Yet again I haven’t posted for a long time, and I must apologise for that. Wow, a lot has happened in the intervening time: I turned sixteen on the 26 November 2009, I was the student editor for a magazine compiled of the best writing from my school (of which two of my short stories, Chen: The Tale of a Spy and The Tale of an Assassin were included in the anthology) and two of my video presentations were played at the Shotokan Kokusai Karatedo South Africa‘s Annual Awards Evening.
You can watch the main presentation here. The music is a rock version of “O Fortuna”, a famous 13th-Century Latin text.
I am making strong headway with my novel. There have been drastic changes to the plot; in fact, I’m working with an entirely different plot-line to the one I started with in July 2009. It’s a completely different story, and it was hard for me to re-start after having over 10 000 words down, but it was necessary. Even though I had a full plot outline down for the initial story, I didn’t feel completely happy with what I was working on. I will certainly return to this story (I have some great ideas incorporating ancient myths and texts that haven’t until now been widely spoken of) but I am currently giving my full concentration to finishing the new plot that makes up my debut novel.
So, where am I with this novel? At the last check, I’m writing Chapter 20, with 12 646 words. You can follow my Twitter channel for the latest updates on the novel’s progress. Unfortunately, I can’t give out anything regarding the plot, characters, or the name of the book. What I can say is that it’s set in the future – a long, long way into the future – and deals with issues that are plaguing humanity in the present.
So, 2010 is just a few hours away. Happy New Year to you! I plan on making the most out of this fresh year, and have some exciting things planned. Foremost amongst them are my European Tour in June 2010. I will be visiting London, Amsterdam, Venice, Florence, Munich, Rome and Paris, amongst others. I got a 12-megapixel Cybershot camera for my 16th, so you can expect some great pictures from my travels here on Life in Pixels!
I know I’ve said this often, but I really do hope to blog more frequently during the new year. I can’t promise, though, as 2010 is going to be a busy year.
This is the first part to the new “Chen” short story I’ve been working on. Enjoy!
Part One
Bernard Matthew was a careful man. In his world, everything was in its rightful place. Thus it’s safe to say that there was a sense of measured equilibrium in his office on the twelfth floor of Matthew Industries. Matthew was sitting at the top of a glorious empire that he built himself, brick by aching brick, one weapons deal after another.
Matthew Industries supplied cutting-edge armour and ammo to fuel some of the fiercest wars fought on our deteriorating planet. The company dealt with governments, fascist armies, terrorists, and revolutionaries. They didn’t care who fought who for what; for them, each new conflict meant business… more Benjamin’s to keep themselves smiling.
So on that cold, wet Thursday when Bernard Matthew walked into his office, he realised instantly that something was amiss. The equilibrium had been unsettled… his high-backed leather chair was positioned with its back facing him. And the voice from the chair was certainly something that he hadn’t placed in his office…
“Mr Matthew… so glad you could join us,” said that voice, the words flowing silkily through the air. It had a faint trace of a Mexican accent.
The door to the office slammed shut, making Matthew flinch briefly. But he stood his ground. From behind him, two sets of footsteps — heavy army boots — slapped the cold marble floor as they approached him.
“We’re going for a little ride, Mr Matthew. We have some things to discuss with you…” continued the voice from the chair.
“Who the hell are you?” demanded Matthew, his faltering voice betraying his defiant posture.
A smooth, soft laugh came from the chair.
“We are neither your friend… nor your enemy, Mr Matthew. But soon… have patience… you will find out soon enough…”
The last thing Bernard Matthew heard before the needle pierced his arm and before the liquid it injected induced him unconscious, was the sweet notes of a Spanish guitar. The melody they wove through the air pushed him into the opening blackness, and he crumpled into the arms of two soldiers who began dragging him toward his private lift.
The great inventor and artist, Leonardo da Vinci, once said, “When once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward, for there you have been and there you will always long to return.”
Ever since mankind developed cognitive ability, the desire to soar has been ever present, unwavering. It’s powerful presence has driven man to dream, and realise dreams. To invent the wheel, and traverse the seas. To fly like an eagle, and land on a neighbour whom he gazed upon for centuries, which may have been one small step for man, but a giant leap for Mankind.
But now, restlessness stirs once again in this exploring soul. Exploring even our own planet has not become enough for man, who’s very nature is to not be content with what he currently has. And so, after aeons of dreaming, the time has come to realise that dream, of stepping on… the red planet.
This, ladies and gentlemen, is not a science fiction idea. This is reality. Welcome to the future. Welcome to our new home.
The colonisation of Mars is not just for the mere advancement of science and technology or to provide a “benchmark” for mankind’s progress. It is, in fact, a need, a necessity, due to the current plight of our own Earth.
Overpopulation, the detrimental effects on our environment caused by the notorious Global Warming, and depleting natural resources are the fundamental aspects that are pushing us towards establishing a colony on Mars. Furthermore, history tells us that, six times before, the Earth was struck by a large asteroid. The result? Extinction. All six times.
Do we want the hundreds of years of advancement in society to be lost, crumbling in dust and ashes, if another rock out there with our name on it were to strike?
And so, as NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale said, “We also hope to discover if Mars can provide a second home for humans—an extension of our civilisation—40 million miles from Earth.”
Thus, Viking 1 was the first spacecraft to land on the Red Planet, on 20 August 1975. Launched by NASA, it began our journey into the in-depth study of this fascinating planet. Viking 1 studied the soil of Mars, and began the search for life on the planet. Today, four artificial satellites orbit the planet, whilst two exploratory rovers are studying its geography. These vehicles are the first step towards colonising this planet.
What we currently know about Mars, is that it is relatively similar to Earth. Some of the similarities include: the Martian day being very similar to Earth’s (24 hours and 39 minutes). Mars has an axial tilt similar to Earth’s, meaning that Mars experiences seasons similar to the ones we have here. It has an atmosphere that can aid in aerobraking spacecraft landing on the surface. But most importantly, a recent discovery by NASA’s Mars Exploration Rover and the European Space Agency’s Mars Express, points to the presence of water-ice on the planet.
These discoveries mean that the Red Planet is ready and waiting to support Terrain-base life.
But the journey to getting life on the planet isn’t going to be easy. It will involve an intricate and colossal process that involves re-engineering the entire planet.
This process is called terraforming.
Terraforming will, essentially, transform the planet from looking like this…
Current Mars
to this…
Terraformed Mars
a very inviting, Earth-like planet.
First coined by science fiction writer Jack Williamson, the term has now become accepted in the world of science. Meaning literally “Earth shaping”, it involves the process of deliberately modifying a planet’s atmosphere, temperature, surface topography and ecology to conditions similar to Earth, in order to make it habitable by humans.
In order to better understand terraforming, we need to look at why it needs to be done on Mars:
The temperature and atmosphere on Mars is vastly different to the Earth’s. Where the Earth has 79% nitrogen, Mars has a mere 2.7%. Even more alarming, is that Mars has a whopping 97% Carbon Dioxide — extremely lethal to human beings.
Furthermore, Mars has a very thin atmosphere, and thus does not retain much heat. Let’s take a look at the average surface temperatures on Earth and Mars. Earth’s average is 14.4?C. Mars… -62.77?C. These factors clearly outline the need for terraforming.
The process is hypothesised to be conducted in two stages. In the first stage, specialised plants, such as lichen, which are able to withstand extreme conditions such as those on Mars, will be implemented. They would adapt to the Martian climate whilst the second stage is being prepared. In the second stage, additional plants and organic material will be introduced to the planet. These will begin the transformation of the atmosphere into a more habitable one. Lastly, specially developed structures to withstand the Martian weather conditions would be sent, so as to house the first colonisers whilst the planet is being terraformed.
What’s great about this development in science, is that, with our current technological systems, the process can begin this very minute. However, the cost of terraforming is mammoth. Investors are very sceptical about it, because the process will take about 20 to 40 years.
While this is the case, our great pioneers of the age — our modern-day Leonardo da Vincis, if you like, are already planning with Project Virgle in 2014, spearheaded by Richard Branson and Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who will be leading hundreds of users on one of the grandest adventures in human history; Project Virgle will be the first permanent human colony on Mars.
These last few weeks have been a whirlwind for me. That’s not to say it wasn’t exceptionally interesting and exciting – it certainly was.
It all started with a presentation for English class, where we had to present a 5 minute talk on any (interesting) topic of our choice. One of the requirements was to utilize digital media to enhance (and subsequently not overpower) the talk.
Being me, I went all-out, and the resultant presentation was quite hi-tech. I will post the transcript of the speech after this Thursday, when I have presented it at a speaker’s evening.
But I’d like to share the intricacies of the talk, since I thought it was quite interesting to see how all these technologies came together to create a powerful presentation.
What I Used:
Apple Unibody MacBook (Late 2008 edition)
Apple iPhone 3G (2008 edition)
Ad-hoc Wi-Fi network (to interface the Mac and iPhone)
Apple Keynote presentation software
Keynote Remote
As you can see, I’m an Apple fan 😉
So, the presentation was designed and created in Keynote. I didn’t “auto-time” it, so it could be controlled manually.
Then, I set up an ad-hoc Wi-Fi network to interface the MacBook with an iPhone. This allowed the MacBook to “talk” to the iPhone via a Wi-Fi network, over a secure connection (so no-one in the audience could interfere with the presentation).
Keynote Remote, an iPhone App, was then used to control the presentation. It displayed the current slide that was on-screen, as well as my speaker notes. This allowed for me to only have one item, the iPhone, up with me, which gave an “uncluttered” look.
At the end of the day though, as I’ve mentioned in previous posts, it’s not about the technology, but the way it’s utilized, that makes a presentation. Thus, there was certainly a lot of practice put in to ensure the entire process was seemless.
In a future post I will include the transcript of the presentation, as this topic (colonizing Mars) is something I am quite passionate about.
Wow, it’s been such a long time since I last updated! The past few months have been a roller-coaster ride for me. I’ve been to Switzerland and back (in July, shortly after my previous post) and I’ve managed to notch up to over 10 000 words for my novel.
I’ve also been busy with a number of video presentations for various people – those have went very well. My final video project for the year is our annual SKDSA Awards Evening, and this year the audience will be in for a treat. Over the past three years that I’ve been involved with this line of work, I’ve learnt a great deal and worked with a host of different technologies. This year I’m going to combine all my acquired knowledge and expertise in the field to deliver the best presentation yet!
I’ve just finished my latest music project – it’s called “Give Me Music” and its five cool tracks of awesome electronic music, just in time for Summer ’09 in South Africa! Look out for it soon – I’m hoping to break into the “underground” music scene in Durban with this CD and I’m hoping it’ll go down well.
On the subject of my book, I must say that it’s going very well. There is still quite a bit to do, but I’m slowly getting to the finish mark and I hope to finish that by the end of this year – we’ll see how things go.
I’m running two “commercial” blogs now (don’t worry, Life in Pixels will always remain my “personal” home on the web) and these blogs are: Byte Lounge (www.bytelounge.blogspot.com) and ThatGuitarBlog (www.thatguitarblog.blogspot.com). Go check ’em out!
Also, don’t forget to follow me on Twitter, which I update constantly from wherever I am: twitter.com/RahulDowlath.
Rahul Dowlath 