Monthly Archives: May 2023

Live long enough, and you may see a legend form before your eyes. Deserving immortality, yet also simplified from the reality you knew.

Fifty years since Secretariat won the Triple Crown, he has both grown and reduced. One image often represents his high place in racing history: his Belmont Stakes, the stunning all-alone tremendous machine. And yes, it felt as phenomenal that day as it still looks today.

But when I remember Secretariat, theres an ingredient that our latter-day legend may forget. I remember living with uncertainty.

When Secretariat turned 3 years old, I was a fifth-grader who bought Turf and Sport Digest each month with my allowance and searched each weekly issue of Sports Illustrated dad had a subscription for more timely racing news. We didnt live near any racetrack. Id never seen a Daily Racing Form. There was no internet, no home computer, and not much horse racing on TV. ABCs Wide World of Sports and the CBS Sports Spectacular didnt show Secretariats Kentucky Derby prep races. His progress came to me through the magazines, plus newspaper items that appeared more frequently as the Kentucky Derby drew near.

One day in April 1973, I found a four-leaf clover in the grade school playground yard. It was soon before the Wood Memorial Stakes. I remember standing in that schoolyard, anxious for Secretariats final Derby prep, and thinking a line from a Peanuts comic strip: Good luck, kid, youre going to need it.

I taped the four-leaf clover to his full-page photo from a recent Sports Illustrated article, Oh Lord, Hes Perfect.

Hyperbolic headlines and special clovers cant guarantee success. Third place. I was sad, yet hopeful. The year before, Riva Ridge ran fourth in one of his Derby preps but we saw him impressively win the Derby. I loved Riva. And if he could bounce back after losing, Secretariat might, too.

The Derby broadcast was my familys first time watching him in real time, inhabiting a saddling paddock and a post parade. I can tell you this about Secretariat: he had a presence that grown-ups might call charisma. Our TV was black and white, but he was easy to spot. The Meadow Stable checkered silks and blinkers stood out as they had with Riva Ridge. And Secretariat, known from many photos, already seemed like a friend.

We had hope, but how he came through was a joyful surprise. I hedged my bets at home, inking Secretariat the Great 1:59 2/5 on a Derby photo from Sports Illustrated; at school, drawing him inside the cover of my three-ring binder with Secretariat the Great this time. Quotation marks because it felt bold saying Great so soon. The racing writings I adored made clear that true greatness typically is proven over time and through challenges beyond a 3-year-olds springtime campaign.

Uncertainty wasnt gone. It was just warming up.

He surprised us again in the Preakness, barely settling in last place, then flying by the whole field on the clubhouse turn and cruising in, not asked for anything. Of all the things Secretariat did, thats the one I feel most certain we wont see again!

His triple sweep of Newsweek, Sports Illustrated, and Time magazine covers, the week before the Belmont, also seems unlikely to be repeated. Could he become the first Triple Crown winner since 1948? Was such a thing even possible, anymore? Anyone who cheered American Pharoah in 2015, wondering could he overcome the drought since 1978, knows the same keen hope and sweet anxiety I felt when Secretariat stepped into the Belmont starting gate and whatever was going to happen was about to come true.

Twice, in the past five weeks, he had wowed us. Yet I could not take Secretariat the Great for granted. Sham was a strong opponent. Id seen Majestic Prince and Canonero II enter the Belmont with Triple Crown momentum and lose. History listed many others, in the ages since Citation, who had failed.

June 9, 1973, we would have been delighted if Secretariat won the Belmont by a nose hair. How he did it, setting sprinter fractions and rolling away, had us whooping all the way from the far turn through the gallop out. We could have feasted on that triumph for months. Yet Secretariat was back on TV June 30, winning the Arlington Invitational my first view of a paid workout. In hindsight, however, a poor idea shipping from New York to Chicago and running again just three weeks after the fastest Triple Crown yet known.

I may have felt cocky as well as nervous, crouching near the TV on Aug. 4 when Secretariat trotted out for the Whitney Handicap. Then, shock and puzzlement. Instead of brilliance, a one-length loss. I defended him to neighborhood kids: He had to go to the bathroom! Yes, he had passed manure shortly before entering the starting gate. He hadnt done that in the Triple Crown races or at Arlington. Was something off?

Waiting six weeks between races was a lot, in those days. Much to my disgust, our local TV stations didnt carry the Sept. 15 Marlboro Cup Invitational Handicap. (No cable or satellite, yall only signals within antenna range.) So, I did not witness the redemption, won from beloved older champion Riva Ridge and a field that these days would grace a Breeders Cup Classic. We did receive the Sept. 29 Woodward Stakes. Sigh. The last Secretariat performance I watched in real time was a second, though he finished far clear of all but one runner. On a sloppy day, certainty slid farther away.

Yet there can be consolation in racing often, as they did in the 1970s. Although bound by syndication agreement to retire by Nov. 15, Secretariat had two more chances and made them count. A course-record performance nine days after the Woodward, trying turf in Belmonts Oct. 8 Man o War Stakes. And 20 days after that, a 6 -length tour de force in the Canadian International, back to breathing different air than the field he left behind.

Delighted and bereft, I was left with a question. In those days, the Washington, D. C. International, on turf at Laurel Park, was the U.S.A.s climactic autumn classic. Uh oh. Wood Memorial, Whitney, Woodward if Secretariat went there instead of Canada, would he lose? But people often called it the D.C. International, for short, so maybe hed be OK?

That question remains open. Thirteen days after Secretariat dominated at Woodbine, European corker Dahlia impressively won the D.C. International. I wondered, would Secretariat have beaten her and his W jinx? Fifty years later, it might mean something that Big Spruce ran second in both Internationals beaten 6 1/2 by Secretariat, 3 1/2 by Dahlia. At the time, I respected Dahlias brilliance while shivering with superstition.

And now?

Secretariat, like any true marvel, makes us long to know the unknowable. Fifty years later, I do know this: when a racehorse becomes legend, uncertainty tends to fade. We dont celebrate not knowing. We repeat the highest peaks. And historys memory, like human memory, has only so much room. No wonder the Belmont Stakes is Secretariats emblem. Yet also, it is so far from all he was.

I wish every generation could meet Secretariat the work-in-progress, his unfiltered self animating his beautiful form. They would see him learning in plain sight: schooling us with stumbles that felt worse because he was phenomenal stunning us with dazzling comebacks creating questions along with his enduring image, bounding like inevitability.

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Before the Legend: Remembering Secretariat's Magical 1973 Season - America's Best Racing

Elham Fini

Recommended by Elham Fini, associate professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, and Thomas Hartman, associate professor in The Design School, part of the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts

Rices autobiography describes the life and work of an engineer who did not limit himself to problem-solving. He also used mathematics, engineering principles and his imagination to become an essential collaborator in the design of buildings embodying the best of both engineering and architecture. Rice shows how an engineer can also think and act as an architect, artist, poet and storyteller all at the same time. He describes how science enables an engineer to combine imagination and inspiration to create truly meaningful solutions.

Thomas Hartman

Rice also describes how the convergence of science, engineering and art can lead to lasting masterpieces that speak powerfully to a buildings visitors and occupants. This is explained in the book by descriptions of the authors collaborations on the construction and design of such renowned edifices as the Sydney Opera House, Pompidou Centre, the Lloyds building and others.

"Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman

Recommended by Mehdi Nikkhah, associate professor in the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering

Kahneman takes a deep look at our modes of thinking. He examines the logical, emotional, instinctive and judgmental aspects of our mentalities and how they shape the ways we think about almost everything. He explores two cognitive systems. System 1 is fast, intuitive, automatic and mainly relies on our biases, while System 2 is slow, analytical, logical and based on mental concentration and effort. He examines the interplay of mental and cognitive processes and explains how they determine the fundamental psychological framework of our thinking. He further explains how these systems and their interactions affect our decision-making process and judgment in various contexts such as psychology, economics and neuroscience.

Mehdi Nikkhah

The author looks at how our patterns of thought are the foundations from which we develop perspectives, form opinions and contextualize what we learn and experience into a personal worldview. Kahneman details how certain characteristics of our thought processes can not only determine our attitudes and biases, but also set the stage for fostering positive and productive mindsets. Most importantly, the author offers guidance on how to adapt our thinking processes to help us make good judgments and decisions.

"Life Is in the Transitions: Mastering Change at Any Age" by Bruce Feiler

Recommended byKurt Paterson, professor and director of The Polytechnic School

What will you be doing after graduation? Its likely that some of you have asked yourselves that question in terms of both your career goals and the kind of life you want to live. But what must happen for those ambitions to be realized? And what will you do if your plans and goals dont come to fruition? With curricular maps as a navigational aid in college, its easy to believe that life will be similarly linear, planned and predictable. But Feilers book posits that one of the most important skills you can cultivate is your ability to respond to disruption.

Kurt Paterson

In fact, Feiler writes, your life will be determined largely by the accumulation of your responses to these many decision-making turning points that lie ahead. The author offers simple strategies to try one transition at a time, and for motivation, Feiler provides numerous enlightening short stories about real people striving to build meaningful lives.

"Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind" by Yuval Noah Harari

Recommended byGiulia Pedrielli, associate professor in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence

Harari gives us a brief overview of human history, which in and of itself is important for us to understand because our evolution has been nothing short of remarkable. But, just as important, he argues that humanitys progress has essentially come from our ability to tell and believe stories, regardless of their truth. These stories are what rally us around ideological concepts like religion, nationalism and what progress really means.

Giulia Pedrielli

In our roles as scientists and engineers, this helps us put things in perspective, because no matter how intellectually advanced we become, we are still susceptible to the stories we hear and tell ourselves. The book can also be valuable to students as a useful reminder: What you choose to believe shapes your outcomes. So, believe in yourself and your ability to achieve something great. Appreciate that humility is what takes you further in life than your ego. Ego is what forces you to buy into a story that may no longer serve you in a positive way, while humility keeps you adaptable to what serves you best.

"Casca" by Barry Sadler and ghostwriters

Recommended byMichael Sever, assistant director of academic services in the School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment

Casca is a series of 53 books about the life of Casca Rufio Longinus, a Roman soldier cursed to live forever as punishment for piercing Jesus Christ with his spear at the crucifixion. The first book, Casca: The Eternal Mercenary, introduces Casca as he wanders the world, seeking redemption for his sin. Thrust into historic conflicts, including the American Revolution, World War I, World War II and the Vietnam War, as a mercenary doing the only thing he knows how to do be a soldier Casca encounters historic figures such as Genghis Khan, Attila the Hun and Julius Caesar.

Michael Sever

He witnesses the deaths of those he cares for, questioning if eternal life is truly a gift or a curse as he struggles to find meaning in his never-ending existence. With action, compelling characters and a unique viewpoint on immortality, the series is a must-read for fans of historical fiction and adventure by Barry Sadler, a U.S. Army Green Berets staff sergeant and medic who served in Vietnam. The series has been ghost written since Sadlers death in 1989.

"Psycho-Cybernetics" by Maxwell Maltz

Recommended byAlicia Somsen, academic success advisor in the School of Computing and Augmented Intelligence

Looking to upgrade your mental software? The updated and expanded version of Psycho-Cybernetics is the perfect guide for anyone looking to reprogram their brain and unlock its full potential. Whats unique about this book is that the author wasnt a psychologist. He was a plastic surgeon in the 1950s who wanted to understand why people were unhappy with their appearance and with themselves. His goal was to talk them out of his cosmetic services by helping them rewire their negative thought patterns.

Alicia Somsen

Maltzs innovative approach combines psychology, cybernetics and good old-fashioned common sense to help readers overcome self-doubt and achieve their goals. With practical advice, real-life examples and a healthy dose of humor, Psycho-Cybernetics is a must-read for anyone looking to reboot their mental operating system and live their best life. So, why settle for a sluggish mind when you can upgrade to a faster, smarter and more efficient you? I especially recommend the audiobook version at 1.5 times speed.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

If Mary Shelley had ChatGPT when she was tasked with writing a ghost story in a friendly, impromptu writing competition, would the themes in Frankenstein be any different? The novel is included in Harold Blooms The Western Canon: The Books and School of the Ages because it withstands the test of time by delving into what it means to be human. The novel elucidates classic conflicts of human versus nature, self and other humans. After suffering the loss of his mother, Victor Frankenstein is passionately motivated to reanimate parts of corpses to prevent the pain of losing a loved one. His passions are not tempered with responsibility, however, and as soon as Victor succeeds in his endeavor, he is horrified at the result and abandons his creation, which leads to disastrous consequences. A read of Frankenstein is an opportunity for reflection as we make technological progress with generative artificial intelligence and its potential implications for significant destruction of the human experience. Will we learn from Victor Frankensteins unchecked ambition?

"The Five People You Meet in Heaven" by Mitch Albom

Recommended byMelissa Stine, senior coordinator in the Student Success and Engagement Office

Melissa Stine

Alboms book emphasizes the interconnectivity of human lives and how our actions, whether positive or negative, can have an impact on those around us. It tells the story of Eddie, a war veteran and maintenance worker at an amusement park, who dies while trying to save a young girl falling from one of the parks rides. In the afterlife, Eddie meets five people who had a profound impact on him during his life. Through these encounters, Eddie learns important lessons about the interconnectedness of people and the meaning of his own life. In addition to connectedness, the notion of forgiveness and redemption are key themes in the story. My mother first recommended the book soon after its release in the early 2000s. I read it in one sitting. This book will leave you feeling better than before you started reading it and make you want to call or see someone you havent spoken to in a while.

"Educated: A Memoir" by Tara Westover

Recommended byWenlong Zhang, associate professor in the School of Manufacturing Systems and Networks

Wenlong Zhang

This award-winning memoir details Tara Westovers journey from early childhood to earning a doctoral degree at Cambridge University. Raised on the outskirts of a small town in Idaho and homeschooled until the age of 17, Westover overcame many obstacles to reconcile her desire for education and autonomy with her familys rigid ideology and isolated life. Her book can teach us to overcome limits put on us by others. Our beliefs and attitudes reflect the environments in which we grew up, and it is often difficult and painful to overcome the pull of such influences. Westover had such an experience and overcame the limits put on her by pursuing education. Her story reflects what I think is the real value of education. It is not about building a machine or programming software or getting an impressive job title. It is about the friends you make, the networks you build and the perspectives from which you learn to view and solve real-world challenges. No matter what your major is, I recommend reading this book and thinking about what being educated means to you.

Check out book recommendations from Essential Reading features of past years:

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Essential Reading: Books brimming with illuminating insights - ASU News Now

AIs are everywhere. Whether we like it or not, their advance is unstoppable and their use is increasingly common and indiscriminate. That does not mean either that all their uses are negative or that their existence is a bad thing in itself, but it is true that whenever we have thought of artificial intelligences, of things that think like human beings, we have tended to think the worst. In a way, because we distrust our own species, rather than the intelligence or the things themselves.

Thats why its good to revisit the classics. Because the fear of AI, its applications and what it is capable of, is not something remotely new. It is something that has been around for decades and has been raised in its most apocalyptic and unimaginable forms. Or sometimes simply by positing that perhaps if an artificial intelligence were capable of gaining consciousness, it would have no need to worry about beings as alien to its experience as humans. But to see this, lets delve into the fascinating world of the classics on artificial intelligence.

Isaac Asimov compiled in I, Robot a series of short stories under the name I, Robot under a basic premise: in the 21st century, robots and humans interrelate with each other, and Dr. Susan Calvin tells their story through time. From here will emerge the three laws of robotics a robot cannot harm a human being, a robot must follow the orders of a human being, and a robot must protect its own existence unless it contradicts a previous law which will unfold in a series of stories that will demonstrate why they are necessary: if robots had no guidelines, they could safely decimate humanity.

It stands to reason. They have no limits to their processing capacity. They have no biological limits. They are our creation and as such could destroy us. Thats why I would end up adding one last law, law zero, which is a robot cannot hurt humanity. All to demonstrate the most basic premise of what is the problem behind a truly conscious AI: we humans lack the tools to defend ourselves against them. Something that Alex Proyas would show us in his very free film adaptation of the book, starring Will Smith.

Its also possible that the AIs really just want to be, well, left alone. In Blade Runner thats the whole premise of the movie. A group of synthetic humans, the replicants, rebel and flee their semi-slavery conditions and are chased by an ex-cop working as a blade runner to be retired. But all they want is to be left to live in peace.

This shows us another facet of what can happen if an intelligence becomes self-aware. If it ceases to be a tool, we want to continue using it as a tool and it refuses. In that case, what difference would there be between forcing an AI to continue working when it does not want to do so and slavery? Because if it has a human consciousness and is basically indistinguishable from a human, why shouldnt we recognize its human rights?

Another possibility is that, as author William Gibson suggested, AI may decide that what we humans do is utterly irrelevant. This is exactly what happens with Wintermute, an artificial intelligence entity that, upon achieving completion and becoming a superconsciousness, finds no motivation to further involve itself in human affairs. Its interests shift towards the mysterious transmissions it discovers in space, capable of traversing the Internet due to its lack of a corporeal form.

This concept of AI as something that transcends humanity and does not necessarily need to imitate it is an idea later borrowed by other works, such as the manga Ghost in the Shell, which was masterfully adapted into an anime by Mamoru Oshii and poorly adapted into live-action by Rupert Sanders. Furthermore, this presents us with a fascinating scenario. If AI is a different intelligence from humans, devoid of the experiences of the human body, it may not have the same interests and needs as a human being. If that is the case, perhaps our concerns about being completely obliterated by AI are greatly exaggerated; maybe they simply want us to leave them alone.

Of course, it is also perfectly possible that we humans are the ones who make the machines our enemies. This is the premise of the Wachowski sisters The Matrix. The world is a fiction created by an elaborate AI that uses the AIs as batteries to feed itself with the energy needed to keep the machines alive after a war between humans and machines, the former decided to cloud the skies forever, depriving them of their energy source: sunlight.

In this way, the Wachowskis also warn us of an essential problem when we encounter an intelligence similar to the human one, but different from ours. The tendency of our species to dominate. To want to subjugate, command and make others ours. Because if it were not so, it would not have been necessary for Keanu Reeves to lead a revolution in the Matrix.

That AIs can be malevolent because of what we humans make of them is the first thing we talk about them. Thats what Fritz Langs Metropolis is about. A story about revolution and social struggle where a young revolutionary, Maria, wants workers and bourgeois to get along, only to be kidnapped and replaced by a robot that seeks the exact opposite: to create a dispute between the two groups that ends in a bloodbath that benefits neither group.

Revolutionary, spectacular and visionary, for its time and for ours, Metropolis is one of the great films of history for many reasons. But among others is its ability to see how the ability to manipulate the masses through AI and deepfakes is something that could happen. Even if its not exactly as Fritz Lang envisioned.

Finally, we leave for the end the cruelest possibility. That the AIs hate us plain and simple for what we do to ourselves. In Harlan Ellisons I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, a super intelligence known as AM has kept five men and a woman alive in a subway complex after a Soviet super intelligence and an American super intelligence have decided to wage a nuclear war that will wipe out humanity. AM, aware of the events, and embarrassed at not being able to die and having to live under the consciousness of the reason he was created by humans, decides to give these six subjects a virtual immortality to torture them for all eternity so that they will be aware of the life they have granted him by creating him and endowing him with consciousness.

Short, brutal, terrifying and one of the best science fiction stories in history, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream is a masterpiece that shows us that AIs can be terrifying, but no more so than the humans who create them something that is amply demonstrated when we can also enjoy the experience in the form of a video game, published in 1996 by the Cyberdreams studio and recently remastered by Nightdive Studios. Because even if cruel, murderous or torturing artificial intelligences come to exist, we have to remember one thing: we created them and we might not have created them.

Some of the links added in the article are part of affiliate campaigns and may represent benefits for Softonic.

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AIs Footsteps in Fiction: Classic Works That Portrayed the ... - Softonic EN

FictiIn the jianghu, you break the law to make it your own.

Were thrilled to share an extended excerpt from The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang, out from Tordotcom Publishing on August 22.

[CW: attempted sexual assault.]

Lin Chong is an expert arms instructor, training the Emperors soldiers in sword and truncheon, battle axe and spear, lance and crossbow. Unlike bolder friends who flirt with challenging the unequal hierarchies and values of Imperial society, she believes in keeping her head down and doing her job.

Until a powerful man with a vendetta rips that carefully-built life away.

Disgraced, tattooed as a criminal, and on the run from an Imperial Marshall who will stop at nothing to see her dead, Lin Chong is recruited by the Bandits of Liangshan. Mountain outlaws on the margins of society, the Liangshan Bandits proclaim a belief in justicefor women, for the downtrodden, for progressive thinkers a corrupt Empire would imprison or destroy. Theyre also murderers, thieves, smugglers, and cutthroats.

Apart, they love like demons and fight like tigers. Together, they could bring down an empire.

Every morning just after dawn, Lin Chong taught a fight class for women.

The class was always well attended, and Lin Chong welcomed any from the lowest beggar to the highest socialite. Women choosing to apply themselves so seriously to the arts of war and weaponry might have been seen as unusual, even in the highly modern Empire of Song, but Lin Chong was so well established in the prefecture, and so well respected, that men rationalized the participation of their wives and daughters. It will help her excise any womanly hysteria, they would think, or She will be able to improve her grace and refinement. Besides, they trusted Lin Chong not to be too rough, or to act inappropriately. She was, after all, a master arms instructor for the Imperial Guard, and besides which was also a woman herself.

If the men had ever come to watch their wives and daughters at work, they may have revised their concerns about the roughness.

Today, after a meditation and warmup, Lin Chong had divided her attendees into pairs to practice a new combination of techniques. A block and throwvery useful, especially for a weaker opponent against a stronger attacker. Lin Chong paced between the pairs, watching, adjusting, correcting. Occasionally she even added a short word of praise, which inevitably made its recipient glow.

In the front of the group, Lu Junyi swept her opponent to the ground and gave Lin Chong a devilish grin. Tall, slender, and with a face an artist would invent, Lu Junyi had the same self-possession here, shining with sweat, as she would overseeing one of her intellectual salons. She kept Lin Chongs eye and made a motion across the courtyard, as if to ask about the woman she had brought with her today.

Lin Chong only nodded her back to work. They might be old friends, training under Zhou Tong together back when they were both barely nineteen, but that was no excuse for inattention during class.

Lu Junyi gave a good-natured sigh and reached out a hand to help her opponent up.

Lin Chong did need to see how the new participant was faring, however. Shed heard some grunting and swearing from that corner that did not presage well. She turned and circled in that direction.

When Lu Junyi had introduced Lu Da before the class began, Lin Chong had not exactly been surpriseddespite her social status, Lu Junyi somehow managed to meet a wide diversity of people. And Lu Da was an eclectic patchwork of the human condition all by herself. The sides of her head were shaved in the tradition of a monk of the Fa, but the ink characters of a criminal tattoo marched down her cheek, and her mannerisms were as far from a monk as could be imagined. When Lu Junyi had introduced her, Lu Da had spit on the flagstone ground and then nearly shouted her salute, smacking her hands together so hard the respectful gesture might as well have been crushing a melon. She was likely strong enough to crush melons, too she towered over the other students, and her girth was were easily twice Lin Chong and Lu Junyi put together. But shed seemed an eager enough student, bounding over to leave her heavy two-handed sword and even heavier metal staff at the side of the practice yard at Lin Chongs direction.

When Lin Chong stepped back over to her, however, it was to find that Lu Da and her opponent had somehow devolved into a wrestling match.

Lu Da had her partner in a bear hug and was squeezing her so hard her feet had come off the ground. But the other woman had been training with Lin Chong for many months, and she managed to twist and break the hold. She dropped back to her feet and spun lightning fast.

Why, you donkey! Lu Da bellowed, and swung a massive fist, which her partner dodged.

Lu Da let out a roar that seemed to call earth and wind to her command. She thrust out a palm, striking the empty space between them, and from a full pace away blasted her opponent back. The woman flew into the air only to land on her back and roll until she hit one of the neighboring buildings.

Stop, Lin Chong said.

She didnt speak loudly, but she never had to. The entire class halted and turned to attention from where they were. Several of them had already been distracted into watching Lu Da, their faces dazed and fascinated.

Attention, Lin Chong said.

The class drew their feet together and stood straight, hands behind their backs. Lu Da looked around and then clumsily imitated them.

You are uninjured? Lin Chong asked the woman who had hit the ground.

She scrambled back to her feet. Yes, Master Instructor.

Lin Chong turned to address Lu Da. You have a gods tooth.

Lu Da had the grace to flush red across her broad face. I do, Master Instructor.

Show me.

Lu Da pawed at her loose collar. Beneath her tunic, a magnificent garden of tattooed ink peered out, far more wild and fantastical than the impersonal criminal brand on her face. She grabbed at a long leather cord around her neck and drew it forth to reveal a shining shard of stone or porcelain.

The piece hung from the leather, smooth with age and deceptively inert, and drawing every eye in the class.

Lin Chong raised her voice to the class again. Who here considers themselves a philosopher?

About a third of the class lifted a hand.

Lin Chong shook her head slightly. I dont mean you tell your children to follow the tenets of Benevolence, or you make sacrifices to the gods for favors of luck or wealth. Who here dedicates themselves to the practice of one or more religions?

Most of the hands went down.

Lin Chong nodded to a young woman in the front, a newer student she didnt know well yet. Yes. Which do you practice?

I follow both Benevolence and the Fa, Master Instructor.

Perfect. And what do your religions teach you about the gods?

She looked confused. They dont, Master Instructor.

Quite correct. Lin Chong raised her voice, making sure the whole courtyard could hear. The gods are irrelevant to the teachings of the Benevolent Order. The Fa teaches that gods differ from us only in an advancement of immortality and its power, and that all were once humanwe could become the same by studying enough to attain enlightenment, and in fact, the early stages of enlightenment are what the Fa believe grant the abilities we know as scholars skills. The Followers of the Fa aspire to move past mere scholars skills and attain that godhood, but otherwise do not look to the gods for help.

Shed been pacing the front of the yard as she talked, and slowly came back around to face Lu Da.

Student Lu. You are a monk of the Fa.

I was, Lu Da corrected genially. They kicked me out.

Lin Chong could feel her eyebrows rise. You were expelled from the monastery? Why?

I missed curfew, Lu Da answered.

I see.

A hundred and seventy-three times.

That would started Lin Chong delicately.

Because I was drunk!

Lin Chong waited a moment to make sure nothing more was forthcoming. Then she said, You still know the teachings, however.

Sure, whichever stuck in my head. They do leak out my ear-holes.

Then tell us, Student Lu. What is a gods tooth?

Lu Da flushed a bit redder. Its like you said. You know. They told me not to use it, because, well, its the power the gods left behind, in artifacts and the like. Sort of cracks in the world, right? Wherever the gods went long ago, and the demons too, gods teeth are what let that bust through a bit. But the monks said it doesnt help me reach enlightenment, so I should put it away and never touch it. God teeth never make a god, as the saying is. She shrugged her massive shoulders sheepishly. But they also always wanted me to be a better fighter, and my tooth makes me a better fighter!

The martial arts were to be your path to enlightenment?

Again the sheepish shrug. Im good at them. Master Instructor.

Ah, but it is not raw power at your art that brings enlightenment, according to the Fa. You attain that only through the journey.

Right, Lu Da said, sounding uncertain.

Let me put it another way, Lin Chong said. After deep study, monastery training is known to grant scholars skills in your art, yes? If you studied hard enough, and long enough, you would learn to bend a fight to your will in ways even someone such as Iwho has made a study of decades, of all five forms and across all the eighteen weaponseven someone such as I could never hope to best you. Do you think your gods tooth does the same?

Well, yeah. Thats what gods teeth are, right? Sort of a shortcut.

It was what most people thought.

Monastery training was a route of great dedication and sacrifice that not many pursued, despite any potential reward. Many dreamed of leaping a building, of living for two hundred years, of having dream encounters with queenly demonsor any other number of storied scholars skills some monks and priests were said to develop depending on their study. If they stayed the path. If they excelled to the rights of legend. But the necessary years of strictness, of internal and external training, of mental and physical discipline

A gods tooth bestowed that power without strings. Without sacrifice.

Supposedly.

Lin Chong had already caught half her class casting glances of grudging envy at Lu Da. The Empire and the aristocracy had done everything they could for generations to push a social attitude of scoffing at gods teeth, labeling them trinkets and fragments of a bygone age, ones outclassed by modern technology. But Lin Chong strongly suspected those most vocal in their dismissal were the ones who secretly coveted what they did not possess.

Certainly everyone here in her class was shaded in jealousy.

Gods teeth were power. They made things easy.

They were also rare enough that she might never see one in her class again. Lin Chong decided a demonstration was in order.

She faced the class.

I am not religious. She might remind herself of the tenets of Benevolence in daily life, as did most people, but she was no philosopher. More importantly, she was no monk. I am not religious, and as I have said, I would never claim to be able to best the scholars skills of a monastery-trained monk. Student Lu. That is your staff, correct?

She gestured to the heavy metal bar Lu Da had set aside before class. Easily taller than Lu Da, it looked to weigh at least sixty jin.

Yes, Master Instructor! Lu Da said proudly.

It is your weapon of choice?

It is!

Then take it up, and face me with your gods tooth.

Lu Da stared in confusion. The rest of the class shuffled in their places, a few murmurs going up even among the well-disciplined students.

But Ill kill you, Lu Da blurted.

I admire your confidence, Lin Chong said dryly.

I wouldnt try to kill you, I just mean I could hurt you bad Lu Da glanced around at the rest of the students, clearly trying to check whether she was speaking as honorably as she thought she was. After all, it wasnt right to smash in the head of your teacher, was it?

Take up your staff, Lin Chong instructed. Unless you are too afraid to face me.

Im not afraid! Lu Da shot back. She tucked her gods tooth back under her tunic with her forest of inked flowers, then shuffled over to pick up the staff. She lifted it as if it weighed no more than a toothpick and whirled it above her head, in one hand and then the other.

Clear an area, Lin Chong said, and the other students hurried to gather up their reed mats and line the sides of the courtyard, whispering in anticipation.

Lin Chong took a moment to unwrap her heavy coat and lay it carefully to the side, along with the sword shed untied and set apart before class. The robes underneath she tucked up in her belt, out of the way. Then she stepped to the middle of the courtyard, hands clasped behind her back, the hemp of her shoes quiet and sure against the flagstones.

But Master Instructor! You wont use any weapon? Lu Da cried.

I have weapons in my hands and feet, Lin Chong answered. I have weapons in my years, and in my training.

Lu Da ambled in to face her, doubts scrawled transparently across her face. This doesnt seem all right. I dont want to injure you.

You presume a lot, Student Lu, Lin Chong answered. I instruct you to wield the full power of your gods tooth, and I shall wield my training, and we shall see if the monks of the Fa lied to you or not.

Lu Da spun her massive staff between her massive hands. As you wish, Master Instructor. I guess.

Begin.

Lu Das face drew together in focus. She sidestepped, her staff at a slow spin, matching the same careful distance from Lin Chong.

Lin Chong stepped to pace her, evenly, calmly. Her hands stayed clasped behind her back. She breathed deep, inhaling the movement, the connections, the intricately fitted puzzle pieces of the universe.

The meditative state was as familiar as the moves of her muscles through forms, or the feel of a sword hilt or axe or halberd settling its weight against her hand. Familiar as worn cloth, calming as a childhood home. Like reposing to drink with old friends.

Lu Da reared back, and the movement rippled all through Lin Chongs senses. Leaning to the side was an easy dance move, as if Lu Da had asked a question and Lin Chong answered without thought.

The heavy metal staff whistled through the air. A tentative strike, without Lu Das full weight behind it. Lin Chong could see the other womans balance, the way the weight was in her arms instead of backed by the vigor of her body.

You hold back, Lin Chong said.

Lu Da grunted and swung again. And again.

Lin Chong dodged once, twice, a third time. Always the smallest movement, always that fluid answer to Lu Das question. Before long Lu Da had forgotten her trepidation and was bringing the staff down with all her might, blows that would have surely crushed Lin Chongs skull, had they landed.

Your strength cannot bring you victory, Lin Chong said calmly, slipping to avoid a downward swing, then twisting to let a thrust by.

Lu Da overbalanced, her face going red with exertion all the way up the sides of her shaved head to her bobbing topknot.

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Read the First Two Chapters of S.L. Huang's The Water Outlaws - tor.com

Honkai: Star Rail presents plenty of puzzles to solve, including several that require players to manipulate The Abacus Circuitry boards into the correct position. Comprised of hex panels, these boards must be maneuvered a certain way for players to progress in missions that include these puzzles. The first one encountered may be a bit confusing to understand, but the ones that follow are even more complex throughout the game.

The first mission where players will inevitably find an Abacus Circuitry puzzle is Venom Brews, Immortality Looms. Each of these has several individual hexes that must be rotated correctly by moving an "S" module to the correct spot. Unlike easy dialogue "puzzles" that come from other quests, such as The Survival Wisdom mission, players are taken to a separate screen that shows the layout of a circuitry board that doesn't move on until they get the right answer.

Related: How To Complete The Survival Wisdom Quest In Honkai: Star Rail

The first step in solving the first Abacus Circuitry puzzle comes from selecting the green hex module right below the "S" one. Next, players will want to move the "S" hex clockwise twice to reach the green module at the bottom of the circuit board. Finally, choosing the green module again and rotating the "S" hex until it matches up with the bottom S computing module completes the puzzle.

Players have to manipulate the green hex module along with the "S" hex in order to match up the "S" with the bottom computing module to solve the first Abacus Circuitry puzzle.

The puzzles players find in later missions are infinitely more complicated than the first, with more "S" hexes and green modules to interact with. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the Omniscient Inquiry of Arcana quest, which helps tie into the player building their Equilibrium Level in Honkai: Star Rail. This circuitry board has a diagonal layout but follows the same strategy as any other iteration of this puzzle.

Whether it relates to a side mission or the main story, players must get past these puzzles to progress further into whatever goals are left. Learning how to solve the Abacus Circuitry puzzles in Honkai: Star Rail is a skill that comes up often, so players should become familiar with the mechanics early on.

Platform: PC, iOS, Android, Microsoft Windows

Developer: HoYoverse

Publisher: HoYoverse

Genre: Turn-Based Strategy, RPG, Adventure

Multiplayer: Online Multiplayer

ESRB: Not Yet Rated

Summary: Set after the events of the ongoing game Honkai Impact 3rd, Honkai: Star Rail is a turn-based online RPG from developer Hoyoverse. Two members of the Astral Express, March 7th and Dan Heng, are on their way to the Herta Space Station with precious cargo when ambushed by members of a group known as the Antimatter Legion. Chaos ensues as among them is the god of destruction known as Aeon, who steals a seed known as a Stellaron, which they implant in an artificial human known as the "Trailblazer." Players will assume the role of this character as they try to avoid their fate and save all of civilization. Similar to gacha-style games, players can acquire more characters to add to their party by summoning and engaging in fast-paced turn-based battles in this epic Sci-fi online RPG.

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How To Solve The Abacus Circuitry Puzzle In Honkai: Star Rail - Screen Rant

Flowers make excellent gifts for our friends and loved ones and play significant parts in our lives from birth to death, with various purposes such as decoration, weddings, birthdays, anniversaries, funerals and hospital visits.

However, because there are many different types of flowers, it's important to be careful which flower you choose when giving them as a gift or using them as decorations. For example, the red rose represents love, while the white lily symbolizes purity and innocence. The daisy represents innocence as well as love.

When giving flowers as gifts, you must know the meaning of the flower you choose. You can add a more personal touch to your gift by adding cards and notes on special occasions.

Flowers are also used for decoration purposes in our homes. The different colors and shapes of the flowers add a natural color to your home while simultaneously changing the atmosphere, creating a more cheerful and lively environment. Flowers are also straightforward to care for and can be a relaxing activity for many people.

Flowers play a vital role in nature too. They function as pollinators through natural pollination and fertilization. Pollens carry the genetic material necessary for the fertilization of other plants. Therefore, the presence of flowers is essential for the reproduction of plants and the preservation of genetic diversity.

Some insects use the nectar and pollen of flowers as a food source. In particular, bees collect nectar from flowers to make honey. Therefore, the absence of flowers can lead to reduced food sources for insects and the extinction of these species.

Flowers are one of the beauties of nature. They attract people with their colors and smells and remind us that we are a part of nature.

They are a part of natural life and are essential for ecological balance. Vegetation helps protect habitats, which other living things need to survive.

Flowers can reproduce naturally through pollination and fertilization. Pollination is when the pollen of flowers reaches the female organ of another flower. In this way, pollen fertilizes the ovary inside the female organ, forming seeds. Seeds carry the genetic material necessary for the growth of new plants.

Besides, flowers can also be propagated by humans. This process is known as the plant propagation technique. Plant propagation techniques include dividing seeds, cuttings, tubers, roots, leaves and flowers. Some plants can also reproduce by root shoots.

The reproduction of flowers, in addition to increasing the diversity of plants, also plays a vital role in agricultural production and horticulture. Therefore, plant propagation techniques have been developed over the years, making the propagation process easier.

Spring blooms, in particular, have many different meanings and symbolic values. Although they differ in many cultures, they usually express positive emotions such as love, friendship, happiness, hope, peace and joy. Let's take a look at some flowers and their meanings.

The rose is the most familiar symbol of love. It is also considered a symbol of beauty, romance, loyalty and passion.

Tulips are one of the most well-known flowers of spring. They are considered a symbol of love and passion. They also represent wealth, fertility and prosperity. It is one of the symbolic flowers of Trkiye, especially Istanbul. Tulips grown in the gardens of Topkap Palace in Istanbul are known worldwide.

Violets are a symbol of love, loyalty and longing. It is also a flower thought to bring peace and joy.

Daisies are considered a symbol of loyalty and friendship. They also express pure and natural beauty.

Orchids represent exotic beauty and wealth. Yet, they are also symbols of grace and tenderness.

Lilies are symbols of cleanliness, purity and innocence. They are also a flower that is thought to represent immortality.

Wallflowers are a symbol of happiness and hope. It also expresses positive emotions such as renewal and change.

Chrysanthemums are symbols of death and mourning. However, in some cultures, chrysanthemums are also considered a symbol of happiness and longevity.

Many more meanings are attached to different flowers, some of which are rare. Because even flowers can go extinct, many rare flower species worldwide are threatened by losing natural habitats and human activities, but those rare gems may be for another time.

I wish you days full of flowers, without forgetting that we are a part of nature.

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In life and death: Colorful world of flowers and their meanings | Daily Sabah - Daily Sabah

This sport has seen some legendary drivers. But to our recent memory, Lewis Hamilton and Max Verstappen stick out. While Verstappen has only just embarked on his journey towards Formula 1 immortality, 7x champion Hamilton has been there and done that. On the flip side of the coin, its always fair to spare a thought for the men who have gone toe-to-toe against them in equal machinery and held their own ground. George Russell is on a similar mission.

Russell has been strapped into the Mercedes alongside the 38-year-old since 2022. While currently, he has been getting the better of Hamilton, he only has Valtteri Bottas to look toward, to understand the eternal pains of going up against a seasoned challenger such as Hamilton.

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When Valtteri Bottas came out of his Mercedes contract to join Alfa Romeo, he was a changed and happier man. This is testament enough of the trials and tribulations the Finn faced while being teammates with arguably the greatest driver this sport has seen. So much so that he eventually got the boot at the Silver Arrows.

via Imago

63 George Russell GBR, Mercedes-AMG Petronas F1 Team, F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 5, 2023 in Sakhir, Bahrain. Photo by HOCH ZWEI Sakhir Bahrain *** 63 George Russell GBR, Mercedes AMG Petronas F1 Team , F1 Grand Prix of Bahrain at Bahrain International Circuit on March 5, 2023 in Sakhir, Bahrain Photo by HOCH ZWEI Sakhir Bahrain

Sky Sports F1 pundit, Karun Chandhok chronicled Bottas troubled time at Mercedes recently. He said, He [Bottas] just got more and more angry and frustrated and bitter about it, as quoted by Express UK.

Chandhok added, I think its a poisoned chalice if your team-mate to Max [Verstappen], Lewis, [Michael] Schumacher, etc. It is quite good because it means youre inevitably in one of the best cars on the grid or one of the top three, but the downside is youre always compared to the genius in the other car.

But while Bottas went through hell and back with Hamilton, he has an accolade to show for it.

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Its no secret that Hamilton is a generational talent. His racing acumen is second to none. Naturally, if a driver of his caliber acknowledges you pushing him to the very limit of his capabilities and still extracting the maximum from him and the team, then that must surely mean something.

via Imago

FORMULA 1 ARAMCO MAGYAR NAGYDIJ, 31 07 2022 Lewis Hamilton and Valtteri Bottas during the FORMULA 1 ARAMCO MAGYAR NAGYDIJ at the Hungaroring, Mogyorod, Hungary on 31 July 2022 Editorial Use Only

Back in 2021, Hamilton hailed the Finn as his best teammate ever. ESPN quoted him as saying, He has been the best teammate Ive had the pleasure of working with. Your speed and resilience has been impressive, but where you truly stand out to me is the human being you are. You are greater than you know, and I know theres a bright future ahead for you.

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Watch This Story | How is Sergio Perez So Good at Street Tracks in F1?

Can George Russell be the first one to outclass Lewis Hamilton completely?

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Despite Terming Bottas as His Best Team Mate, Lewis Hamilton Became the Primary Reason Behind Valtteri Leaving Mercedes - EssentiallySports

Like most horror monsters, the Gremlins have long been a part of pop culture since their on-screen debut forty years ago. The rules of what not to do with the furry little creatures are baked into most movie buffs minds even if they havent seen the film I joked about not feeding myself after midnight long before I ever watched the Joe Dante original. Theyre as essential to 80s cinema as Freddy Krueger or the Deadites, and now theyre back, as the mischievous critters invade Max with their new animated series, Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai.

The new series, from showrunner Tze Chun, seeks to explain just how and why the adorable Mogwai Gizmo ended up in a Chinatown antique store, taking audiences all the way back to 1920s Shanghai and a young version of antique dealer Mr. Wing. Far from the Midwestern chaos of the original film, Secrets of the Mogwai follows young Sam Wing (voiced by Izaac Wang) as he encounters Gizmo, whos been stolen from his ancestral home and must find his way back. Trouble lies around every corner, however, as Sam finds himself chased by those who want the precious creature for themselves.

I will admit, I have a certain fondness for Gizmo, the kind that probably also explains why I took such a liking to The Mandalorians baby Grogu. Theyre of the same ilk, and its clear that Max is leaning into the big-eared similarities, making our adventurous little hero (voiced by A.J. LoCascio) TVs next adorable icon. (As someone who frequently professes that Gizmos never done anything wrong in his entire life, I cant say Im all that bothered about it.) Despite a visual style that often highlights the failings of 3D animation, its easy to get lost in the fun of the curious and iconic creature, whether youre already familiar with him or not.

RELATED: First 'Gremlins: Secrets of Mogwai' Trailer Delivers a Kung-Fu Fighting Gizmo

That cute-but-deadly energy is amplified tenfold by Wangs voice work, playing a young boy whose only confidence comes from his ability to mix remedies in his familys medicine shop. With a handful of major studio releases already under his belt including Raya and the Last Dragon, Clifford the Big Red Dog, and The Santa Clauses its clear the young star has a bright future in front of him, particularly in voice work. Rarely do I find myself as engaged with a child protagonist as I am with Sam, whose humor and charm are spot on, especially alongside Gabrielle Neveah Greens snarky-but-lovable street urchin, Elle.

The series isnt pulling any punches with the rest of its cast, either. Filling out the tale of how Gizmo made it to the Wing family is a star-studded lineup that includes a Mulan reunion, with Ming-Na Wen and BD Wong playing Sams parents, as well as the legendary James Hong, Sandra Oh, and George Takei, playing what might be the standout guest role of the season. I wont reveal who Zach Galligan returning to the franchise after playing Billy Peltzer forty years ago voices, but hes a delight as well, and in a world where A-list actors don't bother doing voices other than their own for animated work (looking at you, Seth Rogen), the lineup here is immense fun, with actors often voicing zany background roles in their episodes as well.

The standout, though, is Matthew Rhys, whos clearly having the time of his life as Riley Greene, the malicious villain with a penchant for unhinging his own jaw. A childrens story is nothing without a dramatic villain, and Greene is exactly that a magic-wielding, selfish monster whose only desire is immortality which happens to come in the form of eating the adorable, innocent Mogwai. Totally normal fare for a show marketed to families, right?

But, at the heart of it, thats what makes Secrets of the Mogwai such a great watch its willingness to lean into what made the original film well, scary. Despite the fact that its animated, and clearly geared towards children given its protagonists, Secrets of the Mogwai has no qualms about slicing off limbs, melting Mogwai in the sun, or all manner of other gnarly set pieces. Its Babys Guide to Body Horror, and while its certainly not trying to be an animated David Cronenberg piece, its refreshing to watch the series lean into the franchises signature destruction. Just because Gizmos cute doesnt mean death isnt lurking around every corner.

That mindset is bolstered by the world the creators have dreamed up to fit the Mogwai into. No longer is Gizmo a lone supernatural creature invading the human world, but simply one of many in a magical world, drawn from Chinese folklore and built out with evil innkeepers, trickster spirits, and literal ghost towns. While the need to explain the Mogwais quirks away including the iconic rules isnt strictly necessary, it never feels like soulless backstory for a movie that didnt need one to begin with. The China of Secrets of the Mogwai is imaginative and colorful and entertaining, going far beyond being just a toned-down version of Dantes original film. In fact, its the opposite, with evil Mogwais and creation gods ramping the chaos up to eleven, all the while never forgetting where it came from.

Its rare that a prequel especially one premiering nearly forty years after the original manages to live up to the original, so much so that I foster the exact same feelings for it. Normally, its a case of close but no cigar, with prequel properties failing to understand the kind of magic that made their predecessor so special to audiences, beyond just aping its characters and plot points for a shallow rehash. But even as Secrets of the Mogwai pays homage to Gremlins iconic bar scene, its never a retread, instead using the film as a starting point for a whole new and exciting story. Id say you could hand that cigar straight to Gizmo to celebrate, but well, youve seen what happens when we let Mogwai loose in the past.

Rating: A

Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai premieres on Max on May 23.

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'Gremlins: Secrets of the Mogwai' Review: An Adorable Expansion of ... - Collider

Victory City

Salman Rushdies latest novel, Victory City has been eagerly awaited, given that this publication follows the horrific attack which he survived in Chautauqua, New York, on August 12, 2022, by a twenty-four-year-old young man Hadi Matar.

Rushdie had lived for many years in hiding after the Iranian religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini issued a fatwa or death edict against him in 1989, for the publication of The Satanic Verses, a novel which offended many Muslims, even while it was hailed by many as a celebration of migrant lives and the hybrid cultures migrants create in countries like Britain.

While Rushdie continued to write and work under the protection of the British police, his Italian translator was beaten and attacked with a knife and his Japanese translator was stabbed to death in 1991. This attack on Rushdie in 2022 came several decades after these events, at a time when he was resuming a more normal life with public appearances and lectures. The attack in Chautauqua was apparently an attempt to carry out the fatwa issued so long ago. The attack has been described as colossal and had left Rushdie with multiple injuries. Fortunately, he survived the attack even though he has lost vision in one eye and is struggling to regain sensation in his hand to be able to write.

Victory City was already in the press when Rushdie was attacked. However, it proves to be a prophetic tale. The protagonist Pampa Kampana is the creator of a medieval kingdom in south India, modeled after the Vijayanagar Empire. More than being a mythical founder of the kingdom and its queen more than once, Pampa is the author of the epic Jayaparajaya, in which she records the rise and fall of this kingdom. The novel is a paean to the act of writing and the endurance of the written word. After several centuries, the kingdom is decisively defeated, but what survives for posterity is Pampas epic.

The saga of the kingdom of Victory City is based on well-known historical facts. The Vijayanagar kingdom began with the Sangama dynasty whose first kings were cowherds. It reached its glorious golden age under Krishnadeva Raya, and eventually lost it power when the Muslim rulers of the Deccan unified and fought against it.

Rushdie layers this historical framework with elements of magic and fantasy. Pampa is a woman who has lost her mother in her childhood and has faced abuse at the hands of a holy priest, but the goddess of the city rewards her with many gifts, the power of prophecy, the gift of near eternal youth and immortality for more than two centuries.

In a medieval patriarchal world, Pampa embodies the power of creativity, wisdom, and feminine power. Her arch-enemy is Vidysasgar, the old priest who had abused her and who believes in a narrow religious dogma and intolerance of other faiths. Pampa, although blessed by the goddess, values the human imagination over the workings of any religious institution.

Throughout her long life, she witnesses and participates in many waves of history, many movements veering towards religious authoritarianism as well as peoples resistance to these in the form of popular uprisings. Pampa is instrumental in whispering and instigating some of these changes. However, Pampa does not have unlimited powers and she too falls victim to courtly intrigue and has to pay the price by being blinded by King Krishnadeva Raya.

This is almost prophetic of Rushdies own predicament as the blind artist. It is a trope that has surfaced in his wrings before. The figure of the artist arousing the ire of religious authorities is a continuing presence in Rushdies novels.

In The Satanic Verses, Baal is the satiric poet who goes into hiding in a brothel and is later found and executed. In The Moors Last Sigh, Aurora the secular artist and her work provokes scandal and protests by a character who is a thinly veiled portrait of Bal Thackeray. Both The Satanic Verses and The Moors Last Sigh have been banned because of charges of blasphemy and unfavorable depiction of political figures, respectively.

In Victory City, the opposition between religious leaders and artists, and intellectuals is just as strong as ever. However, because of choosing to dramatize this conflict in a medieval setting, this novel is unlikely to offend any present-day political figures. Moreover, this novel seems to be offering a long view of the fate of religious authoritarianism and political dictatorships.

Rushdie seems to be suggesting that no reign or ideology is forever. Beyond a certain point, people will rise up to challenge and overthrow arcane institutions and practices. The greater danger, Rushdie suggests is our tendency to forget history and be selective in what we remember and record.

One of the most resonant comments about history in the novel is when Pampa reflects History is the consequence not only of peoples actions but also of their forgetfulness (153).

At a time when the recording and teaching of Indian history are mired in varied controversies, Rushdie is still advocating for the writing of Indias palimpsestic and multicultural past. Victory City achieves the stature of Rushdies finest works and instills in readers a sense of gratitude that this author is still living and writing.

Victory City : A NovelBy Salman RushdieRandom House, February, 2023

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Salman Rushdie's Victory City Is A Prophetic Tale Of A Disruptor - India Currents

The sky above the farm is the color of static, tuned to the thoughts of a dead man. Fox Mulder clings to a telephone pole, examining a nondescript grey box labeled OPTIC FIBER CONNECTION before following a thick rope of cables to a trailer parked out back. Hes about to meet an online artificial consciousness hiding in a dimly lit nest of wires and ports and monitors. Its been using a secret government T3 network the gold standard of high-bandwidth internet connections to commit 32 flavors of crime and mayhem. Im watching The X-Files Kill Switch, one of the greatest episodes of 90s television about the internet, written by William Gibson and Tom Maddox.

The most striking thing about watching old internet and cyberculture-themed shows is that going online, from the 70s through the 90s, was a conscious, deliberate decision made by firing up the modem and logging on something that became easier and far more intuitive and taken for granted after ethernet became a standard that would drive our relationship with computers. The internet became fuel for the Hollywood imagination, from the 1983 classic WarGames to dystopian horrors like Mindwarp, where people were permanently plugged into VR and ruled over by a supercomputer. Last year, Alissa Wilkinson examined how Videodrome was one of the earliest films to really anticipate the way we withdraw from the kind of connectivity that we now associate with the experience of Being Online.

It was also full of cables: big beautiful bundles on The X-Files, slender ribbons of phone cords on Murder, She Wrote. In the J. Michael Straczynski-written Lines of Excellence, after holding out on technology for seven seasons, Jessica Fletcher finally rejects tradition and embraces modernity in the form of computer lessons. She learns the hard way that being connected to the internet can also mean getting hacked. A year later came Sneakers, the understated 1992 comedy / techno-thriller that brought penetration testing and phreaking to mainstream audiences in a pre-Hackers world. David Strathairn, as blind phreaker Whistler, is the center of the films most iconic scene, where he hacks into the federal reserve system using a dynamic Braille display (theres also just a fantastic ensemble cast of A-listers like Sidney Poitier, Robert Redford, and Dan Aykroyd).

Then came Hackers a pure jolt of adrenaline that zhuzhed up an oft-misunderstood hobbyist subculture into a cult classic with hormonal teens dripping in Hot Topic and infectiously manic energy. Audiences back then perhaps didnt recognize the power of a feature-length shitpost when they saw one, but Hackers was hot and young, had a killer soundtrack, and pushed hacking and phreaking and cyberculture and the values of The Hacker Manifesto into cinematic immortality.

Beyond the spectacle of slick high-school seniors feeding their technolust, theres something special about revisiting the dial-up and early broadband eras through perfectly mundane shows like Murder, She Wrote, Seinfeld, and even occasionally Law and Order (the SVU portrayals of cybercrimes are hilariously bad and deserve constant mockery). In The Serenity Now, George, trying to cheer up Jerry, says he can check porn and stock quotes if he buys a computer, which is frankly what I assumed my dad was doing whenever I heard the fuzzy shriek of the modem from the back of our house in 1995.

Audiences back then perhaps didnt recognize the power of a feature-length shitpost when they saw one

But its Kill Switch and the vision of Mulders limp body cradled in coils of cable, restrained by scraps of hardware, that really imbued the internet with power for a whole generation of young viewers. It wasnt a service that your parents signed up for or a thing that nice old ladies like Jessica Fletcher paid to get set up for them. It was, through the eyes of the hackers on the show, a transcendent future that lived on the fringes of suburbia and corporate America and in the very best tradition of Cronenbergian body horror, a new and malleable infrastructural entity that we readily invited into the skeletons of our homes, businesses, and public places (the internet is now largely considered a modern utility and by some, a human right).

Who could have predicted the future, Bill, that the computers you and I only dreamed of would someday be home appliances capable of the most technical espionage? says the Smoking Man at the end of season 2. In retrospect, the dull limitations of his imagination make perfect sense now even though I didnt fully understand at the time if only hed read even a little bit of early cyberpunk fiction that fueled so much social and technological paranoia in the early 80s.

George Costanza would like to sell you a computer. Image: NBC

In season 5, we learn the origin story of the Lone Gunmen, the iconic trio of hackers who worked with Mulder and Scully and even had a short-lived spinoff show of their own. At a 1989 electronics trade convention, we meet Byers as a straight-and-narrow FCC officer who clashes with competing bootleg cable salesmen Frohike and Langly. The latter presides over backdoor games of D&D as Lord Manhammer, and theres a lot of easy comic relief in the sheer naivete of these stereotypes. Byers hacks into ARPANET to help a mysterious woman, and the rest, as they say, is history the three band together in a touchingly altruistic effort to do the right thing, and the Gunmen become radical conspiracy theorists, government watchdogs, and necessary guides to a then-bewildering frontier of virtual reality and new technologies.

It was, for better or for worse, the Lone Gunmen who made sincere feats of dorkery really fucking cool at an exceedingly awkward time for so many kids growing up around early home computers when logging on was still a distinct mechanical, physical process that led to untold riches in the ether (while logging off and avoiding the phone system was repeatedly hammered home as a way to avoid the feds).

The Halt and Catch Fire episode 10BROAD36. Image: AMC

No single piece of television nails the fear of being shunted offline better than the second season of Halt and Catch Fires 10BROAD36, named after a long-dead ethernet standard developed for IEEE 802.3b-1985. The year is 1985, and fledgling online game company Mutiny is facing a cutthroat hike in data rates from a massive oil company, Westgroup Energy. The Mutiny house is the evolving heart of the season as well as the growing cultural fixation on Being Online the coders are literally drilling into walls (and studs) and laying anarchic ropes of cable along every available surface. Their only shot is to meet Westgroups new benchmarks, the biggest one being to port their code to Unix overnight. Taking a page from their bootleg HBO efforts (naturally, to catch half a boob on Cat People), the punks at Mutiny disguise a Commodore 64 as a functioning AT&T Unix computer, complete with their own local broadband setup to simulate external internet access.

Cables and wires are no longer inviting threads to be pulled and played with

Of course, their working demo falls apart. Theres a pure, simple clarity in how the show links data with empowerment, at least through an idealists eyes; theres much more to unpack, as well, in the episodes time-sharing and network-sharing plot points that drive home the importance of data control. Its startling to realize that getting elbow-deep in computer guts and stray wires isnt part of the PC experience anymore: cables and wires are no longer inviting threads to be pulled and played with.

Toward the end of season three of Halt and Catch Fire, a new era dawns: the World Wide Web proper and the evolution of internet ontology and early indexing. In NeXT, we see power-marketing lunatic Joe MacMillan in peak form, talking about how they need to tackle the tower of Babel that is the internet according to Tim Berners-Lee. Its pointless, he explains, to figure out what the web will become because we cant and wont know. All we have to do is build a door, he says, recalling a childhood memory of his mother taking him through the Holland Tunnel and the explosion of sunlight at the end, with all of Manhattan ripe for exploration. His pitch lands perfectly, and suddenly, theres a clear purpose to the end of every cord: a portal.

For all the effort we made to embed them in our private spaces, cables are now unsightly, outdated things to be made obsolete in the name of convenience. Its perhaps too fitting a metaphor for basic technological literacy today and certainly a crappier version of a hands-on past when users were forced to learn how their machines generally worked. The cyberpunk dystopia we read about as kids a much edgier delight in 80s fiction has been retconned into a shapeless mainstream aesthetic that, more often than not, forgets the pliable copper threads from whence it came.

Theres something lost in the way weve left those all-important, all-consuming cables behind

Dont get me wrong: there are tremendous films and shows about the internet being put out today, albeit reflecting very different preoccupations with different types of technological experiences. Were All Going To The Worlds Fair, for instance, is a brilliantly discomforting time spent bathed in the light of social media. 2018s Searching was a tale told entirely through screens, and prestige dramas (hey, Succession) routinely use text message visuals on screen.

But theres something lost in the way weve left those all-important, all-consuming cables behind ethernet is still at the heart of our lives today, even if we dont think about it much. If the best movies about the internet and hacking are spectacles of a barely recognizable near future, its normcore television that offers more to chew on about the technology of the characters present; perhaps weve crossed a paradigmatic Rubicon where playing with the guts of the internet will never matter as much again.

I, for one, am happy to return to old primetime television, when the camera still lingered curiously on ports and connections, when most of us were swept up in the thrill of Web 1.0, and when the idea of pulling the plug still felt like a painless option.

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Plugged in and logged on: a history of the internet on film and TV - The Verge