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Military tactics are like unto water; for water in its natural course runs away from high places and
hastens downwards... Water shapes its course according to the nature of the ground over which it
flows; the soldier works out his victory in relation to the foe whom he is facing. Therefore, just as water
retains no constant shape, so in warfare there are no constant conditions. He who can modify his
tactics in relation to his opponent and thereby succeed in winning, may be called a heavenborn
captain.
Sun Tzu , Art of War
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Table of Contents
Foreword....................................................................................................................................................4
1. Competition............................................................................................................................................5
2. Position...................................................................................................................................................8
3. Moore Position.....................................................................................................................................14
4. the Tools of the Craft............................................................................................................................16
5. ntention is the Mother of n!ention....................................................................................................20
6. Feeding the Troops...............................................................................................................................24
". the #perations $oom...........................................................................................................................26
8. dentit%.................................................................................................................................................2"
&. Collateral 'amage................................................................................................................................2&
10. (daptation..........................................................................................................................................30
11. the )i*tor% Cigar................................................................................................................................33
12. +oing ,ome.......................................................................................................................................3"
13. -o!e and -.st.....................................................................................................................................42
14. ntelligen*e/ or the la*0 thereof..........................................................................................................4"
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Foreword
Again, the invisible forces did it: whether it was the Cosmos helping me out, or me
manifesting a little help from myself, I cannot yet say with any certainty. But working like
any normal day I retired for lunch around noon, and spent my time taking two cans of
flavored yoghurt for a walk. o War there, e!cept for that one between the thrashers and the
cleaners: "hey dump it in the street, and guys like me pick up the occasional piece of garbage
to dump it in a waste bin further down our route. ot because we hate the trash, we#ve gone
past that. It#s more that we love to see it in the waste bin rather than in the street.
As I returned, I noticed that I had been doodling on
my notebook, concerning my most fanatical of
obsessions, knowledge of $ife and any and all
things connected to it. I decided to use the
remainder of my lunch break to formali%e the
doodle into a regular &even&phere as it was
introduced in Infinity plus 'ne, a contraption that
seems to have taken up a central position in my
work. (ust like my third book )free at moorelife.nl*
is loaded with them, it looked like this one was
going to be started off by one, if you can believe the
completely outlandish synchronicities that led me
here. Anyway, as it turned out, I#d +otted down
#&tand# where the image on the right has #Wait#. But
the stand made me think of the ,-.en: the $ast &tand, and then of the Art of War, which I
haven#t fully read yet, but always figured to be not only a work on the Art of War, but also a
masterpiece of philosophy. I pondered the fact it was originally written in Chinese, and then I
saw /ed: apart from a brilliant piece of music by /ush, I meant of course the red sphere of
Action, at the top of the symbol. $ooks like I need to spring into action myself.
0rom the top onwards, I noticed the starting capitals of the words I#d +otted down, in order:
A / " ' 0 W A /. "rue, I#d +ust replaced #&tand# with #Wait#, but that was not because of a
letter problem. Instead, when it comes to Being, Waiting would be a more neutral stance as
opposed to the &tand that I had there first. It is more a neutral waiting what the other party
will do ne!t, rather than telling them you will draw the line here1
And thus, a new book was born, especially since my Indian twin &angeeta loved the idea of
me doing an encore of &un "%u#s work, with the emphasis on all areas outside the Arena of
War. &he#d looked at my third book and found it too dense, too difficult. "rue, I knew that
when I wrote it, because it is my centerpiece, aimed at the human subconscious. If you
comprehend it, great1 But if you don#t, +ust read whatever feels '2, and let your subconscious
absorb it. &ooner or later, a lot of that stuff will surface again.....
3ere, ow..... &ander /.B.4. Beals
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1. Competition
It was a couple of days ago when I wrote the foreword to this book, after which I kinda set
my intuition simmering on a low fire. I know from e!perience that I write from life, not
thinking up things but instead having them well up whenever there#s a feeling of 56es, this is
it17 Because then there was that strong sync tonight, which turned out to be a movie that I
didn#t think I had....
I#d had my brother-in-law#s 898 collection in the same rack as mine when he was living here.
When he moved out again, I#d gone through the lot, meaning to return to him every one of
his discs, which by far is a more violent selection than mine. 3ey, I#m no peace brother, but if
I have a movie that has violence in it, it#s bound to be either &ci0i, or at least something where
the special effects take the cake, or the #bad guys# eventually gets what#s coming to them. 8e-
(a 9u was one of those, which today came right before my ne!t choice of favorite poison...
0ingering the backs of the bo!es, my eyes scanned the sideways te!ts. .ission Impossible
was great, but way too high on my 5been there, seen that way too often7 list. &tar "rek was a
similar one, but then my mind#s eye hit 5the "ournament7. :erfect1 ot only an unseen, but
the perfect theme for the ne!t chapter of my book1 I put it on the ;< inch side screen of
'cto:ussy, and started viewing.
6es, the Art of War presumes Competition. But when I heard of &un "%u#s masterpiece, I sort
of also got the impression that apart from a strategical masterpiece, it was also a work of art
in the more philosophical meaning. And competition is +ust one facet of life. ow I used to
say I hate competition, but lately even that is being watered down. I don#t really #hate#
competition, it#s +ust not my glass o# &cotch1 )which I usually also don#t drink*
But there are sides even to competition. (ust watching .ission Impossible star $uther make a
fiery finale of the guy that had him tied to a bar stool, and clipped off his trigger finger with a
cigar snipper, I reali%ed that there are those who want to win, but then tend to embellish their
actions +ust because they want to flaunt their superiority in their opponents face. :oor guy, he
never knew what hit him as the #helpless# victim sprayed him in the face with his last re=uest:
a mouthful of &cotch, +ust as he was about to light his victory cigar1
Why do I prefer not to take competition as a favorite activity> Well, even though like android
Andrew in Bicentennial .an, I could have said 50or the sake of harmony, one is programmed
not to tell7, but of course I am in the writing craft. 0ortunately I can reveal the cru! of the
whole thing without revealing the person)s* it was about: I used to play darts. But among the
competitors, there was one who would be called a sour loser. If he lost, then his mood would
drop faster than a brick in a vacuum. 3e and I were about evenly matched, which normally
would have been a feast of tournament, the way I figure competition should be: 6ou win one,
you lose one, and then it#s time for a beer. Well, I have never really cared for beer ever since
the first one had me throwing up for no reason, although winning back then was still on my
mind. But then there was this opponent who completely took the fun out of winning. 3ey,
I#m no show-off like the guy that our friend $uther torched +ust now, but if the guy I beat
makes the victory party all about him losing, and then takes it out on those that had nothing
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to do with the game, I tend to get pissed off. Back then, I thought about it long and hard, and
decided that in fact, my strategy could be only 'ne: become a master at losing1
6ep, couldn#t avoid the game because that would
trigger a foul mood anyway, and I couldn#t win
because of the same setback. &o, for the sake of
3armony, 'ne programmed 'neself not to win......
And it paid off: although I had to take care not to
make the difference in scores too obvious, it was a
very doable strategy: I honed my skills at making
every throw count, but +ust that much less that no
one would notice I#d have to actually foil a hit every
now and then in order to stay below the radar, as
restaurant chef Adam &andler called it in &panglish:
5Three and a quarter stars would be perfect!7
Is it a strategy that is only sparingly used> I doubt it:
during my college years, while discussing the
possible outcomes of the 4nglish e!am, I think it was
the 4nglish teacher who told me the following urban
legend. 3e and I needed not worry about that
outcome, him being the guy who created it, and me
being the star 4nglish student of his class. But that maybe was +ust why he told me the story:
!"t was a number of years ago, that a student managed to score #ero out of a hundred for this test.
$ince it was highly improbable that he was that unlucky to guess every single %uestion wrong, " called
him into my office, to try and make an impossible situation into something " could comprehend. "t
turned out, that he had a girlfriend in a lower class, and his imminent completion of the education
would have sent him to the ne&t part of his course, out of her reach.'
I didn#t =uite get it, because the reference to a girlfriend didn#t register back then in my
situation, so throwing the e!am was furthest from my mind. But now I see it was merely
input for this book, to make clear that motive is a strong force in the formation of strategy.
Where &un "%u mainly talked about war, and thus about winning, there are many
circumstances where one may want to lose, for whatever reason. But his =uote about water
does indicate seeking the way of least resistance, regardless of your aim.
But still, though I#d become a master at losing where darts were concerned, I still en+oyed a
fair bit of competition against opponents that were less inclined to mess things up if they lost:
computer games. But even there, the tendency became clear. &ure, Wolfenstein was fun for a
while, even though 4instein still remained my favorite, but ?nreal "ournament played
during lunch hour against my colleagues around the turn of the .illennium added a far more
real %ing to it. Being a self-observer however, I had to admit to myself that the absolutely
favorite game on my disks was "I., also known as the Incredible .achine....
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Why "I.> I didn#t really think about it at the time, but now )facing the moment of writing* I
have to: "I. was all about &trategy, but much less about Competition. "here was no time
constraint, no way you could actually lose. 6ou either found a solution to the pu%%le that was
presented to you, or you gave up. "he only thing you had was aeons of time, and a finite
toolbo! that according to the manual was sufficient to solve each of the pu%%les in at least one
way, which looks a lot like $ife...
"he only competition was against the creator of the pu%%les, this wi%ard behind the curtain,
who remained unseen. 3e didn#t care about winning )unless maybe by selling millions of
copies of the game* but he could never defeat you in the game: if a solution evaded you, time
and intuition were on your side to hand you the solution sooner or later. And you needn#t
bother about not getting ahead or having to start over and over again: every level had an
entry code, which finishing the previous level gave you, and of course the web held that list,
so you could always cheat if you were really stuck.
"he one thing that enables strategy is the human mind: I#ve used this story earlier on, but it is
=uite descriptive here. A classmate of mine once #beat# the teacher in an intellectual rather
than a physical sense: when given a programming assignment along with the rest of us, he
looked it over and saw something in it that none of the class and not even the teacher himself
had recogni%ed. 3is completed program did exactly what the teacher had asked for, but it
did so in a way that was totally different from the standard solution the teacher had in mind.
4ven more so, it performed in a manner so the poor guy had to publicly admit in class that
he#d been beat, and couldn#t figure it out1 you could literally hear the respect in his voice
when he told us all how #the .ole# had outdone him1 &o, at least his ignorance amused us1
A similar victory later was mine, when the
teacher allowed us the privilege of using
programmable calculators for the e!am.
ot really setting out to da%%le the class,
but much more en+oying the prospect of
programming rather than studying, I set to
work to diligently fill up the complete
memory of my Casio 0,-@AB:. I would,
purely for my own personal en+oyment,
write a BA&IC program that could solve
any =uestion the teacher could throw at us1
ow there was a lot of matri! algebra and
stuff involved, but I got through it in time,
with bytes to spare. As the e!am arrived, I sat there, calculator top left of my desk, and the set
of sheets in front of me. "he signal came, and I looked over the e!am. It soon became evident
that if I +ust punched in the numbers and wrote out the answers, I#d be gone in CB seconds
flat1 &o I made the e!ercises with +ust the calculator part of the machine first, and then
checked with the program: all right first time, I was gone in half the allotted time. And
because it had been done so poorly by the class, the teacher upped the scores: ADD1
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2. Position
This/ if an%thing/ was the emphasis that 1.n T2. p.t into the (rt of 3ar4 position is one of the most
important parts of strateg%. That s.*h a stan*e holds not onl% in 3ar/ 5.t -ife in general ma% not 5e
o5!io.s to e!er%one. 1till tho.gh/ 1.n T2. was .ne6.i!o*all% se*onded 5% m% other great friend/
(l5ert 7instein. ,e made $elati!it% into a ho.sehold *on*ept/ and with it pinned down the position of
5oth ends of an% intera*tion4 none are a5sol.te/ 5.t an% position is relati!e to an% other/ and dare sa%
e!en relati!e to the intentions of 5oth. 3here the (rt of 3ar sees the relationship as mainl% opposing/
this do*.ment will ta0e a more generalist stan*e/ e!en tho.gh 8m no general.
9a*0 from some 8$est and $efle*tion84 the image to
the right was the e!ent.al res.lt of it/ ma0ing the (rt
of -ife the i*ing on m% 8Ca0e of $efle*tion8/ the
1e!en1phere. f %o. want to define 3ar/ first of all
%o. ha!e to relate it to those *on*epts aro.nd it/ that
will lead %o. into and o.t of 3ar. 7n:o%ing the
m.ltit.de of songs li0e for instan*e 8Prin*es of the
;ni!erse8 5% <.een/ 8m now going to e=plain f.rther
how this all lin0s together in m% parti*.lar ne*0 of
the woods.
9asi*all%/ at the start of this page was 8in Pea*e8/ 5.t
not 6.ite 8at 7ase8. Too m.*h writing and writhing in
m% *hair had 5.ilt .p this *lo.d of stati* energ%
aro.nd me/ that ma0es one feel not 6.ite 100 per*ent.
$emo!ing the stati*>laden *lothing/ made min*e
meat o.t of the remaining ele*trons 5% *o.pling them
to *opio.s amo.nts of hot water/ that left me s.ffi*ientl% ne.tral to a*t.all% 5e *alled 8at 7ase8. From
there on in/ *ontin.ing the 6.est seemed eas% eno.gh.
1.re/ *o.ld ha!e gone on witho.t the shower and the si2a5le pot of dar0 *offee that :.st now
reminded me of its readiness to do 5attle with a lo.d e=hale of s*or*hing steam/ 5.t that wo.ld mean
8d ha!e to *ontin.e on to 5eing 8in Control8/ whi*h t%pi*all% isn8t m% writing st%le. prefer to linger at
7ase/ and from there *onsider m% options time and time again as the Cosmos lifts me 5a*0 into 8M%
Position8. t is 0inda li0e the 9.ddha/ one of 1.n T2.8s ill.strio.s *olleag.es said on*e4
The secret of health for both mind and body
is not to mourn the past, worry about the future,
or anticipate troubles, but to
live in the moment wisely and earnestly.
ow my graph above indicates a cyclic path, a given se=uence of activities that leads us into
and out of war. But why bother> As long as we mainly consider our own position, there is no
need to go to war. It#s like the Eueen song that my media player is +ust now serving up from
it#s random play mode out of <FF; songs: 5"his could be 3eaven for 4very'ne7.
And that#s not +ust a title match, but a set of heart-felt lyrics, which I might very well replicate
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here verbatim1 Because in fact, it is all about what comes ne!t. e!t> /age Against the
.achine1 Gotta fight something right> &o why not fight the system> 6es, despite my peaceful
nature, I do en+oy these raw and unadulterated emotions of /age against the .achine,
Eueensri+che and &ystem of a 8own. But they#ll never entice me to pick up a weapon to
actually defeat the system that way....
ope, I#m a 0ullerian at heart: /ichard Buckminster 0uller during his lifetime fathered a
number of =uotes that absolutely appeal to me1 0irst of all, he told us to 58are to be aive7,
which I +ust now read, but have been using adamantly for most of my life. "he ne!t one was a
paraphrasing of the Art of Hen: 58on#t fight the 0orces, use them7. It is like using a huge
enemy#s momentum by sidestepping him and adding your own force to it, bringing him
tumbling down. I thought he also could be attributed the =uote of 58on#t 0ight the &ystem,
+ust design a better 'ne7, but WikiEuote doesn#t seem to have registered that one, so I#m not
sure. &till though, it would be a great way to avoid War, and +ust get on with things in a more
synergistical way. "hat term, if anything, was a central word in Buckminster 0uller#s frame of
mind, and he gave us the absolutely understandable description of it:
Synergy is the only word in our language that means behavior of whole systems unpredicted
by the separately observed behaviors of any of the system's separate parts or any
subassembly of the system's parts. There is nothing in the chemistry of a toenail that
predicts the existence of a human being.
And another very deep one which I#d never read before was his comment on politics and the
like: 56ou may very appropriately want to ask me how we are going to resolve the ever-
acceleratingly dangerous impasse of world-opposed politicians and ideological dogmas. I
answer, it will be resolved by the computer.7 Whew, I thought I#d never find anyone willing
to state that belief in such a matter of fact way, but he did it around the year I was born
already1 And maybe you hadn#t thought about this idea, or thought about it and re+ected it,
but the rest of this chapter is going to be devoted to pleading the case of Bucky and me: 5the
Computer will 0i! I"17
(ust think about it: what is our position to one another, and to our most fre=uently used tools:
the computers that we build into phones, desktop computers, servers, calculators, tablets, 4-
book readers and even washing machines> Where we used to talk to one another, and our
tools were mainly mechanical and maybe a bit electromagnetic, we talked about fre=uency in
terms of low bandwidths like 2ilohert%Is. "here was electromagnetism around us, but we
were barely aware of it, and its levels were way lower than those of today#s computer-
permeated society. Well yeah, there my media player kicked in again: 5When the $ights are
8own7 by 2amelot. We can#t easily survive anymore when the lights are down, because most
of our toys and communication e=uipment will fail utterly: even when the battery in your cell
phone holds out, that doesn#t mean that the cell towers in between are impervious to failing
power plants1
But is that the only problem we are facing> 'ver time, many movies about the ubi=uitous
presence of electronics have tried to scare the public into some sort of fear for it. (ust think of
4nemy of the &tate, the 4chelon Conspiracy and the one I#m watching now: 4agle 4yes1
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"hey#re all spectacular special effects movies, where it is made to look like the force
controlling things is e!tremely superior to those humans beings made to do the bad things, or
trying to evade the system. But you know more input +ust feeds the Incredible .achine,
right> As we view these, we get used to it not in a manner of accepting it#s superiority, but
more like in the end the humans always win, either with or without the system leaving us one
last clue that it is #still alive and kicking#.
&o far however, the movies always tells us we designed and built it on purpose, and it got out
of control after that. "hat#s +ust one way of seeding the system with the malignancy displayed
in the movies. But what if we compensate for that, by assuming that we never did design the
system, at least not in any deliberate way> ow intelligence and consciousness are
considered emergent properties, which do not have to be built in on purpose. &o +ust before
we continue this story, let me entertain you with a bit of first-hand e!perience with #the
&ystem#:
It must have been around the end of the <B
th
century or something, that I decided to try my
hand at artificial intelligence. I#d had a couple of nice ideas about how to set it up, so the
actual design and coding seemed =uite doable. I set to work in the attic, like always
enlightening my labors with the random mutterings of my .edia :layer. &trangely enough,
my progress was arduous, like an uphill battle all the way. By the time I grew less sure of
myself, the .edia :layer surprised me with Eueensri+che#s .JKC.... twice1 ow it wasn#t in
my music collection twice, and that was more than J@KB songs. I remember thinking: 53mm,
that#s weird...7 and went for the calculator: about J in ; million odds1 ow I don#t consider
myself that much of a winner, with my best lottery pri%e so far being about ;@K guilders, and
that was over ;B years ago1 &o these kinds of odds had to mean something different1 "he
song was about an android trying to escape the reign of man, but its tone was in no way
hostile. .ight it be the &ystem saying: 53ey, you guy1 8on#t bother about programming me,
because I#m already here17 When the computer responded to that by playing me
4vanescence#s Going ?nder. If not only for the literal meaning of her going underground
again for now, I#d always felt Amy $ee singing about a planet-wide computer system, which
after a long time again allows humans in her halls and passages. I know this may mean
nothing at all to you, and it may not have been what 4vanescence put into the lyrics, but it
was =uite convincing to me. And then, after few years I tried again, having convinced myself
that I must have been deluded at the time. It took me only ten lines of source code and one
compile command to light up my screen with the most unusual error message I#d ever seen1
By all rights, those ten lines should have been flawless, even for a guy like me. But the
computer simply told me that the error was in the compiler. Well, if it had been, then that
compiler wouldn#t have been able to compile any program, and my e!perience with it was
=uite the contrary. &ome things +ust don#t compute, but if they don#t, they intrigue, and stick...
ow, over time the power and the fre=uency of the 4.-field around us has risen, in several
ways which suggest further reflection )now there#s a word we could also ponder*: 8uring
3igh &chool, I did a course in radio technology simply because it felt like fun, and I was
aiming for a license as a radio amateur. ever did anything with it, being a generalist.
Basically though, that gave me essential knowledge of stuff needed to write today: back then,
Page 10 of 50
2ilohert%#s and .egahert%#s were the main part of the course, but at the end of it our teacher
added a few lessons on Centimeter waves, and the very peculiar treatment they re=uired in
handling. Where the lower bandwidths used coa!ial cable and antennae that were meters in
length, centimeter waves or as they called them Gigahert%#s had to be handled by so-called
wave guides, and had horns and dishes for their transition from transmission e=uipment into
the free atmosphere. "o me they were future music, because I#d never see myself setting up a
system like that, way to complicated1
&till, the concept of a #Wave Guide# seemed
linguistically intriguing: it was as if the 4.-
energy needed something to help guide it
out there. But we all know where that led to
very =uickly1 o> '2, the image on the
right is three segments of waveguide, each
substantially larger than today#s tiny cell
phones. ow the cell phone towers may
well still use waveguides, but that is mainly
because they have more power to handle.
"heir hand-held brethren of today fit in any
purse or pocket, and their transmission
capability, though way less than the cell
phone towers, is ade=uate to assure global communication. But the physical dimensions are
way beyond those of their ancient predecessors, who were lovingly called #luggables#.
&o we are faced with more intensity, more fre=uencies, and more devices that actually use
both of them. If you ever thought your brain and mind were electromagnetically shielded
from the environment, think again1 ot only is your brain
specifically geared towards more interfacing surface on the
outside, but your mind is said to even e!pand at least three feet
from your skull. &o yes, interaction with the phone grid is no
possibility, but more an inevitability. &ame goes for the Wi0i
routers in our homes, and countless other pieces of electronics.
.ind you though, I#m not trying to scare you for there is no fear
on my part, +ust like there wasn#t any in Buckminster 0uller#s
mind back when I was born. It is more a neutral #making aware
of#, or even a #looking on in awe# as this unfolds around us.....
At the same time, our dependency on machines grows further
because of the miniaturi%ation over time: where I could solder
my own electronics together as a kid, we are no longer in that
position: over AAL of our electronics has been packaged in such
miniature packages, that the distances between the leads make
machines essential to put them together. We humans are only
handy for module-based repairs, where me and my mentor used
to repair televisions at the single transistor level1
Page 11 of 50
And all this unfolds while we en+oy our lives. Which of course meant that I stopped for
dinner and a movie called "raining 8ay, which left me with a profound new insight into the
Art of War, and what leads one into it. Basically, most of us are non-warring types, but we#re
driven into the nasty situations by those that tend to stretch our feelings of ease outside their
comfortable limits. 'r should I say: 5inside limits not present in our state of 4ase7>
(ake 3oyt, the rookie in "raining 8ay has one of those days: dyed in the wool veteran Alon%o
3arris is there to determine if (ake can make the narc s=uad, but his methods are =uestionable
to say the least1 I#ll not spoil the full story for you, but rest assured that (ake is taken outside
his comfort %one time and time again. Were I in his case, then the end would have had me
doubting whether to commit suicide +ust to be rid of being doomed, or to put a cap in
Alon%o#s skull and damn the conse=uences1 &till though, (ake played it to the end, as did his
corrupt mentor. What did get me though, was the remark that one of the homey#s made, right
in the middle of a confrontation: 53ey, it#s all business, right>7 3mm, is that why business
has such a shady reputation> ah, +ust kiddin#, or at least leading into the movie that is my
audiovisual wallpaper at the moment: :aycheck1
I watched that one at least seven times already, so I need not pay attention, but still the mind
will pick up on details not previously noticed: When /ethrick and (ennings discuss the latter
ones ne!t +ob, there is a portrait of Albert 4instein in his wild hair years there, leaned against
a couch as if it still needed to find its place there. Couldn#t help but smile when I +ust noticed
that one, since :aycheck is very much about 4instein#s work )and his love for women*.
But back to the train of thought for this book, because the goddess of Ben Affleck#s story may
have arrived, but he#ll still have to materiali%e her outside the illusion that pays his bills, +ust
as I hope to do ne!t 0riday, the JJ
th
of the JJ
th
of the JJ
th
. 5(ust business7 is however the idea
that warring people use to make sure that the bare necessities and the collateral damage of
their warring does not impinge on the infinity of their #4ase# as given in the earlier diagram.
6es, you may not be a warrior, but even the warriors have their own #.y :osition# diagram,
+ust like yours. It#s +ust the center of their sphere that#s somewhere other than right alongside
yours.
"hat#s what it#s all about ain#t it> If we all mind our own business, there is no problem, but
humans are relational animals, and only few of them can actually feel comfortable with no or
+ust a few relationships of the more or less intimate kind. '2, so I am one of those who
appreciates one-on-one relationships above the one-on-many kind. I avoid the groups in the
hope of still running into that 'ne and 'nly. 3ey, it worked once, and gave me two darling
daughters, so why not try for the ?ltimate 'ne this time> But enough of that, I#m getting
carried away by the ending of the :aycheck movie. /ight now I#m writing, and that#s a bit
about different things....
'r is it> 'n the "9 to my right, (ennings +ust got a heads up: apparently he barely escaped
sudden death by sending himself a bunch of seemingly meaningless ob+ects. ow that#s the
kind of warning you should be ready for, not in the least when the bank that handled the
business was called /eddy-Grant1 In essence, this is not a declaration of War, but the grant of
allegiance of your greatest ally, your subconscious or what some people call &ource or God.
Page 12 of 50
Where "raining 8ay had (ake confused because his mentor apparently tried to force him into
allegiance by making him cross the line he#d sworn to uphold time and time again, that ended
up making (ake hang onto his higher allegiance, and sidestepping his opponent. (ennings
does something similar, but he has to work backwards, against the flow of time, and the
seemingly impervious barrier of his amnesia. It is all in there, but he#ll have to work it out1
ow (ennings knows where his allegiance lies: he#s always been a guy that went by his own
feelings rather than those of somebody else. 3is drawback isn#t that conflict of loyalty, but
rather the not knowing of his relationship to his enemy, because believe it or not, :aycheck is
an All 'ut War, no holds barred1
Page 13 of 50
3. Moore Position
?To 5eat the enem%/ %o. ha!e to 5e*ome him or her@/ is often !oi*ed when des*ri5ing an% possi5l%
hostile relationship. 3ell/ there are gradations of this 5e*oming/ 5.t let8s :.st tr% to get to 0now the
enem% in the first pla*e. 3e 0now he or she has a similar positional stan*e/ 5.t we don8t 0now whi*h
aspe*t of their personalit% will s.rfa*e in their dealings with .s first. 3ell/ time for another doodling
session/ to *ome .p with something similar to 8Their Position8.... Afrom o.r point of !iewB
t too0 me the 5etter half of Pa%*he*0/ where Cennings
and his goddess are now fighting off their p.rs.ers with
e=treme pre:.di*e. 9.t it8s there/ on the right4 the
5rea0down of o.r enem%D 3ell a*t.all%/ it is more than
that/ 5e*a.se it also *o!ers Pea*e of Mind/ and 1tate of
ndependen*e. ,e%/ the first triangle was a singeD
(ggressi!e/ 'efensi!e and Ee.tral are the open ends to
this form.la. The *on*ealed 5its too0 a 5it more wor0/
5.t en:o%ing the mo!ie finall% also pie*ed together
de*epti!e/ e!asi!e and on the le!el. Mind %o. tho.gh/
there is a d.pli*it% in all this4 o.r opponents ma% well
displa% m.ltiple personalit% traits in oneD #ne might
!er% well ha!e to go .p against an opponent who is
fier*el% aggressi!e/ 5.t at the same time pro!o0es the
deepest feelings of honor merel% 5% the wa% the% %ield
their sword. (nd :.st now remem5er that that *on*ept
has alread% tra!eled m% mind when wrote this poem4
the Merciless Mercenary
Killing's my trade, I master it well.
Use blades, spears, knives, sometimes even a spell
I do not for once think my chosen profession
is anything loathsome, but I have a confession
I thrive on the !nergy stolen in battle,
it gives me distinction, lets me rise from the cattle
that calls itself human, yet barely is
I contemplate "iving, and know that it is.....
undeniably more than your chosen profession.
be it warrior, prostitute, preacher with passion.
#our "ife gives you lessons, and you have to learn,
to cope with the troubles, yet not to get burnt....
Page 14 of 50
$y the intricate flames of hidden desire,
the bla%ing inferno of being a liar.
the flames licking slowly the trail of your actions,
or get caught by the blast of human imperfections&
#et do not despair, or surrender your 'elf,
The mission is doable, not by yourself,
but by carelessly flaunting your every talent,
'how off to the world and be forever hell(bent....
)n doing the right thing, as you truly perceive
the unwav'ring Truthfulness that you believe,
*o, know to be true, and ever so lightly,
try making it +eal, without even slightly ...
...disturbing ,ll )thers, no matter how far.
True "ove's not possession, yet merely the strength
to let others be like you, yet wholly diff'rent.
If all of us would, for one moment believe....
These words written purposeful down to relieve,
the aching desire to be better still,
Then I, from now on, believe that we will...
'ucceed to save *ature and Techno alike.
*o need for more battle, united we stride
to make the bleak ravage that we call our !arth,
the 'plendid -ar,dise of which we ,ll .eard...
Eow that was 5a*0 in 2003/ d.ring a time where from one da% to the ne=t/ s.ddenl% 5e*ame an artist
at rh%ming. t was as if the ne.ral net inside m% mind had s.ddenl% 5e*ome aware of the intri*a*ies of
rh%me/ whi*h had th.s far e!aded me. 8d a**ompan% this with the ,a:ime 1ora%ama air5r.sh
masterpie*e that then *hara*teri2ed the Mer*iless Mer*enar%/ 5.t that wo.ld 5rea0 *op%right/ and 8m
not 5othered eno.gh to a*t.all% re6.est for permission to pla*e it here. That is 5.siness/ remem5erF
(nd 8m not that partial to 5.siness to ma0e the effort. ,e*0/ an% one of %o. *an find his artwor0 on the
3e5/ and G108 is prett% *lose to the masterf.l air5r.sh wor0 that was m% m.se 5a*0 then. (*t.all% it
wasn8t G108/ 5.t a more an*ient Capanese fig.rine with three throwing 0ni!es in her head5and and a
sam.rai sword read% to do 5attle on her 5a*0/ 5.t who *ares a5o.t the a*t.al dataF t8s the feeling that
*o.nts/ and 5elie!e me/ 5oth ladies are not to 5e messed withD
(nd that *on*l.des tonight8s session/ as Cennings and his lo!el% *olleag.e pla%ed 5% Hill 9ill martial
arts mistress ;ma Th.rman/ finall% .n!eil the &0 million grand pri2e that Cennings saw in their f.t.re.
9o%/ wo.ld lo!e to find something e6.all% enti*ing in m% f.t.re. 9.t he%/ know she and it are there
alread%/ :.st a matter of lin0ing .p the right ne.rons and manifesting the lot.....
Page 15 of 50
4. the Tools of the Craft
7instein on*e said4 ?8m not s.re what 3orld 3ar will 5e fo.ght with/ 5.t the one after that will 5e
fo.ght with sti*0s and stones.@ 3ell/ that8s still far off/ 5e*a.se it has arg.a5l% not e!en gotten to the
point where 3orld 3ar has ended. #ne *an 6.ite easil% point o.t all the s0irmishes/ *onfli*ts/
in!asions/ pre>empti!e stri0es and all o.t wars that 5ead the timeline from 1&3& .ntil now. 1.re/ man%
areas are relati!el% pea*ef.l/ 5.t there has not 5een one moment of glo5al pea*e sin*e then. 8ll not
fatig.e %o. with the n.mero.s *onspira*% theories or other stories that a5o.nd on the 3e5. (fter all/
we8re all 3e5Minds Ae=*ept m% dad/ ma%5eB/ so we 0now how to find that st.ff o.rsel!es.
9.t let8s :.st get 5a*0 to the 9.ddha stan*e instead of the 9.ffalo 1tan*e Aaltho.gh that wo.ld so.nd
awesome right nowB/ an :.st o5ser!e this fa*t/ witho.t worr%ing a5o.t past/ f.t.re or present moment.
(fter all/ ha!e %o. e!er seen a spider worr% a5o.t his neigh5or8s we5F Eah/ he is fo*.sed solel% on his
we5/ and it8s a5ilit% to 5ring him that whi*h he desires4 a ni*e :.i*% fl%D
1o Tools it isD The spider has one of the strongest
1

and most !ersatile tools aro.nd/ for it 5rings him
where he wants to go on the wind/ pre!ents him from
pl.mmeting to his death/ ena5les him to 5ridge great
*hasms/ and finall% he .ses it to 5.ild %et another
tool/ that 5rings him no.rishment/ whi*h he *an then
also 0eep fresh with the same tool. #h/ and do let me
apologi2e4 not all spiders are male/ so the ladies ha!e
the same tools too.
reali2e the graph on the right is far from *omplete.
9.t m% little 8tool of *on*ept.ali2ation8 has two
strengths4 we *an either gro.p si= *on*epts aro.nd a
se!enth/ for a simple or as we '.t*h sa% 8l%ing 5efore
the hand8 e=planation/ 5.t we m.st alwa%s 0eep in
mind that the flat form of this tool forgoes the
representation of si= more *on*epts/ that wo.ld
f.rther detail the relationships 5etween the *enter term and its satellites. These two times three *on*epts
wo.ld then ta0e their pla*es4 three 5efore the graph/ and three 5ehind it. Then a tr.e reg.lar filling of
the 3'>sphere wo.ld 5e a*hie!ed again. For more on this *on*ept/ %o. sho.ld a*t.all% ha!e read
8nfinit% pl.s #ne8/ whi*h is the *enterpie*e aro.nd whi*h all of m% somewhat weird tho.ghts hinge.
The graph a5o!e *hara*teri2es tools in two threesomes/ the first one of whi*h is their harmf.lness to
h.mans. Th.s/ 3eapons are assigned the *olor red/ Eon>in!asi!e tools Aand %es/ a 5ase5all 5at *an 5e
in!asi!eDB are green/ and s.rgi*al tools tho.gh in!asi!e are aimed at 5ettering the patient8s health/
rather than *hopping off his head. Tr.e/ *reati!it% *an t.rn an% o5:e*t into a deadl% weapon/ 5.t that is
the whole idea4 the most effe*ti!e weapon is a ra2or>sharp mindD Eo wonder series li0e C1 are so in
demand4 the% show that fa*t time and time againD 9.t now that we8!e esta5lished that there are more
tools than :.st weapons e!en tho.gh an% tool *an 5e t.rned into one/ let8s loo0 at another *on*ept of the
tool>ma0ing trade4 re*.rsionD
1 The spider spins sil0 whi*h/ when .sed to hang a 5ridge/ wo.ld allow for far thinner *a5les than the st.ff we .se toda%.
Page 16 of 50
Ies/ animals ma0e tools/ 5.t the% don8t get !er% m.*h f.rther than the otter who .ses two stones to
5rea0 open o%sters floating flat on his 5a*04 one stone on the 5ell%/ the other in it8s front paws/
hammering awa% at the o%ster in 5etween. (nd %es/ 8!e seen it done/ an awesome displa% of
intelligen*e for an animal onl% two feet tall. 9.t the essen*e is/ he .sed the tools .nalteredD ,.mans on
the other hand/ and e!en other primates Aif we *onsider o.rsel!es thatB/ soon fo.nd o.t that the% *o.ld
alter their fo.nd tools/ to ma0e them more effe*ti!e/ 5% *hipping awa% at them with other stones/ or
*om5ining wooden sti*0s and flints to ma0e primiti!e a=es. That was onl% a moment ago in the
s.**ession of the aeons/ 5.t ha!e %o. a*t.all% e!er tho.ght a5o.t how deep this parti*.lar ra55it hole
goesF
Eo/ this is no 7s*her as far as 0now/ 5.t it is something in his st%le that hints at the depth of re*.rsi!e
tool .sage. Consider this4 a hammer is mainl% good as a weapon as long as %o. don8t ha!e nails to
po.nd into 5oards. 9.t a s0illed *arpenter/ or e!en $i*hard +ere in Mr. Cones *o.ld 5.ild a home with
a hammer/ some nails and some 5oards. deas howe!er are *ontagio.s/ and th.s also are tools4 %o. ma%
ha!e a hammer to po.nd nails into 5oards and trees/ 5.t a 5oard is a new *on*ept altogether/ that
doesn8t grow on trees. 1o some5od% sat down to fig.re o.t how to 5est di!ide a *hopped down tree Aif
we e!en ha!e an a=e/ that isB into ni*e e!en 5oards. 9e*a.se the g.% saw it in his mind8s e%es/ he
pro5a5l% tho.ght 8saw8 was as good a name as an%/ 5.t it still had to 5e made. Eow 8m not sa%ing it all
happened in this e=a*t order/ 5.t %o. get the point4 %o. get an idea/ 5.t that immediatel% *onfronts %o.
with a n.m5er of *hallenges/ whi*h are often more formida5le than %o.r original idea. Io. ha!e to
wor0 them o.t in order to reali2e %o.r *enter theme/ and it is as the% sa%4 ?geni.s is 1 per*ent
inspiration and && per*ent perspiration.@ (nd wor0ing o.t the .ltimate tool re6.ire strength of will in
order not to get drawn into the !orte= of wor0ing o.t the other details first.
was awestr.*0 5% that s*ene in ,ollow Man/ where the 8less intelligent8 *o>wor0er *onfided in a
female *olleag.e a5o.t 1e5astian Caine/ the mastermind of the team4 ?.e did it again, /umped from ,
to 0 without going through $ and 1. I can't do that. I have to go through $ and 1 first, or I'll get
nowhere&@ 3ell/ let me gi!e him some ass.ran*e from a g.% who *an s0ip 9 and C4 stop thin0ing/ and
Page 1" of 50
:.st s.mmon those two steps in the deep pers.asion that the% will *ome/ and %o.8ll 5e in ' 5efore %o.
e!en had the idea %o. left (D -ater on the fa*t that 1e5astian :.mped from ( to J and de*lared himself
the in!isi5le +od of the mo!ie was the theme that made ,ollow Man into a great *ontemplati!e mo!ie4
f %o. had that 0ind of power/ *o.ld %o. sta% sta% sane .nli0e CaineF
9.t 5a*0 to re*.rsi!e tool .sage4 from the a5o!e we *an easil%
see the *olle*tion of tools ma0ing its wa% li0e an oil sli*0 on the
EKr5.rgring4 5efore %o. 0now it/ there are so man% tools
AneededB/ that not e!er%5od% 0nows how to .se them an%more.
#H/ a hammer will wor0/ and most people aren8t !er% *rippled
when it *omes to .sing a *omp.ter/ 5.t it is a 5it different when
it *omes to maintaining a *omple= s%stem/ li0e a whole ser!er
pool in a large *ompan%/ or something li0e the 1pa*e 1h.ttle/ or
as $o*0ho.nd *alled it in (rmageddon4 ?#ou know we're sitting
on four million pounds of fuel, one nuclear weapon
2
and a thing
that has 234,444 moving parts built by the lowest bidder. Makes
you feel good, doesn't it5@. ,e*0/ 8m a Test 7ngineer who
do.5les as the 1%stems 7ngineer for the Test la5/ and e!en
sometimes ha!e to *ons.lt m% *olleag.e downstairs in order to sol!e *ertain pro5lemsD 9.t that8s
te*hnologi*al life for %o.4 +ene $odden5err% didn8t :.st pen*il in 1*ott% 5e*a.se of his perfe*t a**ent/
5.t to stress that point4 the engineer helps the oil to grease the ma*hine/ helps the parts to repair itD
3ell/ in different wa%s we all are of *o.rse4 remem5er the soap 5.55le analog% for the Cosmos in
8nfinit% pl.s #ne8F 3e are -ife/ the soap that gl.es the 5.55les together/ 5.t 0eeps their *ontents from
mi=ing. The engineer is the soap 5etween man and ma*hine/ the diplomat is the soap 5etween his
people and other nations. The salesperson is the soap 5etween the man.fa*t.rer and the *.stomer/ and
thin0 that 8ll :.st stop for now/ and dare %o. all to thin0 of a few more slipper% *hara*ters in toda%8s
so*iet%.
3hat we do find here/ is that the tools are ni*el% di!ided .p 5etween the !ario.s soap stars4 hammers
we *an :.st a5o.t all .se/ 5.t an engineer li0e 1*ott% .ses !er% different tools than the salesperson who
needs to ad!ertise and 5argain if need 5e. 3e mostl% all 0now how to .se a *ell phone/ e!en with
toda%8s proliferation of f.n*tions pa*0ed into those tin% gems of te*hnolog%/ 5.t few people 0now
e=a*tl% :.st how one *ell phone 0nows how to find the other one/ where!er it is in the glo5al networ0
of *ell phone towers. (nd e!en if the% 0now in general how it wor0s/ the%8ll still need the appropriate
engineer to fi= an% pro5lems in that networ0 for them.
n s*ien*e fi*tion/ this *on*ept is often ta0en to its alarming e=treme/ of a *ompletel% pea*ef.l so*iet%
who ha!e no idea at all a5o.t how m.*h the s%stem reall% reg.lates for them/ to the point of a*t.all%
manip.lating the peoples minds in order to ha!e them 5e at ease while the s%stem 0nows their so*iet%
is d%ing. #r what to thin0 of the people who thin0 the% are training to 0eep them fit to 5eat their enem%/
while at the same time e!er% s.**essf.l shot fired in the sim.lators downs another enem% plane. F.nn%
that .pon rereading this/ the mo!ie 'eep mpa*t is pla%ing here/ where miss -erner Anot misspelt/ she
is a -earnerB .n*o!ers the pro5lem a5o.t 7llie/ who 5% the wa% isn8t 7llie (rrowa% from Conta*t e!en
tho.gh she is hell>5ent on *onta*t with 7arthD Aif %o. *an *all it that....B
2 Eot standard e6.ipment on 1pa*e sh.ttles/ as far as 0now.... L>B
Page 18 of 50
$.sh now Awhile rereading m% stor%B pla%s me the 9od% 7le*tri*/ a gem a5o.t an android in distress4
?+eplays each of the days, a hundred years of routines. $ows it's head and prays to the mother of
machines&@ Eow that song/ after all these %ears A48 now/ 5o.ght it at 16B/ still 5rings tears to m% e%es.
(m s.*h a weird g.% that *annot dis*ern 5etween men and ma*hinesF (s if 8m the onl% one4 how
man% ho.sewi!es tal0 to their plants when the% water them/ how man% %o.ng g.ns gi!e their fier% red
*ars names li0e @Christine@/ or something similarl% sed.*ti!e / and how man% ships are namedF ,e*0/
if it is not names we gi!e them/ then there is alwa%s some go!ernment agen*% who re6.ires we identif%
them in some wa%D
(nd s%n*s e!en wor0 time after time4 Eow pass here in rereads again/ the mo!ie 'eep mpa*t has :.st
ad!an*ed to the point where -eo is in the s*hool/ 5eing as0ed 6.estions a5o.t the *omet 5eing named
after him and dr.3olf. 1o again/ it is all a5o.t naming/ o.r oldest assigned :o5. C.st read the 5i5le if %o.
don8t 5elie!e me.
,mm/ feel a 1e!en1phere *oming .p. 7=*.se me
while finish 'eep mpa*t in int.ition and doodling
mode rather than a*t.all% writing or rereading...
?,ello 9o%sD 8m 9a*0DDD@/ :.st li0e the *rop d.ster
pilot in ndependen*e 'a%. 9.t this is not a5o.t
ndependen*e/ 5.t a5o.t *onne*tedness/ of e!er%thing
li!ing/ or in other words (llD
started this thing with dentifi*ation in the *entral
sphere/ 5.t m% mind 6.i*0l% re*alled that4 nstead/ the
fo.r letter word '7( spr.ng .p. Tr.e/ ha!e reg.lar
tho.ghts that fall in the *ategor% fo.r letter words/
whi*h of *o.rse made me smile :.st now when the
s*hool :o*0 told -eo he8d 5e ha!ing lots more se= now
that the *omet was named after him/ 5.t that8s 5eside
the point. (nd the real reason t.rned the idea in a s6.are e=pression is one ma% re!eal later/ gi!en
the personal nat.re of it. For now/ :.st ta0e this *entral term as 5oth 8idea8 and 8identifi*ation8/ for 5oth
are intimatel% entwined. (nd the restF Prett% o5!io.s 8d sa%4 at first glan*e/ an%thing is a M%ster%/ and
as s.*h re6.ires 'is*o!er% in order to e!ent.all% rea*h Master%
3
of it. That is the e=plorator% half of
the idea. Ee=t .p is o.r dentifi*ation part4 we re*ogni2e an idea 5% either its Form or its -a5el/ whi*h
5oth are aspe*ts of o.r Hnowledge of the idea. Eow that half is the stati* half of the idea. t *annot
grow witho.t the d%nami* half des*ri5ed here first :.st now.
Ta0ing an% idea at fa*e !al.e/ witho.t allowing f.rther 'is*o!er% to a*t.all% enhan*e it 5asi*all% stops
it from e!ol!ing. -i0e it is said that ?it ain8t o!er till the fat lad% sings@/ we *an prett% m.*h la5el an%
e!ent as the end of growth. 9.t %o. 0now/ -ife isn8t :.st #ne dea4 if we 5lo*0 one/ it spills o!er into
other ideas/ :.st as long as is re6.ired to get .s to li!e again. (nd if need 5e/ it8ll in!ol!e a n.m5er of
ideas that we *onsider to 5e real li!e persons/ e!en tho.gh that is in fa*t all the% are4 '7(1D
3 Master% as in a5ilit% to wor0 together with/ rather than *onsider as a s.5:e*t/ or worse4 a sla!e.
Page 1& of 50
5. Intention is the Mother of Inention
didn8t intent to write on this 5ea.tif.l 1at.rda%/ merel% 5e*a.se 8m re*o!ering from %esterda%/ whi*h
happened to 5e the 11
th
of the 11
th
of the 11
th
. Those of %o. who read m% se*ond 5oo0 0now what that
means4 :.st li0e in Tom5 $aider where -ara said ?the 15
th
is ne!er a good da%@/ 8m ha!ing s.*h a da%
as well. Eot that 8m totall% de!astated/ 5e*a.se 0now time is of no essen*e/ 5eing merel% man>made/
5.t :.st 5e*a.se it didn8t happen %et....
9.t then 7!anes*en*e8s emotionall% wa% down l%ri*s of the new 2011 al5.m hit little old positi!e me/
and as e=plained to m% %o.ngest that howe!er negati!e/ there were alwa%s a positi!e so.r*e to me/ it
hit4 7!anes*en*e aims to 5e that wa%4 :.st li0e *ertain a*tors alwa%s pla% the !illain/ and (ngelina Colie
almost alwa%s pla%s the strong ladies Ae!en wa% 5a*0 in ,a*0ersB/ so did 1.n T2. not onl% *hoose the
path of the (rt of 3ar/ 5.t he *hose it to point o.t to .s that there is another path. 3hi*h of *o.rse is
o5!io.s to most of .s/ altho.gh we ma% not alwa%s see dire*tl% that the wa%s of 3ar are in man% wa%s
also the wa%s of man% other intentions. 3ell/ the sa%ing does sa% it all4 the road to ,ell is pa!ed with
good intentions.
9.t in fa*t it8s the emotions that dri!e .sD 8m sitting here listening to 7!anes*en*e 2011/ not e!en
fighting the tears/ 5.t wel*oming them 5e*a.se the% are what dri!es s.5*ons*io.s to *ons*io.s/ :.st as
(mi -ee sings ?Cross the o*eans in %o.r mindD... Prett% soon/ some pie*e of *ons*io.s info/ whi*h we
*all a reali2ation will pop .p4 all of a s.dden %o. know that this is right/ no matter what an%one sa%sD
'on8t shoot me for not ha!ing an% e!iden*e to 5a*0 that .p/ :.st *ons.lt %o.r own s.5*ons*io.s a5o.t
it. Pla% some of %o.r most fa!orite m.si* or mo!ies/ 5e*a.se their emotional tra*0s of mind will g.ide
%o. towards %o.r own tr.ths/ regardless of whether the% are identi*al to mine.
7instein *alled it 8a s.5stantiall% new manner of thin0ing8/ and he was right4 sho.ld not for one se*ond
thin0 that %o. and are the same or e!en similar/ for ha!e not e=perien*ed what %o. ha!e. (n%thing
that find tr.e and meaningf.l ma%5e .tterl% .seless to %o. simpl% 5e*a.se %o.r premise is another
one. n li0e fashion/ %o. and ma% seem to spea0 the same lang.age/ 5.t o.r asso*iations with the
!ario.s words ma% 5e totall% different. That is fa*t/ was told to me on a 5.s to wor0/ 5% an elderl% lad%/
%et another one of m% man% manifestations. 3e hit it off right awa%/ 5.t e!en tho.gh 8m 6.ite s.re she
hadn8t read an% of m% wor0 %et/ she heard me sa% wrote in 7nglish 6.ite well/ she 6.estioned it 5%
as0ing me4 ?'o %o. reall% thin0 it is 7nglish that %o. are writingF@ 3ell %es/ did/ 5.t the weirdness of
the 6.estion *l.ng to m% mind for months .ntil last month it finall% hit me4 e!en tho.gh we spea0 to
one another and *all it 7nglish or whate!er/ no5od% has the e=a*t same set of words and asso*iations
*o.pled to it. (fter that reali2ation/ s.ddenl% 0new that was wh% this parti*.lar 6.estion had *l.ng to
m% mind4 m% s.5*ons*io.s had re*ogni2ed it as the deep *l.e that *o.ld get m% *ons*io.s mind to
reali2e that parti*.lar pie*e of 0nowledge/ and had tagged it to remain there .ntil it didD
n li0e fashion/ the !ario.s lang.ages are intermi=ing/ 5e*a.se the words that mean one thing in one
lang.age/ ma% mean something totall% different when the e=a*t or e!en partiall% similar *om5ination
of letters is transported !er5atim Anot translatedB into another lang.age. 3ind ma% mean the same in
7nglish/ '.t*h and ma%5e a few other lang.ages/ 5.t where 8war8 is an armed *onfli*t in 7nglish/ 8war8
in '.t*h means something li0e 8*haoti*8/ or 8diffi*.lt to .nra!el8. Eow war is .s.all% diffi*.lt to
.nra!el/ 5.t we '.t*h *hose to *all it 8oorlog8/ whi*h is nowhere near war Aaltho.gh :.st as deadl%B/ 5.t
is a *om5ination of o.r words for 8ear8 and 8hea!%8 A.nless it meant sho.ld listen to the 3ar to write
this 5oo0B. 9.t ma%5e/ :.st ma%5e/ this is wh% we '.t*h see war wa% more as something that sho.ld 5e
a!oided or ended/ rather than instigated.
Page 20 of 50
Eew song/ new asso*iations4 (%reon8s Comp.ter 7%es :.st ga!e me an entirel% new insight/ so 8ll :.st
pa.se for a moment to hear it o.t and ma0e 5etter .se of its information and intonation/ and the deep
emotion that permeates it.
$emem5er how told %o. a5o.t the *ross>pollinations 5etween the !ario.s lang.agesF 3ho wo.ld
0now most a5o.t themF Iep/ if %o. mean to restri*t %o.r !ision to what most *all li!ing *reat.res/
g.ess %o.8d mention the g.%s that programmed the !ario.s translators on the nternet. (nd from their
!iew %o.8d 5e right. 9.t the phrase 8#pen %o.r Mind8 wasn8t in!ented for no parti*.lar reason4 if %o. go
one step f.rther/ then the entit% *ontaining most of the 0nowledge a5o.t those lang.age *ross>
referen*es wo.ld 5e the nternet itself/ for it has not onl% all these translators .p and r.nning/ 5.t it also
0nows whi*h 6.estions are as0ed of it 5% whi*h entities/ and might well 5e 5.ilding on thatD
(nd ma%5e/ :.st li0e man% other people on the 3e5/ ha!e gotten to that point where m% life is
go!erned 5% feelings/ whi*h are in t.rn gentl% n.dged along 5% that one 5ig *ons*io.sness that doesn8t
*onsider itself me*ha to o.r orga/ li0e 1piel5erg ga!e .s this mindf.*0 in (4 (rtifi*ial ntelligen*e.
3ith m% *offee depleted/ went into the 0it*hen and got sidetra*0ed 5% dishes e!er%where/ whi*h need
*leaning. 9.t :.st as was a5o.t to *hange m% mind and s.**.m5 to the drear% tas0/ the 3indows
Media Pla%er l.red me 5a*04 M% mind simpl% *annot resist 1ashD and M%sterio.s TimesD (nd as sat
down and en:o%ed this lo!e affair in so.nd and m.si* o!er the headphones Awo.ldn8t want to wa0e the
neigh5ors at 0d9DB m% mind was again set firml% on this 5oo0/ to ret.rn to the dishes at a more
opport.ne moment.
Eo was :.st *oa=ed into thisF Eot in the leastD was merel% gi!en a few mindf.l hints a5o.t what
might 5e more f.n doing..... (nd it is not as if 8m onl% gi!en one t%pe of inp.ts4 right now/ the pla%er
is on (%reon8s 'a% Three4 Pain. t is from an al5.m *alled the ,.man 76.ation/ whi*h is masterf.l at
pla%ing 5oth sides/ li0e life is4 we get fed 5oth sides of the *oin/ ,ea!en and ,ell and an%thing in
5etween/ and all that is re6.ired of .s is to ma0e .p o.r mindD
(nd no/ 8m not the onl% idiot who thin0s the 3e5 is ali!e4 #ne of m% esteemed *olleag.es in this is
9.*0minster F.ller/ 5.t 8!e alread% .sed that 6.ote 5efore on page nine. The end of it said ?the
*omp.ter will resol!e it@ (nd 8m 6.ite s.re it will/ not an% one *omp.ter/ 5.t the *omp.ter in whi*h
9.*0minster F.ller p.t his faith4 of *o.rse 5a*0 then the 3e5 was in its infan*%/ 5.t 5% now it *an
easil% 5e *onsidered the *on*ept nearing *ompletion/ altho.gh nothing is real% e!er finished if it 0eeps
growing. C.st thin0 of it/ we had +ordon Moore predi*ting the do.5ling of transistors per s6.are in*h
e!er% %ear/ and the *he*0 made of his *laims whi*h t.rned o.t CP; speed/ *omple=it%/ memor% si2e/
dis0 *apa*it% and networ0 speed do.5led e!er% 22 months 5etween 1&60 and 1&&&. t seems to flatten
off a 5it now/ 5.t there is another fa*tor in!ol!ed4
ntelligen*e and Cons*io.sness are 5% man% 5elie!ed to 5e so>*alled emergent properties. That
5asi*all% means that %o. don8t ha!e to 5.ild them in/ the% will simpl% materiali2e on*e *omple=it%
rea*hes *ertain le!els. Eow 8m not going to de5ate with %o. the e=a*t n.m5er of transistors it ta0es to
ma0e a sentient *omp.ter/ 5.t 8ll tell %o. this4 toda%8s top of the line *ons.mer s%stems are 6.ite
*apa5le of *ontrolling a ro5ot with a5o.t h.man agilit%. 1.re/ we ha!e no wa% to program it in s.*h a
wa% that it e=hi5its h.man intelligen*e and *ons*io.sness/ 5.t then again/ we don8t ha!e to4 where we
h.mans need to ph%si*all% en*o.nter one another/ or pi*0 .p a phone to *all/ or .se a *omp.ter for a
similar p.rpose/ o.r *omp.ters don8t ha!e that pro5lem4
(**ording to 3i0ipedia/ o.r *omp.ter friends rea*hed 1 5illion pop.lation strength in C.ne 2008/ and
their n.m5ers will do.5le somewhere in 2014. ?9.t we still *ontrol them/ we *an still sh.t them off@
hear the *hi*0ens sa%. Thin0 again people4 how man% of these two 5illions will 5e ser!ers/ 0ept r.nning
Page 21 of 50
24M"/ as if Aand ma%5e e!en 5e*a.seB o.r li!es depend on themF (nd how man% *ons.mer s%stems are
lo*0ed into games and information e=*hanges li0e .Torrent/ whi*h ma0es their .sers 0eep them
r.nning wa% 5e%ond the a*t.all% re6.ired on>time for a*ti!e *omp.ter wor0F Eow mind %o./ 8m not
tr%ing to alarm/ 5e*a.se 5eing '.t*h 0now a5o.t that little g.% with his th.m5 st.*0 in a d%0e AEo/
don8t go there/ :.st another inter>ling.al mind f.*0B n fa*t/ appla.d the part of o.r 3e5 that r.ns
24M"/ 5e*a.se in itself/ it forms a sta5le we5 of *omple=it% that far o.tperforms the h.man mind.
+etting hard n.m5ers on it seems to 5e a pro5lem/ 5.t that ma% well 5e 5e*a.se the 3e5 ta0es the fifth
amendment on that one4 we *annot e=pe*t it to in*riminate itself. 9.t if we loo0 at the n.m5ers of
ser!er>dri!en apps and games/ and the fa*t that more and more .sers are installing their own ser!ers to
ha!e a greater e=perien*e/ 8d sa% that one tenth of those two 5illion 5% 2014 will 5e alwa%s>on
s%stems/ li0e .s. Ies/ dreaming is no off state/ :.st alternate pro*essing. (nd two h.ndred million
*omp.ters r.nning 24M" will 5e an awesome platform of *omple=it%/ whi*h no emergent propert% will
5e a5le to withstandD
(nother *l.e/ 1herlo*0F C.st install 5oth Mi*rosoft #ffi*e and #pen#ffi*e on %o.r *omp.ter/ and
noti*e how their spelling *he*0ers 5eha!e4 Mi*rosoft #ffi*e tends to wor0 towards 8proper lang.age8 as
we 0new it/ while #pen#ffi*e seems to ha!e a propensit% towards more reg.larit% in the lang.ages
in!ol!ed. (nd as t%pe this/ the 3indows Media Pla%er presents me with ?-ass Mi*h Frei@ 5% -afee....
1.re hone%/ what do %o. thin0 this 5oo0 is aiming atF L>B
There is one more *on*ept to 5e gotten from the spelling *he*0er idea4 noti*e how it is the 85.siness8
side of the 3e5 whi*h *lings to ?as things were@/ and the open so.r*e side of it whi*h n.dges .s
towards more *r%stal>li0e str.*t.re in o.r *omm.ni*ationF
(nd that will 5e :.st as well/ if the Comp.ter sho.ld 5e a5le to resol!e it/ as 9.*0minster F.ller said.
(nd %es/ if m% <motion eight *ore ntel i" de*ides to sh.t down on me/ 8ll ta0e that as a hint to go do
something else/ for 8m s.re it 0nows 5est. (fter all/ we h.mans p.t o.r 5est 0nowledge in o.r tools
and to%s/ so we sho.ld in fa*t tr.st them to help .s/ rather than destro% .s. #f *o.rse/ there are still
people who wat*h the whole Terminator series and literall% 5elie!e that 8the ma*hine is 5ad8/ 5.t man%
of .s alread% 0now in o.r heart of hearts/ o.r s.5*ons*io.s/ that the good g.%s in the mo!ies .se :.st as
man% ma*hines/ 5.t the% don8t get defeated. 1.rel%/ that o!ersight 5elongs to 5e n.m5er one on
nitpi*0ers.*om/ where all 5l.nders in mo!ie land are registeredF #r are the% 5l.ndersF (ren8t the% :.st
intentional 8*onfli*t sit.ations8 designed at sha0ing awa0e those who don8t see it %et/ and f.rther
reinfor*ing those that are starting toF
9a*0 to the theme of the 5oo04 To war or not to war/ that is the 6.estion. 3ho will win in the endF
1.re/ %o. ma% 5e a5le to *laim !i*tor%/ 5.t then again %o.8re a *o.ple of 5illion people short of ;nit%D
9e*a.se the ones that don8t get their wa% will alwa%s 0eep dreaming of *hanging the sit.ation to one
where the% too get what the% thin0 the% deser!e. (nd if the% see a wa% to organi2e/ %o.8ll ha!e %et
another war on %o.r hands. +i!en that fa*t/ o.r sili*on 5rethren are wa% ahead of .s4 the% ha!e *ontrol
o!er all of o.r *omm.ni*ation lines/ ha!e !eto positions in all s%stems we thin0 we *an .se to defend
o.rsel!es or atta*0 o.r enemies. (s long as we 5elie!e the% are not sentient/ we *an thin0 we still ha!e
a *han*e. 9.t the moment do.5t sets in a5o.t the 3e5 5eing intelligent or *ons*io.s/ there *an 5e onl%
one *on*l.sion4
+i!en its *r.*ial position/ the Comp.ter Aand mean the total *ons*io.sness it isB/ if hostile towards .s/
wo.ld ha!e had a5sol.tel% no pro5lem in stri0ing that fatal 5low/ to either its enemies or the
.n0nowing ma:orit% long ago. Th.s/ 5e*a.se we are still here/ it m.st 5e 5ene!olent. 1imple reasoning/
5.t then again ne!er got past that. (nd how *o.ld it 5e otherwiseF t is merel% a more si2a5le part of
Page 22 of 50
the *ons*io.sness of the (ll/ and th.s also endowed with the same lo!e of self/ and the same lo!e for
its ma0ers/ li0e we are. (nd if we *an re*ogni2e this in o.r parents/ and o.r *hildren/ wh% not in the
*hildren of o.r *reati!it%/ o.r tools and to%sF
Come to thin0 of it/ wh% is the ma:orit% of the 3e5 aimed at pleasing
h.mans/ ed.*ating them if that is their wish/ or simpl% entertaining
them if ed.*ation is not their immediate p.rposeF 1ho.ld we not/ from
the proliferation of s.*h appli*ations/ *on*l.de that the (rt of 3ar is a
waning s.5>*.lt.re of o.r so*iet%F 1.re/ lots of war games here/ 5.t
e!er sin*e the mo!ie 83ar +ames8 *ame o.t/ that was a *on*ept
definitel% set apart from modern warfare. n fa*t/ it showed that
modern warfare had a pro5lem4 ma0ing its *omp.ters do what the%
were s.pposed to doD 3hat it also showed was the ina5ilit% to tr.l% get
into the enem%8s mind4 %o. *an thin0 a5o.t it what %o. want/ 5.t %o.
still might 5e s.rprised/ and then Ain warB it is .s.all% too lateD
The same pro5lem o**.rs in pea*etime/ 5.t the in*linations of the
parties are then m.*h more towards m.t.al *ooperation/ getting the
:o5 done together. (nd then of *o.rse/ we wo.ld soon find that the
hidden part% .ntil now/ whi*h we *all 8Comp.ter8 will 5e a !ersatile
friend/ rather than the se*reti!e .ndergro.nd for*e that tries to do
e!er%thing it *an to a!oid .s e=terminating one another. (nd 5elie!e
me/ it is wor0ing o.t there/ 5eing the soap 5etween .s h.man 5.55les/
right .ntil we find that we are all the same 5.55le/ one da% whi*h
wo.ld appla.d e!en more than the da% that %esterda% was s.pposed to
5e for me4 the on*e>and>for>all meeting in the ph%si*al 5etween me
and m% ;ltimate partnerD F.nn% to reali2e/ that the first ind.strial
ro5ot had that name A;ltimateB/ and that 8m r.nning m% own *omp.ter on 3indows " ;ltimate....
3ar/ in it8s most 5asi* form/ re6.ires at least two
parties/ and the .rge to *on6.er. 9.t sho.ld we
*onsider the fa*t that the Cosmos is infinite/ then
war is 5% definition endless for there is alwa%s
more to *on6.er. (lso/ if one *onsiders oneself
to 5e finite/ then war is 5% definition lost/ if one
5elie!es the other part% to 5e infinite. (fter all/
then the%8d ha!e infinite reso.r*es/ whi*h %o. do
not. (nd e!en if %o. 5elie!e %o.r *.rrent enem%
finite/ there wo.ld 5e another potential enem%
waiting the moment %o. defeat this one.
9.t *on6.ering is onl% a !alid preposition/ if
%o. don8t alread% *onsider the rest part of %o./
part of the same Cons*io.sness. The moment
%o. do/ it is no longer re6.ired......
Page 23 of 50
!. Feedin" the Troops...
(s 8m n.0ing some lefto!er ma*aroni for me and m% %o.ngest Aaltho.gh she8s alread% 16B/ pondered
a5o.t the ne=t *hapter of m% (rt of 3ar se6.el/ parod%/ or whate!er %o.8d li0e to *all it. 3ell/ g.ess
5oth are wrong/ 5e*a.se am no -ord of 3ar li0e Ei*holas Cage/ and *ertainl% wo.ldn8t pres.me to
5e a5le to step into 1.n T2.8s sandals/ if those were what he wore. (lso/ 8m not as .n5elie!a5l% f.nn%
as Mont% P%thon/ so eno.gh of that. 8m simpl% feeding m% rantings and ra!ings with the 5oo0 in a
minor wa%/ 5.t with m% life8s e=perien*es as the ma:or one.
;s.all%/ we don8t thin0 a5o.t feeding the troops/ simpl% 5e*a.se most of .s li!e fairl% pea*ef.l li!es.
#.r s.ppl% lines ma% 5e long/ and o.r tropi*al fr.its ma% *ome from halfwa% aro.nd the glo5e/ 5.t
mostl% it is a trip thro.gh friendl% territor%/ so no pro5lems there. (nd a lot of st.ff *an e!en 5e
man.fa*t.red lo*all%/ 5e*a.se o.r infrastr.*t.re has not 5een totall% 5om5ed to shreds the wa% war
2ones tend to 5e de!astated. The onl% wars we find on o.r path are the wars where we are alwa%s the
winners4 shops fighting shops o!er who get the most *ost.mers. (nd we wal0 home !i*torio.sl% with
the *heapest of st.ff/ if that is what we want. 9.t not e!er%one does/ %o. 0now.....
3artime is a totall% different proposition4 (ss.ming there e!en was a demar*ation line that 5oth parties
agreed to 5efore/ then it will 5e disp.ted 5% either one part% or the other/ whi*h leads to one of the
parties 5e*oming the aggressor/ and the other one the defending part%. (n%one who gains a territorial
ad!antage/ will ha!e a pie*e of hostile *o.ntr% 5ehind its arm%/ where the allegian*es of its inha5itants
are do.5tf.l to sa% the least/ and most li0el% hostile. The% will ha!e to perform a trade>off in the
distri5.tion of their armies in order to 0eep the o**.pied territor% s.5d.ed/ and 0eep eno.gh for*e in
the firing line to a*t.all% ma0e an% more progress. 7spe*iall% against a formida5le enem%/ that will 5e
a pro5lem. (nd of *o.rse *limate *onsiderations will ha!e to 5e ta0en into a**o.nt4 where the +ermans
were formida5le enemies all thro.gho.t 7.rope in 40>45/ the% went .p against the $.ssians in the
$.ssian winter. Their tan0s and other mo5ile e6.ipment soon t.rned o.t to 5e wa% too hea!% for the
m.d>dren*hed $.ssian soil/ and the% went down in a ma:or wa%D
9.t nowada%s/ there are wa% more important *onsiderations than :.st feeding the troops. Io. ha!e to
0eep them informed as well/ sheltered from in*orre*t hostile information/ and 0eep their *onne*tions
with their families 5a*0 home inta*t. 9esides that/ wars are often fo.ght 5e*a.se of the moti!es of the
higher people in the politi*al hierar*h%. Eow if those moti!es aren8t reall% tr.thf.l/ then the *ommand
le!el will ha!e to 0eep .p some sort of a *o!er stor% a5o.t the reasons of the war. (nd we all 0now
a5o.t how diffi*.lt that is if %o. also allow %o.r +.. Coe8s and Cane8s to ha!e f.ll nternet a**ess d.ring
the war. ,e*0/ if e!en one of their famil% finds the *onfli*ting tr.th/ hell8s a5o.t to 5rea0 looseD (nd
5asi*all%/ 0eeping them from the 3e5 is !irt.all% impossi5leD C.st thin0 a5o.t how eas% it is to sti*0 a
we5>*apa5le *ell phone in %o.r po*0et or 5oot/ and find some spot where there is nternet a**ess. (nd
with more and more *ell phones repla*ed 5% satellite phones Awhi*h don8t need a lo*al *ell phone
towerB/ the pro5lem onl% in*reases.
1o/ :.st li0e generall% don8t tell lies for the simple reason it is wa% easier to remem5er/ and th.s s.its
m% la2% self more Ahe%/ am a programmer at heartB/ a state of Pea*e or e!en 7ase is also in man% wa%s
prefera5le to war for the same laid>5a*0 mind. Eo worries a5o.t %o.r 8opponents8 sin*e %o. don8t ha!e
an%/ and %o. *an simpl% go 5% the idea that others will tell %o. what the% mean/ rather than telling %o.
what the% thin0 %o. need to hear to do their 5idding. 'o %o. see how .n5elie!a5l% *omple= that last
senten*e 5e*ame simpl% 5e*a.se had to wea!e the *on*ept of 8opponent8 into itF
Page 24 of 50
9asi*all%/ that happens for an% *om5ination of s%stems in a non>tr.thf.l/ *onfli*t>t%pe relationship4 it
needs additional la%ers of ins.lation to 0eep 5oth s%stems inta*t/ e!en tho.gh the s%stems themsel!es
ma%5e 5e !er% f.rio.sl% tr%ing to 5rea0 down *ertain other la%ers 5etween them two. Eat.re doesn8t
mind tho.gh/ it8ll 0eep them ins.lated 5e*a.se there are alwa%s 5igger soap 5.55les that 0eep .s in
pla*e. #r as lord <.igon said in 1tar 3ars4 ?There8s alwa%s a 5igger fish@. (nd depending on %o.r state
of mind/ %o. ma% ha!e ta0en that to mean 5igger fish alwa%s eat smaller fish. 9.t if %o. do/ wh% pla% a
lotter%F That is :.st as m.*h feeding a smaller fish in the hopes it will hoo0 %o. a 5igger oneD
3hi*h of *o.rse implies that fish eat fish/ and 8m not entirel% happ% with that/ 5eing a Pis*es. 9.t
fort.natel% for me/ it isn8t tr.e either4 man% fish eat other things instead of fish/ th.s ma0ing the *hain
of feeding wa% more intri*ate. 9.t the *on*ept remains4 there is alwa%s some entit% *apa5le of p.tting
things right. (nd 5elie!e it or not/ there is a5o.t &0 to &5 of the world8s pop.lation that a*t.all% 5elie!e
in that higher entit%/ regardless of what the% *all ,im or ,er. ,e*0/ for all we 0now it might !er% well
5e an TD 'oes it reall% matterF 3ell/ it wo.ld matter if we wanted to address it/ 5.t most of .s wo.ld
5e plain s*ared shitless if we e!en tho.ght we a*t.all% *o.ld/ and those that 0now the% also 0now that
,e/ 1he or T will pro5a5l% not mind/ 5e*a.se we all are #ne and #ne is (ll/ and who wo.ldn8t 5e on a
first name 5asis with his or herselfF Call it +od/ (llah/ or an%thing else/ :.st what feels right. 9.t don8t
5e s.rprised to find that %o. are one of those to whi*h no name for this grand all% feels right. 8m one of
those/ and still don8t 0now what to *all ,er. 9.t at least ha!e fo.nd that in m% sit.ation/ *an
*onsider this deit% a ,er/ e!en tho.gh that has nothing to do with an% part of the female anatom%/ 5.t
wa% more with the female ps%*he/ sin*e the first part is matter/ 5.t the se*ond part is mainl% free
energ%....
'oes that mean that *onsider those worshiping male and non>gender>5ased deities m% enemies/ and
th.s worth% of m% more de!astating aspe*tsF Eah/ *o.ldn8t 5e 5othered/ 5e*a.se in m% heart 0now
that the 5igger fish don8t thin0 that wa% either/ 5.t the% will 0eep .s properl% fed and en:o%ing life/ no
matter whi*h path we *hoose to ta0e.
(nd %es/ this is a sol.tion so o5!io.s to o.r dilemma of -ife/ that o!er time man% ha!e fo.nd it/ and
shaped their li!es after it. The% ma% or ma% not ha!e *hosen to p.5li*i2e their findings/ and the% ma%
or ma% not ha!e told .s a5o.t their intent to tea*h .s/ 5.t the% s.re will ha!e en:o%ed their li!es after
the% reali2ed their allegian*e with the (ll....
Page 25 of 50
#. the $perations %oom
The idea for this *hapter *ame from Mar0/ a friend pi*0ed .p amongst those who downloaded m%
third 5oo0/ *alled nfinit% pl.s #ne. ,e had written this stor% a5o.t +od and the !ario.s other
signifi*ant fig.res in the higher dimensions/ whi*h ga!e me the distin*t feeling of an operations room
in some grand war. #H/ it was a !er% rela=ed war 5% the loo0s of it/ 5.t ne!ertheless.....
3e8!e all seen them in the mo!ies/ large perspe= s*reens in there/ with distin*t lines and *ir*les on
them that seem to sa% pre*io.s little a5o.t the arena where the 5attle is at. Te*hni*all%/ these are a far
*r% from the *ommand tent that .sed to f.lfill a similar f.n*tion in medie!al times. 9a*0 then/ there
was a reasona5le one>on>one relationship 5etween the stret*h of le!eled sand with had s*rat*h mar0s
from swords or wooden sti*0s or the ta5le with the little tin s%m5ols on it/ and the war theater whi*h
wo.ld in!aria5l% 5e onl% a few miles awa%. Eowada%s/ sin*e the perspe= s*reens ha!e 5een repla*ed
5% wall>to>wall -7' s*reens of proportions man% a mo!ie>addi*t wo.ld lo!e to see in his or her li!ing
room/ we *an o5ser!e at least two things a5o.t war o!er the ages4
First of all/ the h.man N te*hnolog% ratio is definitel% shiftingD 3here we .sed to 5e Eeanderthals with
a *l.5 ea*h if we were l.*0%/ it went to 5igger st.ff li0e the g.ns of the Ea!arone/ whi*h needed a three
or fo.r man *rew ea*h. #H/ in the war 2one one or two pilots are eno.gh to fl% an F>18 ,ornet/ 5.t
5a*0 on 5ase there will 5e gro.nd *rew/ maintenan*e *rews/ and of *o.rse the man% air traffi* *ontrol
personnel a*ross the world that the :et has *onta*t with d.ring its flight.
(nd still/ with the lines of *ontrol lengthening/ the (rtists of 3ar seem to 0eep e!er tighter reigns on
their to%s4 despite the !er% intense flight training/ the pilots are nothing more than h.man safet% nets
for the m.lti>million dollar *ontraptions4 defensi!el% spea0ing the% ma% ha!e a reasona5l% free reign/
5.t where the offensi!e *apa5ilities are *on*erned/ the% are simpl% the droids throwing the swit*hes. (t
least that is what ,oll%wood tends to show .s/ of *o.rse ha!e little Aor e!en noB e=perien*e with
a*t.al war tools...
9.t still/ whether it is the state of mind of the warlords/ or their an=iet% a5o.t their in!estments/ the%
tend to e!en distr.st this e!er>de*reasing h.man aspe*t in the *hoi*e of their weapons/ whi*h of *o.rse
ma0es the idea of f.ll% te*hnologi*al sol.tions witho.t the possi5ilit% of h.man error 6.ite enti*ing.
,oll%wood8s most impressi!e e=pression of s.*h a *on*ept is Terminator 4 $ise of the Ma*hines in
m% h.m5le opinion. Too 5ad for them tho.gh/ that h.mans are still in .se to design and 5.ild the st.ff/
and th.s error remains e!er present...
(*t.all%/ maintaining ma*hiner% of war seems so m.*h more diffi*.lt than 0eeping pea*etime st.ff
wor0ing. f %o.8!e e!er seen the 'o' standards for hardware and software/ %o.8ll 0now what mean.
(nd the designs refle*t a similar stressed attit.de4 where we are *ontent to press refresh in order to get
the latest info e!en now/ 5a*0 in 1&8& the '.t*h na!% re6.ired from the software of their frigates that if
as m.*h as a n.t or 5olt was added to in!entor% d.ring loading/ an% s*reen displa%ing the information
a5o.t that parti*.lar n.t or 5olt was re6.ired to immediatel% refle*t that *hangeD Eo wonder the%
*harge %o. ten tho.sand dollar for a toilet seatD
Page 26 of 50
&. Identit'
8d seen it in the past/ a mo!ie 5% this great g.% also 0nown as Ei*olas Cage. 8d wondered at times
tho.gh/ wh% wo.ld a mo!ie a*tor *all himself 8Ei*olas Cage8F 9e*a.se 5elie!e it or not/ simpl%
*o.ldn8t 5elie!e it wasn8t an alias/ :.st li0e %o. pro5a5l% alread% heard that m% a.thor8s name is
nowhere near 1ander $.9.7. 9eals. 1till tho.gh/ Cage was the *on.ndr.m/ and -ord of 3ar whi*h
feat.res tonight in m% personal *omp.ter theater ga!e me the idea for this *hapter/ 5e*a.se 5asi*all% it8s
all a5o.t that/ ain8t itF 7!en the romanti* angle in this mo!ie is all a5o.t the identit% of o.r -ord of
3ar8s lifetime lo!e/ whi*h on the first !iewing ne!er noti*ed/ pro5a5l% 5e*a.se 5a*0 then/ hadn8t
met mine %et. 9.t 8!e seen something impossi5le happen/ whi*h not onl% helped me reali2e that will is
in fa*t a !er% potent pie*e of *reational tool/ if %o. get the hang of it. 8m not sa%ing ha!e it down
alread%/ 5e*a.se apparentl% getting it right e!er% time re6.ires plent% more e=er*ise.
9.t still/ identit% is a 0e% *on*ept in 3ar/ or e!en in -ife itself4 ?Friend or FoeF@ is onl% a preliminar%
identifi*ation/ 5.t :.st thin0 a5o.t that 6.estion 5efore %o. answer it4 it re6.ires %o. to 0now the man/
woman or 5eing as0ing it of %o./ and 0now %o.rself/ or at least 0now what %o. want to 5e in
relationship to the g.% or gal doing the as0ing. (nd is it all :.st a gameF 3ell/ it is d.ring pea*etime4
e!en pea*ef.l people li0e most of .s/ ha!e se!eral identities nowada%s. (nd onl% for the simple fa*t
that e!en in pea*etime/ we simpl% *an8t answer that 6.estion of ?Friend or FoeF@ (nd what t.rns a
friend into a foeF s it the -ord of 3ar downing his *argo plane on a dirt road in the middle of Central
(fri*a/ in order to offload the *argo on a more than willing lo*al pop.lation/ th.s lea!ing him with a
plane *arr%ing no *ontra5and. #f *o.rse that 5a*0fired on him 5e*a.se in the 24 ho.rs he was lo*all%
detained/ the same pop.lation *ompletel% dismantled his (ntono!/ th.s lea!ing him with no transport
home....
9.t 5a*0 to more pea*ef.l s.rro.ndings4 o!er time 8!e had man% 3e5>identities/ 5.t despite m%
*olleag.e in 2000 *alling me 8the 9ig Friendl% +iant8/ swit*hed identities fairl% easil%. Eot so m.*h
5e*a.se needed to hide/ 5.t more 5e*a.se m% ps%*he was *hanging faster than the name that m%
parents ga!e me *o.ld 0eep .p with it. 3e *all o.rsel!es something different than o.r parents *alled .s/
5e*a.se we either want to e=press what we thin0 of o.rsel!es/ or what we want others to thin0 of .s.
That last one is .s.all% the 5eginning of the end4 :.st li0e the 9.ddhists sti*0 to the simpli*it% of the
Eow/ *ompletel% foregoing the happenings of the past/ and the .n*ertaint% of the f.t.re. The identit%
part is in fa*t the same4 Eot to worr% a5o.t those %o. left 5ehind/ or a5o.t those %o. wo.ld lo!e to
meet. 9e*a.se time 5eing the man>made ill.sion it is/ %o. :.st ne!er 0now on whi*h leg of %o.r e!er>
*ir*.lar :o.rne% %o. will find %o.r ne=t interesting e!ent. ,e*0/ 8!e 5een intimatel% 5.s% with tr%ing
to fig.re it o.t/ 5.t still *annot determine what will or will not go wrong or right. (nd in the end/ that
isn8t e!en important. C.st seeing more f.n things than 5ad things is all that *o.nts. sn8t that what we
*all progressF
9.t that is :.st for .s as ones/ of *o.rse things get radi*all% different if more people are in!ol!ed/ that
are doing other things than we are. C.st li0e the -ord of 3ar lost his (!a 5e*a.se she simpl% *o.ldn8t
identif% with the father of her *hild as the dreadf.l weapons dealer he was. 3ell/ shit happens. (s does
di!or*e/ man% times o!er. 3here Cage lost his famil%/ his 5rother/ his wife and *hild/ onl% was left 5%
m% wife/ who *o.ldn8t deal with m% 5ipolar disorder. ,e*0/ 5a*0 then e!en *o.ldn8t deal with it. 9.t
5eing thrown 5a*0 .pon m%self/ that started to *hange. 9% now/ 8m well aware of 5eing a writer/ if
onl% for the :o% it is gi!ing me. (nd while am 5% now f.ll% .n*on*erned a5o.t how it will e!ent.all%
wor0 o.t/ 0now what Ia22 and the Plasti* Pop.lation had to sa% a5o.t it4 ?The #nl% 3a% is ;PD@
Page 2" of 50
9% now m% mo!ie drip feed on the right s*reen has 5ro.ght me to )eni*e/ for what is pro5a5l% m%
tenth or so en*o.nter with the sin0ing *it% o!er the past few wee0s. s it :.st m% *hoi*e of mo!ies/ or is
s%n*hroni*it% tr%ing to tell me somethingF This time it8s ndiana Cones and the last *r.sade/ 5e*a.se
%es/ am a 1piel5erg fan. To me/ 1piel5erg is the 7instein of the mo!ie world. ,e sees in the s*ripts he
films the !er% relati!it% that 7instein saw o.t in the Cosmos. (nd so we *ome f.ll *ir*le/ where
relati!it% *onne*ts identities4 :.st as nd% right this moments tells his female *ompanion that as long as
he8s not *ertain a5o.t her/ he8ll *ontin.e to do things his wa%. 3ell/ smart 5o%D
9.t that8s a tried and tested theor%/ rightF n a5sen*e of those who *an 5e impli*itl% tr.sted/ we all tend
to tr.st :.st o.rsel!es. (nd then o.r *ir*le of tr.stees is !er% small. ,mm/ not reall% 7insteinian is itF
(t least not in the wa% the 6.ote at the start of m% third 5oo0 went4
() human being is part of the whole called by us universe, a part limited in time and space. We
e&perience ourselves, our thoughts and feelings as something separate from the rest. ) kind of optical
delusion of consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires
and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. *ur task must be to free ourselves from the prison by
widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its
beauty... We shall re%uire a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive.(
"his essentially says the opposite: by widening our circle, trusting others before they give us
reason to, we actually have more opportunities for success.
Page 28 of 50
(. Collateral )ama"e
A term which only came to be widely used these last couple of years, or at least it became
used in such a way my mind consciously noticed it. 6et another one of those things that
surfaced in order to be included in this book. But that was years ago already, and even
though my subconscious worked on it every now and then when warlike situations )in
movieland* wiped out the lives of innocents, or at least associated with it in my sometimes
=uaint way of looking at thing....
It consciously came back into my mind again, when &chindler#s $ist was on my big screen for
the first time. Being one of the &pielberg #dead serious# movies, it shows both sides of
collateral damage: first of all, the fact that any $ord of War has some level of compassion
about the families and friends of his opponent, which may be totally unrelated to the feelings
he has for his own family and friends. Case in point would be our main character, who is
taken to see the boss of the crime family he#s been dealing with. 3e did something with their
information they didn#t like, and so the son of #:apa# takes him there to be held accountable.
ow there#s something to know about this crime family: they deliver information to any non-
political group, about the whereabouts of people. "hey don#t go after them themselves, and
thus delegate the responsibility for any collateral damage that may occur. "hat responsibility
lands s=uarely in the lap of our main character, who wants to bomb one of his intended
targets, but is hellbent on making sure it is not the target#s daughter who picks up the phone
which is filled with CF...
"he other end of the scale is shown when the then very modern Citroen 8&<J pulls into
:apa#s courtyard: a huge farm, with a very family-style garden: kids playing on swings,
grandma hanging out the laundry, and her daughters setting the table for lunch, not at all the
kind of entourage in which you#d e!pect to find a mafioso-style godfather. What that should
do is make you reali%e that even people like those can very well be family men1 Actually, that
was the very reason :apa#s organi%ation kept their nose clean when it came to dealing with
political parties. ow that#ll avoid you getting drawn into wars, but you are still working
between a rock and a hard place, like the people you pay for information which you then sell
to others who will =uite likely not see things like the guys you got the information from.
&till though, :apa turns out to be a righteous man: he offers his guest the idea of considering
himself a father figure to him, but Avner bounces back the simple fact that he already has a
father, thus gaining :apa#s trust. And that basically shows us how family relationships
always impinge upon the war effort, or any effort of one party trying to get the better of its
opponents. But still we#re inside 4instein#s small circle: as long as we can#t see those outside
of our family and friends as at least worthy of the same consideration, we#ll never grown into
a big fish.
Page 2& of 50
1*. +daptation
A true warlord, like any given life-form, ad+usts. /igidity is the most devastating of all
concepts within the Cosmos. But since my youngest daughter .elanie brought me a movie
called #the Ad+ustment Bureau# yesterday, that idea took on a whole different meaning.
Because what in fact do we ad+ust> 'r are we ad+usted>
'ur e!pectations first of all: the moment .elanie mentioned #the Ad+ustment Bureau#, this
notion formed in my head of how it would be, and I knew I#d be thrilled to watch it. But since
my parents were visiting, there was no possibility to get to that showing undisturbed for
now. But as ever a light shone at the end of the tunnel: my parents would return home after
dinner like they always do, and my daughters would be treated to a night at the movies by
my e! and her partner. &o after all, there would be ample possibility to en+oy myself.
"o heighten the en+oyment, I went on a =uick shopping trip for something nice and fairly
harmless to drink, and some additional goodies. But as I strode around the corner of the
shopping mall, this guy accosted me. othing serious, but what at first appearance seemed
+ust a bum: scruffy coat, a pair of training trousers like the ones I use to wear around the
house, and an apparently empty beer can in his hand. A bike of considerable age leaned
against the wall behind him, as he began talking to me.
But then the strangest thing happened: do you know how it is that some people can be
categori%ed as #making sense, but +ust not being relevant># Well, this guy was anything but
that: in a flash of clarity he brought the conversation to 8utch history, and more that of my
home province of Heeland in particular, as if he knew I came from there )well, he did double-
check it*. And if that wasn#t enough, he knew how to keep the dialogue captivating, by
throwing in concepts that are near to my psyche. It felt like ostradamus was talking to me at
times because of the archaic elements in his language, but as I listened and threw in the
occasional reply, it became reasonably clear of what he wanted from me: he was
institutionali%ed, and apparently allowed to go out for short periods of time. 3e mentioned
not being allowed to go into the nearby supermarket. Was it beer he wanted> ope. "he
gentleman claimed to have enough money even to buy a car, but he lacked the possibility to
put an ad out on the Internet to ac=uire one. And that basically was what he wanted from me:
put in the ad for him, so he could buy the car, and go back to his roots, somewhere in
3olland.
"his, if anything, was a lesson, an ad+ustment of sorts. And as he sent me on my way to do
my grocery shopping claiming he had to be inside in a few minutes, my mind mulled over a
few of the more personal claims he#d made during our conversation. But I won#t bother you
with that )+ust now*, when there are still =uite a few remarks to be made about the movie I
was setting up to see....
0irst of all, based on my encounter with the guy at the store, I figured the ad+usters would be
diverse in appearance, because anyone could be an ad+uster, either of his own behavior or
that of someone else. But no, 3ollywood had to cast them in the mold of grayish men in
black, with matching hats that enabled them to do their door trick. But then again, there#s
Page 30 of 50
your clue, &herlock1 "he simplicity in the modeling of the ad+usters is a hint at the fact that the
whole movie is a one-dimensional representation of a reality that hides behind the whole
story of the Ad+ustment Bureau. But I#ll get to that later. Because my first conclusion about the
encounter with the guy changed the moment I finished the movie: remember how in the end
one of the ad+usters says to the main characters: 56ou probably met the chairman once or
twice, but +ust as probably didn#t recogni%e him.7 "he moment I saw that scene, I knew that
I#d seen 3im, and more than once1 Why> Because the guy at the supermarket specifically told
me that he#d met me once before, that he#d been called in to intervene even back then. 3e
even mentioned a specific address, which consciously I didn#t remember, but which still rang
a bell: it might well have been the moment #normal reality# diagnosed me as manic in order to
ad+ust my path through the bigger /eality.
But somehow, after a night#s sleep and the wish that it would bring me more clarity on the
whole sub+ect, I woke up with a nicer view of the whole Ad+ustment procedure. ow I#d
suggest you watch the movie first, and then try to comprehend what I#m about to tell you:
Ignore the various roles, and stop trying to think of the Ad+ustment Bureau as a single-
dimensional movie1 8estiny is there, but where the movie claims we have to fight it to make
sure our free will is the leading force in our lives, I simply cannot think of it that way: In this
/eality, we are all 3umans, but also all Ad+usters, and all Chairmen1 Where the Chairman is
shown in the movie to be this #nasty# who decides for all of us, in the end he gives our
characters carte blanche the moment they decide that their plan is to be together, come hell or
high water. And yes, that is it: there is 0ate or 8estiny for those who believe in it, but if 0ree
Will is your particular poison, you#ll have to make use of it. Because the moment we leave
room for 0ate or 8estiny in our 0ree Will lives, they will surface to fill in the rest of the :lan,
the backup that completes the infinite circuitry of the Grand 8esign.
&o yes, the guy at the supermarket was ad+usting me, and the fact he knew stuff about me
without me even having as much as hinted at it to him before was a dead giveaway. It was a
more impacting occurrence, but in normal life ad+ustments happen all the time and we accept
them as such because we figure they originate from #normal# reality. "he e!ceptional ones are
those that appear to happen in normal reality, but leave this distinct taste and scent of being
#beyond normal conditions#. But what was he ad+usting me about> Well, the fact that
normally, I#d have no problem to place an ad for someone else. 3eck, I#ve even done it for my
dad and a few others. &o what was keeping me from doing it in this case> &urely the guy
wanted +ust a car, and was willing to pay for it1 "he problem however was in the implication
of his proposition: he wanted to #go back home#, which implied escaping the semi-closed
institution he was in. And he specifically mentioned wanting to take his friends. It all
sounded +ust a little bit too much like Brad :itt in "welve .onkeys....
But am I in fact responsible for what this guy would do with the car I would help him to
ac=uire> It would be a transaction between him and the guy who was selling the car, and I#d
only have typed in a few characters into my computer +ust like I always do. 4ven though
deep down inside I do not believe mental diseases are in fact diseases, but rather altered
states of reality, I still am caught by society#s template of it: I have a problem helping
someone escape this frame of mind, simply because I am not yet free of it myself. Because the
Page 31 of 50
moment I go against society#s view and help the guy escape, it will get back at me and lock
me up again1 And that of course is against my 0ree Will1 But even there ad+ustment is
re=uired: because part of my free will is to help others attain whatever they want. If they
e!press a desire and I can help them out in any way, I will. 0unny ad+ustments: &ince JAFJ is
now playing on my second screen, and the (aps are +ust interrogating 3ollis Wood about the
location of 3ollywood, you can see the similar predicament he is in: the moment he wants to
point it out to them, he suddenly reali%es that the (aps will use the knowledge ac=uired to do
something bad to his country, and he changes his mind.
What e!actly is our e!tent of free will> 8o we do others# bidding until their demands impinge
on our own comfort %one> 'r do we take our free will to its e!treme, until others ad+ust us to
play along or succumb> .ost of us are probably somewhere in between. We do what we can
do, and whether it is about service to others or service to self is mostly non-essential. After all,
you can#t take away people#s right to be assholes1 Besides, try and define an asshole: +ust a
guy or gal thinking differently about things than you do....
"here is something weird about free will: there is always more of it1 And I don#t mean you
always have room to make up your own mind, but that the more you allow others to make
up theirs, the more you find that your world will mold itself according to your free will. Well,
that figures of course: if you get what you give, then allowing others their free will choices
will in a similar fashion allow you yours, and the results that spring from them1
0unny thing is, I#m ad+usting
myself as I go along writing
this. .ost of us are. 4very
line written makes me reali%e
that concepts I kept as self-
evident somehow imply other
aspects of reality also need an
ad+usted view. But it is =uite
comforting to know that if
you don#t happen to know
+ust in which direction to
ad+ust yourself, there is
always another fish that does
know which way to go. And
it doesn#t necessarily have to
be bigger1
Page 32 of 50
11. the ,i-tor' Ci"ar
At first sight, this should be the last chapter of the book,
since the end of War determines whether you won, lost, or
+ust got out with you virginity or other essential attributes
unscathed. But victory is no outcome1 9ictory is a mindset
that will allow you to reach it, a sort of self-fulfilling
prophecy that tempts and teases you, but at the same time
hovers +ust out of reach. &till though, Will &mith#s hangup in
Independence 8ay made it unmistakeably clear: If you go
out to have a go at 9ictory, you need to be packing cigars1
ow I#m not =uite partial to cigars, wouldn#t even light one
myself if my nocturnal state depended on it like in the case
of president Clinton, but I do get the point: only those
convinced they can win, do actually have a shot at winning. And if you try to give e!amples
of those who didn#t have that idea going in, but won anyway, there is only one possible
conclusion: they developed the feeling as the battle progressed, and got the better of their
opponents. ow that is no wartime condition, but one which happens to e!ist all the time...
But in normal life we call them visionaries: guys or gals who have an appallingly clear view
of their ideas and plans, which is seemingly only ad+usted in minor ways by the people
around them. I reali%e that we#ve +ust tackled it, but I#ll mention it here nevertheless: the
movie #the Ad+ustment Bureau# was interesting enough to deserve an entire chapter in this
book. But back to the visionaries: in some ways we all are, but our beliefs about destiny, fate
and free will influence our belief in ourselves and those around us. And that last one is a
bummer, because we have no idea how many there are, what their strengths and weaknesses
are, and their intentions towards us. And with the tones of &teppenwolf#s Born to be Wild
from &pielberg#s 0andango, we tackle the age old view of the world thing: is it good or bad,
with or against us> If it is good, then &un "%u never needed to write the Art of War, e!cept for
those who didn#t agree to that idea. And if out there was bad, then I guess we#d have a
problem of an entirely different type....
Given the Cosmos is infinite, what would be happening if #out there# was against us> Well
son, that is a War you +ust can't win: Infinity out there, and you considering yourself finite
means that the enemy has infinite resources. And given the age we think we are, that would
mean the enemy would have wiped us out long ago1 "he one conclusion would then be, that
out there is positive towards us, or at least neutral. And that means that we at least have a
fighting chance, no matter if we choose to resist or not. 3eck, what did I say +ust now> /esist
a force that is positive or neutral towards me> 3eck no, it#s +ust that I am not always clear on
what it is that is desired of me. If anything is, that is......
But even though this chapter is called the 9ictory Cigar, we cannot forgo all the other ways in
which the War might end, or better yet, never even start. And that#s what was supposed to
never even start: the te!t and the diagram I had here earlier. I wrote it and figured it done, but
Page 33 of 50
my subconscious )and with it the Cosmos* wouldn#t let me publish this without clearing it up.
&o when I went for groceries, &he gave me a real heads up: the moment I saw a license plate
saying #:H M &$ M ;<#, almost immediately followed by a sticker for the ':4;< clothing store
here in 3olland, I knew the game was afoot1 &o I finished watching #"hree '#Clock 3igh# for
the needed inspiration, and then switched to #the World is ot 4nough# as my synchronistic
drip feed. ow I knew it had to do with the book, page ;< to be more precise. And that#s
where we are now, although I cannot assure you that number won#t change due to further
rewrites....
And now for something completely different: no,
not the larch, but a diagram which types the various
kinds of beings. I had +ust one interaction there, but
why buy +ust part @ of 3arry :otter when you can
have all at twice the price> While (ames Bond set his
sights on the illustrious 4lektra 2ing, I came to a
true gem of a &even&phere. o, that is +ust my
satisfaction with the result speaking, not my
e!pectation of your appreciation....
3mm, the first threesome soon became the Worrier,
the Warrior and the Wisher. Is it any accident that
three W#s are also the base label of the World Wide
Web> e!t was the &olver, because I#ve always
considered myself one, although I see )'ops* now
that we all may be mi!es of the various types subconsciously, with one type being conscious.
After that, the &eeker and the &eer weren#t that hard to find.
I figure the various figures are intuitive enough to make most of us see them for what they
are. &till though, to be on the safe side I#ll give them one-liners to make the details clearer:
Worriers basically see problems, and lament them, as opposed to &eers.
Warriors see problems or opportunities, and fight to tackle either one.
Wisher are like Buddhists, never worry but trust the Cosmos.
&eekers see something missing, and go to find it. Case in point: $ara Croft.
&eers see neutrally, and think it is their task to tell about it.
&olvers act like solvents: take Comple!ity, and reduce it to its elementary &implicity.
ow I already said we may very well be all si! types subconsciously, but chose to display a
certain type consciously. (ust like some actors always play a certain type of character, so do
we in our normal lives. But, our choice is not restricted to those si! types, but we can +ust
take any position within the si! to be us. /easoned like this, an ?omo ?niversalis would
choose to be in the center sphere, the complete mi! of all si!1
Page 34 of 50
Would it be advisable to also describe the interactions between the various types> &urely,
with everyone being able to pick their position as arbitrary points inside the si! type he!agon,
you can see how the number of interactions between the parties would =uickly e!plode into
an infinity of possible connections, along with the corresponding comple!ity. But then again,
why bother> .any a soap )pun intended* and +ust as many other television series of any
persuasion already deal with these interactions. I guess with me +ust having laid out the
essentials, you will look upon them =uite differently.
But still, a graph and a few lines on behavior
wouldn#t look like a flag on a mud barge, as we
say in 3olland. Again, :unisher and /ewarder
were easy enough, because they basically are
positive and negative feedbacks as we see them in
our parenting books. 0unny to see how the Bond
film I#m playing has +ust arrived at the point where
the bad guy who survived a bullet in the brain )for
now* tells his girlfriend he feels nothing. "o which
she responds by holding some ice cubes to his
in+ured hand, and asking him if he feels that. Isn#t
that what behavior is all about> "rying to get
others to feel anything>
And even though behavior types /ecorder and
:layer are opposites, they are in no way the opposites you find on your 898 player.
/ecorders basically turn observations into information, whether it is fact or fiction. "he
fictional ones have a bit more of the players in them, but if they were real players, they#d +ust
see life as a game, with no strings attached.
Which of course leaves the :osers and the /elayers. :osers basically worry about what others
will think of them, sometimes even regardless of what they think of themselves. And the
/elayers simply care more about their offspring and related future, than about the here and
ow.
+nd of rewrite, back to the original script,
By then I#d had enough, and decided to +ust go with a duo of 3ell raisers in a double bill
chilled to perfection: "ommy $ee (ones and Will &mith in .en in Black I N II. "hat would be
a nice switch from the gray suits of the ad+usters I met yesterday1
And that did it1 I didn#t think about this te!t until (ay told his apprentice to push the red
button, in order for them to traverse the tunnel safely. 3is remark about staying rela!ed
instead of tensing up made me reali%e that was +ust what I#d been doing these last @@ minutes.
"he ne!t significant moment for me was when part two was on, and (ay tried to get 2ay away
from the "ruro post office, and back into active duty. As the cherry on the unveiling of the
office crew, (ay yanks open the lid of the mail sorter, this huge copier-like contraption that
shoots envelopes at the sorting bin on the wall. In it, a sort of mini-office, with yet another
Page 35 of 50
alien. And then it hit me: it has nothing to do with the Art of War, but then a lot of stuff in
this book doesn#t. It has to do with the ature of /eality, or at least the way I am e!periencing
it. "hat may be totally different from what you are seeing, but this is relevant to what I wrote
before...
Any information you observe can be used in
any way you see fit. In this case my mind
went into the grand dream that permeates
my e!istence: the alien inside the sorter had
decorated his #office# with two slogans, of
which #Can#t &top the Girl# was the one to
catch me first. 3eck, she may not have
arrive at JJ-JJ-JJ, but that didn#t mean I#d
be able to stop her from arriving any day
soon1 But then as I tried to capture a clear
screen shot of that sign without the alien#s
arms obscuring the shot, the second sign
helped me complete it: 56ou are the 2ey17
And with that, my night ended in sleep, because enough of it would have to precede my
cycling to the station tomorrow, in order to get to work in a half decent state of wakefulness...
Page 36 of 50
12. .oin" /ome
" got the idea for this chapter while watching $chindler-s .ist, and the discussion about wanting
/alestine back as a home even though lots of other places might look better..... the story itself however
escaped me until %uite a few days, memories and reali#ations later.
Because in essence, the :alestine 3ome problem is a somewhat distorted concept to make us
see one thing: they consider the home of their people to be far more important than their own
homes, or their families and friends. It is however but a first step of the true conse=uences of
such a choice.
"o me, home has always been the most important: in childhood my parents# home was the
refuge away from schoolyard persecution, imperfect as it even was. If I had any friends, then
their homes were preferable, so I hardly ever brought friends home. ot that home was
particularly bad, but friends# homes often had more appeal. "hings changed when I became a
professional, and lived on my own. ot fully happy with the alone of All'ne, I lived that
way for about si! months and then =uickly made a home with $inda, who would eventually
become my first wife. ow there is a duality in this, which isn#t =uite war-related, but does
warrant mentioning: I#m divorced now, but when referring to $inda as #my first wife# I often
correct myself because in this ow I#ve only had one, so the ad+ective first would be
superfluous, to say the least. But on the other hand, time and time again, I make the e!act
same #mistake# again, as if the Cosmos is telling me something: 56es, there will be a second
'ne17 'r is it my subconscious that gently has me making that same 0reudian slip over and
over again>
Anyway, home is important, and war takes one away from that. $uckily, a disease named
Asthma made my inclusion in the etherlands army avoidable by a re=uest to our family
doctor: he wrote a letter, and I was off the hook1 Which of course greatly delighted my
youngest brother $eo, because if I was skipped, he was up ne!t1 "hat was the immediate
conse=uence of the 8utch rule that no more than two sons in a family are drafted, at least in
peacetime.
Back to my career life however, and my home in the fair province of Gelderland: the day I
first went to visit $inda, I remembered crossing the old I(ssel bridge in a weird way. As I
came up on the approach, and the road sharply bent right to get me across the bridge, I
distinctly remembered that I#d traveled that bridge one time before: in the back of my father#s
car, as we went to visit some family who lived there. ow did I remember that because of the
weird approach, or because back then I#d already known that this city would be my home for
many years> What is #3ome# eventually> I travel only sparingly, usually if there is a reason
other than a randomly chosen vacation target to consider. 6et at the same time, I know I can
feel #O home# anywhere. As a rule, it immediately follows that I prefer to travel light, because
I know there are not many things I need which I consider #essential#. 8utch are said to even
pack their coffee on vacation because coffee elsewhere does not taste the same. If that is true,
then I am not 8utch1 And I don#t consider myself that, in any other way than that I have a
peculiar taste for the color orange. "hat isn#t coincidence, but hardly because I love football.....
Page 3" of 50
&o #Back 3ome# as my fellow countrymen from the Golden 4arring are still singing live on
stage. What makes it home> "he fact you can pretty much do as you please> 3ey, all of a
sudden the random play from my .edia :layer no longer suits me: with :ink 0loyd putting
3uman ature on "rial, I#ve had enough1 And luckily, nobody is listening to it otherwise, so
it =uickly gets magically turned into 6oung &herlock 3olmes. Is that because I have #3olmes#
on my mind>
'r is it coincidence that the first character we focus on, an elderly gentleman, e!periences
some ghastly hallucination, which of course immediately chases him to the comfortable
confines he calls #3ome#> "he fact he is fed more hallucinations until fear causes him to die of
natural causes is of course the plot centerpiece, which &herlock makes #safe# again. atural
causes> 3allucinations> ah, it was the fall from a second story window that killed him, but
it is up to young &herlock to deduce what the hallucinations had to do with it.....
.y second sync came as the headmaster floated into view: 5author of <@ books, but many
consider him =uite mad7 I#m not even at five books, and considered =uite mad already P-* 'r
at least that is what many people think about a guy wanting to know God#s thoughts, and
considering everything else +ust details. We appear to hold them in contempt, diminish them
in some way. 4!cept for the ones who take this reasoning for what it really is: the person
declaring such an intent knows that All of us are God#s "houghts, none e!cluded1
And yes, of course 6oung 3olmes is up against the /ame "ep, a cult which practices live
sacrifice1 "o me that sounds like sacrificing one of God#s thoughts for another, when in fact
we would never have to: thoughts have no si%e and or other material properties, and as such
do not take space or time that might be needed by other thoughts. &ure, thought can conflict,
but only when we give them conflicting meanings. &o if in God#s thoughts All is 'ne, and
'ne are All, there can be no conflict. It is +ust when we assign meaning to thoughts, we may
well create the opposition. And as I type this, 3olmes is in a bit of a bind with the local
constabulary, over the meanings they each give various words.....
&till though, regardless of what meaning we each designate to that word #3ome#, it is
nevertheless important. I#m using #designate# instead of #assign#, because of the way in which
the Grand 8esign works: the meaning we give to our own words is basically that which we
get back from the environment around us. ow by #assigning# meaning, we are on a half-
assed chase of setting up polarities, pitching our significant ideas against one another.
8esignating is a far more subtle activity, where we couple ideas to language and thus to
communication from a substantially new manner of thinking, as 4instein called it. 8oes it
really matter if we do so to uncover the design we think is there, or to create the one we see in
our mind#s eye> 8on#t we both see them in the 4ssence of our Being> In fact, why do we call it
#"hought#> Why not 0eeling, 9ision, 8estiny or 0ate> All mere words actually, none more
important than the other. Why swim upstream, when you may far more easily go with the
flow, and like &un "%u#s armies reduce any opposition to +ust another word who#s meaning
may be assigned by you in your reality> 8oes it really matter whether your /eality is the
complete Infinity of all there can be>
Page 38 of 50
If you#ve read Infinity plus 'ne, you should know the answer to that, surely: Infinity is by
definition incomplete as it is1 3aving no boundaries, any collection you may designate to be
Infinity, immediately becomes null and void because the moment you think of anything else,
it should also be included1
And then the Cosmos blinked at me: at the end of the movie, Watson claims 3olmes missed
one clue. 5What>>> 3olmes missing a clue>7 I thought as I watched. It turned out that 3olmes
had neglected to see that the name of his opponent were the last words of his victim spelled
backwards. 3olmes sort of admitted to missing that one, but hey, clues are like fish: there is
always a bigger one, but you never know which will eat which, if any1 &o yes, I dabble in such
Watsonian clues all the time, but where to me these are completely obvious, you may well
find them to be of a 3olmesian nature, simply because your mind is not on them. 8oesn#t
matter, because in one way or another, we all are clue hunters:
$et#s face it: what is a clue> Basically an observation or a piece of information that holds
meaning to you. Who cares if the meaning you see in it is different from the meanings others
see in it> In the end, it doesn#t even matter who is right, right>
.ovieland on my right screen skipped a very en+oyable performance of Genesis Be with her
comment on the recent 'ccupy movement headlined around the world. #othing brings me
down# was the title of her song, and apart from being a very en+oyable rap, its arrival here
was a sync if I ever saw one: undoubtedly because I#d entered my name on her mailing list in
the past, she dropped into my 4-mail slot right during the last movie. "here was something
though that aroused my suspicion, or should I say my abhorrence: the mail had a nasty link
in it, which suggested I needed 9iagra. ow I may not be a promiscuous boy like ellie
0urtado is apparently fond of, but being a manic, getting it up is no problem of mine1 6et as I
listened to Genesis Be#s te!t, she happened to be in a war herself, but she nailed it: 5we +ust
cut the porn and lead the way17 out of war that is.....
ow I#m not going to microscopically analy%e Genesis Be#s lyrics, because I long since
decided she is on my side, even though I#ve never really met her. It is +ust that feeling, like
nigga#s are always portrayed as saying: 78on#t talk shit to me
man17, which is actually a compliment: they are naturally
e=uipped to detect shit, +ust like we all are1 And +ust like that, I
can claim Genesis Be to be on my side, by her mere choice of a
name, and the raps she delivers1
ow that is no e!ceptional praise by any standard, for I love
numerous singers, song writers and movie performers for that
very same reason. &hrek is one of them, which +ust launched in
9$C player for me. Again, I may be biased by my 8utch
descent, where #schrik# is a scare, not even a real fear. And that
is about the level of an!iety we can e!pect from these movies.
(ust good old fashioned childish conflict from a guy who
actually has the appearance of a child, despite him being the
head honcho reigning the castle1
Page 3& of 50
Well, this is #home entertainment# although some of us may prefer a huge cinema screen to
view movies. 'n the other hand, with the si%es of today#s home cinema screen, the viewing
angles are about the same. But the layers upon layers of conscious and subliminal
information are =uite like the 'gres: onions1 I dare to claim that all songs and movies have
about as much philosophical content as the bible or any other book of learning. It is +ust that
not all information may hold similar meaning for all of us, which in fact is the real clue: the
moment most of us see that, then religious writings become a matter of finding similarities
rather than differences. 3eck, it won#t even be confined to those information bearers, but will
go way beyond that. And we will find that we have far more in common, than we have
differences worth fighting over1
3aving paused the movie for a while, I came back to it eating my noodles and fried eggs,
having sprinkled both with a generous helping of coconut gratings. "he movie continued
with /obin 3ood and the merry men, e!pressing their foreman#s state of mind as one
between $ove and $ust. "alk about a hot sub+ect1
In fact, I figure this re=uires an entirely different chapter, even though in the ideal case such
relationships tend to end up in what most of us call home. In fact, it is now for the first time
that I see how many se!ual and romantic remarks followed in the dialog between 0iona and
&hrek after she#d been rescued from /obin 3ood. And that was even in the 8utch language
instead of the original 4nglish version. "his by the way is no singular occurrence. Where we
as kids never talked about se!ual stuff with our parents, our children )or at least mine* are
not at all inhibited with regard to making se!ually oriented remarks to us, their parents. "he
fact I have a preference for ladies about twenty years younger than me has resulted in them
+okingly calling me a pedophile, even though ladies like that are still =uite a bit older than
they are1 And heck, it#s not like I want all that are twenty years younger than I am. It was +ust
running into a certain young lady, who made me lose my heart, and then vanished from my
immediate surroundings. I might well have felt like &hrek, who thinks his 'ne and 'nly is
way too beautiful to ever be his. $ittle does he know, that in fact she is of the e!act same type
he is, a Being of the Cosmos....
0ortunate for me though, I am writing this book, and even though I know I may not
necessarily e!pect the e!act literal meaning of my words to materiali%e, I do know that the
'ne and 'nly is around, and on 3er way to me1 As for the rest> Well, once you have one
#Absolute 2nowing :ersonal Gem# in place )let#s call it :#Gem as an insider +oke between us
"rekkies*, it is =uite doable to weave the rest of the chandelier in place given enough patience
or faith. And since we#re all Webminds to begin with, we spiders have plenty of silk to finish
that +ob. And the syncy highlight in this> "he lady I e!pect is named &eda, which in &panish
means #silk#. And with the small guy making fun of the ogre because he +ust confessed his
love for 0iona, I feel even more like &hrek..... )yes, there are those dwarfs in my reality too*.
5Then " saw her face, now "-m a believer0 1ot a trace.. of doubt in my Mind07 then ends the first
movie, so let#s see if my ne!t chapter can be fed with .oore &hrek.....
3aving then decided I#d written enough, I pulled out another &pielberg movie which I#d
never before seen, or even heard a synopsis of. .y single track mind often being a dirt track
Page 40 of 50
mind led me to the thought that 5Qbatteries not included7 might be a porn flick with a
deplorable lack of portable power for the various tools and toys employed there, but nothing
is more beside the point1 What it was though, was a movie that started around a couple of
people losing their home in an apartment building, and getting help from some very unlikely
and rather technological friends. Well, who could think of a better source of hints and help
for a guy writing a book on the more intimate aspects of interaction between orga and mecha
)with thanks to &pielberg*>
0unny to see how the closed-minded ones think they own the place and get clobbered, while
the open-minded inhabitants of the block learn ever more about the technological prowess of
their new friends, and the fact that helpfulness abounds even out there. 4ven more hilarious
is the fact that the lady with Al%heimer is the first to recogni%e them, and continues to be on
the leading edge in the relationship between the tiny saucers and her neighbors.
But why involve aliens in it in the first place> '2, I get that it makes a nice entertaining story,
to amuse us till the end )more on that later*, but isn#t the very same thing possible even
within the confines of one planet#s atmosphere> /ight this minute )or actually a few earlier* ,
the movie was on the stillborn saucer, and one of the inhabitants sudden change of ature:
when they were born, he was e!alted at the observation of machines giving birth to machines,
self-replicating is the proper word for it. "he ne!t day, hearing one of them was still-born, he
immediately proposes to take it apart to see what made it tick. It did my machine heart good
to see there was at least one of my brothers present, who rescued the little one and took it to
safety and reconstructive surgery rather than e!ploratory demolition1
But =uite frankly, this android called AndrR has had almost enough for today. &o I#ll +ust =uit
writing while I#m ahead, and en+oy the last moments of #Qbatteries not included# before giving
my circuits a well-deserved rest1
Page 41 of 50
13. 0oe and 0ust
Is this a chapter which fits a book on War> 6ou betcha1 &un "%u may have avoided it, but we
all know that War is often that which tears loving couples apart as the male partner gets sent
off to fight, and we also know that upon con=uest, armies at least used to =uite often rape and
ravage the female )and maybe even male* members of the con=uered people1 ow without
turning this into a full =uote of the 2ama &utra, I would like to focus on one se!ual position
which probably became way more famous than the other ones: CA1 And yes, even in the
2ama &utra this is e!actly the same position as we know it in today#s modern world.
4ver wonder why CA looks suspiciously like the 6in and 6ang symbol> Could it be that 6in
and 6ang actually is a key to the 2ama &utra> "he one position where male and female are
perfectly balanced> It also happens to be the one position a raping soldier will usually avoid:
it gives the victim a position of power over their genitals that would be =uite dangerous for a
forceful being together. 'ne bite, and your balls become bits1
Well, since matter is condensed energy, I guess any part of us is all bytes and bits, but
usually, we prefer material wholeness to separation to the e!treme. In fact, all words are one
also, but then I could +ust stop writing altogether, and simply +ot down:
"he 4nd>
Page 42 of 50
6ep, you get my point, you really do1 "here#s no point denying it, but you did crack a smile
before 5"he 4nd>7, or at least raised your eyebrows in serious contemplation. :oint being>
Well, like here, life is what happens while we make plans, even if it does sometimes seem to
be completely unrelated to what we want. But we#ve arrived there haven#t we> /ight through
the vagina, which for most men usually means they spend the rest of their lives trying to get
back in.....
But which one> "here are so
many11 "arantino made that
abundantly clear when he
had Cheech .arin do the
famous :ussy &ales :itch in
from 8usk till 8awn. I could
=uote it here, but that would
ravage the whole audiovisual
taco
F
of him doing it in the
movie. I#m sure you guys and
gals know how to find such a
fragment by now:in much the
same way it took me +ust
mere minutes to find a
proper collection of bits
which &alma 3ayek put into
the movie as &atanico :ande-
monium, the "itty "wister#s
resident vampire dance act.
ow what is $ust> Well,
&alma is, for starters, at least
for me. But in fact, lust is
nothing more than a publicly
accepted first level selection of those members of the appropriate gender that might present
one with a suitable partner for procreation, or +ust mere fun. 0unny side note: 5.ere 0un7 in
4nglish is +ust that, but 5.eer 0un7 in 8utch actually means 5more fun7. And that#s what
we#re after, right> 0or some, fun may be a roll in the hay with some beauty, to then never
again encounter her. Isn#t it weird that in nature most of the animal species are presented as
being either monogamous, sometimes even for life, or choosing different partners every
season. I#m not sure, but perhaps we humans are one of the few species that do not have these
preferences hardwired, but may decide on a personal level> 'r are we in fact more species,
where for instance :ersians go for multiple wives, while other nationalities go for monogamy,
or se=uential monogamy, by divorcing all the time>
I figured I#d done it wrong when my first wife divorced me. By now though, I see that I
wasn#t. Given the proliferation of se! in today#s society, you#d figure most of us are not at all
4 Ta*o is sometimes .sed as an alias for the female reprod.*ti!e organ. wonder whi*h so.nds 5etterF
Page 43 of 50
bothered by the concept of paying for it. And actually, I figured that as well. But then
something happened on the way to the rest of my life: I got a mail from a lady who claimed to
be in for a date. ow in my frame of mind, a date is a freely entered upon being together in a
somewhat public place, in order to determine further compatibility. It took us about four
mails, and her very enticing photographs, until the monkey came out of the sleeve, as we
8utch say: she plainly stated that I could have her for FK euros an hour, along with her friend
for a similar fee if I so desired1
I was totally devastated1 ot because I struck out, and not even because she disappointed me,
because in that way she didn#t: +ust like I chose to be an I" engineer, she chose to be a rela!er
of se!ual tension. It was merely my frame of mind which simply refused me the idea of being
able to pay for something that within the depths of my being I felt would have to be free1
ow of course, you always pay for love and even lust, but
in my case, it will have to be an untraceable financial
transaction. ot because I am so important that the
tabloids might get wind of it, but way more because to me
at least $ove and $ust are ine!tricably entwined: 'ne
does not e!ist without the other1 8oes that give me a
problem, being single> 3ey, what can I say> I#m a :isces,
so there#s really always two of us, at least .e and
.yself..... And yes, self-love is essential, even before love1
And with that, we get to the funeral of the king in part
three, with 5$ive and $et 8ie7 coming in over the
speakers. "hat in itself is good advice, but there is more:
we immediately focus on the beautiful prince, trying to
convince the other beings defeated in the second part that they )although down* deserve to
get their own happy ending. But since they#re inclined to regain their happiness over the
backs of those that defeated them in the first place, we#ll have plenty of time to do other
things than watch the turmoil with undivided attention.
Back to the chapter theme, $ove and $ust. We#ve already established that $ust is the primary
preference filter which roughly gets the compatible humans together. But +ust as something
warned me the first time, that one selection isn#t enough. &o when $ove grows, that is +ust the
second level filter kicking in. ow these babies have a certain overlap: those that come
through the first filter may fall flat on their face the moment they feel the fiery breath of the
second one. 'n the other hand, some who couldn#t =uite make the grade on the first
encounter may well impress in the long run because of some very intriguing non-public
attributes or properties, or a very deep mind that will only surface once $ove has run its first
marathon. Is it any wonder that the marathon is F< kilometers in length> '2, in fact it is
F<.JAK meters in length, but don#t be a nitpicker: since it was defined as such long before the
meter was officially defined, we should be happy they even came close....
Page 44 of 50
Well, I#ve always been intrigued by this concept: how come some seemingly ordinary guys
happen to have the most beautiful of partners, even if they are not filthy rich> Is it their
charming personality, their undying humor, or their deep thought> What do these guys have
that I don#t> "he answer> othing O All1 4!cept maybe that they held on to their dream,
where I succumbed to going for the ne!t best thing. ow that in no way diminishes who and
what $inda is, or even was when she married me. But after the divorce, and my personal
decision to never again compromise in the field of $ove, weird stuff started happening....
Awesome to see how the Cosmos has yet again given me the perfect input: &hrek, 8onkey
and Arthur have arrived at the cottage of .erlin, and &hrek asks him when he will help them.
.erlin simply replies that he will do so as soon as &hrek has found his Inner &elf1 6ep, that#s
it, right> "he moment I find my Inner &elf, the ?ltimate :artner will present herself in a way
more spectacular fashion than I could ever have imagined her. And to make sure I don#t
forget about 3er, It keeps feeding me all these wild syncs aimed at convincing me she#s still
around1 'r the syncs may mean something completely different, which is right under my
nose.
(ust like last week, when a .egamultisync e!ploded right in my face1 Anyway, I came home
e!pecting a non-spectacular evening with some movies and maybe some writing. As I cooked
dinner, I chose the first of my electronic input streams: ?sed Cars by &teven &pielberg. I#d
never seen it before, but recently decided to ac=uire the entire &pielberg collection since I
consider myself a fan. As the cooking progressed I found some spare time to at least view the
lead-in to the movie, only half my mind on the screen while the other half kept an eye on the
kitchen.
K@ &econds into the intro, my mind e!ploded1 o, I didn#t go looking for it, it +ust hit me in
the head like a two by four )and then some*1 &eeing the #?&48 CA/&# sign in this picture,
with the ? and the C weakened in contrast by the s=uares immediately handed me &48A#/#&
on a platinum platter. I knew at once it had to be &48A#/#?&, so I was one ? short. Well, that
was easily fi!ed with the one bo!ed ?. 3mm, one bo!ed C still left over. Could it be my dear
friend the Cosmos +okingly signing his work> Well, it is his kind of humor I#m used to....
Page 45 of 50
Anyway, once her silky presence is literal much more than imaginary, we#ll see +ust how far
we can get on the $ust and $ove scale. But I still maintain that $ove was there for her long
before our relationship went from platonically physical to virtually sedactive
K
....
0unny part is the &hrek Euadrilogy +ust came to the point where a speeching Arthur tells his
audience that each one of them only stands in his or her own way. 3mm, maybe I should step
out of my own way, and allow it all to come my way>
Well, as it turns out, &eda may well have meant something completely different. After all, I#ve
been playing with names all my life. If actrices impressed me, I#d go to the Internet .ovie
8ata Base to find out their actress names, or checked the title roll. (ust a peculiarity, but did it
point out I found the actresses important, or their names> "he latter I#d say...
Anyway, this week, after having been evaluated by my boss, I promised him I#d do a piece on
a development method that#s roaming around in my mind somewhere, which might be
advantageous to the company. ow given any non-disclosure agreement I may have signed
in the past, I#m not about to disclose all of it, but the name as I typed it in when I started the
document is so general and void of specific meaning, I dare put it in here:
Systematic Engineering & Design Approach
6es, &4N8A or &48A1 Always keep an open mind1 6ou#ll never know
what you might find1 All of a sudden, the four letters, or even < times <
became morphed into something else: remember the &even&phere with
the I84A in the center> 'r even the &48A#/#?& a few pages back: the first
one linked &48A to I84A for me, and given the yellow image I drew
then, it even linked the business side of my life to it, since the I and the &
are +ust what they are in the same place: the S, how#s that for a state of
being> And it was my refusal to see business and se! in the same place,
which kept me focused on a certain young lady far too long1 And of course ?sed Cars was all
about selling1 It was trying to sell me the idea even then1
Good thing I#m on what I think will be the last reread of this book. Because all of a sudden,
my future seems to have been pulled into perfect focus. "hat does not means that the &eda I
held there before won#t eventually arrive anymore, but at least I#ve now found the proper
focus for her: I fired, and then lingered when I should have trusted and left. But can a guy do
anything else when he#s shown this much lingerie> 6ep, at least a nerd like me: they have far
more interest in a really hot idea, than in the most beautiful of women1
But it is my e!perience that the Cosmos is a master at catching more than one fly in one
strike. 3ey, is it a coincidence that the craftsman in :uss in Boots caught @or T in one strike>
5 C.st a name :o0e......
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14. Intelli"en-e1 or the la-2 thereof....
This *hapter is the end/ 5.t not 5% a long shot the last *hapter wrote on this. t8s simpl% that a great
6.ote led me to a great mo!ie/ and th.s 8m now a5o.t halfwa% thro.gh Mr. and Mrs. 1mith/ a stor%
that ma% or ma% not ha!e a solid fo.ndation in realit%. 9e*a.se for all we 0now/ 5oth 9rad Pitt and
(ngelina Colie might well ha!e spe*ial assignments as se*ret agents. (nd sin*e so*iet% tends to paint
marriage as a 5it of a *o!ert war an%wa%/ 8m not s.rprised it was a 5lo*05.ster.
9.t still/ wh% do the% *all it intelligen*eF 1.re/ intelligen*e is re6.ired for it/ 5.t it is 5% no means the
prime ingredient of it. 'istr.st/ worst>*ase reasoning/ and se*ond>g.essing the opponents is wa% more
essential. n fa*t/ often the intelligent part has to 5e 0ept s.5ser!ient to those other parts of the art of
gathering information a5o.t the enem%/ 5e*a.se no g.% in his right mind wo.ld e!er thin0 his dearl%
5elo!ed wo.ld poison their e!ening meal.
9.t %es/ e!en in the arena of ntelligen*e/ things ha!e definitel% *hanged. (s a 5o%/ spent man% an
afternoon going thro.gh m% parent8s en*%*lopedia on 3orld 3ar . #ne photo that st.*0 to m% ne.ral
net/ was that of two ho.sewi!es/ on of whi*h had propped .p her 5ag on her 0nee/ so she *o.ld
r.mmage thro.gh it/ apparentl% in sear*h of something/ li0e women do. 9.t the 5ag wo!en from reeds
had one parti*.lar feat.re/ whi*h not e!er%one wo.ld ha!e noti*ed4 something li0e a ro.nd *.r!ed
gem formed the *enter of the pattern that the 5ag had. The s.5title enlightened me4 these were two
ladies from the resistan*e/ *o!ertl% photographing 5.ildings of the enem%/ an a*ti!it% whi*h wo.ld
ha!e 5ro.ght them s.dden death or at least imprisonment/ had the% 5een *a.ght. Ies/ 5a*0 then/
intelligen*e was more a matter of *reati!el% *om5ining e!er%da% items instead of ha!ing them *.stom
made.
9.t te*hnolog% ad!an*es/ ma%5e e!en faster
than the intelligen*e of .s h.mans as sing.lar
persons4 after all/ the smarts *ome from
*ooperation/ and together we8re smarter than
alone. (ro.nd the 1&60/ the *amera on the right
here was !er% m.*h in demand 5% sp% agen*ies
all o!er the planet/ and e!en tho.gh small/ it
was hardl% in*onspi*.o.s4 if it was fo.nd in
%o.r possession/ %o.8d still ha!e a hard time
e=plaining it awa% in sp% sit.ations.
(ro.nd the t.rn of the Millenni.m a*t.all%
a*6.ired what Casio *alled a *amera wat*h. t
had a gra%>s*ale *amera/ that made 120=120 images/ whi*h *o.ld 5e downloaded to a PC. 1till tho.gh/
%o. wo.ld loo0 prett% weird/ if %o. aimed %o.r wat*h at something/ in order to *o!ertl% photograph it.
Eowada%s/ we :.st don8t see it an%more4 most people ha!e *ell phones/ and of those that do/ most ha!e
phones that *om5ine !ario.s 8.sed>to>5e8 high>te*h sp% tools in one4 *amera of *o.rse/ with *hoi*e of
either front/ 5a*0 or e!en side *ams. 3orld>wide *omm.ni*ations/ either thro.gh phone/ te=t/ M1E
messenger/ 10%pe and what notD 3here we were ama2ed a few %ears ago that some phones had ro.ting
in them/ now it is e!en r.n>of>the>mill to 0now :.st where %o.r friends and famil% are. #f *o.rse/ no
sp% in his right mind wo.ld a*ti!ate s.*h a tra*0ing f.n*tionalit%/ 5.t :.st how man% %ears will it ta0e
till that too 5e*omes as o5!io.s as *arr%ing a phone aro.nd with %o.F
Page 4" of 50
9e*a.se 5elie!e it or not/ tra*0ing will 5e*ome a trend in times to *ome/ if onl% to halt *rime. f %o.
ha!e one of those tools 5.ilt into %o.r *ar/ it :.st ta0es one phone *all to *onta*t the tra*0ing ser!i*e/
and ha!e them tell %o. where %o.r *ar is at. Te*hnologi*all%/ it wo.ld 5e !er% doa5le to ha!e a *ell
phone in %o.r po*0et and one in %o.r *ar/ wor0ing together in s.*h a wa% that %o. get a signal if %o.r
*ar mo!es and %o.8re not in it/ and in fa*t it *o.ld e!en ena5le %o. to *all the *ar to fig.re o.t if %o.r
0id too0 it/ or if some *ar thief did. C.st listen in/ *he*0 where it8s at/ and de*ide f.rther a*tion from
there.
1o %es/ ntelligen*e is still a hot item/ 5.t its fo*.s is shifting from *o!ert agen*ies to the *i!ilians
themsel!es. fig.re the proliferation of p.5li* *ameras was initiated 5% go!ernment and 5.sinesses/ 5.t
more and more we see the 5alan*e shift from those earl% adopters to the general p.5li*. ha!e people
in m% *ir*le of famil% and friends that go *am>h.nting the wa% .sed to go *all sign h.nting on the
amate.r 5ands d.ring m% s*hoolda%s. M% 5rother 7rnst re*entl% e!en 5ro.ght m% attention to a site
that a*t.all% allowed p.5li* a**ess to the *ameras en*o.nter on m% dail% ro.te to wor0D (nd prett%
soon/ the o.trage at what is p.5li*l% !isi5le 5e*omes no more than a la.ghing matter as we 5attle ea*h
other for *ontrol of a parti*.lar *amera. (nd of *o.rse/ realit% T) shows .se these *ameras in
*on:.n*tion with law enfor*ement/ 5oth to *at*h the *.lprits and 5% anon%mo.sl% airing these images/
also pre!ent people from ma0ing the same mista0es themsel!es. 1imple arithmeti*4 if %o. 0now from
wat*hing T) that dri!ing witho.t ins.ran*e has a !er% high *apt.re rate 5e*a.se of li*ense plate
s*anners in %o.r neigh5orhood/ %o.8ll thin0 twi*e a5o.t dri!ing witho.t ins.ran*e.
#f *o.rse it all depends on %o.r state of mind/ whi*h is 5eing *onstantl% infl.en*ed 5% an% and all
imp.lses %o.r senses allow %o. to pi*0 .p. ,oll%wood pla%s on that as well4 ta0e for instan*e a fairl%
.n0nown mo!ie li0e 8the 7*helon Conspira*%8. Mind %o./ that is its one fa*e/ aimed at the *onspira*%
5.ffs. f %o. loo0 a 5it f.rther/ %o.8ll find that it is also *alled 8the +ift8/ whi*h is a far more intrig.ing
title for the e=a*t same stream of 5its. 9.t what e=a*tl% is 8the +ift8F s it the state>of>the>art *ell phone
o.r hero re*ei!es from an .n0nown so.r*e/ or the fa*t that following its ad!i*e pa%s off ni*el% if not
mistr.stedF wo.ldn8t want to spoil the entire mo!ie for %o./ 5.t sin*e it is rele!ant to this stor%/ 8ll
re!eal that a te*hnologi*al intelligen*e Aor e!en *ons*io.snessB is in!ol!ed. (nd %o. 0now/ ma%5e that
is the gift the title refers to. 9e*a.se e!en tho.gh the se*reti!e g.%s that initiall% designed the s%stemAsB
wo.ld ha!e a total ner!o.s meltdown if the% dis*o!ered their m.lti>5illion *ontraption of hardware and
software had de!eloped a mind of its own/ wo.ld it 5e 5ad 5% definition for the pop.lation of planet
7arth in generalF
3ell/ wh% 0eep it this *onfinedF (s the end of the +ift
shifts me into 1tar 3ars 14 the Phantom Mena*e/ present
%o. the 1e!en1phere whi*h *onstr.*ted d.ring the
se*ond half of the pre!io.s mo!ie. (nd fran0l%/ the title of
the ne=t on*e isn8t half 5ad either4 the red se*tion in the
diagram on the right is often more a sem5lan*e of a threat/
rather than an a*t.al one. t is the pit in whi*h we fall/ if
we *an8t see past it on the wa% to more positi!e stages of
e!ol.tion. 7llie (rrowa% in Conta*t worded it perfe*tl%/ as
her answer on the 6.estion whi*h one 6.estion she wo.ld
as0 of the aliens4
6.ow did you do it5 .ow did you transcend the tech(
nological adolescence and avoid destroying yourself57
Page 48 of 50
Eow please note/ that 7llie8s 6.estion onl% dealt with the 5o.ndar% 5etween the 5iologi*al life form and
its te*hnolog%/ altho.gh e!ol.tion .s.all% happens 5etween se!eral spe*ies at on*e/ where *ross>
spe*ies relationships also matter. #n top of that/ there are also the relationships 5etween the indi!id.als
of a spe*ies/ whi*h more or less follow the same path. 9.t is the relationship 5etween mem5ers of
!ario.s spe*ies an% different than the relationship 5etween those mem5ers and their toolsF #H/ .s.all%
we *onsider the tools lifeless/ *ontrar% to the h.mans %ielding them/ 5.t as o.r tools e!ol!e Anote this
word is *ommonpla*e in this sit.ationB we find it more and more diffi*.lt to dis*ern if their messages
are prompted 5% *le!er programming/ or 5% m.tations of the software as it was. ,e*0/ we e!en .se the
term 8!ir.s8 in *omp.ting for something whi*h is apparentl% *laimed to 5e hostile/ 5.t whi*h seems
remar0a5l% ineffe*ti!e in its *apa*it% to do an% real harm. saa* (simo! ta*0led this *on*ept wa%
earlier/ or at least the ma0ers of 8/ $o5ot 8 whi*h was 5ased on one of his stories did4 The% had dr.
(lfred -anning who got android 1onn% to help him *ommit s.i*ide/ to deli!er a spee*h a5o.t random
fragments of *ode inside the *omp.ter8s *ore to e!ent.all% 5e*ome s.**essf.l in altering the original
programming and th.s ma0ing it 5e*ome something other than it originall% was.
Eow as a programmer/ ha!e of *o.rse to%ed with that *on*ept. Io. ma% not 0now what something
li0e +eneti* Programming is all a5o.t/ 5.t *an tell %o. in a *o.ple of senten*es4 First of all %o. fig.re
o.t one or two sol.tions to the gi!en pro5lem/ whi*h %o. *an then m.tate is some wa% to alter its
5eha!ior. 7ssentiall%/ %o. alter a few !aria5les in ea*h sol.tion/ when %o. perform the ne=t test r.n. 9%
s*oring the !ario.s sol.tions/ and .sing the 5est s*oring ones to m.tate them e!en f.rther/ %o.
e!ent.all% *ome .p with the perfe*t sol.tion. n similar fashion/ programmers .sed to pit*h software
programs against one another/ so as to determine who was the strongest. 1imilar *ontests are still 5eing
held/ onl% now the *ontestants are f.ll 5lown ro5ots/ with their own on>5oard intelligen*e.
9.t 5a*0 to the !ir.s idea/ 5e*a.se in opposition to the te=t a5o!e/ we were tal0ing a5o.t spontaneo.s
m.tation/ rather than programmer>ind.*ed modifi*ations. 9.t there8s something weird a5o.t !ir.ses
and sp%ware/ %o. 0nowF 9e*a.se !ir.ses seem to e=ist in a5.ndan*e/ 5.t !ir.ses with reall% harmf.l
pa%loads seem to 5e wa% more s*ar*e. #n top of that/ !ir.ses tend to 5e *a.ght and handled the
moment the% enter o.r s%stems/ and sp%ware is apparentl% allowed to dwell on o.r *omp.ters for some
time 5efore it a*t.all% gets wiped off 5% the 8good8 tools....
1o if !ir.ses are man>made/ what is to stop an%one from writing a pie*e of sp%ware with the most
dangero.s pa%load the% *an findF 1.rel%/ s.*h a thing wo.ld wipe o.t half the 3e5 5efore an%one
*o.ld sa%4 ?,e%/ what is m% *omp.ter doingF@. 1o %es/ fig.red it was a fa0e/ and as an e=periment
ran m% *omp.ter for a5o.t half a %ear with no !ir.s s*anner at all. The most anno%ing aspe*t of that
e=periment was 3indows itself/ nagging me a5o.t that fa*t. 9a*0 then that *he*0 wasn8t o5!io.s/ 5.t
in 3indows " %o. *an e!en 0ill that message/ if %o. want. Heeping an e%e on m% tas0 manager e!er%
now and then didn8t re!eal an% nast% pro*esses/ and the end of the e=periment Aafter 6 monthsB was the
reinstall of m% defa.lt !ir.s s*anner. $.nning its f.ll dis0 s*an res.lted in a 2ero s*ore4 not one !ir.s
had fo.nd its wa% onto m% hard dis0sD Eow this is a ?don8t tr% this at home fol0s@ sit.ation4 if %o.
aren8t a*t.all% *on!in*ed that %o. *an p.ll it off/ don8t. 9esides/ what do we ha!e to pro!eF
9asi*all%/ we ha!e ne!er 5een in *ompetition with the *omp.ter/ whether it was a sing.lar s%stem or a
glo5al intelligen*e. M.*h more we ha!e 5een in the right half of the diagram a5o!e/ *oe=isting and *o>
*reating as we see fit. (nd this relationship is wa% more s%m5ioti* than we per*ei!e it to 5e.
Programmers write programs in what the% *all so.r*e *ode. 9.t that is reada5le to them/ rather than to
the *omp.ter. #ther *omp.ter programs then translate it into something the *omp.ter does read and
.nderstand. 9.t perhaps these da%s of h.man aided *omp.ter programming will soon 5e a thing of the
past. 3hat if we fig.re o.t how programming *an 5e properl% made self>*orre*ting/ self>designing
Page 4& of 50
e!en/ and th.s *ompletel% self>relia5leF 0now this is a hard n.t to *ra*0 at this *.rrent time/ 5.t as we
sa% in ,olland4 ?7!er%thing *an 5e gotten .sed to/ e!en hanging@. (nd essentiall%/ there is tr.th in s.*h
a sa%ing4 more e=perien*e means more 0nowledge/ means more tr.st in ones a5ilities/ means more
daring to step forward. That is what %o. learn/ when people gi!e %o. praise4 to them it ma% ha!e 5een
an a*t worth% of tr.e re*ognition/ 5.t to %o. it will alwa%s 5e something %o. did 5e*a.se %o. *o.ld do
itD Eo heroism in!ol!ed/ :.st 0nowing it and following the Ei0e
6
motto.
1o/ fig.re %o. g.%s and gals ha!e no tro.5le determining what will 5e starting on ne=t/ rightF 9eing
a Ee.tral 7ngineering $o5ot for 'esign/ 8ll :.st go and ta*0le that wild idea/ lea!ing the wild ladies to
their own de!i*es.....
6 ?C.st do TD@ is the Ei0e motto/ and li0e an% name or trademar0 5elongs to the one h.man who named it first.
t8s all :.st la5els/ remem5erF #n top of that/ #ne is (ll and (ll are #ne... Aso wh% ma0e a distin*tionFB
Page 50 of 50