of the concentration Sci-Fi genre in pop culture. It always there yes, but mainly was cornered in a handful of bookshelves in a niche store. Now they are mainstream - Interstellar to name recent entry to this category – and encouraging a lot more cerebral discussions over the whole final frontier adventures. 

Science fiction consists of spaceships, astronauts, unknown planets in strange galaxies habituated with people who are in a lot many ways different from us. In the earlier works, I've only read a few I confess, mostly contained the alien race having limbs and bodies like ours; only they were infinitely advanced than us both psychologically and technologically. The later works, Avatar as an example, brought the hive-mind, or specie made of light or specie that is pure oxygen with no limbs as such. All these beings are a strong race and we were the weaker ones. They were the dominant ones, we were either subservient or defiant. In some books that started off all lovey-dovey between the races, the our tendency of greed and manipulation comes into action and thus spoil all the fun for the rest of mankind. There inevitably is a war in almost all of these books.

This movie still gives me the goosebumps

But there is also one thing common in these books. Our belief for the unknown, and our distrust in our own self. We are so convinced of the evil in each human being that writing a book without it showing up is a treason of sorts. There is always a character like Matt Damon's, or the Hal 9000, who comes in with an animalistic hunger for survival or the old familiar combination of greed and ego an causes the cause the conflicts in the story. Goes to show how much high regard he hold for our own specie.

This guy slyly lays out his master plan, the hero plays right into his trap, there is a grand battle between them, the villain almost wins and starts his victory speech; without his knowing that the hero is back on his feet and ready to kick his butt to smithereens. Happens every time. Most often the thing that gives strength to the hero is also something that is essentially a humane trait - like friendship, courage, love, faith, kindness.

You see, no matter how many times these books or movies bash humanity for its pithy ego, greed, spite and lechery; they always come back to our own basic emotions to be named as the savior of the day. Because in the end, we all want to believe that the good in us will conquer all evil. No matter how tough the urge is do harm, our tendency to care for our fellow brethren will overcome. 

I believe this faith that we have in each other is one the main reasons that we have survived for as long as we have on this planet. There have been innumerable evil and vile tragedies around the world, still happening, but our capacity to care for each other has helped us through it all. A few bad apples did not make the whole basket rotten.

Today, "Despite everything, I believe that people are really good at heart."