SEPTEMBER 1983 $2.50 MAMMOTH MACHINES FOR 2001 HERMAN KAHN'S FINAL VISION THE SECRET SOVIET SPACE SHUTTLE CASPAR WEINBERGER ON v WAR IN SPACE onnruiVOL. 5 NO. 12 SEPTEMBER 1983 EDITOR & DESIGN DIRECTOR: BOB GUCCIONE PRESIDENT: KATHY KEETON EXECUT.VE CDiTu-:. D-CK TERESI GRAPHICS HIRrCIO."' ""ANK DEVINO ART DIRECTOR: ELIZABETH WOODSON

CONTENTS PAGE FIRST WORD Opinion Cyril Ponnamperuma 6 COMMUNICATIONS Correspondence 12 EARTH Environment Dian Fossey 18 SPACE Comment James Kitfield 20 MIND Behavior Mark Teich 22 ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE Computers Phoebe Hoban 24 BREAKTHROUGHS Technology Michael Edelhart 26 THE BODY Health Judith Hooper 28 EXPLORATIONS Travel Doug Garr 30 LIFE Biomedicine Rick Boling 34 FILM The Arts Jonathan Rosenbaum 38 PERFORMANCE The Arts Robert S. Ryan 40 CONTINUUM Data Bank 43 QUEST FOR FLAME Article Kathleen Stein 52 MAN-MOUNTAIN GENTIAN Fiction Howard Waldrop 52 HERMAN KAHN'S FINAL VISION Article James Reston, Jr. 68 MAMMOTH MACHINES FOR 2001 Article Frank P. Davidson 80 and John Stuart Cox

BOUNDARY ECHOES Ficlion John M. Ford 86 MERLIN'S ROCK Pictorial Pete Turner 94

SEVENTH SENSE Fiction Robert Haisty 100

CASPAR W. WEINBERGER Interview Richard Halloran 108 OMINOUS ICONS Pictorial Rails' 116 SECRET SOVIET SHUTTLE Article James E. Oberg 124

CARRION COMFORT Fiction Dan Simmons 132 ANTIMATTER i^n^^^ UFOs, elc. 147 BOOKS The Arts A. A. Attanasio 172

TECHNOLOGY The Arts Patrick Tierney 174

STARS Astronomy Marcia Bartusiak 176 ^r. ^r^ COMPETITION RESULTS . J}} Oughtagraphs Scot Morris 180

GALACTIC WEB Phenomena R. Hamilton Smith 188

GAMES Diversions Scot Morris 192

LAST WORD Humor John Ficarra 194

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i-ooa is Ihe single most important then there arc those r^> who profess 's squireiTiSrir to r life The need tor-food is certain exuberant hope, that science can uri've'aai.ii- !he enflreoiosphem and solve ali : f problems, Panels Bacon '.gave: if/ % the ' success with which each individual us ills idea of uropia. The modern 'propo- obtains the elements arid compounds- i its 01 ! iopi ,i i. . essential for.an ariequatedisfde^rmir-f;; '..I rrv: its in sci m ;> ultimate s- from the conquest of space, to rhe gmw.th of world populaucn. food has hamessmg of the stom. to the decoding ' toer ore. of ONA. Toe Apollo program was without ' :

Al.;hou.gh ' American tiieirry patterns ' question a.'supreme triumph of -science mfgtri . suggest otherwise. ;he moment of anc: technology. ; The casting o f of the decision is upon us. A sense of umenov : shackles that bound us to Earth and - peri/ades scientific talk. At a ree-ni ' gave us the exnilarasng freedom to access tome American '' Chemical- explore the ' . unlveme will be recorded as Society Nobel -aureate Norman .;.-. ,. ;, Bo'rlaua - ,., pievements mtnerotthe Green Revolution, .'' Bu' perhaps there rs a fallacy in the. Une eommenteo that 'expanding food.' of sangutn production raet '''' enough to meet the . . .science can peagioba! elixir. The truth''

. increasing meeds-of -a large and growing .-. lie " may somewhere between the poles of population 1 over the next tour ' decades- disma pessimism and undue optimism. win be- vita; - to the survival of civilization. How can the wold food supply toe . In the sphere or fomign policy, she £ increased? Is II possible or man to need -to confront world-hunge: problems - produce some loco independent 'of; has also.come ro the fo.ie. ihe.Presioen. .climate?- Th.e che-mma! synthesis of-food / ftal n FIRST . Commission on Worm hunger, w hie s a fantasizing area of exploration, if ss under the Carte; we oan make materia! for our shirts, can . Administration, recommended mar beoin- we not make the substance of our hirtg imthe Eight"es. -tie Unfed WORD States" -inches^ Carbohydmms arise from- Ihe should make 'he ' elimination of hunger trig fixing of carbon, hydrogen, '.By Cyril Ponnamperuma - and oxygen. primary toeus of "ts relationship with the Proteins result from the same three' deveiop.ing.-.cpun tries The prospect »7/7e chemical- of elements, w'lh nitrogen thrown Inlo-tbe-' synthesis disaster. is at hand it is clcss-rtha.n most bargain. ' Tho laboimory of Pure achieves is. of food a tantalizing are's - people; realize or of am prepared to admit. Ibis result through the complex process 2015 our exploration, ft 3y planet will be the noire of of plant we photosyid.hesis anp animal' ..- almost 3 Pillion peopie double r today mefaoollsrii. In the laboratory of modem . can make the material for our population it wiii not suffice,- however, to chemistry, tne shortcut. from molecules- shirts, ' double our food production: can't we make the we must xc meais >s wiih.n seientitic "p reach. --The re is' at least triple "t. Two fh-ds or humamfy are. an in-siguing sc ; ence-ficiion .substance of our ": stom about . lunches?^ already suffering " . from inadequate nutri- a gourmet restaumnf. where the cniyVaw

'.i:.i i u. i . ,i , a the .,; is 'wou c material that emem- the building is coal. say. In street oarlance. they are sfarvmg. Such a concept may no: tie a mere The gap- between ine hPe-us of hungry technological 'auiasy. people ; and the amount of food neeoeo ! is to f commonly beloved that naiure 7 [ .-.. eee Pen , . . knows best. .Molecmar biology has.gitfeir . Population reduction is the obvious u.s.ample evidence that in many answer But the numerical staP-iicattou of - Ih r the . ! human race , . will i i.-m breeding pt -"-'i .a decade; nor in two .but perhaos half m oiants, the rectjction of mspiratiomann- ' a century if w7. ror at i.east another the improved efficiency of photosynthesis -. . generation we mus! turn to '' science and 'nignr doupie file yield of ourcrops. technology to provide -food fornurnahiiv. - tnhancedbioloaica-' nrffogeu fixation,- f This, is a louTiidabie proleci In trio nex"" accompi shed by exploiting ths-symD?otic , 40. years alone, world food production tela'tonship of certain algae with .the must be Lipped by at least as much as It roots of cemais—-the Azo'ia with rice, .%.''; was increased dunrg the emlre )2.0W- example, a e.ir'cumstariee understood . year period from the bedinriing of' by the ancient Tha- and Vietnamese and

i ... agncjltum tc Mm eni d iv rediscovered today— is a potential area i be choices are bewildering. On one forac ! -ve research Epoch- makma . on the cliscpveries of recombinant ONA' have other, '. a certain scientific optimism-. .After' Opened horizons of wondrous proportions- . the World Food Conference, ; '7- sponsored Wgareon-the-iireshoid of major new ' " by the ' United Nations., there were even "-'' adyances: The Green llovolution will vieki some scientists', wno advocated the. totally- to the Gene Revolution. CG unthinkable and absolutely aohorrent' "' ' solution, of fiilage: Let the hungry c : e.of ; - •"•— : 137.1. Cyy;'Pi in'n'afFipsrurria — they said, whilethe strong

' -milabie supplies o* food for . id meu -amiNes Maryland CONTRIBUOS DRJIRJIBU!

Engineers who plan and execute correspondent for The New York Times. according to his critics, as journalist massive, superhuman-scale Weinberger is Reagan's most influential James fleston, Jr., reports in "The Wrath projects are a breed unto adviser and Cabinet official and has of Kahn" (page 68). themselves. Macroengineers, as they are complete responsibility for the actions of Reston was shocked and saddened by called, are big dreamers with rich plane- the Pentagon. Weinberger elaborates Kahn's death. "For all our disagreements, tary fantasies. Consider: a transoceanic on Reagan's now famous "star wars" it was clear that he was an extraordinary tunnel linking Europe and North America; speech and on the President's policies and vital human being. He loved intellec- a single-building metropolis rising one as they refer to the military development tual engagement, and I think he was mile high; a transcontinental bullet train " of space: the deployment of weapons looking forward to the product of our many linking Tokyo and Paris, with a connection that use laser beams, particle beams, and hours of sometimes-heated discussion. under the English Channel to London other directed-energy weapons that can He was an important man who and Edinburgh and a subsea tube to track and des'.ioy So .-el missies. He thought about important things."

Dublin. Our article "Megaworks" (page proposes to utilize artificial intelligence It has been a productive year lor 80), adapted from Macro—a book to for defense, and he predicts high-tech, Resion. His first film, 88 Seconds in be published by William Morrow and millisecond-long battles fought with Greensboro, was offered In the new PBS Company and coauthored by Frank P. new weapons, all of them computer-aided Frontiine series, and his second play, Davidson and John Stuart Cox— reveals in design. For a top-level prediction of Kaituma Sunset, will open in October, plans tor fantastic engineering feats the American way of war, see page 108. This month we present four new that are technologically feasible today. Herman Kahn was our country's most science-fiction siories. Dan Simmons's Davidson, a scientist at MIT and one dist nguished futurologist, known for "Carrion Comfort" (page 132) is a powerful of the founding fathers of modern his controversial books on thermonuclear horror tale set in contemporary Charles- macroengineering. has an eye for what war and his development of a "trickle- ton, South Carolina. On page 62, award- history can teach us about the future, He down" theory of economics. Twenty-two winning novelist Howard Waldrop goes- says: "We have neglected achievements years ago he founded the Hudson Institute, Eastern in "Man-Mountain Gentian," in the past that might solve current America's most renowned and presti- which combines two Oriental traditions, puzzles. No modern government has gious think tank. He was chairman and Zen and sumo wrestling. In John M. been able to equal or even come near the director of research until his recent death. Ford's "Boundary Echoes" (page 86), a achievement of the ancient Romans in One of Kahn's great concerns was the lamous musician meets a neurologist thrusting back the Sahara. I really believe "cloud of pessimism" hanging over and is forced to face her own irrational that the United States now needs a this nation, espec ally over nigh-school fears. Ford's latest novel, The Dragon 'Roman approach' to such vital matters students. To counter the malaise he Waiting, will be published in November by as water supply and transportation." perceived, he designed an ambitious Timescape. Our fourth selection is by In this month's exclusive Interview, program known as "Visions of the Future," Robert Haisty. a semiconductor-research Caspar Weinberger, America's secretary a crash course in thinking optimistically scientist whose first love is science of defense, candidly discusses the about environmental, population, and fiction. Two travelers meet unexpectedly future of America's military presence in resource concerns. Kahn foretold a and one foils the other's plans in space with Richard Halloran, military fabulously green fulure. Too green, "Seventh Sense," on page 100.00 s OMNI LETTER cannnnuruicATorus

Comsat the beginning of civilization. Richard Wolkomir and Omni are to be Throughout this process, man applauded for the excellent article on aggressively sought to extend his control the Communications Satellite over the environment. The process has Corporation (Comsat) and its advances continued unabated; man now attempts in satellite-communications technology to exercise dominion over other men '"Satellinks," June 1983]. Wolkomir geographically, economically, socially, succeeded in taking a highly technical and ideologically.

subject and writing it in such an I would not attempt to describe man's interesting and informative manner that contempt for his environment as a backlash thousands of your readers now have a against the land that bound him. Man better understanding of the intricacies— has always shown contempt toward that and benefits— of satellite communications. which he has conquered. Recognition should be given also to I believe the time has come for man to Malcolm Kirk for the striking photos that develop the intellectual maturity accompanied the story. necessary to restrain his aggressive and Fine writing should not come as a hostile nature. We have the wonderful surprise to your readers; excellence is gift of intelligence and the ability to what they have come to expect from understand the universe that gave us life. Omni, an outstanding publication that Our advances in science have been gets better with every issue. profound, but they have given us the Allan Galfund awesome power to destroy ourselves. We Manager, External Affairs have the necessary intellectual resources Comsat to control the darker side of our nature, Clarksburg, MD and we must do so in our generation. The alternative is unthinkable. Controlling Man's Aggression R. Scott Ireland Douglas Starr's discussion of the theories North Miami, FL expressed by philosopher Paul Shepard was extremely interesting [Earth, Glorious Flight

May 1983]. I feel, however, that Shepard's Joseph P. Allen's article 'Joe's Odyssey," concept of secondary bonding is a in the June 1983 issue, was one of the romanticized and ornate attempt to explain most awe-inspiring, poetic descriptions of a much simpler psychological reality. orbital spaceflight I have yet Man's ascent from the lower primates encountered. My only regret is that, at was governed by evolutionary processes forty-one, I may never be able to favoring traits of aggression, cunning, experience the phenomenon of spaceflight and atiigh degree of intelligence. Over or actively participate in the exploration the ages, these traits were reinforced of the new frontier. in primitive man, enabling him to survive The goal of the world's nations should in a hostile environment. be a cooperative effort to fund space As man progressed he gradually research, not arms races that will lead only developed the tools and knowledge of a to a dead end. Age-old, culture-oriented hunter to secure his dominion over other vendettas and bigotries must be animals. He controlled his environmeni by minimized, if not eliminated, so that the- building shelter and providing himself human family can be free to work toward with food and warmth. As his development achieving its greatest potential, instead continued, man extended his control by of engaging in dangerous bickering, domesticating plants and animals. Through We are entering an era of great promise his intelligence, he established a stable for our young in the realm of space supply of food, and this enabled him exploration. Let these new opportunities to further improve his condition. This led be our gift to the future generations. to the formation of social groups and I would like to congratulate you for CONTINUED ON PAGE 179 —

DIALOGUE FORUfin

In which the readers, editors, and those ilems he treats as great revelations. someone demanding that we abolish correspondents discuss theories and All he needed to do was to look through lawnmowers because petroleum is used speculation arising out of Omni. Readers any newspaper's morgue or read one or for both gasoline and napalm. are encouraged to debate views and more pro-nuclear books and pamphlets. Far from being a faded dream, nuclear pose questions to Omni, the scientific The Brown's Ferry incident did not power is a gigantic resource awaiting community, and the science-fiction discredit the nuclear industry. Rather, it America's decision to stop taking establishment. The opinions published demonstrated a principle unique to nuclear scientific direction from assorted are not necessarily those of the editors. power, known as "defense in depth." In Hollywood idols, rock stars, organic this incident, two operating reactors farmers, and self-styled environmentalists. Give Nukes a Chance shared a common conlrol-cable duct with Bob Renaud As an occasional newsstand purchaser a third plant under construction. A tyro Massachusetts Voice of Energy

of Omni, I perplexed am by the antinuclear with a candle set some control and Pittsfield, MA

Ihemes that I seem to encounter regularly instrumentation wiring on fire, incapaci- in your magazine. Certainly a healthy tating 2 of the 11 separate cooling systems The Day We Bombed Utah respect for the dangers, as well as the in one of the reactors. Of the remaining John G. Fuller's article "The Day We potential benefits, ot nuclear power is /line cooling systems, four required special Bombed Utah" [May 1983] was excellent. appropriate. However, the irrational and procedures, five and remained in opera- I found it very interesting to read that patently antinuclear tone ot tion. Hans Fantel's The reactors were shut down and there was a rain-out in Troy, New York, in review of The Cult of the Atom [Books, cooled with no danger whatever to April 1953. While I was attending medical April 1983] is clearly out of place in a personnel or environment, and the end school in the Sixties there was an magazine that purports to have some result was plant-equipment damage. The outbreak of Hodgkin's disease in the association with science. outcome of this incident was that plants area, Albany which is near Troy. I recall Particularly offensive to me were state- now have their cabling in more secure that the Albany Medical School was ments made by Fantel that seemed to areas, away from such dangers. involved in extensive epidemiologic portray the entire nuclear industry as Also, what justification is there to studies to try to ascertain why there was "villains," his " and citation of a few well- condemn plant design because of the a sudden and abnormally high statistical known and well-reported accidents as an stupidity of an individual who used a level of this malignancy cropping up in indictment of the industry as a whole. candle to inspect the ductwork? Are cars that one corner of the state. The worst sin of all was using an illustration unsafe because drunks drive them? These facts would certainly make one ol a nuclear-bomb explosion to accom- Fantel seems to expect nuclear power wonder whether Fuller hadn't stumbled pany the article. to be categorically safe before it is used. onto the answer. Keep up the fine work. Such crude sensationalism may impress He'll never see this happen, because Sherry Rogers those who had problems their with high- such an achievement is impossible. No Syracuse, NY school physics, but it certainly betrays reputable nuclear experl would make your lack of sensitivity for those who have a statement to the contrary. Nukes are not I. want to thank Omni for publishing the taken the trouble to assess nuclear 100 percent safe, but then neither is article "The Day We Bombed Utah." power from a reasoned and scientific any other energy source. Given equivalent Although these nuclear tests were not perspective. and properly operating coal and nuclear news to me, reading the article left me Gregory Schuler plants, the coal plant can emit up to quite upset, to put it mildly. Articles such Seattle 75 times as much radiation as the nuke. as this one are needed so that the public Most coal plants, if put under Nuclear can see what lengths some people Everyone, it seems, loves a mystery Regulatory Commission control, would be and some governments will go to in even Hans Fantel, whose review of The shut down for exceeding radiation limits, order to cover up their horrible mistakes.

Cult of the Atom indicates that he revels It in can be easily proved through statisti- We sometimes forget that we are all the prospect of upper-level an conspir- cal analysis that more people have died on the earth together and that we share acy of silence. in traffic accidents while driving to the same atmosphere. I hope articles like Sadly for Fantel and his readers, such antinuclear rallies than have ever died the one you printed will make people cloak-and-dagger potboilers as Daniel because of nuclear energy. consider the consequences of their Ford's egregious tome are the product of Do not raise the issue of Hiroshima I and actions. pray that I will live to see the the hyperactive imaginations and lust Nagasaki as examples of death by nuclear day when nuclear testing, weapons, and for hyperbole of antinuclear authors. energy, as the rabid antinuke activists, power plants are relics of the past. I am amazed that Ford needed the eager to associate N-war with N-power, Susan Meeker-Lowry Freedom of Information Act to obtain all dp. This comparison is as asinine as Worcester, VTDQ WILD ORPHANS EARTH By Dian Fossey

note: It was in 1967 that shatter. Editors' She shed pools of diathetic had ready for her, allowed neither standing primatologist Dian as Fossey dung she ran back and forth between nor turning space, she was fed corn, traveled to the Congo (now Zaire) windows, and, because of her state of bananas, and bread until brought to to launch the first long-term field study dehydration, stopped to lick it up. With an Ruhengeri. There she was Iransferred to of mountain gorillas. After her work ashtray filled was with water I was able to the coffinlike wooden box. interrupted by a rebel uprising, she lure her back into the box. I shall never understand how the founded the Karisoke Research Center, I only briefly questioned the Conservator orphaned infant managed to survive the in Rwanda; there, in the rain forest of about ihe in manner which he had confines of the cage, her meager diet, the Pare des Volcans, her research acquired the young gorilla, being or the infected wounds caused by the wire continues today. The following story comes desperately anxious to gel the baby to bindings. Somehow she had found the from Fossey's new book, Gorillas in ihe camp as soon possible. as Every minute will to live an additional two weeks in Mist. The section below describes the spent talking seemed to be a minute Ruhengeri before I heard about her. Not plight of Coco and Pucker, baby gorillas less of her life, if the captive could survive wanting to waste more time in the destined for Germany's Cologne at all. Zoo . Without any abashment, the Conservator's office, I informed him that I The narrative picks up in March of 1969, Conservator admitted to having asked would be taking the baby back to camp right after Fossey has learned of Coco's . the leading poacher of the park, with me. He showed no remorse in letting violent capture, ordered by the Conserva- Munyarukiko, to organize a group of her go. He seemed more than happy to tor in charge of the region at the time. poachers to make the capture. The men let me bear the responsibility of the climbed Mount Karisimbi and selected captive's fate— probable death. Immediately I went down the mountain a group containing a young gorilla. That night I firmly made-up my mind and drove to the rambling old barrack Later I learned that ten members of the that, provided she lived, I would release buildings that served as offices for officials gorilla group were killed in the capture. her to the wild rather than allow her to connected with the park in those days. The animal young was wired onto be put into another wire cage at the In the small open square behind the bamboo poles by her arms legs and and Cologne Zoo. I estimated her age as ramshackle buildings were a series carried of to a small village near the park three-and-a-half to four years— old enough sheds, the largest of which now served boundary Kept for two weeks in the to be able to survive in the wilderness as a garage for the Conservator's new specially made wire cage the park guards under the protection and care of adult Land Rover. Nestled between the Land gorillas, and I named her Coco. Rover and a stack of wood was a coffinlike The Karisoke staff had prepared the box surrounded by swarms of laughing second room of my cabin for the captive's people, mainly children. A discarded wire arrival, transforming it into a miniature cage lay nearby. Pushing away jeering facsimile of a gorilla habitat. With many children, I slowly released the door bolt of screams and orders in Kinyarwanda, the wooden box in an attempt to see the porters had managed to squeeze her the captive, who had retreated as far in pen through the doors of the cabin and the back of the dark interior as it could deposit it amid the trees that now sprouted get. Instantly the little black furry form between the tloorboards. Suddenly the hurled toward me, shrieking in fear and baby and I were left alone together in rage. ! slammed the door as people blissful guiet. crowded around, laughing loudly at an Cautiously I pried off the cover of the injustice they did not understand, pen, unsure of the reaction to expect. I had the box carried into the Conser- . Would the infant be timid, aggressive, or vator's room, where relative quiet lethargic? I was thrilled when Coco prevailed. Against his wishes I opened straightaway left the pen and dazedly the coffin door, this time to let the baby out. walked over the vegetation, patting the . Once more the small ball of fluff came leaves and stalks as if to reassure herself hurtling forward. Before the Conservator they were real. Because of her weakened could move she sank her teeth into his condition she made only one feeble leg. She next ran to the windows, where attempt to strut by my side to indicate the people had gathered to cheer the that she intended to be in charge of this action noisily. The frightened gorilla'baby new situation. She then stood and stared beat on the panes with such force that at me intently for nearly a minute before I was convinced the glass was going to Fossey's charge: bound for captivity. very hesitantly crawling onto my lap. I 18 OMNI CONTINUED ON PAGE 162 By James Kitfield

a high, fine arc over the The Searing last words a control operator project teams and research steamy jungles groups of Kourou, French wants to hear at zero plus fifteen minutes devote up to four years to a mission only Guiana, last September, the were those that came over the audio to watch it disappear from Ariane rocket carried a computer far more than just a loop. "The launch has failed to achieve screen, stress reaches a critical stage. two-satellite payload. On the ascent of required ." orbit. Repeat . . Gravity being "Officially there was never any pointing this first fully operational mission of the what it is, everyone at ESOC knew the European ot fingers, but internally you can bet Space Agency's (ESA) new verdict was final, Within a matter of there was some grumbling," admits launcher rode Western Europe's a official minutes, the mission, which was to have British systems-control operator at ESOC. bid for a share of outer space. Perhaps catapulted Western Europe into full "When a launch goes sour even more important we're all to the 11 nations of space capability, had aborted, and concerned, because that's our job. If ESA, the flight was to we act as confirmation irustrations were as hard to cork as the can't launch satellites, we're out of work. that they could cooperate, setting aside premature champagne. And some of us felt there was a question parochial interests. That confirmation "Officially (he Ariane is not a French of poor quality control on the part of proved to be the only part of her mission launcher but a European launcher. ot But the French." Yet at the rank-and-file level that Ariane would complete. course nationalistic rumblings could be the grumbling has the At 12 minutes appearance of a into the flight Ariane heard," says K. G. Lenhart, research family fight, not an international conflict. burned well into the second of her three head at ESOC. "The British newspapers "If I tell one of the French guys I work booster stages, and champagne corks said that it was a 'French' launcher that were with, 'Hey, Froggle, not much of a popping at the ESA's Space Opera-" failed. On the other hand, when the early launcher,' he'll just tions Center come back with, 'Well, (ESOC), in Darmstadt, West tests were successful, the French Roastbeef, at least we have one,' " says Germany, As soon as the launcher newspapers claimed it as a French the Britisher at ESOC. released her $100 million worth of satellites launcher. But in the ESA, we to tend say Under the charter that officially founded into geostationary orbit, the ESOC team just that it's European." the ESA in 1975, each member nation would take over full operational control. The official show of unity that followed contributes But somewhere to optional projects according between the Aleutian the ESA's greatest setback no doubt to its interest. The French pushed for Island and Kenyan tracking stations, helped to reduce potential strains in the rocket development Ariane disappeared from the beginning, Irom the screens. young alliance. When members of special- assuming nearly two thirds of the budget for Ariane's development. The British preferred to focus on the projected boom in communications satellites, and the West Germans turned their attention to NASA's development of Spacelab, due to be launched soon with the shuttle. In the face of these diverse interests, the ESA experiment depends on interfac- ing highly technical hardware from differ- ent countries. ESA's quest for a piece of space also requires unifying groups of people who are, initially, foreign to one another. The laboratories are ESA instal- lations in France, Germany, Holland,

and Italy, where bad English is the official language, and participants go by such internal names as "Frog, Clog, Kraut, Wop, Beefeater, and Scandimaniac." "At the worker level the international cooperation works very well," says a computer operator at ESOC. "We work with one another, we drink with one another, we date one another, we have the same lovers. We spend more time with our colleagues than we ESA's Space Operations Center; No do with our wives or girlfriends. So in 20 OMNI once a CONTINUED ON PAGE 171 EBALL SHRINK fUllRJD

, By Mark Teich

I I hen California psychologist busher!" he yelled, stink! ^% "You You'll ranging from relaxation exercises to

. Bruce Ogilvie I was invited never make it in the Big Leagues!" The hypnosis to enhance the performance of to the San Diego Padres' %m Wm abuse continued in that vein, with the well-adjusted players. spring-training camp in the early Seventies entire veteran team listening. For the rest All of these techniques, of course, he was asked to keep a low profile. of the workout, the humiliated Ivey rolled would have been anathema in the grand Around baseball clubhouses, he explains, the ball back to the mound. That evening old game's early days. When your psychologists were people asked to he called the office team from a bus nickname was Big Train, Iron Man, or the sneak up the back stairs in the dead of station to announce he was going home. Duke, you were supposed to be a hero, night. Nonetheless, the Padres thought he He was through with baseball. and you didn't rave on about emotional might be able to help improve the perform- At that point, only Ogilvie's intervention pain. You were paid for flawless instinct ance of their rookies; so they asked saved matters. He persuaded Ivey to and performance, not complaints. him to talk to the players. return and spend time some with him, if But during the Sixties, this veneer of After administering a series of psycho- only for his own peace of mind. He then baseball machismo began to erode. logical tests to a twenty-year-old isolated himself with Ivey for two days, First, the leagues added more teams, rookie— a spectacularly talented catcher' finally coaxing him back onto the team. and younger, immature players were named Mike Ivey — Ogilvie gave Padres' Ivey switched from being a catcher to an brought up from the minor leagues to fill management some advice. Ivey, he outfielder. His powerful hitting ensured the extra slots. Second, a rule known told them, had a fierce competitive drive, him a successful career in baseball, as the reserve clause was struck down. but he was also extremely sensitive Thanks to the Ivey episode and others The rule had given teams the right to and could easily upset be by harsh criti- like it, professional baseball learns have hold or trade players at will. When the cism. "Be careful," Ogilvie warned, "or begun to realize that psychologists can be clause was abolished by federal statute, you might mishandle this kid." as valuable as trainers and physicians. baseball's peons— the players—were Ogilvie's warning was ignored. The After years of struggling for acceptance, freed and began signing with teams very next day, however, Ivey made an psychologists are now working with offering the highest bids. Virtually errant throw to the pitcher and missed players on most Major League teams. overnight, pitchers and hitters just beyond hitting a coach by inches. The coach They give private psychotherapy to certain their teens became millionaires. Coaches turned on Ivey: "You goddamned stupid troubled players and use techniques and managers, who now earned less than the players, grew stingier with their praise, and their high-salaried young charges felt an ever-increasing obligation to perform like supermen. Their worries damaged their concentration, whittling away their batting averages and slowing down their fastballs. Eventually, fearing that the money they'd spent was about to be thrown out the window, the teams tried a tack that was being explored by many corporations: They recruited a few psychologists. Ogilvie was one of the earliest of these

consultants. He recalls that at first managers feared the intruders would undermine their leadership, whereas the players viewed the "shrinks" as spies of the management. And because few had ever worked with athletes, the psycholo- gists themselves seemed hopelessly amateurish. In the years that followed, though, they worked with a larger sampling of players, gradually developing a solid block of psychological theory By and large, Ogilvie insists, he and sw type of psychologist is helping baseball p/ayei his contemporaries have found that OMNI CONTINUED ON PAGE 144 LITERATE COMPUTER ARTIFICIAL

By Phoebe Hoban

of Instead using artificial languages to blocking the flow of data. By contrast, and searches databases for answers. communicate with their computers, people continue conversations in ordinary Intellect reacts to such questions by some programmers are now teaching English even when a previous phrase diagraming the user's their command or query machines to understand an is old ungrammatical or ambiguous. to outline its basic structure. Then it and complex language: everyday English. Cracking the human communication uses a built-in dictionary to interpret Researchers in artificial intelligence code and teaching it to computers, individual words, then phrases, it are developing until systems that may eventu- however, is a challenge. Which comes has built up an understanding of the ally make man-machine communication first—form or content? Is it possible to entire statement's meaning. as natural a process as human conversa- comprehend the meaning of a group of The $69,500 system deals equally well tion. "If computers are ever really going words without first defining that group's with incomplete or ungrammatical to become household appliances like the structure? These and other fundamental requests, and it adapts easily to different TV or radio, there is no question they questions have kept researchers busy databases— features that have won will have to use natural language," , says since the Sixties. Now their work is acceptance for Intellect in some 150 Kenneth Lim, of Dataquest, a California beginning to pay off. And within the next locations, from Aetna Life Insurance market-research to firm. "The average Joe -6 to 18 months, several companies plan Du Pont. And its designers have just Public is never going to want to learn to introduce the first natural-language signed an agreement designating BASIC. the You have to program the computer - programs for personal computers. system as the off-the-shelf natural- to be people-literate." Like people, these programs will differ language program for IBM mainframes. BASIC is a programming language in how they use language. For example, Coming up: a personal-computer version used in applications that range from one program, marketed by Artificial of the program, which could be available calculating a return on an investment to Intelligence Corporation, approaches within the next 18 months for under $500. playing games. Writing computer instruc- English armed with a rich knowledge of Another set of programs, marketed tions in BASIC or other common artificial grammar. The Intellect program under- by Cognitive Systems, Inc., favors languages requires strict adherence stands such normal English questions as, semantics— meaning— over syntax or to rules. Misplacing a quotation mark, for "What is the average salary of unmarried grammar. Cognitive's example, founder, Roger can cause a program to quit, managers in the Rochester drvsior?" Scnar<, believes that the key to all language is knowledge itself. "You simply can *alk : about what you don't know abDjt." Schank says, Based on the artifi- ;:ai nielligence research Schank pioneered at Yale, each knowledge- based program avoids syntactic analysis ana goes straight for the underlying "•car ng that each word represents. This mode oreaks down language into funda- mental concepts rather than parts of

speech. Any action, for instance, is

categorized as 1 of 11 basic concepts. One of these, for example, is the idea of possessing something. These concepts are understood within a specific context supplied by a "script" that's based on knowledge of such real-life scenarios as reading a newspaper, having an argument, or analyzing stock-market prices. Because the system is not bogged

down by grammar, it operates with equal facility in any language. Since the vocabulary used cannot be

separated from the information it conveys, Schank's programs Some are not just transla- new machines old, ambiguous language, everyday F-.ngiisn tors. They are virtual experts, or "advis- 24 OMNI CONTIMUED ON PAGE 168 "

BREMKTHRDUBHS 3y Michael Edelhart

space tourists tile a bit seats in ways that back up the images And not only sensations of space Theuncertainly or into the briefing with authentic physical sensations. adventure, in the movie Outland, the evil room. Five dozen seats fine the Another similar simulation ride is the mine owner played simulated golf circular walls with of the room, where the SR2, made by Doron Precision Systems, a computer-controlled screen thai showed travelers will receive instructions for their a small New York firm whose earliest him the fairway and traced his ball's tour of the cosmos. products were driver-education trainers. path toward the hole. That device already A robot in the center of the room, Logos From outside, the SR2 looks something exists, It is called the Golfomat, and its the space guide, gives them orders. like a van without wheels. Inside, a dozen developer, Arthur Angelos. They are has sold to throw a ball at him, but when seats face a rear projection screen. hundreds of them. Sensors behind the ihey do, it curves away crazily. Then The SR2 can become a spaceship, a screen measure the they angle and velocity ot try to move their hands; movement super-roller coaster, a barnstorming a ball hit by the player The computer is difficult. Logos takes them through biplane, a race car, or a white-water raft. then calculates where the ball would land a preview of gravitational and motion The images flashed on the screen are and selects the proper view of the effects they should expect on the trip. coordinated by microprocessor with course. Next, the tourists receive space physi- a complex hydraulic system that moves Ultimately the technology will lead to cals: balance, pivot, stress, and memory the unit about in convincing twists. fully interactive scenarios in which the tests to ensure their fitness for space. Already. Doron has placed more than a user has vast freedom of choice to interact And then they enter the space capsule. A dozen SR2s in Japan and sees an unlim- with his environment, which will respond huge port displays the launch tower. To ited future for simulation amusements to whatever he does. Real-life Dungeons the right, a video screen shows the crew in the United States. and Dragons? Tennis preparing against Jimmy for launch. To the left, a digital "The future probably holds additional Connors? A mock auto race? All display are pos- flashes the countdown. The sound kinds of sensory stimulation," says sible through computer-v ideo simulation. of preparation is all about. Finally, the David Treichler, of Doron. "Wind, strobe " descending numbers NEW PRODUCTS reach 3. 2, 1, liftoff, lights, more sophisticated motion. The and the travelers are pushed into their future of the amusement industry is The Spy Beam is a seats miniaturized system as the capsule vibrates. in simulation creating — sensations in to mark and keep track of valuable cargo, It's quite a trip, and it's even more the mind rather than on real rides." vehicles, or people without attracting impressive because it takes place entirely attention. A battery-powered transmitter in a Manhattan office building in late attached to the moving cargo or 1983. The 2010 space vacation is actually person transmits a beam, invisible to the The Space Works, a multimedia simula- naked eye, to an infrared receiver. The tion scheduled to open in New York beam penetrates smoke, fog, or fabric. It this December. Developed by Trans-Lux blinks every two to three seconds. But the Corporation, The Space Works is a unit can be set to transmit distinctive pioneering step in the new art of signal patterns. The system, costing computer-simulation amusements. about $400, could be used to locate a Combining the flight simulators used to shore point from sea, or to find a specific train astronauts and airplane pilots with the person in a crowd. (CCS, 633 Third technology of video disc and microcom- Avenue, New York, NY 10017.) puter, these realistic displays can place us in any corner of the universe of the Microwave ovens are safe when they human imagination. Unlike past amuse- leave the factory, but according to ment scenarios, they provide the physica. Controlled Energy Systems, of Texas, sensations of the genuine event. some become dangerous at home when The Space Works uses computer spilled food breaks the tight seal of controls and a huge centrifuge-room to gaskets designed to trap radiation. To create the effects of the spaceport briefing find such leaks, the company sells the chamber. In the spacecraft itself, Micro Snooper ($19.95), a hand-held computers knit sound tapes, video-disc detector. Microwave owners move a images of the..crew, and 35mm movies wand around the seam of the oven door of the port views'into a seamless whole. while heating water inside. A color-coded Hydraulic lifts are tied in as well, to sweep gauge warns of radiation. (14200 the "capsule" around and move the Future tun: computer-generated illusion. Midway Road, Dallas, TX 75234.) 26 OMNI DO MAKING GIRL BABES

By Judith Hooper

I hen [he phone rings ^% I at Ericsson hit upon his male-producing and mysterious, preponderance of !

! Gamelrics, Ltd., in Sausalito, method | | by accident some years ago in females; 15 out of 19 babies born. California, biologist-entrepre- the *» ^» course of fertility research: It just "Remember," notes Ericsson, "that the neur Ronald J. Ericsson often finds happened to favor the speedier Y-bearing control group in this case isn't fifty-fifty, but himself fielding some odd requests. sperm that produce baby boys. The is skewed heavily toward males, and "Is this where you order boys?" a recent technique works by filtering sperm through that Clomid was the only variable." caller asked the czar of scientific sex several layers of human serum albumin. But how on earth could sperm samples selection. She wasn't joking, either. Because the Y sperm outswim their X- consisting of 80 percent Y sperm be Catalog-order babies, whether swaddled bearing counterparts, what ends up making 80 percent female babies? in blue or pink, aren't available, naturally, at the bottom of the veriical glass column Frankly, Ericsson doesn't know. Either from Gametrics or anywhere else. But is a sample composed of about 80 the statistics are a fluke, or Clomid exerts Ericsson's operation comes close. Now percent Y sperm. Conception is then a weird chemical influence on the filtered that his pioneer "sperm separation" accomplished by artificial insemination at sperm. Despite the theory gap, at least technique Ihe first and only — documented one of 17 licensed centers around the three women are pregnant with what they means of choosing your future baby's globe from Rome to Philadelphia. hope are daughters following a Clomid/ gender—has been put to the test by some Recently Ericsson started wondering sperm-separation regimen. "I'm not giving 200 couples desiring sons, its success about the fertility drug Clomid—designed anyone false hopes," says Ericsson. rate of 76 percent has held steady. to stimulate ovulation in women who "We'll see what happens. I am telling the Left to her own devices, Mother ' Mature don't ovulate—and found journal reports centers not to use Clomid lor boys."

deals an even 50-50, of course and that it shifted — the sex ratio slightly (about Mew methods are sure to follow. In those are the odds to which would- 56 percent) in favor of female offspring. Japan, for example, researchers report a be parents of girls have had to resign Since some of the women using his meth- promising technique that uses electricity themselves. Until now, that is. For the first od might be taking the drug, he asked to separate the Xs from the Ys. But it time, there is a way to make the Ericsson his sex-selection centers for statistics. hasn't yet produced a baby. method favor female offspring. only The The numbers made no sense. The What impels people to try to tamper problem is that no one, including the inven- combination of Clomid and the Ericsson with the gender game, anyway? The very tor himself, can figure out it works. why technique seemed to beget a startling, idea seems to stir dark presentiments of a bioengineered society full of made- to-order firstborn sons. From the mail Gametrics receives, though, Ericsson predicts that kind of scenario won't

happen. "A sociologist, Man Chlco, is analyzing our letters —several thousand by now— as part of her Ph.D. thesis," he says. "Only about one percent of the people

want to preselect the sex of a first child. Most people in this country want a girl and a boy." At the East Bay Fertility Ob/Gyn Clinic, in Berkeley, where the Ericsson technique has produced 44 children so far. Dr. Ferdinand Beernink concurs. "Almost all of our couples already have several daughters, often from former marriages, and want a son." "In Taiwan, where we have several centers, people do want sons," Ericsson notes. "Sons are their Social Security; they're supposed to take care of the parents in their old age. But twenty years from now—when, I'm sure, there will be better, logistically easier sex-preselection

methods— I think the world will be Some parents prefer daughters to sons. Now there may be a method tor begetting them. a less sexist place."DO 28 OMNI TOKYO'S HIGH-TECH MECCA EXPLDRMTIDRJS By Doug Garr

is a miasma of neon and a veritable price. Nobody pays the suggested retail cleaners (for the really messy and busy electronic II emporium extraordinaire. price in Akihabara; in fact, it would be executive, one imagines), battery- It is a dazzling array of calculators, considered impolite by Japanese operated corkscrews, diaper alarms that stereos, televisions, and as well as a standards if a buyer didn't haggle over beep when baby is wet, and an overflow- supermarket of semiconductors and even the "discount" price. sensing device that automatically turns assorted electrical gadgets. Welcome to There are basically two kinds of oft the faucet when the bathtub is full. the proud center of the products Japanese retail available in Akihabara. First, Akihabara also attracts hobbyists of all market for high technology, the inimitable such typical consumer appliances as kinds. You can buy electric trains, a Akihabara district It is of Tokyo. refrigerators, electric heaters, and every scale-model, remote-controlled Bell Jet sometimes said that you haven't to imaginable variation of been TV, tape deck, Ranger helicopter (about £510 list), a life- the Far East if you haven't spent at least videotape recorder, amplifier, receiver, and size robotic arm ($37), and kits to build a couple of hours perambulating the half- camera. Strange hybrids also abound, everything from TV sets to home dozen square blocks along the Chuo from FM-radio digital watches to stereo computers. Many of the customers Dori (central street) just off the Akihabara tuners operated by remote control. frequenting the hobby shops are adults. train subway and station. Computerized tuning is very popular, as Japanese men continue their hobbies In Akihabara there are some 500 stores is computerized everything else. Almost far longer than American men, do. School and shops, ranging trom the posh every storefront has a flashy display with kids in their dark-blue uniforms can computer showroom of the Nippon Electric something whirring in the window. usually be found tinkering with music Company, on the seventh floor of Tokyo's The second category of Akihabara synthesizers or playing with computer Radio Building, to the tiny stands in the merchandise features kits, electronic keyboards. Sunday is the big sales day cramped arcades, featuring the raw parts, and gizmos that have marginal here, with Chuo Dori cordoned off from innards of radios and computers. Last practical use but are nonetheless infatua- traffic to allow the 100,000 shoppers year the district sold $2 billion worth tions of the Japanese engineering a little more elbowroom. Among them are of goods, or 9 percent of Japan's total mentality. Shoppers snatch up such high-tech marketing executives scouting high-tech gross national product. And exotic items as electric sesame-seed the competition's products, as Akihabara most of those goods went for 15 to 40 grinders, radish graters, ear picks, pencil sales are often the bellwether of an percent below the manufacturer's listed erasers, miniature desk-top vacuum item's performance. The activity on Sunday is fiercely aggressive. Quite possibly this is the only place on earth where computers are sold on the sidewalk. Tokyo's high-tech district actually has something of a varied history. Before

World War II, Akihabara was the place where the Japanese bought bicycles (much more common as a mode of trans- portation here than in the United States). After the war, black marketeers who were driven out of the nearby Sudacho district congregated in Akihabara, Since the district had been ravaged by bombing, most of the peddlers sold their wares in open-air markets. Radio parts became the predominant staple. Remarkably, there are still one or two shops in Akiha- bara that sell antiquated vacuum tubes. The most amusing anachronism, however, is the sight of an elderly shopkeeper adding up the price of a purchase of

electronic goods with his abacus. If you shake your head in bewilderment, he will probably reach into his coat pocket and produce a calculator. Cramped arcades ot Tokyo's Akihabara otier the world's best buys on electronic goods. One shop owner, Shuichi Take, sixty, 30 OMNI CONTINUED 3N PAGE 191 ) )

C?Am not,"^I said. play, or a contract. And that's O.K. CAreso,'|Jnes aid. But word-by-word reading is a So^Told rurn)the monsters rotten way to read faster It actually cuts Sown on your speed. to read faster were going to ^at hu^at ffmHnigfTt) How Clustering trains you to look at He started to cry. My (Da3came jjt) groups of words instead of one at and jf5I3)the monsters (fo beatify a time-to increase your speed enor- he told us to to sleep faster. Then /jp j) By Bill Cosby But I know of 3 that are Then read the entire last two mously. For most of us, clustering jany more about especially good. ( flrTheaf paragraphs. is a tottdly different way of seeing what iii< liv-.iYTN," he :•:!;:. (TU spank you And if I can learn them, Previewing doesn't give you jy weread. fas"tT)And so can you—and you can put all the details. But it does keep you We went tojsleep you Here's how to cluster: Train to use immediately. them from spending time on things you your eyes to see all the words in clus- They are commonsense, don't really want-or need-to read. ters of up to 3 or 4 words at a glance. the piece at your normal speed to practical ways to get the mean- Notice that previewing gives Here's how I'd cluster the story you missed the first time. ing printed see what from words quickly you a quick, overall view of long, we just skimmed: Try a second piece. First cluster, and efficiently So you'll have unfamiliar material. For short, light then reread to see what you missed time to enjoy your comic reading, there's a better technique. in one. books, have a good laugh with this 2. Skim -if it's When you can read in clusters Mark Twain or a good cry with short without missing much the first War and Peace. Ready? and simple time, your speed has increased. Okay. The first two ways can Skimming is a good way to get a Practice 15 minutes every day and help you get through tons of general idea of light reading-like you might pick up the technique reading material—fast-witfeout popular magazines or the sports in a week or so. (But don't be disap- International Paper asked Bill Cosby- a 7i:i earned iiis reading every word. and entertainment sections of the pointed if it takes longer. Cluster- doctorate m education and has been in They'll give you the overall paper. which help people learn to real fastcr- o share what he ing everything takes time and meaning- of what you're reading. You should be able to skim a liiimiiil ruling about more in less tim< practice. And let you cut out an awful weekly popular magazine or the So now you have 3 ways to When I was a kid in Philadelphia, lot of unnecessary reading. second section of your daily paper help you read faster. Preview to cut 1 must have read every comic book in less than half the time it takes 1. Preview— if it's down on unnecessary heavy read- ever published. (There were fewer you to read it now. long and hard ing. Skim to get a quick, general of them then than there are now. Skimming is also a great way to

"Et'Oi! u'if/i oii|o:iJ :'i>:,'ir ;i!ui uAv*. as friends idea of light reading. And cluster I zipped through all of them in a Previewing is especially useful for review material you've read before. few as possible to help you out. No TV, no music. to increase your speed and com- couple of days, then reread the good getting a general idea of heavy Here's how to skim: Think of h'Uhelp you conc^ivrate L.tv:r-,ir d read [aster." : prehension. ones until the next issues arrived. reading like long magazine or news- your eyes as magnets. Force them With enough practice, you'll Yes indeed, when 1 was a kid, paper articles, business reports, and to move fast. Sweep them across the words—and in less than half the be able to handle more reading at the reading game was a snap. nonfiction books. each and every line of type. Pick time it'd take to read every word. to is nor at home-in 1 Learning read clusters school or work-and But as 1 got older, my eyeballs It can give you as much as half upon/} a jew fay u-ords in each line. So far, you've seen that pre- something your eyes do natutally. (ess time. You should even have must have slowed down or some- the comprehension in as little as Everybody skims differently. viewing and skimming can give you idea It takes constant practice. enough time to read your favorite thing! I mean, comic books started one tenth the time. Rir example, You and I may not pick up a general about content-fast.

to about it: Pick comic books- and War and Peace ! to pile up faster than my brother you should be able to preview eight exactly the same words when we But neither technique can promise Here's how go something light to read. Read it as Russell and I could read them! or ten 100-page reports in an hour. skim the same piece, but we'll both more than 50 percent comprehen- fast as you can. Concentrate on see- It wasn't until much later, After previewing, you'll be able to get a pretty similar idea of what sion, because you aren't reading all ing 3 to 4 words at once rather than when I was getting my doctorate, decide which reports (or which it's all about. the words. (Nobody gets something one word at a time. Then reread I realized it wasn't my eyeballs that parrs of which reports) are worth j To show you how it wotks, for nothing in the reading game.) faster understand were to blame. Thank goodness. a closer look. I circled the words 1 picked To read and

They're still moving as well as ever. Here's how to preview: Read i :iut when I skimmed the mast—if not all-of what you read,

is, the entire first two paragrapl .; you need to know a third technique. is vital than ever. there is The problem there's too M following story. Today, the printed word more Now

days, of whatever you've it. It all better, write better, and much to read these and too : Try shouldn't more need than ever for of us to read I i 3. Cluster-to increase chosen: ..„.-' little time to read every word of it. Next _ ^ I take you more communicate better. -'.., speed and comprehension - I readonly the . in that, in Now, mind you, still read I than 10 seconds. International Paper offers this scries the hope even Most of us learned to read by look- comic books. In addition to con- first sentence of a small way, we can help. My brother &usselL' ing at each word in a sentence- tracts, novels, and newspapers. each successive If you'd like to share this article with others-students, friends, minks monsrerO one at a time. Screenplays, tax returns and corre- paragraph. employees, family—we'll gladly send you reprints. So far we've sent in our\hedroorni Like this: spondence. Even textbooks about (jjy£> out over 14,000,000 in response to requests from people everywhere. brother-Russell-thinks- how people read. And which tech- closet at nighQBu t My- Please write: "Power of the Printed Word',' International monsters... niques help people read more in 1 told himQie is crazy. , Paper Company, Dept. 3X, EO. Box 954, Madison Square Station, You probably still read this less time. "Go ancl^hecp New York, NY 10010. ^„^_ way sometimes, especially when I'lUet you in on a little secret. then? he said. the words are difficult. Or when the INTERNATIONAL PAPER COMPANY There are hundreds of techniques U. fllun T tO. readfasier and you'll have umc fir a sood laugh wanU ^ words have an extra-special mean- you could learn to help iih " We believe in the power of the printed word. you read Murk Twain-and a good cr: wi:h War and Peace. Russell said(l was chicketO ing-as in a poem, a Shakespeatean ANGER MASQUERADE

By Rick Boling

minous dark patches threatened Hodgkin's disease, or lymphoma is when, in fact, the application of a hot to engulf the last vestiges of uncanny, Dr. Kevin J, Flynn, an assistant compress to the body is probably the healthy skin on his legs. Under a professor of pathology and dermatology best course of action. microscope, the diseased tissue was at the University of Wisconsin at It is impossible to calculate just how seen to comprise hideously deformed Madison, has been conducting studies to many cases of RAH have been mislabeled cells— huge, lumpy blobs that clumped determine the course of RAH: how it in the past, but the number is probably together in haphazard groups. To the looks to clinicians, its biopsy characteris- in the hundreds. Flynn's search pathologist on the case, all the signs clearly tics, and how it progresses and of the medical literature has uncovered pointed to the vicious killer, melanoma. regresses. He hopes that his efforts will many likely episodes of the disease. But the clinical picture seen by Dr. Mark provide physicians with techniques These reports typically mention Dahl, at the University of Minnesota's designed to diagnose the imposter. numerous lesions that come and go, dermatology clinic, told a different story. At a microscopic level, however, RAH's while the general health of the patients The patient, a retired schoolteacher, many laces share common features. remains good. Though not all RAH reported feeling fine at a stage in the These similarities appear to distinguish tumors regress completely, regression disease's progression that should have the disorder from lethal varieties ot cancer. is one of the disease's indicators. left him at death's door. A battery of-tests "Once you know what to look for," says In the cases now documented, RAH is failed to uncover any evidence that the Flynn, "RAH can be diagnosed with most commonly mistaken for malignant disease had spread. And when asked great assurance most ot the time." melanoma, which accounts for two thirds about some white blotches on his legs, The distinction is crucial, for if doctors of all deaths from skin cancer. In the patient revealed that these were spots are fooled by the appearance of RAH, diagnosing melanoma, the size of the where other tumors had "gone away." the treatment can prove worse than tumor is a prime indicator of the patient's Regressing atypical histiocytosis, the disease. A Florida man, for instance, chances of survival. Because many an or RAH, is a newly identified disease that lost his leg to amputation before the RAH tumor is as large as a melanoma may be subjecting hundreds of people deception was exposed. Because RAH tumor that would be fatal 50 percent of throughout the world to unnecessary disguises itself as a voracious killer, the time, doctors are faced with very cancer therapies. Because its mimicry of Flynn explains, doctors may feel difficult therapeutic choices. such insidious cancers as melanoma, compelled to adopt drastic measures "RAH looks as if it should be lethal,"

says Flynn, "but it's not. At worst, it may be a form of low-grade malignancy,

and it should be treated accordingly." Dr. Dahl, an associate professor of dermatology at the University of Minne- sota medical school, views the disorder as a mild type of cancer. "If my hunch is borne out," he says, "the key question becomes. How does the body ward off the assault?" The answer could have far- reaching implications for treating cancer. Dahl speculates that a specific reaction of the body's immune system could explain why RAH appears to regress spontaneously. He also believes it's possible that people get the disease

only if they have a particular biological makeup that renders them susceptible. "Once we have an idea of who's likely to

contract RAH, what it looks like at dif- ferent stages, and what role the body's defenses play in controlling the disease, we may discover better ways to attack truly aggressive cancers in the bargain," Dahl says. 'As things stand now, though,

! nv.-j.'j.-.ifjs.'s can tell them apart we have a long row to hoe. "DO FILM THEART5 By Jonathan Rosenbaum

For a conceptual artist who's and fro so that the camera wouldn't have For epic visual breadth, perhaps the more often concerned with to budge an inch. In the ensuing only Snow creation to rival Flight Stop is representation than with straight slapstick mayhem (a needle on a Bach the three-hour film, La Region Centrale

entertainment, Canadian filmmaker record skips wildly, walls and furniture (The Central Region.. 1971). in which Michael Snow can be a pretty jokey fellow. shake, objects crash to the floor, actors a computer-operated camera spins in In fact, of all the are avant-garde artists I buffeted about), something about the endlessly changing configurations around know, he may well be the one who laughs perception of movement— as well as an uninhabited mountain landscape in the most and the hardest. His longest the intimate relationship between creation northern Quebec. It probably wouldn't be and craziest movie—the 260-minute, and destruction — is being explored. an exaggeration to call this film one of encyclopedic "Rameau's Nephew" by Just a few short subway stops away Snow's least popular works— it certainly Diderot (Thanx to Dennis Young) by Wilma from Snow's house is the best known has the fewest laughs. But that's largely

Schoen— contains a grab bag of and most popular of all his works, Flight because it's so scary. There's a direct assorted puns, puzzles, and adages, Stop. It isn't a movie, but it makes many assault on the senses, including one's from lines like "eating is believing" and people think of one. Located in the center of gravity, as the flip-flopping "hearing is deceiving" to a mad tea party largest enclosed shopping mall on the camera makes circular patterns at variable where words and sentences recited continent, Eaton Center, which reportedly speeds that no human being could backward are then reversed to sound attracts more visitors annually than possibly duplicate, producing an experi- vaguely intelligible. Even Wilma Schoen Niagara Falls, this photographic sculpture ence roughly akin to riding a demonic in the title is for an anagram Snow's name. consists of 60 fiberglass geese, each ferris wheel. "I wanted to make the film a of his One shortest works, the eight- suspended from three wires and glued to condensed day," Snow explained. "It minute Two Sides Every is to Story, a contoured photograph of a real goose. isn't, really, but it does start in daylight, projected on two back-to-back screens, Extended over about six stories, the and then there's sunset and sunrise, and simultaneously showing the same events geese seem to be landing in formation. it's over at something like eleven." in the same room from opposite angles. and there's something eerily cinematic In order to make the film, Snow enlisted Just as typical, in the living room of about the overall spread, as if each bird the help of Montreal technician Pierre

Snow's house in Toronto, where I recently were a separate stop-frame in a dis- Abeloos, who designed a machine that interviewed him, is a front door that isn't persed simulation of animated flight. used audio tapes to program the camera's in use— or rather is in use, but not as 360° movements without any direct a front door. Over the side facing inside human contact. Then Snow went out the room is a life-size color photograph of looking for a wild location where nothing a painting of the same door, A concept man-made was visible, finally settling of a front door in place of a real one? on an area near Sept-fles, on the Gulf of A statement about representation instead St. Lawrence. Renting a helicopter, he of a portal to walk through? Perhaps a flew there with three crew members, bit of both. But there's another detail installed Abeloos's machine on a remote in the photograph that makes the whole mountain plateau, and hid from camera thing funnier and stranger; a gigantic range with the others for five cold days in in the foreground hand holding a lit match. September while the film was being shot. This image is many times larger than Why was it so vital to have nothing life, totally contradicting the supposed human either in front of the camera or equivalence between real door and behind it? "On the one hand, I wanted to represented door. have the machine make the film," Snow Perceptual and conceptual gags of told me. "But on the other hand, I wanted this kind abound in Snow's work. to make what you see more yours than Sometimes they're amazingly literal: After the cameraman's or the director's, In making an epic-film trilogy in the late a way. Even though the height of the Sixties and early Seventies about possible camera is the usual human standing ways of moving the camera— zooming, height, five feet or so, it makes for a kind panning back and forth, and rotating of experience that's not anthropo- every built which way— he a set on rollers morphic; it's an experience that comes for a section of another film (Presents, explicitly from the machinery. 1981]. Then he used a couple of forklifts "Ultimately," Snow went on, "the director to jerk the whole flimsy construction to Snow: perceptual and conceptual gags. or the artist is removed just one step in 38 OMNI ON PftGE 166 WORMANCE THE ART By Robert S. Ryan

you want to look into the real soul of a any technolog cal society, and people's United States entitled "Example #22," Ifnew machine, look into the eyes of attempt to live in a technological world." the Synclavier allows her to Laurie Anderson. Look through her silver The dramatic big picture she develops in recall programmed voices of so-called eyeglasses that are wired for sound. Sit United States touches on everything paranormals— those self-proclaimed around her electronic campfire. from the space program to romantic love conduits to the spiritual world—and to Laurie Anderson wants to tell you a story. and captures the humor, confusion, and mix them with her own voice speaking in "Good evening. This is your captain./ wonder that seem to coexist throughout both English and German. Radio waves,

We are about to attempt a crash landing contemporary life. Outer space, satellites, satellite beams, and other precise

. . . /Put your hands on your head./Put and extraterrestrial travel, in particular, electronic transmissions are juxtaposed

your hands on your hips. Heh. Heh . . . I fascinate her, but she is critical of the with the "spiritualist" communiques And we are ail going down together."— direction of the space program today. throughout the performance. The "From the Air" ©1982 Difficult Music, BM1. "It seems everything we send up now is summoning of these voices resonates Echoes like this one— of our collective just for the purpose ol looking back with eerie associations, reverberating fear of flying — are scattered throughout down," she comments. "It's such a huge between ancient concepts of mystical Anderson's performance of United States, change from the Apollo days. We just realities and new extraterrestrial visions. Parts i-IV. After nearly five years in go up for a few miles now, and it's basically In another segment, on the other hand,

development, this 78-part ode to America forsurveillance." That's not to say, she Anderson indulges in a rather pedagogical in the Eighties received its full-length adds, that she would not jump on the first ten-minute monologue on the importance premiere early in 1983, at New York City's shuttle flight available. of Nikola Tesla.

Brooklyn Academy of Music. It took six As instrumentation in this new American Another of Anderson's tools, the Vocoder, hours divided into two evenings to Gothic, Anderson uses a Synclavier, a voice-activated synthesizer, alters the

experience the entire work. The premiere which looks like an organ but is actually voice's character and tone. Through it capped a previous year that saw Ander- a "sample-to-disk" digital keyboard in Anderson speaks in rapid succession son move from the position of a relatively which voices and sounds are assigned to as a child, as herself, and as a unknown avant-garde artist to various keys on the board — a bizarre, middle-aged man. The capability of that of a pop star and media celebrity. high-tech variant on the traditional machines to affect speech is a major

"0 Superman," her single, released keyboard arrangement. In the section of theme of her work. "I think this issue will on the independent One Ten Records predominate as machines take over more label, reached the top of the British pop of our modes of speech," she observes. charts and the top of many American "The question of what is human and music critics' ten-best lists. Warner Broth- what is facsimile arises with these ers records then signed Anderson to a disembodied voices that come to us major recording contract, and her first over a PA system or through a phone line.

album for them, Big Science, sold 800,000 "I have a friend with a child," she copies worldwide, continues, "and one of the hardest jobs When you meet her, Laurie Anderson she has is to teach this kid what's alive is soft-spoken and personable. A state-of- and what's not. For instance, the phone

the-art recording studio in her lower- will ring and she'll say, 'It's Grandma,' Manhattan quarters offers the only clue and the kid says, 'But that's a piece of

that she is proficient technologically plastic. Is it alive? Is the TV alive?' And as well as aesthetically. An accomplished these things are confusing not only to violinist and sculptor, she casts electronic the child; they're confusing to me." spells within a discipline that's really Anderson turns the kind of instinctive no discipline at all. Termed performance confusion we all feel toward supermarket

art, it can be part music, part film, part checkout terminals that talk back, or

monologue, part anything. And it is friends who are present in spirit if not in Anderson's ability to engineer hundreds fact through their phone-answering of bits of musical, narrative, and visual machines, into incisive gestures and information into one seamless work that images. At one point in the performance

makes her important. "When I began she turns her own body into a

to write United States," she tells us, "I . musical instrument by wiring her head

thought of it as a portrait of a country. for sound with those electronic eye-

Gradually I realized it was a portrait of Anderson; technology's digital diva. glasses. Knocking on her head and jaw, 40 OMNI CONTINUED ON PAGE 184 —

coruTifXJUunJi

POLITICS AT THE POLE

Antarctica comprises one tenth of the terrestrial world, some future time. Poland and West Germany have recently joined nations; like the United States and the USSR, these \ yet there is no consensus as to who owns it. Does the treaty \it belong to the seven nations that have asserted countries claim no territory at the present time. rules for exploitation of Ant- \ territorial claims to it, or to the nations, now 14 in In an effort to establish ground confusion, this "Gang of 14" is now number, that have conducted most of the research there? Is it, arctic resources despite the "minerals regime." As ex- as some lawyers maintain, res nuilius— belonging to no one trying to negotiate what they call a claimant nations because sovereignty is impossible to establish in such a hostile pected, the parties are having difficulty: The belong environment? Or does Antarctica belong to everyone? assert that minerals found in their sovereign territory to system of As long as this ice-encased continent was the preserve of them alone, while the nonclaimanl states want some explorers and scientists, such questions were academic. But sharing resources wherever they may be found. Although the reaching agreement, now the prospect of finding valuable resources endows the mat- nations involved have a strong interest in nationalism will destroy ter with urgency. Though exploration for Antarctic oil and gas it is possible that avarice and virulent during the last 20 years, has not even begun, their existence is almost a certainty. Coal the consensus system developed however, it isn't likely that the and iron are known to be present In large quantities. Trace If agreement can be reached, world divide amounts of copper, chromium, nickel, cobalt, manganese, mo- Gang of 14 will be able to ignore the rest of the and powers already lybdenum, gold, silver, platinum, and other minerals have been the spoils among themselves; the treaty seem found, and evidence indicates that significant concentrations prepared to make some token payment to the poorest countries profitable. Nor will the developing exist. Perhaps most important, the Southern Ocean surrounding if and when mining becomes Antarctica represents the world's last major undeveloped fish- countries allow the Gang of 14 to treat Antarctica as a private alone all the decisions. Some com- ery; its prime food source—tiny, shrimplike krill— could provide fiefdom where they make protein for millions of people throughout the Third World. promise will be needed between the common-heritage principle private club. Just 25 years ago, the 12 countries most active in Antarctica and the notion that Antarctica can be run as a Treaty system will be pre- agreed that the continent and its wealth should be used for My own hope is that the Antarctic administer peaceful purposes only. Antarctica would be preserved as a served and that the 14 consultative powers will the far acted domain where freedom of science was ensured and all military area as a commons in trust. The treaty nations have so interest of all activity forbidden. To this end, the 12 nations negotiated the responsibly and have acknowledged "the man- already adopted agreements for Antarctic Treaty, which came into effect in 1961. At the time, it kind" in Antarctica. They have preservation of Ant- attracted a great deal of attention, less perhaps for its specific the protection of the environment and the nations provisions than for the fact that, at the height of the Cold War, arctica as a unique scientific laboratory. They are the the United States and the Soviet Union were among those able ' with direct knowledge of Antarctica and with an understanding the treaty pow- to agree on nonmilitarization, unlimited right of inspection, and of the probable impact of their actions. Provided themselves, keeping de- full exchange of information— at least in one corner of the world. ers can now reach agreement among But an important matter was omitted from the treaty: the prob- cision making in the hands of the most experienced and con- "that lem of claims to territory and the resources within. The seven cerned nations will best ensure, in the words of the treaty, exclusively for nations claiming territory in Antarctica were, and still are, Ar- Antarctica shall continue forever to be used gentina, Australia, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway, and the peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object United Kingdom (the claims of the U.K., Argentina, and Chile of international discord,"—PHILIP W. QUIGG overlap). Five remaining countries— Belgium. Japan, South Af- Affairs the rica, the Soviet Union, and the United States—asserted no claims Philip W. Quigg is the former managing editor of Foreign and and recognized none, but retained the right to stake claims at author of A Pole Apart: The Emerging issue of Antarctica. " coruTimuurm

the old beak with glue, pins, and screws. Beach-goers strolling the Shortly afterward James southern California, coast Crose, director of advanced last fall were stunned to see technology at PDA Engi- 19 mutilated pelicans float- neering, in Santa Ana, ing offshore. The brawn Joined the team to develop birds had their upper beaks a new and saler method hacked off, probably by of attaching the artificial fishermen defending their beak. Instead of using pins, anchovy patches Four which may cause injury to of the animals succumbed the birds when they strike to the injuries almost imme- their beaks on hard sur- diately. The rest, no longer faces, he secured the capable of catching fish, i prosthesis with epoxy and would have slarved to death ultrapowerful bone cement. soon after. Though Crose tried "to This horror story, however. make the attachment just as

may have a happy ending: strong as it was in nature," Veterinary surgeons and an Iwo of these beaks have aerospace engineer have recently broken, and the joined forces to save the 15 scientists must go back to remaining animals by fitting the drawing board. them with artificial beaks. Nevertheless, hopes In late October, after remain high that a working may not be emotionally the birds were found. Dr. beak will soon be blank slates. "During ultra- Robert Rooks and a team at perfected. The surgical sound videotaping of high- the Crown Valley Animal team hopes to operate on risk pregnancies, we've Hospital, in nearby Laguna pelicans throughout the occasionally caught the fe- Niguel, south of Los Ange- year.— Joel Schwarz ;-on and seen differ- les, successfully attached sessions: disgust, an artificial beak to a pelican "If you look into " can the contsnlment, and so on named Pinoochio. The seeds oftimej Field notes. hew beak, made of epoxy And say which grain will Did the newborns know resin, fiberglass threads. grow and which will not,/ ; ;i- me anfng of the expres- and carbon fibers, was Speak then to me." :hey parroted'' Some connecled to the remains of — William Shakespeare .. ognitlve psychologists

: : ' says Field. "But how do you test such a tnmg? We Just don't know Brand-new infants run the gamut from "poker- faced" to "extremely re- sponsive." Field plans to follow her subjects up to the ripe old age of live to see what these traits portend. —Madeleine Lebwohl

hen pursued the nutter fly is never in a hurry. " Surgeons attach an artificial beak made ol epoxy resin .— Japanese saying fiberglass, and carbon libers to Pinoccbio, a wounded.pelican — "

build housing tracts and putting greens. Early reports quoted the The observatory thai developers as saying that created some of the most the telescope was "right detailed maps of the sky the middle" of the propo; and that listened attentively golf course. In later news over the pas; decade for bulletins, the partners sai radio signals from intelligent the telescope constituted

life in space was nearly an eyesore destroyed by developers Bui anguished crie.^ from who wanted to build a the telescope's defenders golf course on the site have recently been heard, You may think that a radio According to George Foster, telescope weighing nearly who founded the Commit- 500 tons and covering tee to Save the Telescope. about 4 acres of ground is the developers just needed too large an Item to tail a little consciousness rais- between the cracks. But that ing to put their priorities is what almost happened In order. to the Ohio State-Ohio Mot only were the mem- Wesleyan Radio Observa- bers o! the partnership

1 tory. Through a series ot grateful for the astronomy mimicked the noise of a Foster said, but low-pitched "rusty pump," misunderstandings and lessons, , infants miscommuni cations-, Ohio they saw how influential The gentle, giant mam- , while manatee friends of the manatees sounded like chirping birds. Wesleyan sold the land telescope mals known as j fast extinct. All intensified with out from under the tele- could help them win zoning are becoming | tones

if danger. Clearly, scope, apparently to the variances on the land But they could be warned | imminent great surprise of Ohio S::le. provided they left the ob- against such man-made i the manatees had devel- collisions, their own warning alone hazards as boat I oped even though the two uni- ; lor their signals, claim the Florida versities have jointly oper- "instead of a of stanc, perhaps lives could j ated the observatory since they'll get a lot of coopera- be saved i researchers, and all of this without help. 1956. The site went along So thought Florida Insti- ; human with the sale of some 250 "They're beginning to iook tute of Technology biologist ! "Their sounds relate to Morris his student their moods or convey to Green al the telescope as an John and j acres Highlands ' Steel. the information," Steel. Ohio General Partnership, a attraciion instead oi an Cathy But when | says private group hoping to abomination,"— Dava Sobel two began studying ways to I "But how specifically, we

communicate with these '. don't yet know." creatures, they hit upon a —MaryJane T. Murphy surprising discovery: Mana- tees have a rich vocabulary "Innovators and creative

' of over 1 ,000 sounds, in- geniuses cannot be reared

cluding a series of interplay , in schools. They are pre- and distress calls. cisety the men who defy j Using underwater hydro- what the school has taught ;

phones, Steel and Morris I them." used computers to identity —Ludwig von Mises the patterns of various free a camel ot the tones, frequencies, and | "Do not amplitudes. the of his hump; you They sorted | burden findings freeing from into 13 categories j may be him according to age and sex, being a camel." j Adult females, for example, — G. K. Chesterton —

coruTiruuunn

Before 1900, blood spe- SWEDISH SATELLITE cialist Madison Cawein explains, Troublesome Creek In the fall of 1984, Sweden could be reached only by will launch its space pro- foot, Thus, the isolated gram with a Boeing-de- inhabitants — all related signed satellite, aptly named married one another and to- Viking. Its mission: to study day have produced more the northern lights, or au- than 200 blue offspring, rora borealis, which Swedish Cawein became aware of scientists have long pon- their plight in the mid- dered from the ground. 1960s, and he set out to The magnificent lights, help. Working from his lab created when solar wind in- Bt the University of Ken- terferes with the earth's tucky, he traced their odd magnetic field, unfortunately pigmentation to an enzyme hinder radio communica- deficiency. They were tions. Perhaps Viking's missing the enzyme that eight-month voyage will tell breaks down the blue- scientists why. Veterinary Medical Association I brown blood chemical Down the road, Viking PET ACUPUNCTURE retorts that the AVMA, with known as meiahemoglobin. project scientist Kerstin of its financial ties to drug With an excess of this Fredga envisions a row Swedish telecommunica- Does a visit to the vet companies, won't endorse a substance flowing through tions satellites and even a send your pet into fits of jit- procedure that lessens their veins, the folks at Trou- satellite ters, mewing, barking, or the need for drugs. blesome Creek had turned Nordic cooperative shirts. for direct broadcasting. clawing? if so, acupuncture — Eric Mishara as blue as Oxford Swedes are likely to greet may take the edge off its Finally Cawein came up enthusiasti- anxiety, suggests H. Grady "An age is called Dark not with a cure: daily adminis- their Space Age Young, a septuagenarian because the light tails to tration of an inexpensive cally, she says, "especially veterinarian from Thomas- shine, but because people antiseptic called methylene when they can look at their summer cottages ville, Georgia. refuse to see it." blue, which activates an own Taking his cues from —James A. Michener enzyme that replaces the via remote sensing." Viking ancient Chinese cavalry- missing one, turning blue is the Boeing Aerospace first international men, Young first used veter- BLUE PEOPLE skin to pink. Company's inary acupuncture 38 years Because there are few satellite.— Frank Catalano ago to calm an unruly Kentucky is best known doctors in the vicinity of horse. And he's been prac- as the Bluegrass State, Troublesome Creek, a daily feasible, ticing it ever since to ease but it also has another, less treatment isn't vet-phobia—as welj as publicized distinction: an says Cawein, who now di- to anesthetize four-footed inbred group of people with rects Merreil National Labo- surgical patients and relieve pale-blue skin. ratories, in Cincinnati. On emphysema symptoms. The first known blue the other hand: 'Although He claims the needles have person was born in France these people are embar- also improved the perform- around 1800. An orphan, rassed by their condition, ance of racehorses and he came to the United States most of them stay healthy restored a prizefighting and settled In Perry County, and bright to a ripe old rooster's bum leg. Kentucky, along the banks of age."—Tom Kovach The American Veterinary Troublesome Creek. By Medical Association views sheer coincidence, he mar- "My means are sane, my acupuncture as an experi- ried a woman with similar motive and my object mad." mental treatment "from traits, and the two of them —Captain Ahab, which the public must be set the pattern that has from Herman Melville's protected." Young, however, lasted to the present. Moby Dick 46 OMNI "

Until recently most ex- plains, and tried to punish perts would have blamed himself just as he believed these incidents on a mere his parents had. twisl of fate. But now, ac- The idea that a preado- cording to Dr. Perihan lescent could attempt Rosenthal, director of child suicide runs counter to the ambulatory services at traditional Freudian view, University of Massachusetts which holds lhat a young- Hospital, many doctors ster's superego, or con- don't take such "accidents" science, is not yet developed at face value. Children as enough to conceptualize Mud-slide destruction alter Mount St. Helens: Some residents n two, Rosenthal has such a self-destructive act. fear mud more than lava; they 're keeping the vans packed. young as found, attempt suicide. But today, says Rosenthal, VOLCANIC MUD nesses, an exceptionally In nearly all cases, says most psychiatrists look rapid snow melt, or another Rosenthal, preschoolers beyond Freudian theory, Three years after the violent eruption could result in repeated accidents have "taking such factors as cataclysmic eruption of in a flood during the spring been abused or have lost family situation and Mount St. Helens, residents or fall. For that reason, a parent. One two-and- interpersonal relationships of southwest Washington many area-residents want a-half-year-old patient, for into account as well." are still looking over their the government to buy instance, starved himself for Rosenthal emphasizes shoulders. But nowadays, out all the endangered two weeks, then tried to that "children under the age people aren't as scared property, letting the mud jump in front of onrushing of seven or eight really of lava as much as they are flow where it may. traffic. He also bit himself don't understand what of the mud. "Everybody worries, no violently. When asked why they're doing. They don't When the mountain matter What," says Jerry he was hurting himself, think that death is irreversi- blasted away its northern Comstock, of Castle Rock. he answered, "because no- ble." It's crucial, she adds, face in 1980. explains "It's a constant fear. We body loves me— Mommy for these youngsters to Ed Daugherty, of the U.S. keep our van packed. We and Daddy went away." receive some sort of ther-

Army Corps of Engineers, it don't know what to do; "Why did they go away?" apy. By helping the child plugged the upper water- so we stay prepared." Rosenthal prodded. achieve self-love and self- shed of the Cowlitz and —Tom Gauntt "Because I'm bad. Now I respect, the psychologist or Toutle rivers. A natural dam have to get punished," psychiatrist may prevent of volcanic debris now "Of alt liars, the smoothest the child explained. self-destructive patterns holds back some 3 billion and most convincing is The child felt rejected from flaring up later in life. cubic yards of eruptive memory, and guilty, Rosenthal ex- — Kathrine Jason leftovers —and huge amounts of water and mud Should the dam break, PRESCHOOL SUICIDE 70,000 downstream resi- dents could be engulfed. One August morning in But for now, according to 1982, three-year-old Jenny Daugherty, the situation Brandon climbed up to a is under control: For two kitchen cabinet and gulped winters the corps has been down half a bottle of win- operating a pumping station dow cleaner. Fortunately, her to relieve pressure on the mother, who found her dam. And corps engineers doubled up on the floor, are studying potential tun- rushed her to the emer- nels and pipe systems gency room in time. But nine that would drain the area months later Jenny munched should eruption occur. a handful of allergy pills

Still, even Daugherty ad- she found on her mother's Scientists are reassessing Freud's view that young children's mits thai internal weak- dresser: this time she died. superegos are not developed enough to conceptualize suicide. " coruTiruuurm

SHRINKING TUMORS scopic particles of polyvinyl alcohol loam. Theparticles A benign tumor on the are so small—250 to face and neck isn't really so microns in diameter— that benign. Left alone, it can they pass through the crowd delicate anatomical smallest capillaries to literally structures, causing serious coaf the body of the growth. damage. Yet surgery can "In effect, you get to the also be dangerous and heart of the matter," says disfiguring neuroradiologist Ira Braun, Many such tumors, pri- now using the procedure marily those known as successfully at Emory angiomas, are basically University Hospital, proliferating masses of lanta. "The tur blood vessels. If the tumor's longer able to recei* blood supply can be cut because the particles are off, the growth will shrink. blocking' it off completely. But when physicians try "For some people this is to starve these blood-hun- the only hope, and it offers gry tumors by clogging them a complete, nonsurgi- capillaries, the tumor at- cal cure," Braun says He tracts new blood vessels adds that the technique can and keeps on growing. also be used to shrink vi.' be what it appears to be. One scientist has the Now problem has operable tumors— including built a spy spud whose mission is to squeal on rough handling. been solved by New York such cancerous growths

University neuroradiologist as tumors oi the breast, POTATC Although it proved a Alex Berenstein, who has thyroid, and kidney— prior -"' in test .ig, the first found a way to form a shield to surgery, —David Dreier Shuttled through proc- jtotype r-as been dis- i'i around the entire surface essing equipment, potatoe: a , ed improvements. of the tumor. Instead of 'We live in a Newtonian often develop bruises ano 'Mostly we want greater using gel or clotted blood world of Einsteinian physics rot in storage. To help solve range in the signal," said to clog capillaries leading ruled by Franhensteinian this problem, two agricul- Morrow. to the tumor, Berenstein logic. tural engineers crealed Eventually, he said, the s the body with micro- a spy spud. device may be adapted to Designed by Terry Mor- snoop on apple and egg row, of Pennsylvania State processing as well. Com- University, and tested by puterized data from the Neil Hallee, of the University devices would allow pro- of Maine. The spy spud duce handlers to redesign looks like a potato, but un- equipment to avoid rough

like an authentic tater. it has a voice. Cast from a real potato mold, the silicone-rubber " impostor contains electronic ! them from her. sensors designed to detect —Ivan Vladitnirovich rough handling When Michurin the spy spud is jostled and

bumped, it yelps, relaying inly with the

an FM signal. The greater i/igf quality ihe force of the bump n by the Before (left) and after (right) pictures of a patient whose bt the higher the Irequencyof face tumors were starved to death with polyvinyl alcohol k the signal. 48 OMNI a

nlity. disciplined runners pathological prob- emphasizes

i anore; eover, the disorder may

i suffer from different be found in a wide range

; of the same de- of athletes, inciudmg. weigh: siructive psychology, ac- lifters; javelin throwers, cording to researchers high jumpers, or anyone at the University of Arizona. else who becomes ob- Both versions of the disor- sessed with a spori. der, they slate, should be — Marc McCutcheon regarded as pathological. Psychiatrists Alayne Yates "Unborn tot and Kevin Leehey and dead yesterday.,

psychologist Catherine fvl. about them if toe Shisslak reached this con- sweet?" ision after finding striking similarities between 60 marathon runners and a "History is unpsiniul, mem-

group of female anorexics ory does not cloud it: You who starved themselves ;oin the emphatic Jives of the to be thin. Runners so consumed they ran ew when sick or hurt, report irrational i more than a pack. , often set

: day had even better odds. goals tor themselves. "They Although no responsible, Nicotine restricts the kept upping the ante, add- physician would prescribe 1 blood flow to the fetus. Curet ing more and more miles to explains, the long- get in better and better cigarette smoking, il may , and

have- one curious health ' term stress may actually shape, but no goal was ever benefit: A pregnant smoker prompt the unborrrs lungs to good enough for them." mature. the In fact, the compulsive run- apparently doubles her ! Or perhaps faster felt out of shape even baby's resistance to a fata! | smoking mother's ner lung disease. metabolism somehow ac- when he was overtrained comparison, Some infants are born , counts for her baby's differ- Anorexics, by with immature lungs that ence, if researchers could were compulsively driven don't expand and contract isolate the crucial factor, to lose more and more normally, a condition called more than 5,000 RDS weight. Even at dangerously Respiratory Distress Syn- deaths could be prevented low weights, anorexics drome (RDS). Among 600 every year. continued to see themselves women studied at the Uni- But smoke in the womb is as too fat. versity of Wisconsin, non- still unhealthy, Curet cau- Yates notes that both smokers proved twice tions. Smokers often give compulsive runners and as likely to have RDS-af- birth to underweight babies anorexics tend to be intro- flicted babies. One in every that don't survive as well verted, self-effacing, and five "nonsmoking" new- as their heftier peers. unable to express anger. " borns was stricken, accord- —Sy Montgomery They are often hit ing to researcher Luis B. ers from affluent Curet, but only one in ten of The extreme the smokers-' babies was of discipline i so afflicted. And unborn groups, she adds, are children of mothers who actually efforts to forge coruTinjuurui

CARNIVOROUS BEES they've made a little hole," he adds. "Then they go David Roubik recently down into the hole and tun- placed a nest of stingless nel right through, excavat- bees in his yard. They ing viscera, internal organs, seemed to behave like any everything," of their stingless-bee cous- Like other bees, T. hypo- ins— until the day after gea suck nectar fo make Thanksgiving, when he put the honey that provides out a turkey carcass for them with carbohydrates, his cats. Thousands of bees but they've lost the leg soon swarmed, giving the structure used for carrying felines some very stiff pollen, the source of protein competition and convincing for all their cousins; instead zoologist Roubik that he they suck flesh, Most bees had discovered the only have only two teeth, Roubik carnivorous bee species in adds, but T. hypogea be- the world. longs to a small subgroup The vulture bees, part of endowed with 16. the species Trigona hypo- "I've been studying the gea, look like slender black ecology of the so-called flies and have a preference killer bees for seven years," for soft-skinned lizards Roubik says, "and now I and amphibians. But, re- find a bee thai will clean up ports Roubik, of the Smith- after the killers. It's a little sonian Tropical Research bizarre, but it's a logical Finally he measured their Institute, in Panama, "they progression." moods through observation can strip a dead monkey, —Leah Wallach and questionnaires. The bird, or anteater down to the Are you a failure? Has life result: Those who had bare bones in days. A '7f's interesting to live when dealt you the proverbial slumped were less de- group stands in a circle and you are angry." kick in the behind? As your pressed about their failure. tears on the flesh until —Yevgeny Yevtushenko old high-school coach might Moreover, they were more say after a crushing defeat: self-confident and actually Keep your chin up and tried harder on a test taken your shoulders pinned back, shortly afterward. because things aren't all "On a practical level,"

that bad. says Riskind, "the goal is to

Except Coach has it all expand the domain in wrong, according to a which we can control our recent series of studies at own mood. Slouching pro- Texas ASM University. More motes a kind of detach-

than 100 volunteers in ment; so if depression starts

those studies were given to set in, it might not be a written tests consisting bad idea to take on a of purposely ambiguous, slumped position and with- impossible-to-answer prob- draw for a while," lems of analysis. Each vol- — Eric Mishara unteer was told he'd failed

the test; then psychologist "Gef place and wealth, If

John Riskind instructed possible with grace; if not, half the subjects to sit in a by any means get wealth A member of Trigona hypogea makes short work o! a smalt frog. slouched posture and and place." Unlike most bees, T hypogea sports a mouth of 16 teeth. the other half to sit erect. —Alexander Pope 50 OMNI

—

iChigier offers us visions of engines that need no cooling devices, and fuels of water and coal$

something about flames, as in of flame have been eclipsed, how- "Flaming Fuel," or more specifically ever, by sophisticated work in mo- "Flame Stabilization in Recirculation lecular chemistry and the physics of Zones of Jets with Swirl," or "The quantum mechanics. Structure of Eddies in Turbulent "We will not, I believe, discover Flames," or "Dynamics of Droplets anything about fire as dramatic as a in Burning and Isothermal Kerosene black hole," Chigier says, "but this Sprays" (recent papers), you have to uncovering of what's inside a candle look up Norman Chigier. Norman flame, inside a combustion engine Chigier wants to everything know the complexity of the interaction of there is to know flames. about And chemicals, fluid dynamics, the he's got books, papers, and his own mathematical concepts — requires journal to, as he puts ingenuity and creativity, the basic my flames." of Flames the elements of scientific discovery." from a wiry, high-energy fifty-year- Why is this so important? The vol- old whose professorial formality dis- atile engineer offers us visions of en- solves into boyish glee when he gets gines that need no cooling devices, hot on the subject. William As J. fuels made of water and coal, sprays Brown Professor of Mechanical En- of fuel so well controlled they burst gineering at Carnegie-Mellon Uni- into clouds of fire, each droplet a tiny versity (CMU), in Pittsburgh, he's in explosion of energy. He promises us charge of a whole new laboratory a laboratory where high-energy devoted flames to and combustion. pulsed- and continuous-wave lasers And he's a veritable Fellini of filmmaking. flame (See Chigier's will be used to measure with impressive accuracy the velocity, photo, above, of a flame jet hitting a hard surface. His photos temperalure, particle size, and concentration within the flame. on the previous pages show ring of fire a and a propane flame.) He fires off his view of the flame Zeitgeist like the staccato of Fire is where it's at, declares this number-one of champion machine-gun rounds. The burning of fossil fuels is the main the Combustion Age. A la Quest for Fire, hominids have been source of energy now—90 percent of our energy, to be exact. playing with flames for at least a million years. Fire has been at "And in my opinion it might have the same proportion well into the center of the human sense of mystery it's and power; been the next century. This statement is extraordinary, and against the universal principle of explanation for cosmology and philos- many scenarios prepared by energy and political departments, ophy (Heraclitean fire); and the nexus of science and industry. and by economists who twenty years ago predicted that by now And yet, as Chigier says, nobody knows much about fire at all. we would barely be burning fossil fuels at all! It exists as one of nature's greatest and most enduring para- "There's been a great deal of talk about alternative energy doxes: chaos in order, ignorance in knowledge. systems." He warms to the subject. "A lot of money has been "The world was creafed by an act of combustion in one form spent on them. Nuclear power has been waylaid by grass-roots or another," Chigier begins. "From the time humans acquired politics. Hydroelectric has already reached its potential. Solar heat for cooking, fire has the been requirement for survival, and is most suitable for heating the home and the swimming pool." the threat of destruction. Since the beginning of civilization men The main problem for combustion science, Mr. Flames insists, have been throwing fireballs at one another. The modern military is how to get the maximum conservation of fuel with the mini- machine— aircraft, missiles— is entirely dependent on burning pollution. mum And to avoid the fire next time. "Future wars will fuels. Spaceships: The whole world sees huge quantities of fuel be fought on the basis of energy resources," he warns, "The burning in seconds. Yet, in a peculiar way," he goes on, "people political factors are already enormous," seem to think all that's needed to be known about flames must To achieve maximum conservation of energy with minimum be known. In fact, it's just the opposite." pollution, Chigier calls for a radical reexamination of the com- Whether fire can be considered a human trait or a natural bustion engine and its design. Although there are many varieties force, it has been the foremost medium that humankind has of engines that work, the combustion mechanisms are not fully used to shape the environment, says Stephen Pyne in one of understood. In the early years of the auto industry, for example, the rare books about conflagration, Fire in America: "When early Detroit paid little attention to the physics of combustion. They peoples grasped fire, they irreversibly altered the course of evo- fuel put in an engine and it turned over and the car rolled down lution." Fire is^power; fire is the great transformer, and its work the road. They had a problem with knock; they put lead in the is irrevocable. Bright-faced fire is ihe mediator between the raw gas and the knock stopped. They didn't know why. "Ultimately and the cooked, between nature and culture. it was the air-pollution crisis of the Seventies that aroused Detroit Fire may be one of the oldest words in any language. Studies from its stupor," Chigier says. To achieve the contradictory goals 5d OMNI —

of pollution reduction and fuel economy, lengths, The colors represent different the automotive engineers reluctantly be- compositions and temperatures." gan peering into the engine again. That The hottest flame, Chigier announces, is was a red-letter day for scientists pursuing about 3000° Kelvin (about 2700° Celsius), knowledge of the flame. and at that point it's a question of definition

Most engines today are quite efficient whether to call it a flame or a plasma. Plas- from a combustion point of view. That is, mas go up to 10000°K. A typical flame is the fuel put into them burns up, "But in around 1500" to 1800°K. The maximum terms of thermodynamic efficiency," he temperature in a flame is achieved only in continues, "that's another matter." Ther- certain locations. Although the basic laws mal efficiency is the ratio of the heat gained of thermodynamics apply to combustion, by the system to the heat supplied by the he tells us, "there are many aspects of fuel. "A well-insulated boiler could achieve thermodynamics that do not deal with the combustion efficiency close to one complexity of high temperature and the si- hundred percent and an ideal thermal ef- multaneity of chemical reactions." ficiency of ninety percent. But heat loss by We want to enter the flame itself. Chigier flue gases reduces thermal etticiency. The plays Virgil, guiding us through the mini- auto is only ten to fifteen percent efficient inferno of a small flame jet's conflagration. thermally. For boilers used in electricity He has made a movie of flames and he is generation, today's heat exchangers justifiably proud of it, having filmed it with transfer only forty to fifty percent of the a photographic system he adapted. Flames available amount of heat. are fast, incessantly moving. His camera "We know there's enormous scope for can film up to 10,000 frames per second increasing total energy supply, not only in to show the structures of eddies and How the combustion process itself but in deter- patterns, to analyze the high-frequency mining how the properties of the flame in- changes, and to catch the flame in the act. fluence heat transfer and heat loss. The On the way to pick up the film, the inter- focus has turned from the single consid- nal-combustion machine we're driving eration of combustion efficiency to the rec- misbehaves. So we get out and walk up ognition of the role flame structure can have the steep hills of Schenley Park. At the crest on thermal, and total, energy efficiencies. Chigier looks back over the three rivers of In flames there's enough research to oc- Pittsburgh, at the cold, lifeless steel mills cupy me for the rest of my life and the lives that line the banks like burned-out cinders. of my children!" Later the flame flickers on the screen, a

Is there a physics of fire, we wonder, dif- . seething, pulsating abstract zone of force. ferent from all the other physics? "Let us What is going on? Filmed at 3,000 frames distinguish between the words combus- per second and projected in slow motion, tion and fire, "he says. "I am involved mainly the gas pours from its nozzle in a smooth with combustion, essentially a controlled and continuous, or laminar, flow. But as it reaction. The word fire is usually used for reacts with the surrounding air, it begins to uncontrolled combustion. The two are ob- become unstable. Turbulent pulses of flame viously related, but much less is known surge out like a breathing, unpredictable about fire. There are many kinds of fires living thing. The pulses are the vortices. forest fires, towering infernos—and they Chigier knows them well, has written about are more difficult to study. them at length. In his book Energy, Com- "Most people get out of the way when bustion and Environment, he reports: there's a fire. There are scientists who study "Neighboring pairs of vortices rotate fires and probe and try to take measure- around each other and amalgamate into a ments. But the study of fire is in a much larger one. ... In flows with large density more primitive state of development." differences, individual vortices can be fol- And what is a tlame? "It's a rapid gas- lowed for their lifetimes." phase exothermic [heat-producing] com- The jet vortices wrap around the air, tak- bustion process characterized by self- ing it into the flame's core. This is entrap- propagation." Flame's definition is proving ment, and combustion depends on this to be as elusive as the thing itself. So what, "roll-up" process in which air and fuel are then, is combustion? "An exothermic surrounded by the flame's eddies and chemical reaction with the characteristic drawn inward. Chigier says that before his ability to propagate through a combustible examination of eddies, vortices, and tur- medium, usually a fuel and an oxidizer." bulence through photography and lasers, Both flames and combustion in general in- the flame experts thought entrapment was volve rapid oxidation (sometimes called a "nibbling" process. But Chigier has burning) easily recognized by chemilumi- shown that it is a much more dramatic "en- nescence and chemiionization. gulfing or gulping. Is a flame a fluid? "Yes! It's not a solid "My work concentrates on fluid dynam- or a liquid. A flame is essentially com- ics within the flame." He moves gracefully, posed of gases. The luminous flame of a flamelike, in front of the screen. "I have candle, the yellow section, has the pres- seen the flame, initially laminar, become ence of small carbon particles. The smoke unstable, transformed into a ring vortex, a is solid carbon particles. toroidal ring vortex! On the planet Jupiter "But the largest part of the flame is'com- there are concentric ring vortices. You can posed of hot gases. And there are a variety see them from the Voyager pictures. Those of them; they emit light at different wave- .eddies, they are the same kind of rings. —

Similar fluid-dynamic processes occur in mankind. But Prometheus stole it from on reliable measurement. In 1798 Sir Ben- the jet flame, a flow such as the Sacra- heaven and brought it back to earth. The jamin Thompson's experiments with burn- mento River, and the bathtub vortex when punishment for this crime was severe. In ing revealed evidence of the theory of heat you pull the plug. They are everywhere." one version of the story, Prometheus was as movement of particles — energy. This In another part of the movie, a propane to rock chained a where an eagle leasted heralded the kinetic theory of gases, the jet emerges from a nozzle, hits steel his liver. In a on another variation, Zeus sent motion of atoms, and the laws of thermo- plate— it could be a cooking pot's bot- Pandora and her jar of evils as retribution. dynamics themselves, the theoretical un- tom and spreads out like instant — concen- But in Greek poetry, Prometheus—whose derpinnings of the Industrial Revolution and tric tidal waves. Impingement, that's called. quest for flames brought disaster upon its machines. These particular rings of fire move out- himself— is revered as the father of the arts If the flame has brought order to the hu- ward and break up into eddies; the air is and sciences, the Titan whose name means man condition, the flame itself is still con- trapped between the rings, and the only "forethinker." sidered a force of chaos, uncharted, im- area where the mixture can become flam- paradox: A This creator ot chaos, this measurable. Chigier has done much to find mable is on the ring surface. consumer and swift is destroyer, order. Lo- the order within the flame. "I was among Within the flame room, Chigier lectures gos. Fire has been involved in virtually the first fluid dynamicists to examine the in time with the oscillating colors behind every scientific revolution Since before the close interactions between a flame's tur- him: particles being formed, destroyed, Greeks, people have t n burning things bulence and its chemistry," he claims of regenerated. The flame begins with solid and measuring what's ; ft. The proper ex- his years of research at Sheffield, England, wax, becomes fluid. Molecules are blown planation of combustion, perhaps the old- with its renowned steel mills and long his- into atomic fragments having electrical est chemical reaction, is usually to said tory of combustion research, But it was at properties. That's your run-of-the-mill can- have been the first great step in the de- NASA's Ames Research Center, in Moun- dle flame. Even the combination of simple velopment of modern science. And we will, tain View, California, in 1970 that Chigier methane, CH„, with oxygen involves 100 no doubt, burn our way into the future. encountered the laser. And in one of those intermediate chemical reactions. Chemi- That first hint of the true nature of com- scientific epiphanies, he realized the ca- cal kineticists, chemists deal with who the bustion was set forth in 1772 by Antoine pability of lasers for penetrating the flame, rates at which things change, are discov- Lavoisier, Laurent when he concluded that to see and chart the patterns in flow fields ering still more chemical reactions. the "fixed" air that had combined with sul- and turbulence. He imported the technol- In the combustion of more complex hy- fur in burning was identical to a gas ob- ogy Marco Polo-like back to Sheffield and drocarbons there are hundreds of chemi- tained by Joseph Priestley, the English began to find the symmetries within the cal reactions taking place within fractions chemist, when he heated the metallic ash flame front. "Now we can penetrate into the of a second. Milton's "whirlwinds ot tem- of mercury. Lavoisier decided to call the very high temperature regions to measure pestuous fire" at an atomic level. gas oxygen. More studies of gases were the flame's velocities and gaseous con- Millennia ago humans that flames knew made with fire, and soon the first table of centrations," he says. "We have seen the were complex and powerful. In Greek myth, atomic weights was compiled, generating enormous changes that occur when air Zeus, the king of the gods, hid fire from a whole new system of chemistry based and fuel enter a combustion chamber from around three hundred degrees Kelvin, about room temperature— to burn at two thousand degrees Kelvin. In this case there are enormous changes in turbulence."

Turbulence is fire's personality, as it is the essence of weather and even, per- haps, of the cardiovascular system of the body. "There has been a change of atti- tude toward turbulence," Chigier an- nounces. "Conceptually, turbulence was always associated with chaos. But chaos may be an illusion. As the study of the sub- ject matures, one sees the flow becoming less random. What we're finding in our measurements will serve as a basis for a new theory. Today, in one section of the 'turbulence community,' there is a school of thought believing that there is order in turbulence and flames." With lasers and high-speed photogra- phy, Chigier documented the turbulence's orderly progression as the eddies danced their way through the flame's body. To a certain extent these eddy structures can be modeled mathematically, using com- plex calculations and supercomputers. Chigier shows us a computer-graphic- generated "flame" created in a govern- ment research lab from a mathematical

model. Even though it is the product of an immensely sophisticated program exe-

cuted on the fastest computers around, it still looks like a high-quality cartoon after the fire-dragon drama of the real thing. Flame has not been captured yet. On another part of the flame frontier, Chigier is exploring the combustion of va- porized fuels. All fuels in diesel engines, interest in the status quo. All that has rad- And at that point he flew under the belly of furnaces, gas turbines, and rockets are ically changed. But in a way I enjoyed it; the jet and came up in front of it and exe- forced through nozzles that break up the the controversy was stimulating." cuted a complete roll." bulk into smaller particles with more sur- The one episode that says more about If fire put order into the human condition, face area in order to burn faster. Chigier Norman Chigier than his many macho fire it also gave structure to the life and times shows us pictures of clouds of droplets that stories has nothing to do with the flame. of Morman Chigier. He claims he was burst from the nozzle in a liquid sheet. This He hasn't climbed bodily into a fire yet, but "thrown into combustion at the deep end." sheet, he tells us, develops a "hydrody- he has physically entered into the vortex No, he was not a childhood pyromaniac, namic.jnstability," like a ragged wave that of fluid. a In 1977 Chigier was conducting did not chase fire engines to the blaze. is torn /by shear and dragged into liga- research at NASA Ames on aerodynamic Born in Frankfort, South Africa, the son of ments [hat are further torn into large drops properties of turbulence in aircraft wakes. a Zionist rabbi, he intended to spend his and then into smaller droplets. Chigier can Aboard a Learjet he flew into the raging adult life on a kibbutz. He entered the uni- determine the size of these droplets, and centers of two trailing vortices. These versity at fifteen, and as a compromise to to a certain extent he can predict their bal- crystallized-water contrails persist as far his parents took a practical degree in me- listics and trajectories as they interact with as 20 miles behind jet liners. "If you are in chanical engineering. "But I was more in- the hot air and vaporize. He can penetrate a small, light aircraft," he explains, "trying terested . in enjoying myself." He was also the cloud combustion noninvasive^, with- to gain altitude, and you run into one of involved in drama, music, and as much out disturbing its life-style, using dual-beam these invisible vortices, the plane can be antiapartheid politics as an exceptionally laser anemometers. And there he can shoved down violently toward the ground." young, bright, Jewish college boy dared measure particle size. Based on this re- In tests the Chigier devised, he and a to be involved in. He graduated at nine- search he discovered a weakness in pre- crack pilot flew in a Learjet following a teen and went off on a quest to seek ad- vious explanations of the way clouds burn: Boeing 707. At 20 miles behind, they po- venture in Europe, When there are too many droplets in the sitioned themselves to move straight down His twenties were rough-and-tumble, cloud, there is oxygen starvation and the into the vortex. "When we entered it we sweating on giant construction sites with flame is forced toward the cloud's periph- were twisted forty-five about degrees. I ex-jailbirds and dockworkers. His desire ery. This is very inefficieni. "I came to tfiis thought the wings would rip off:" At 10,000 was to become a construction-site fore- tinding much to the consternation of the feel they were ejected from one vortex and man and then a writer. It was by chance combustion establishment," he recalls. "It hurled into the other, which was streaming that he ended up at Cambridge instead, has radically changed the concept, atti- off the other wing tip. "It was terrible when taking a Ph.D. in fluid dynamics under Sir tude, and approach lo spray combustion. we hit it," he shudders. They reentered the William Hawthorne. Hawthorne fired his "It is a concept for which I had to fight vortices at ten miles, then five, three, and imagination for this most difficult branch of bitterly. When I presented our first results finally one mile behind. Chigier admits that physical engineering, and without telling at international conferences, there was he. was sick. him nominated Chigier as a representative great reluctance to accept our findings, 1 "The pilot turned to me," he remembers, to the International Flame Research Lab- particularly by people who have a vested "and .laughed. 'Yah like vortices, Norm?' oratory, in Holland. The Flame Lab was lo- cated in the giant steel works of the Neth- erlands, and there Chigier conducted experiments in hellishiy hot furnaces. Teams of scientists from many countries opened up the furnace doors and thrust probes into the roaring infernos. Chigier

spent three years in that Vulcan's pit. "It was the rough end of combustion." And he was tempered to a fine edge. "I bring combustion with me," he says today as he guides us through the embry- onic combustion lab at CMU. The students

are building a" glass chamber in which to

observe the flame. To measure its temper- ature they will use microthermocouples made of platinum/rhodium alloys — thin wires, strung across the jet, with diameters of 0.001 inch or less. The slender sensors will be hooked to microprocessors to feed information about temperature flux and variation of the flame front. In the engine room are two formerly abandoned internal-combustion ma- chines now outfitted for experimentation. There is a diesel and a spark-ignition en- gine/which, Chigier says, they found in a box. "It was like discovering Pompeii. Dur- ing the past two decades teaching and re- search in internal-combustion engines were abandoned in many leading univer- sities," he adds. "They thought the en- gines were not elite enough. And they con- tinued the trend to graduate engineers who had no contact with engines. We're re- versing that trend. We face sophisticated problems. We use exhausi analyzers and computers. We will be able to conduct tests

CONTINUED ON PAGE 78 riAN- MOUNTAIf GENTi \M BY HOWARD WALDROP

V-/U4

after the beginning of the present century, it was realized that some of the wrestlers were throwing their opponent's from the ring without touching them." —Ichinaga Naya, Zen-Sumo: Sport and Ritual. Kyoto, All-Japan Zen-Sumo Association Books, SOU,

It was the fourteenth day of the January Tokyo tournament. Seated with, the other wrestlers. Man-Mountain Gentian watched as the next

match beg.an ; Ground Sloth ikimoto was taking oh Killer Kud'zu. They entered the tamped-earth ring and began their shikiris. Ground Sloth, a sumotori of the old school, had changed Over from traditional to Zen-sumo four years before. He weighed One hundred eighty kilos in his mawashi. He entered at the white-tassie salt corner. He clapped- his huge hands, rinsed his mouth, threw salt, rubbed his body with

tissue paper, then began his high leg lifts, stamping his feel, his hands gripping far down his calves. The ring

shook w if h each stamp. All the m.us'cfes rippled on his big frame. His stomach, a flesh-Colored boulder, shook and vibrated. DRAWING BYTAKAHIKOll Killer Kudzu was small and thin, weigh- immobile on their respective marks. The referee signaled Killer Kudzu the ing barely over ninety kJfos On his fore- Killer Kudzu's neck muscles strained, winner As he squatted the gyoji ottered head was the tattoo off his homeland, the With his left hand he reached and quickly him a small envelope signifying a cash People a Republic of China, one large star opened the votive box prize from his sponsors. Kudzu, left hand n9 ,na on ~ Man-Mountain Gentian and the other on his knee, with his right hand made three stef£L?lation. u also f . ? S He went into his ritual shikin, wrestlers on the east side of the arena drew chopping gestures from the left, right and but,---as he clapped he held in one hand a in their breath. : --- above-thanking earth, man. and heaven. small box, ten centimeters on aside, show- Ground Sloth Ikimoto was a vegetarian Kudzu took the envelope, then stepped ing his intention to bring it into the match. and always had been. In training for tra- Ihrough the doorway of the plastic encto- Sometimes these were objects for medi- ditional sumo, he had shunned the chunko- re and left the arena to rejoin the other tation, sometimes favors from male or fe- nabe, the communal stew of fish, chicken, west-side wrestlers. male lovers, sometimes 10 one knew what. meat, eggs, onions, cabbage, carrots, tur- The audience of eleven thousand was The only rule was that they could not be nips, sugar, and soy sauce. on its feet as one, cheering. Across Japan used as weapons. Traditional sumotori ate as much as they and around the world, two hundred million The wrestlers were separated from the could hold twice a day, and their weight viewers watched television. onlookers by four clear walls and a root of gain was tremendous. Ground Sloth Ikimoto had risen to his feet, plastic. Over this hung the traditional can- Ikimoto instead had trained twice as bowed, and left by the other door. Attend- opy and tassles, ants rushed in symbolizing heaven to re- pair the damaged and the four winds. ring. Man-Mountain Through the plas- Gentian looked up at tic walls ran a mesh the scoring clock. of tine wiring, con- The entire match had nected to a six-volt taken a mere 4.1324 battery next to the seconds. north-side judge. This It was three-twenty small charge was in the afternoon on used to contain the the fourteenth day of pushes of the wres- the Tokyo invitational tlers and to frustrate tournament. help from outside. The next match A large number of would pit Cast Iron 600 x slow-motion Pekowski of Poland video cameras were against the heavily strategically placed favored Hokkaidan, around the auditorium Typhoon Takanaka. to be used by the After that would be judges to replay the Gentian's bout with action if necessary. the South African. Killer Kudzu had Knockdown Kruger- placed the box on his rand. Man-Mountain side of the line. He Gentian stood at 13- returned to his cor- in the tournament, ner and threw more having defeated an salt onto the ground, opponent each day part of the ritual pu- so iar. He wanted to rification ceremony. You wouldn't think a personal stereo this small would so retire as the first Ground Sloth Iki- be crammed full of features. But it is. The KT- AS1 I Grand Champion to moto stamped once has auto-reverse, Dolby'" NR, AM/FM tuner, soft touch con- win six tournaments trols collapsible more, twice, went to J and headphones. . |T in a row, undefeated. It's loaded, all right. his line, and settled j But, luckily, f#%P-| iipii He was not very you don't have to wor- into position like a be to afford it. I Ubnl BA ried about his con- football lineman, legs test with Knockdown apart, knuckles to the Krugerrand slated for ground. His nearly later this afternoon. bare buttocks looked like giant rocks. Killer hard, eating only vegetables, starches, and Tomorrow, though, the last day of the Kudzu finished his shikin and squatted at sugars. Meat and eggs had never once January tournament, his opponent would his line, where he settled his hand near his touched his lips."' be Killer Kudzu, who after this match also votive box and glared at his opponent. What Killer Kudzu brought out of the box stood undefeated at 14-0. The referee, in his ceremonial robes, had was a cheeseburger. With one swift move- been standing to one side during the pre- ment he it bit into only half a meter from Man-Mountain Gentian was 1.976 me- liminaries. Now he came to a position half- Ground Sloth's face. ters tall and weighed exactly two hundred way between the wrestlers, his war fan Ikimoto blanched and started to scream. kilos. He had been a sumotori for six years, down. leaned He away from the two men, As he did. he lifted into the air as if chopped had been yokozuna for the last two of those. left leg back to one side as if ready to run. in the chest with an ax, arms and legs flail- He was twice holder of the Emperor's Cup. He stared at the midpoint between the two ing, a wail of revulsion coming from his He was the highest paid, most famous Zen- and flipped his fan downward. emptied lungs. sumotori in the world. Instantly sweat sprang to thi r fore- He passed the bales marking the edge He was twenty-three years old. heads and shoulders, their bodies rippled of the ring— one foot dragging the ground, He and Knockdown Krugerrand fin- as if pushing against great unmoving upending a boundary bale—and smashed ished their shikiris. They got on their marks. weights, their toes curled into the clay of to the ground between the ring and the The gvoii fl oped h s ten the ring. The two of them stayed tensely bales at the plastic walls. The match was over 3.1916 seconds. to He helped Kmgerrand to his feet, ac- a twelve-year-old built like an orangutan, "Let's just call it a gesture former cepted the envelope and the thunderous got up and smashed a line drive off the greatness," he said. applause of the crowd, and left the rever- Mitsubishi Zeroes' third baseman's chest. Bottom of the seventh, last inning in Lit- berating plastic enclosure. The third baseman had been waving to his tle League. The Zeroes had the bases mother. They carried him into the dugout. loaded, but they incurred two outs in the "You are the wife of Man-Mountain Gen- Melissa soon saw him up yeiling again. process. Hari came up to bat. infield back. tian?" asked a voice next to her. So it went through three innings. The Things were tense. The was Melissa put on her public smile and Claudes had the Zeroes down by three ready for the foroe-out.The outfielders were turned to the voice. Her nephew, on the nearly falling down from tension. other side, leaned around to look. in the fourth inning, Hari took right field, The pitcher threw a blistering curve that looking. The man talking to her had five stars tat- injuries having whittled ihe flu-ridden team got the outside. Hari was caught voice tooed to his forehead. She knew he was a down to the third-stringers. From the dugout the manager's famous sumotori, though he was very slim One of the Kawasaki Claudes hit a high saying unkind things carried to the crowd. were their feet. and his chon-mage had been combed out looping fly straight to right field. Hari started Eight thousand people on pitcher up threw. and washed, and his hair was now a fluffy in after it, but something happened with The wound and explosion above his head. his feet; he fell, and the ball dropped a Hari started a swing that should have in a grounder or a pop-up. Halfway "I am Killer Kudzu," he said. "I'm sur- meter from his outstretched glove. The ended prised you weren't at through, it looked as the tournament." if someone had speeded up a pro- "I am here with my nephew, Hari. Hari jector. The leisurely blurred. this is Mr. <:Ner swing Kudzu." The nephew, Hari literally threw to dressed in his winter himself the ground. cracked and Little League outfit, The bat neatly in two at shook hands firmly. broke "His team, ihe Mitsu- his feet. ball, a frozen bishi Zeroes, will The play the Kawasaki white streak, whizzed Claudes next game." through the air ahd hit They paused while the scoreboard one ten meters a foul ball caused hundred greaf excitement a away with a terrific few rows down the crash, putting the in- bleachers. Hari made ning indicator out of commission. a stab for it, but some construction fore- Everyone was stock-still. Hari man of a father came was staring. Every player

phantly with the ball. was turned toward "And what position the scoreboard. do you play?" asked "It's a home run, umpire re- Killer Kudzu. kid," the "Utility outfield. minded Hari. Slowly, unbeliev- When I get to play," said Hari sheepishly, ing, Hari began to trot averting his eyes and toward first base. place ex- sitting back down. Toshiba's V-S36 VCR gives you true high fidelity stereo to the tune of 20 The "Oh. How's your hz to 20 Khz, with an unheard-of dynamic range of 80dB. Plus 4-head tracking, ploded, tans jumping to their feet. Hari's batting average?" 117-channel cable capability and wireless remote. •^nttn^Mtwrn'tk Shouldn't a VCR give your ears their money's teammates on the "Pretty bad. One TOSH I BA for twenty-three for the worth? Instead of just 84 cents worth? TO«a AmE»a ta t .&to.^H<^,wst™.NJO7470 bases headed year,".said Hari. home. The dugout waiting for "Well, maybe this emptied, him to round third. will be the night you dejected. The Ze- shine," Killer Kudzu said with a smile: center fielder chased it down and made The Claudes slood roes climbed all over Hari. "I hope so," said Hari. "Half our team the relay, and by a miracle they got the that has the. American flu." runner sliding into home plate. He took out "I didn't know you could do more Melissa, her eyes 'Just ihe reason I'm here," said Kudzu. the Zeroes' catcher doing it. than once a day," said

"I was to meet a businessman whose son "It doesn't look good for the Zeroes," narrowed. Melissa. "Who., me?" asked Kudzu. was to play this game. I find him not to be said talent." said. here, as his son has the influenza also." "Oh, things might get better," said Killer "You're perverting your she not supposed to be able to do It was hot in the domed stadium, and Kudzu. "Didn't you know? The opera's not "We're than every twenty-four Kudzu insisted they lethim buy them Sno- over till the fat lady sings." that more once asmile. Kones. Just as the vendor got. io them, "A diva couldn't do much worse out hours," said Kudzu, flashing Hari's coach signaled, and Ihe nephew'ran there," said Melissa. "I know that's not true, at least really." down the bleachers and followed the rest "They still don't like baseball in my coun- said Melissa. married to sumotori, of his teammates into the warm-up area try," he said. "Decadent. Bourgeois, they "Oh, yes. You are a

under the stadium. say. As if anything could be more deca- aren't you?" Soon the other lackluster game was over, dent and middle-class than China." Melissa blushed. and Hari's team took the field. "Yet, you wear the flag?" She pointed "The kid seemed to feel bad enough fly ball in the fourth The first batter tor the Kawasaki Claudes. toward the tatoo on his head. about that he dropped "

inning. Besides, it's just a game." matches, their donations of gifts, clothing, and out with more food. Three musicians At home plate, Hari's teammates con- vehicles, and in some cases houses and played unheard on a raised dais at one gratulated him, slapping him on the back. land to their favorite wrestlers. It was all side of the room. The game was over, the scoreboard said appalling to him. Someone was telling a snappy story. The 7-6, and the technicians were already It was a carry-over from traditional sumo, room exploded with laughter. climbing over the inning indicator. he knew. But Zen-sumo had become a "Ah!" said someone. "Yokozuna Gentian Melissa rose. "I have to go pick up Hari. worldwide, not just a national, sport. Many has arrived."

I suppose I will see you at the tournament saved for years to come to Japan to watch Man-Mountain bowed deeply. They tomorrow." the or January May tournaments. People made two or three places for him at the "How are you getting home?" in asked here Japan sometimes sacrificed at low table. He saw that several ot the host Killer Kudzu. home to be able to contribute toward new party were Americans. Probably one or "We walk. Hari lives near." kesho-mawashis, elaborate, heavy bro- more were from the CIA. "It's snowing," cade and silk aprons used in the wrestlers' They and the Russians were still trying "Oh." ring-entering ceremonies. to perfect Zen-sumo as an assassination "Let me give you a ride. My electric ve- Money, in this business, flowed like water, weapon. They offered active and retired hicle is outside." appearing in small envelopes in the mail, sumotori large amounts of money in an ef- "That would be nice. I live several kilo- in the locker room: after feasts — such as the fort to get them to develop their powers in meters away from one tonight. some nominally destructive form. So far,

. "I know where you live, of course." Once a month Man-Mountain Gentian no one he knew of had. There were rumors "Fine, then." gathered them all up and took them to his about the Brazilians, however. Hart ran up. "Aunt Melissa! Did you see? accountant, who had instructions to give it He could see it now, a future with pre-

I don't know I what happened' I just felt, all, above a certain princely level, away to miers, millionaires, presidents, and para- don't know, I just hit it!" charity. Other wrestlers had more, or less, noids in all walks of life wearing wire-mesh "That was wonderful." She smiled at him. or none of the same arrangements. The tax clothing and checking their Eveready bat- Killer Kudzu was looking up, very inter- men never seemed surprised by whatever teries before going out each morning. ested in the stadium support structure. amount wrestlers reported. He had been approached twice, by each He entered club. the Things were al- side. He was sometimes followed. They all The stable in which Man -Mountain ready Gen- rocking. One of fhe hostesses took were. People in governments simply did tian trained was being entertained that his shoes and coat. She had to put the not understand. night. That meant that the wrestlers would overcoat over her shoulders to carry it into He began to talk, while sake flowed, with have to do all the entertaining. Hie cloakroom. Cast Iron Pekowski. Pekowski, now 12-2 Even at the top of his sport, Man-Moun- The party was a haze of blue smoke, for the tournament, had graciously lost his tain had never gotten used to the fans. Their dishes, bottles, businessmen, wrestlers, match with Typhoon Takanaka. (There was kingly prizes, their raucous behavior at and funny paper hats. Waitresses came in an old saying: In a tournament, no one who ~OMirv...LDOi\ PAGE 162

" r hav " ate of the world's economy; eggs scrambled, like our disoriented social' values; toast dry, like the arid ' wastelands of compassion and common sense; bacon crisp, like ..." Until his death, Ban-the-Bombers and the whole gioom-and-doom set had felt TIIC WRATH Of KjMjj

BY JAMES RESTON, JR.

esterday,

March 3, 2036. 1 turned seventy years old," wrote one stu- dent at South Mountain High School, in Phoenix. "Only a year

t before, on the same day, I retired from the Supreme Court, the senility had two reasons lor retiring. I wanted to avoid

I that all eight of my colleagues had fallen into . . . and though] it was about time to settle down and have a family." The passage, from a creative-writing exercise, reflected the ambivalence of South Mountain students' attitudes to- ward their future. A survey at the school—with its equal blend of Chicano, black, and white students — revealed the same mix of hopefulness and apprehension. In general, the Ari- zona teen-agers were relatively sanguine about their pros- pects for professional and personal happiness. But they were bleak about the future of society and the world. They imag- ined themselves doctors and scientists and pilots and Su- preme Court justices — in a society of collapsed cities pop- ulated by ihe survivors of World War III.

It was just this kind of thinking that bothered the late Her- man Kahn. From his headquarters at the Hudson Institute, in Croton-on-Hudson, New York, Kahn kept watch like a fretful weatherman on clouds of pessimism across ihe country. He plotted ways to replace doubt with hope, fear with optimism. Best known for work on national-security issues, the Hudson Institute has for 20 years developed the art of projecting scenarios for the future on such problems as how nuclear war might evolve. Kahn himself had wrestled with nuclear nightmares in his books On Thermonuclear War (1960) and Thinking About the Unthinkable (1962). Now, Kahn and his colleagues had drawn up an entire campaign, a storehouse of scenarios, to attack negative thinking in America's youth. To press the attack, Kahn himself PHOTOGRAPH BY PETER ANGELO SIMON — \

decided to go to South Mountain High. clothed in a blue pastel suit, which clashed where powerless before the forces of na- It was to be one of his last forays on be- somewhat with the greenish tint of his ture," he announced. half of optimism. Kahn died of a heart at- beard. The beard color had been imparted "One hundred years from now," he went tack in July, at the of sixty-one. age In some by the chemicals in his motel Jacuzzi. on, "mankind will be everywhere numer- ways his trip to Arizona was a model of his For three hours Kahn discoursed. His ous, everywhere rich, everywhere largely lifelong quest against dour thinking message was personal and engaging. in control of the forces of nature." against what he called "the whole cliche Their generation was the product of a 20- They were, therefore, living through the at the moment." year malaise in America, he proclaimed. most exciting period of world history, and Watching him in action on the Arizona He had all kinds of curves and charts in they should reject the gloomy predictions circuit, I found traces of the wit that won his office; they showed how the -United of the doomsayers. The country was not him many friends and the dogmatism that States had gone to hell in the early Sixties, running out of resources. Nor was the world infuriated his detractors. many how productivity dropped, how youthful breeding too rapidly, or falling short of food. On November 19, 1982, a class of gifted suicides were up. how drug use and crime Nor were the rich countries getting richer eleventh-graders at the school prepared rates were up. Every aspect of American while the poor countries got poorer; nor themselves for the big day. The Hudson life began to decline several years before were businesses sacrificing safety for Institute had previously sent printed ma- the students were born, and while he profit, In short, they should not overcon- terials to establish a beachhead for hope- avoided saying so, the categorical nature cern themselves with any of these fashion- fulness. . The words identified Kahn as "the of this pronouncement ogicaliy included able preoccupations, for the mind of man famous futurologist" and "expert in future the civil-rights movement, the Green Rev- and his technology were managing quite studies." The Hudson texts, titled Visions olution, and the women's liberation move- well, and history was being swept along of the Future, omitted the label often at- ment. There was reason for hope, he on the warm current of advancement. tached to Kahn after he published his pre- promised. Revitalization was coming, and Kahn's visit to this working-class area of diction of a forthcoming economic surge: great, exciting opportunities awaited them. south Phoenix was considered a great the Prophet of Boom. For one thing, they were the post-baby- success, both by Kahn's staff, which vis- But when Kahn arrived, flanked by TV boom generation, and there were fewer of ualized his Visions of the Future program minicams to catch students' reactions, his them than in the immediately preceding in every high school in America someday, deportment suggested a man not so much generation. "That makes you more valu- and by the staff of South Mountain High of the future as of the past. Martin Van able," he said. Despite temporary annoy- School. A ten-minute segment of the vid- Buren, perhaps, or Edwin Stanton. Others ances like the recession (which Kahn con- eotape was prepared for use in a national might see in him the look of an Amish elder: sidered therapeutic), world history was promotional campaign for the Visions pro- round face, receding hairline, (hick bottle- riding on a surging Gulf Stream of prog- gram. The institute hoped the tape would bottom glasses, crescent beard, and a ress called the Great Transition, and they show that the program was not just for the bulk is body whose generally estimated at were on the crest of a high-tech wave. homogeneous, high-tech upper class but to 350 400 pounds. On that day at South "Two hundred years ago, mankind was for ethnic audiences as well. Mountain High, this awesome frame was everywhere few, everywhere poor, every- So it happened that South Mountain High School became the pilot program in Her-

man Kahn's three-week course in opti- mism. In the spring of 1983, more than i / \ B/^5 nfc Ms 2,000 Phoenix high-schoolers took the class. This fall, four more cities will begin,

and within five years the hope is that it will be offered in every high school in America. In 1974, while the country prepared to celebrate the Bicentennial, Kahn decided

that it was a good time not only to look back 200 years but to look forward 200 s^r i / VI years. Apart from Vietnam and Watergate, there were long lines at gasoline stations. And an international organization of distin- guished scientists, educators, econo- mists, and politicians— called the Club of Rome—sounded a shrill, worldwide alarm. Looking at the world's economy as a singie system of interdependent parts, the Club of Rome announced that, unless growth patterns were changed and controlled, the world economy would collapse in 75 years. In this view, the world was hurtling along from one crisis to the next with no master plan for development. Wealthy nations were using up irreplaceable resources at a pre- posterous rate. Poor nations were getting poorer. The Club of Rome called for rec- ognition of the world community as a frag- ile lattice, and for a system of cooperative management that would transcend na- tional boundaries. The romantic concept of "spaceship - "1 _ must be getting old. look at her and see Earth" was born. But to some, Earth was 65 percent oxygen, 10 percent hydrogen, 8 percent carbon, 3 percent nitrogen, not so much a spaceship as a lifeboat; rich 1 '/? percent calcium, 1 peroent phosphorous ..." nations not only rocked the boat with their sheer economic bulk but also gobbled up the scarce, precious provisions with self- great benefactors of mankind. (Kahn got son Institute had put two years into the On March 3 the news of scandal in the seemed primed for this visit from Omni. service. The world had a future that young ish greed. It was only a matter of time be- his turn in a 1979 study the on future of proposal, Kahn contented himself for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Propped against the blackboard were the people could help to shape, if only their fore the underfed weaklings got thrown Arizona, dismissing Udall as a relic of the time being with publishing his research in dominated the front pages of the Arizona books: Malthus on population. Paul Ehr- perceptions were positive enough. But it overboard one by one. "old Arizona political elite.") a entitled The unclear whether this a class book Next 200 Years. Republic. If one had passed Kahn's Vi- lich's The Population Bomb. Alvin Toffler's remained was Already, in 1974, Kahn was storming With such bickering as a backdrop, Kahn One morning in early March 1983. 1 drove sions of the Future course, there was a skill Future Shock, Hal Lindsey's The Late Great in social studies, citizenship, or religion against this view of ihe world. He became proposed that as a celebration of Bi- to the McClintock High School, in Tempe, out- at the ready tor interpreting the EPA scan- Planet Earth, and a book called Nuclear (faith rather than fact seemed at the cen- an energetic spokesman for the trickle- centennial, the White House should initiate side Phoenix, to visit Ken Reid's social dals: They were the result of bad luck and War: What's in It for You?, which Reid con- ter), or simply in Republican politics. down theory of world development, well a massive national debate on the grim Club studies class. To Arizonans, accustomed bad management, only a trivial footnote in fessed he had chosen solely for its catchy I would attend two of Reid's classes that before Ronald Reagan turned the theory of Rome warnings, kicked off with a con- to 350 days of sunshine a year, the world the upward press of the Great Transition. title. There were copies of Omni and the morning. The first comprised graduates of into practice. Kahn argued that the rising ference. In the Nixon Administration, not was out of whack. The storm that had dev- Of course, as Kahn himself would later Oracles of Nostradamus and filmstrips of the three-week Visions course, and Reid tide of economic profits lifts all only boats, the Kahn's confrontational proclivities but astated the California coast and washed concede, a nuclear war could also result a somewhat pessimistic persuasion like confirmed that their attitudes toward their patched-up dugout as well as the luxuri- also his message would get a favorable away many lavish homes was pelting their from bad luck and bad management. "Doomsday, 21st Century." An immense world had dramatically ahfieci to the op- ous liner. (The rising-tide is ocean image reception. In November 1973, as Richard desert, leaving the gutterless streets of McClintock High serves a well-to-do chart displaying scenes from Kahn's Great limistic side. How did he know? Before and taught to ihe Phoenix schoolchildren in Nixon was assuring of a Florida audience Phoenix covered with massive ponds. In district in Tempe, where many students are Transition spanned the room. The pictures after the three-week experience, the stu- Kahn's Visions of the Future.) editors that he was not a crook, he was the past few years, these deluges had from of primitive labor and dents had been tested. Nine propositions , the children of professors at nearby Ari- ranged sketches In 'a somewhal ad hominem fashion, for- also expressing his pleasure that the United come with a certain regularity, raising fears zona State University (ASU), the state's ur- dwellings irom the Preindustrial Age in the were put "to them, and they were asked mer Secretary of Ihe Interior Stewart Udall, States made up approximately 6 percent that the bridges along the usually bone- bancampus serving 40.000 students. Kahn 1850s to illustrations of people happily en- their reaction on a five-point scale be- of Arizona, took on Ihe Kahn position in his of the world's population and consumed dry Salt River would float away again, as was the Barry GoldwaterProfessorof Amer- gaged in science, technology, and medi- tween "sirongiy agree" and "strongly dis- book The Energy Balloon. Among the mis- percent of its 30 energy. they had in 1979 and 1980. ican Institutions at ASU. At the high school. cine during the twenty-first century, when agree." The propositions included; conceptions about energy. Udall included "That isn't bad; that's good," Nixon said. It is the logic of this desert that when the will "everywhere numerous, • Limiting growth is the best way to im- I was greeted by Reid, a craggy, bearded man be "the fat man fallacy," the proposilion "That that means we are the richest, strongest rains come, not only must the riverbeds Arizona original whose family dates back everywhere rich, everywhere in control of prove the world's future. the faster the rich countries consume the people in the world, and that have valley, • we the bear the runoff from the but the gates to the desert frontier of the 1870s, 40 years the forces of nature." People like me can help solve the world's globe's resources, the sooner the fruits of highest standard of living in the world. That of the Stewart Mountain Dam must be before statehood, and whose sleepy min- Individualist that he is, Reid had taken problems. general prosperity will be available to the is why we need much energy, • so and may opened to release great quantities of water, er's eyes and rapport with his students the Hudson Institute materials and tailored Almost everyone in the world will double poor nations. "Such reasoning has many it always be that way." lest the reservoir overflow its banks. This his methods, often with an his purchasing power in 50 years. made me think that I was in the presence them to own advantages to a nation or to an individual," But while Kahn's proposal for results in wall of a White a water coursing down the of a fine teacher. For ten years a business- amused irreverence. (In a document of his I believe there will be environmental ca- Udall wrote. "It transmutes gluttony into an conference House was. according to him, rivers. Occasionally, squatters underneath man before he became a teacher, Reid had own, he cast aspersions on the whole tastrophes in Ihe future. altruistic activity; it makes profligate be- received favorably at the levels top of the the bridges are washed away before the laught at McClintock for 15 years. His off- process of future prediction by stating thai Lest the course appear to have no ac- havior appear virtuous; it deftly sweeps of- administration, the National Science Foun- bridges are. But when the rains end, the beat, oddball delivery makes him popular only 4 predictions out of 364 by profes- ademic grit, the students were also tested fensive accusations under the rug of be- dation, and the Nalional Endowment for the desert blooms with fabulous, garish color. and a good catch for the Hudson Institute sional futurologists had been correct be- on their comprehension of Kahn's con- nevolence." Udall referred to Kahn as a Humanities, the staffs of these bodies con- Under the in mate- extravagant sunshine and rain, as someone to test its materials. tween 1976 and 1979.) But he accepted cepts. In the test, as the Visions very clever man who was at his best sidered the when Kahn plan to be straight Re- the sand and rocks turn to a painter's His classroom was decked out with the the basic premise of the Visions program, rials, the theory of the Great Transition had he was reassuring growth-oriented busi- publican propaganda. They scuttled the dream. The scene is a kind of natural met- accoutrements of future study, perhaps that to instill in his students an attitude of become the fact of ihe Great Transition. nessmen that their activities make them project Furious because he and Ihe Hud- aphor for Kahn's program for the future. largely for my benefit, since everyone hopefulness about the future was a worthy Past and future came together like dance

You found itJrue. Exceptional taste in an ultra low tar. Warning: The Surgeon General Has Determined this world pleasure. That Cigarette Smoking Is Dangerous to Your Health. Enjoy out of partners: There were the Middle Ages, the these changes are going to affect me." clear war is counterproductive right now,"

Preindustrial Age, the Industrial Age, the "His program said I shouldn't be a pes- Reid said. "It swamps all else, and it's

Superindustrial Age, and the Postindus- simist, _but I wasn't to begin with," said a emotionally charged. I just don't think I trial Age of Plenty. third member of Reid's class. ought to be teaching that." or false? True In the period of the Great Between periods, Reid and I talked in Neither do the creators of the Visions of Transition we will have global cooperation the teachers' lounge. He too had observed the Future program. Despite Kahn's rep- among nations instead of competing na- with some wryness the cult of personality utation for facing the facts about thermo- tional interests. that Kahn enjoyed in Phoenix. nuclear war, the program's most glaring

True or false? In the future the gap be- "Everyone is at his beck and call when omission is its failure to deal with the inter- tween the rich and the poor will decrease he comes out. It is as if people sayi 'The national arms race and the possibility of a and wealth will be distributed more equally. prophet is here. Let us go listen to him.' major conflagration. But the omission was Thus, to pass the Visions of the Future Sure he's bright and has good things to deliberate, even though Kahn insisted that shift course, your attitude should from pes- say, but then there are a lot of people like it would be rectified later. simistic to optimistic, and you should un- that. It's more than admiration, and I'm not "We don't have the case in the nuclear derstand how the Great Transition will work. sure where it comes from." area that we have in other areas," he said. If both desired results are achieved, you Mevertheless, Reid acknowledged that "I can't say (the talk of a holocaust] is non- are certified a "realist" and you possess a the Visions program has had an impact on sense. None of the experts think there's a ''skill" of how to think about the future. him personally and professionally. For ex- very high probability of war, as most The managers of the Visions program ample, in the past he had bridled at having alarmists think. On the other hand, you were quife pleased with the results in Ken to teach conflicting theories. texts Some shouldn't worry about it? I can't say that." Reid's class of teen-agers. Their attitudes told students that the world was in danger Even though nuclear war is not yet one had changed measurably. They were less of a new Ice Age. Others, presented si- of Kahn's Visions, students themselves of the future, scared more convinced that multaneously, reported that the polar ice have made it part of the curriculum. "Now, poor people would double their income, cap was about to melt as a result of the this may be blatant propaganda," Reid be- dramatically persuaded that the world greenhouse effect. In times past, he had gan teaching the second-period class, "but would be healthier and richer in 50 years. projected some frightening doomsday no- America in the future is going to be a land But students are rough critics, and, their tions onto his students. of milk and honey, right?" test scores notwithstanding. Reid's first- A standard exercise ior him was to drop "No way," came the mumbles from the period students did not seem to undergo a hypothetical nuclear bomb on Phoenix class. Reid pressed on. much of a life change. and calculate the concentric circles of "Are you going to live better or worse "The materials were lousy," one student devastation outward. He no longer per- than your parents?" said. "They were poorly put together and forms the frightening demonstration. "Different." written for first-graders." "Generally the students concluded that "You think we're making a mess of "It did give me a terminology," another it would be better not to survive the bomb. things?" Reid asked. student said, "but it did not tell me how I think teaching the consequences of nu- "It can't get any worse," one of the stu- dents suggested. "Is war certain?" "Overdue," someone in the class said, to general laughs. "How many of you think there will be nu- clear war?" Ninety percent of the class

raised their hands. "Will it be limited or full scale?" the teacher asked. "What do you mean by limited?" some- one asked,

"Limited means 'I survived,' doesn't it?"

Reid observed. "How many of you think it will come in your lifetime?" More than half the class raised their hands.

"We can't do anything about it." said one of the teen-agers. "I'm going to have fun and take one day at a time," observed another.

"I hate to equate Jesus Christ with nu- clear war," Reid went on, "but Ancient Rome thought the world was going to end with the Second Coming. What would you have done then?" "Been real good," a student said. 'Are you totally pessimistic?" Reid asked.

"Hey. we're still here, aren't we?" a stu- dent responded.

I was beginning to think that future study ^Vi_ was a rather soft discipline. If students were pessimistic, Kahn and his colleagues tended to place the blame on certain books. At Hudson, a survey of social studies textbooks in American high schools determined that the alarm of the Club of Rome had "captured the intellec- "Look, Xphap is earthing us!" tual class" of this country. Future studies, a Hudson Institute study concluded, had It advised and written become "an exercise in moralistic judg- report, called Global Future: Time to Act. guilt feelings. was ments," a "package of New Testament vir- Global Future purported to be a series of by certified opponents of the kind of eco- tues and preindustrial simplicity," "a glor- immediate and long-range actions that the nomic growth most Americans want, and ification of the counterculture," and a blast U.S. government. could take to address the it was crying wolf by the do-good estab- under- of "hellfire and original sin." The standard global predicament. But unlike Global lishment. All in all, Kahn could not method of instruction, the study sug- 2000, which had been prepared by stand why Jimmy Carter, whom he patron- cheerful gested, was to "scare and shame children professionals in the Council on Environ- ized as a "reasonably and into being 'virtuous' and narrowly doctri- mental Quality and the Department of State, responsible man," would choose such naire about (he future." Global Future was a political document, doomsdayism for his swan song. Global The promoters of Visions of the Future recommending a series of measures that Kahn's personal crusade against death. re- cite other examples in this conspiracy to had previously been proposed by 2000_ continued until his He in to get the admin- depress American youth. One is a two- congressional liberals and rejected by mained active trying position officially minute filmstrip, produced by the Cana- Congress. Global Future leaned far enough istration to adopt his and dian Film Board, wherein a beautiful, rich, toward the left that the Reagan Adminis- grandiosely. He was pushing again his old idea a White House conference on and wild valley is invaded by a menacing tration found it easy to dismiss. about global future. studiously ignor- jet plane. Without narration, the film shows But when Reagan took over, despite the He was Visions of the Fu- the plane spewing a cloud of slow-de- agreement on a hard-line position against ing counterviews to his scending pollution over the plants and the pessimism, the Republicans weren't sure ture material, laying himself open to birds, which die. how to mount the actual attack. Reagan's charges that he was a propagandist but To Kahn. such gloom and doom was Global Issues Working Group, successor insisting that his program was an antidote other side (al- downright dangerous. In one- article, he to ihe Carter Global Future effort, pro- to the propaganda of the aligned himself with an unnamed conserv- posed three options for Reagan Cabinet though neither the Democrats nor the Club in quite ative "thinker" who attributed a high inci- consideration. The first was disbanding it- of Rome ever targeted teen-agers dence of youthful suicides to depressing self. The second was issuing a minimal, the way the Hudson Institute has}. In the

it matter if his school textbooks. The bad news in the textbooks understated report disputing the notion ihat end, didn't really ma- right or liberal or con- leads to a negative self-image, he wrote, the world was going to hell. The third was terials were wrong, said. It mattered only that which in turn breeds troublemakers and launching a major counteratiack on Global servative, Kahn encourages youth to drop out of school 2000. In the midst of this strategic waffling, they were pessimistic or optimistic. ideological objec- and society. In the Visions materials, those Kahn was a hawk, "We geared up for an who question uninhibited growth are pa- In an article entitled "Globaloney 2000," tion to the materials," he told me, "but it tronized: "The people who resisted new Kahn had treated the Carter document with just didn't happen, and that came as a school ideas were not terrible people, but they acerbic contempi. The three-year govern- shock to us. Out of four hundred contacted, only two were were afraid that change would be danger- ment study was disgraceful. It reinforced districts we have ideologically teachers ous to their society. And the growth of sci- prevailing pessimism. It encouraged an opposed. The wheiher we're righi or ence and technology in industrializing so- "apocalypse 2000" mind-set. It stimulated couldn't care less cieties has shown that a change in technology often means a change in so- ciety." As the Visions materials began to take shape, Kahn added Jimmy Carter to his list of villains, along with the Club of Rome. In July 1980, after a three-year study in- volving 13 government agencies, the White House issued a massive, three-volume re-

' port entitled The Global 2000 Report to the President: Entering the 21st Century. For the first time, a government report treated population, resources, and the environ- ment as related areas. The sfudy used a global model inspired by the approach of the Club of Rome and made projections about world trends: • In 2000 the world's population will jump to 6.35 billion, from 4 billion in 1975 By 2030 world population will reach 10 billion, which is considered by the National Acad- emy of Sciences to be the maximum car- rying capacity of the earth. • Though coal, oil, gas, and uranium are theoretically sufficient for centuries, they are unevenly distributed and subject to profligate exploitation and hoarding. • By 2050 the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is expected to alter characteristics of the world's climate and upper atmosphere. In short, Global 2000 predicted a plane!

that will be more crowded, more polluted, less stable economically, and more sus- ceptible to disruption.

In its waning days, the Carter Adminis- tration followed Global 2000 with another wrong. They are just tired of teaching pes- who was interested in designing a finan- level is, no three-syllable words.) simism. They want to teach upbeat stuff." cial system that would survive a nuclear But Kahn held fast to the central tenets than In the six hours I spent with Kahn, I kept holocaust. His listeners should enjoy their of his Visions. More that, he had come coming back to what his intent was with ride on the high-tech wave that was car- to believe his position went beyond hy- the Visions program. But it was not until rying everyone into the twenty-first cen- pothesis into the realm of prophecy, the end of our talks, in his motel room in tury, he said. He amused them by relating "I may be wrong," Kahn said. "I may be

Tempe, that he declared himself. He rose the evolution of his religious feelings. arrogant. I may be a megalomaniac. The

I Einstein's theory of from his chair, his voice rising in anger. "At twelve I was an atheist. At twenty Great Transition is nof

"Yes, you're right! We. are trying to de- was an agnostic. At thirty, a theist, and I relativity. But it's the way the world works!" sensitize these kids to the environment! We expect to die a rabbi," he said. Yet, in the The future world of Herman Kahn is al- are trying to desensitize them to energy same speech, he announced that he did ready working in Arizona. The state's

concerns! We are trying to kill the lifeboat not trust anyone, except himself. And growth "is not manic, but struclured, mentality! The earth is not a lifeboat, and sometimes he didn't even trust himself. structured the way people like it, the way

it is not a spaceship. Ironically, his Visions course at its core they want to live. This is Archie Bunker land, 'This is not a fragile little planet that may teaches trust: trust of current and future and this [Visions] program has got to be disintegrate with the least tug." leadership, trust in the great stream of hu- judged by their values." He went further. When a 400-pound man, especially one man advancement. Visions students learn Arizona, he said, "is the culminating who revels in his reputation as the Prophet to dismiss environmental concerns and to achievement of Western culture. Do you of Boom, looms over you in a rage, you disregard the possibility of nuclear war. And know that people come from all over the malls I all shopping here?" listen. 1 did listen closely to Kahn. But Kahn's students are taught to read the world to study the heard in his passion more the tone of an other bad news in the papers as a mere To find Kahn's Tomorrowland, you have ideologue than an educator. swirl in the Great Transition. only to look. at Metro Center, not so much On March 5 Kahn discharged his duty Kahn conceded that there were some a shopping mall as a minicity or "urban as Arizona State's Goldwater Professor of problems with the program. He said he was village" of more than 160 acres in north- American Institutions by holding a day-long ashamed of the simplicity of the writing, west Phoenix. And within the center, an-

public seminar on his prediction ot a com- blaming it on the professional curriculum cient human yearnings and the bright ing economic boom. ("Herman's predic- experts who helped put the materials to- promise of the future intersect at the im- tions are always optimistic and always gether. (The Visions texts had been put mense Goldwater's Department Store. right," the chairman of the ASU economics through a computer before they were "It's the Greek agora," Kahn said. "The department declared to the audience, "if printed, to make sure they were written at people bring the kids. They love the shop- you wait long enough.") In his opening two- the ninth-grade reading level. Twelfth- ping center. That's a great way to live! It's hour presentation, Kahn ranged far and graders in Arizona — and many other parts very exciting. They've found it, and they're wide with an entertaining delivery. He was of the country— read on the ninth-grade going to expand it. and they're going to

probably the only man around, he joked, level. Part of the definition of ninth-grade like it even more in twenty years!" DG We ask him about exotic new fuels. Will research has begun on engine develop- there be any, QUEST FOR FLAME say, pseudofossil fuels made ment. There's room for radical change." from compressed fast-food containers of CONTINUED FROM R* or One the few new engines, he reveals, trapped hydrogen? Mo, good old coal is the Army's adiabatic chamber built for that simulate conditions in Alaska in winter seems lo be what we have to look forward its tanks and trucks—a chamber that needs or Death Valley in summer." to. Chigier's attention is focused on coal- no coolant. Today's tanks are powered by Chigier points out ihe beautiful snake- water slurries. Thick rivers of coal and water diesel engines, and like any other diesel, like laser anemometer for measuring ve- muds oozing across continents of pipe- they have radiators with rubber hoses con- locity, and the high-energy ruby laser, an lines and transported by tankers to fuel necting them to the engines. "Can you exotic bird that will measure thirsty the burning factories and utility plants. The mix- imagine a tank, costing ten to fifteen mil- sprays using a ten-nanosecond pulse. ture of "We coal to water in a slurry can range lion dollars, out in the field in a tank-style are developing a combustion lab for the from 60 to 40 percent coal; it can be war? Cannons are firing, missiles are Nineties," he claims. "I encourage my stu- ignited. sprayed and Huge corporations flying — everything in the modern arse- dents to look at flames, to play with them such as the nuclear-plant builders Bab- nal—and a bit of shrapnel pierces the hose. in a responsible way. We have much po- cock and Wilcox and Combustion Engi- All the water runs out and the tank is im- tential for danger, with the possibility of ex- neering are investing millions in coal-water mobilized. The absurdity! Here you have plosions, detonations, and damage from slurry research. "Industry is being per- this tank captain sitting there with water high-powered lasers any one of is — them suaded to replace crude oil for electricity draining out of his radiator. Oh yes, the 1 enough to blow this lab It " sky-high. is my generation, Chigier says, "for heavy in- Army feels very vulnerable, business to control fire. We want to use the dustry and for retrofitting boilers. There is "So Ihey're building [his engine without most sophisticated technology in the world a bill in Congress for laying massive slurry a coolant. It has a ceramic coating that to unravel the complex physics and chem- pipelines. But the railways have a vested prevents Ihe engine from burning up. More istry of flames." interest in preventing this. Maybe," he heat is contained inside the engine, but the In the CMU student cafeteria where Chi- "if adds, they owned the pipelines it would ceramic material conducts the heat, trans- gier goes, "gaining strength from its vital- make a difference." Chigier's spray-com- fers it to the outside of the chamber walls. ity," he has his habitual lunch; an bustion apple research will probably have an im- It works. These tanks exist experimentally. and a cup of soup (to keep his athletic mense impact on improving coal-slurry But they're still too expensive for any other frame in top shape for tennis and skiing). combustion efficiency. purpose now. Perhaps in the twenty-first We talk about pollution. And what about the old combustion en- century ..." "Every burnable component should be gine itself? "Combustion engineering has At lunch Chigier reveals that he's eager burned, all the smoke, soot, carbon. It can always been the Cinderella," he tells us. to make a TV series, a sort of Ascent of be burned, provided one understands "The auto industry spends millions to Flames, rather like Bronowski's take on combustion engineering. It's really a crime redesign the outsides of cars and very lit- man. He's not deterred by Pyne's com- that fuel is being emitted; it is an unnec- tle to develop the combustion in engines. ment that fire's primacy has been usurped essary pollutant." With aircraft, it's only recently that active by nuclear energy, that since Einstein the focus of science and the popular imagi- nation has been on the atom rather than

the flame. For Chigier fire was and still is pivotal. "My father counted the number of times fire is mentioned in the Bible. About forty. You know, the burning bush, the pillar of fire, Daniel. And then there's the Greeks, Heraclitus, the fires of the Iliad. Zeus's thunderbolts." "What about fire and brimstone?" asks a student at the table. "Sodom and Go- morrah." The young engineer is reminded of a radio disc jockey in San Francisco who played an hour of rock and roll songs in- spired by fire or flame: "Light My Fire," "Great Balls of Fire," "Fire," "White Light/ White Heat," and other hot selections.

"There are not many paintings of fire, though," Chigier observes. "It's almost im- possible to capture the reds, yellows, blues of a flame and its dynamism. I've had two or three painters try it." Fire is the most tolerable third party (old saying). Chigier himself is out to capture the essence of fire, even in off-hours. He has a cabin up in the mountains, warmed by a wood fire. His wife, he says, is puzzled

by the way he gazes into it hour after hour

at night, drawn to it like a moth. "There's a sense of awe. Always. Flames are so very beautiful and enigmatic. And

because I know so much about them, I'm even more fascinated."

Postscript: " " 'Fire is purifying,' she said, "They're indigenous to this area. and gave him a great big smile." (Last line from Fire Sermon, by Wright Morris.) DO MEGAWORKS

BY FRANK P. DAVIDSON, WITH JOHN STUART COX

Consider a tunnel, a long tunnel crossing the Atlantic, from North America to Europe. Bullet trains whisking ores, goods, and pas- sengers between the continents would speed back and forth. When you think that big. the possibilities are endless. What about a subway Hashing at rocket velocities between New York and Los Angeles? How about routing water from Canada to the arid south- west United States through canals that would rival the vast conduits astronomer Percival Lowell once imagined accomplished by an ingenious procedure. engineers might have to bore a tunnel he saw on Mars? What about self-con- Experts blasted out a section of bedrock through the seafloor's bedrock. tained metropolises floating on the oceans? and then used an enormous machine to Much preliminary research will be nec- Or single-building cities each a mile tall? inject'a special sealant into the walls of the essary for such a mammoth undertaking. We are entering a era new of planetary finished tunnel section. Beneath the main For sections of the pipeline where water engineering, where massive construction tunnel, they dug a smaller channel to carry pressure might present a problem, engi- projects like these are feasible. Well before off water seepage. Running parallel to the neers could draw upon techniques used the year 2000, we could witness the be- main shaft is a service tunnel for mainte- in building the shells of submarines. Also, ginning of such projects as a tunnel be- nance and for evacuating the passengers a full-scale prototype of a high-speed tween Britain France, and a linkup of of trains that stall in the main tunnel. transport system that travels through the causeways and tubes between Japan and It was an immense project. It required partly evacuated tunnel will have to be South Korea, or a Gibraltar tunnel. burrowing more than 400 feet beneath the tested. Bui if designers can keep the con- We macroengineers have many dreams, seabed through some extraordinarily dif- struction costs reasonable for such a proj- of which these are a sampling. We dream ficult geological formations. Even more re- ect—about S100 million per mile— the huge, but we also dream realistically. These markable is the decision-making support project would be economically fruitful. vast projects and scores more like officials them Japanese gave to such a long- Not all these grand tunnels will be un- are not just engineering fantasies. They term project. By the time the double-track derwater. Robert Salter, of The RAND Cor- make sense technologically, — economi- railways are laid in 1986, the tunnel will have poration, has suggested building a sub- cally, environmentally, and humanly. been over 15 years in the building. way from New York to Los Angeles. For example, a continent-to-continent The Tsugaru strait project could be the Magnetically levitated above the tracks, the train running under the Atlantic would cost inspiration for other large-scale subsea trains would zip through the evacuated billions, but it would be worth every cent. construction. A tunnel from Italy to Sicily is tunnel at speeds faster than anSST, cross- For one thing, it would cut down on trans- one such possibility. Another scheme calls ing the country in less than one hour. Build- atlantic ship and plane traffic, a major pol- for a Gibraltar tube that, instead of being ing such a train presents no special tech- luter of our skies and seas. By using more nological problems, but the cost of fuel-efficient train transport, we would tunneling from coast to coast would. To be squander less raw material, because we economically feasible, engineers would wouldn't have to replace ships and planes have to develop a new way to dig. The when they wear out every 25 years, We federal government's Los Alamos Scien- would save millions of barrels of QA top Japanese oil we now tific Laboratory, in New Mexico, however, expend on turning ship propellers and construction firm has may have an answer to this challenge. powering jet engines. And, once com- contemplated Called the Subterrene, the Los Alamos pleted, the tunnel would relatively im- be machine looks like a vicious, giant mole mune to economic fluctuations. The result a railroad tube from Japan (see inset photo on opening page). The would be lower shipping costs. ' beauty of the . to South Korea. Subterrene is that, as it bur- But realistically, could we do it? Do we rows through the rock hundreds of feet be- have the technology to build a 2,000-mile- It would open the way for low the surface, it heats whatever stone it long tunnel over a northern global route bullet-train encounters into molten rock, or magma, two miles down on the ocean floor? which cools after the Subterrene service from Tokyo to Parish has As it happens, engineers are already moved on. The result is a tunnel with a working on what could considered be the smooth, glazed lining. For power, the Sub- trial run for such a project. An international terrene can use a built-in miniature nuclear construction firm, the Bechtel Corporation, engine or even a conventional power plant. has been studying designs for a natural- Carnegie-Mellon University's Robotics gas pipeline across the Mediterranean Sea, burrowed beneath the surface, would be Institute is working on a related machine: from Algeria to Spain. It would stretch 155 suspended in the to water avoid tunneling a robot tunnel builder. It will be- an un- miles and lie at a depth of up to 8,000 feet. costs. In fact, the art of designing such manned boring and tunnel-lining machine Cost would be about $33 million per mile, "immersed tubes" (see large picture will on the that also handle muck and debris as it a not unreasonable expenditure given the opening pages) is so advanced that a bores and constructs a tunnel. heavy use such a pipeline would get. leading Japanese construction firm has Sophisticated new tunneling equipment Moreover, last January Japanese engi- contemplated a railroad tube stretching 100 like these will open up other possibilities. neers linked the islands of Honshu and miles acrossthe Pusan straits, from Japan One is a system of tubes for distributing Hokkaido when they completed the un- to South Korea. Now being evaluated by a goods between buildings and between derwater portion of a 33.7-mile underwa- of scientists team that includes one ex- cities, We already use oil and gas pipe- ter tunnel under the treacherous Tsugaru perienced macroengineer, Professor Man- lines, and researchers are working on strait. Built across a stretch of the Pacific abu Nakogawa, chairman of the Japan In- pipelines for conveying solid products. For considered too turbulent for safe ferry stitute for Macroengineering, it would open roughly the cost of a water-distribution net- travel, the remarkable project is the long- the way for bu'llet-lraih service that would work, we could have underground pipes est ot its kind in the world. go from Tokyo to Paris and pass on through that move merchandise from stores to our Construction of the Tsugaru tunnel an was English Channel tunnel to London and homes as soon as we call in our orders. Edinburgh, with a spur that would pass un- Such pipelines have vast potential, in- Editors' note: Frank P. Davidson is chairman of der the Irish Sea to Dublin. cluding transportation of coal, phos- the Systems Dynamics Steering Committee at Why not think even bigger? Within a phates, and ores. Eighty percent of all the Alfred R Sloan School of Management, and decade we could see international teams freight now moving on trucks, trains, and program coordinator of the Macroengineering analyzing various options for a transatlan- planes could be moved easily through a Research Group at the Massachusetts Institute tic tunnel. At depths of nearly a mile—5,000 six-foot pipe. Eventually these systems of Technology School oi Fng:::eering. He is con- feet—water pressure is sufficiently low to could sidered one of the world's leading experts in the move people, too —and at high allow engineers to science oi macroengineering. borrow from pipeline speeds. New Yorkers might opt to live in Adapted from MACRO by Frank R Davidson, technology. Construction crews could lay Vermont, away from smog ' and conges- with John Stuart prefabricated, reinforced Cox. Copyright © 1983 by tubes in a pre- tion, but close enough to pop in—via the Frank P Davidson, with joivi Stuart Cox. To be pared trench and then cover them over to tube—for an evening on Broadway. published by William Morrow Company, & Inc. keep them from shifting. At greater depths. Macroengineers have many other B2 OMNI schemes in mind, all of them grand bui no! are hauled across short stretches of dry ing would not fall down, but that it would all of them new. One such idea is to move ground. We already have made use of an- consist almost entirely of elevators!" ships overland. For example, archaeolo- other option: wheels. NASA regularly Bouladon smiled enigmatically. "Let me gists in Greece have excavated the tracks transports the space shuttle and rockets give this matter some thought," he said. the ancient Hellenes once used for spe- to the launching pads wilh an ultraheavy- Six months later a large package from cially constructed that carried oxcarts ships duty wheeled vehicle. Switzerland arrived at my New York of- across the Isthmus of Corinth. In 1881 And if a canal is preferred, macroengi- fices. Inside was a model for a unique el- American engineers proposed a mam- neer E. G. Frankel has devised a clever evator design. Not only had Bouladon moth railway designed to carry ships canal-building system that, under proper solved the elevator problem of the mile- across of Mexico's Isthmus Tehuantepec,. conditions, would obviate the need for high building, but he had managed (o pat- between the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific excavation altogether. His scheme calls lor ent the solution as well. Ocean. And in the Low Countries—Hol- installing precasl walls aboveground to Instead of using standard, large eleva- land, Belgium, and Luxembourg— barges form the sides of Ihe canal and ihen filling tors, Bouladon's system updates an old el- have routinely been moved for decades the newly formed channel to the desired evator design, the paternoster, which re- from one canal to another via railways. of water to depth accommodate the ship sembled a vertical conveyor belt. It was a This option still makes sense. Instead of traffic that will pass through. continuous moving series of sleps people digging expensive canals (o Moat ocean- Before any country digs another canal, could hop on or off as needed. Bouladon's going ships from one sea to another, why it would be wise to compare the costs of design was a more sophisticated version not simply carry [hem across? Of course, the different methods for moving ships that had two-pe'son-size boxes. The boxes today's liners supertankers and are gar- overland. In fact, Canada has the perfect sit atop one another in a continuous chain gantuan, but so are our engineering ca- spot to try .out any one of the approaches: of compartments that turns steadily, keep- pabilities. We could still take a lesson from the 11-mile-wioe Chigneto isthmus, which ing traffic flowing smoothly up and down. the ancient engineers and roll the giant separales the Bay of Fundy from the Thus, the mile-high building, unwork- ships on rails over miles of earth. Northumberland Strait. able when Wrighi first conceived of it, is We already large have Hovercraft that But macroengineers can do more than now possible. Land-poor Japan, for ex- ferry cars between England and France devise systems for carrying heavyweights ample, is considering such supersky- across the English Channel. like Their design the Queen Elizabeth II. We can build scrapers to house its crowded population, suggests that we could build Hovercraft big. Many years ago, architect Frank Lloyd and in celebration of France's Iwo-hun- large enough to levitate a freighter float and Wright designed a huge skyscraper called dredth anniversary, the republic is serious- it overland on a cushion of air. Special the Illinois, It tall. was one mile In 1964 I ly contemplating the construction of simi- macrotractors, the terrestrial equivalents was discussing that project with Gabriel lar giant structures, called megatowers. of tugboats, could do the pulling. Other B.ouladon, chief of the mechanical-engi- Advances in technology are sure to macroengineers have proposed building neering division of the Battelle Memorial challenge our traditional concept of what a an enormous "bathtub" in which Institute, a great in Geneva, Switzerland. "My ar-_ city should be. Beyond putting a city in a ship could regally float as it and I the tub chitept friends," told him, "say the build- skyscraper, why not erect one in Ihe un- spoiled reaches of the mid-Pacific? With the United Nations predicting a doubling of the present world population in 40 to 50 years, we may have to move out onto the oceans. New sovereign states may appear in what are now international waters, and the United Nations might well use Ihese man-made sovereignties as living areas for dispossessed refugee populaiions. To provide easy access to offshore coal mines, the Japanese have already built ar- tificial islands in 40-meter-deep water at Kobe. In the United Kingdom, the Pilking- ton Glass Age Development Committee has proposed building a 30,000-person "Sea City" 15 miles off the Norfolk coast. Especially fascinating is the notion ot building new nations or port-city states for such landlocked countries as Bolivia and Nepal on the underwater mountains, called seamounts, that dot the Pacific. As awesome as such city islands and city skyscrapers may seem, perhaps the most ambitious of all macroengineering schemes is the Great Recycling and

Northern Development (GRAND) Canal. It was conceived by Thomas W. Kierans, a professor of engineering a! Memorial Uni- versity, in Newfoundland, and like any good

macroengineering project, it is an attempt to solve a mammoth problem. The chal- lenge is in alleviating the chronic shortage of water that plagues the entire North American continent—western Canada, the central and western United States, and northern Mexico. Very simply, Kierans's solution would redesign the drainage sys- If you want a smoother vodka, ask for it in English.

NGLISH ^ODKA

Now theEnglish *

have done for vodka what fc; they've ahvays done forgin. X

Burroughs. The English word for vodka.

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dazzling he said, on the lake below, Dr. Larkln iold sensing his hurt. But she did not turn, be- across town And out the windows were Pleased to meet you. Doctor." them of that one the stale runs." Before she could think about that, Mrs. Weiss about the cancer. cause there was nothing that way to look large one is that?" "Okay, now what you want to do is watch mountains, mountains. Pointing up "Yeah. Could I look at that? I like gadg- "What Helena Weiss stared at him for what at but a rock and tree prison." thai monitor. Can you see it clearly?" a and Boris Larkin, High. In the air She was high up in the air ets." He came around the table faster than , "The one over at the might have been minutes. Finally "I it." They had gotten M.D. she faced him. It wasn't worth a free cab ride. she could push the keyboard toward him. "Oh. Yeah, right." see the the to park before noon, hiked all over cre- He was sitting on a rock, hands folded When she walked into the hospital lobby, She said, "Do you play an instrument?" "And," he said theatrically, "I will know if "We're all set, then." Larkin closed ation, and only now did he say anything, on a blue-jeaned knee, staring at the toe hands white on the you get nervous." radioactive box and weni behind an in- shoulder strap of her "No. I have lousy taste in music, too. " as if he'd been saving it as a present. of his extended boot. keyboard, the stall tried to get her into a What's a timbre gate?" "Really7 She thought a moment. "I'm strument board. Wiih its knobs and little "Is it operable?" she Weiss screens, it reminded Weiss of a Hammond managed to say. said, "So now what?" wheelchair and admitted on the spot. Sev- "It shapes waveforms. Under the panel scared to death of heights." Polytronic VI. There was "What's operable, isn't? I Concert Moog and what You He looked up. Golden light bounced from eral repetitions of Larkin's name and her here —these slide pots alter the wave en- 'Are you serious? Because wasn't." She or a would to synthesizer dis- have go through a couple ol higher his glasses, making his lace indistinct. own finally got her pointed the right way, velope at time increments set by these dials nodded. He added, "I'll label-the tape with no keyboard, but an Arp-X function centers to to that, too. She touched the get the body of the "How long to do your symphony'?'' into the little conference cubicle, with a cup over here." that, if you don't mind. There are about pensed with growth, but the her rested her fingers damn thing's stellate—you "Quattrocycle," she said, too quickly, of something that had the color but no other "Do you have to do that for every note?" eighty bilfion things we want to try corre- keyboard in lap. starburst." positions. know, "Quattrocycle, yeah," he said, and characteristic of coffee. "That's just the programming panel. This lations on, and every piece of data helps.' lightly in home "1 console. know." looked down, the flare of light going oul. At least the room had no windows. key moves the setting to a memory block. "Sure. What's thai?" Larkin worked his own The 'And you'd never get all the spikes So He looked very tired. "How long?" She unzipped the case, touched call Larkin was loading a glass cylinder into monitor cube came to life with a pattern of the I can hold eight reshapes at once and surgery, through plus irradiation, with plenty of "Not long," she said, and as she saw keyboard within. She clipped on the ear- them from this switch." She turned the a bright meial device. The tube came from colored bars, knotted around and for both Larkin's below chances to go wrong and no guar- him twitch she realized they had just turned phones, turned power on, and began io power on again, gave him a phone, and a metal box marked property U.S. air force one another. hands moved interlinked antee of a cure or anything like one." each other's words around. She looked play— nothing ol her own. of course. The played a few notes with different gatings. in blue and radioactive in purple on yellow. Weiss's line of sight, and the Weiss looked straight rotated, tumbled end for end. out at the western back to the red sun, burning up the layers Pachelbel Canon in D, that perennial Mu- "I love it," he said. "Where do you get He snapped a iever on the gadget, and pattern horizon, " blank. Weiss's at thin lenticular clouds trapped of cloud. She said, 'Just tell me ... zak favorite, because nobody was listen- one of these?" became a hypodermic syringe. "This is the The cube went Above in the mixing layers of the there faint noise of machinery. atmosphere. Her ing; so what the hell. Even poststrucluralist "I built this one," she said. potion that makes the magic machine work. head was a In arm of palms were damp. She still hated heights. Helena Weiss first Dr. Boris Evge- it. Radioiodine-129. Scared of needles, too?" Her eyes flicked up. down. the met architectonic composers have to have se- He laughed. "Then I really love Come Spacelab had been high, too, but novitch Larkin in scared ot the chair, ou! of sight but in easy reach, you a conference room at cret vices. on with me, then, and I'll show you what I "I thought everybody was " couldn't just slip and fall from switch ihal would immediately re- orbit. Penrose Hospital. "Nol Penrose Commu- She looked up, A man was standing do in the basement of this place needles," she said as he swabbed hei was a You couldn't even jump. nity," Dr. Larkin had warned her over the across the table. He was short, broad, dark, neck. She looked away. The sting wasn' lease her head irom the scanner. A chicken Still staring at the boundary clouds, she phone. "Make sure the cabdriver knows." and muscular, in a white lab coat over a Mrs. Weiss's head was held firmly inside too bad. switch, the European Space Agency asked, long?" called theirs, they tested "How The driver recognized her— "The Mrs. sweater and slacks. He was in his early a sort of Plexiglas helmet, crowned with a "Sorry," he said. "I've only got two doc ground crew when hadn't pulled it then. "Not long. Probably not six months. If it Weiss?" and she was too honest to deny thirties, like herself. There were pencils and steel cylinder one meter across. Dr. Larkin torates; I'm not a nurse." her for Spacelab. She takes longer, through," Larkin said. there would be . . . mental it and all in "Signal's coming — — the way from the airport hotel so forth in his pockets, a phoiq.badge on was taking readings with a pocket Multim- "But that stuff belongs io the Air Force?' changes, II monitor, painted on the fila- convulsions. could get she was treated to El tren sublerraneo and his lapel. He wore very large eyeglasses. eter. He said, "You feel okay?" "In the same sense." he said quite se- In the cube it. something "Messy?" Suite for Walking Beams from a tape player "I'm Boris Larkin," he said. "Fine." She sat comfortably in a padded riously, "thai Johann Sebastian Bach's niU' ment strands that filled was "Yeah." on the taxi's dashboard. Then they arrived "Oh, uh— hello." metal chair. sic belonged to the margrave of Branden- like a pink, climbing vine. "How do you get so cold?" at the wrong hospital, and he played her She snapped off the keyboard power "Good. Some people get nervous when burg, or Wagner's belonged to Ludwig o" "That's your cranial artery." Larkin said. He did not answer, and she felt all tracer's just getting ihere." very bad, of One Thousand Orbits on the trip and took off the phones. "I'm Helena Weiss. they're hooked up to this thing. It reminds Bavaria. We all have our patrons at court.' "The

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The vine branched out, became diffuse. left hemisphere and right. The brain re- ture we thought it was. There's a whole The cube flashed, and a green-line overlay volved in space, showing left a top view, boundary complex, and if those intermit- showed a rounded outline: a humped, fur- side, right. tent flashes— see, there's one! — if those rowed shape, the shape of a human brain. Larkin said, "This is something they mean what I think, then the active brain is Helena Weiss's. found out with flat positron images, what interacting with the . . . you can't call it in- The technique was called Solid Image we called PET scans. activity The zone on active, call it otherwise-active, majority. And Generation by Multi-Axial Positron Scan- the right, that's where all of us listen to mu- if the—what the fuck?" ning: SIGMAPS. On the front of the control sic. But you're a professional musician, and The image on the monitor pitched over. bank, in burnished metal, was the you're emblem reacting in the left cortex, the ana- "Alls Menschen werden Bruder." sang the + : the Greek sigma and the 2p symbol tor lytical centers, too. You're very analytical, tape. Weiss tried to turn her head, which a positron, an antimatter electron. The ra- Mrs. Weiss." hurt just a little. "What is it, Doctor?" dioiodine tracer emitted positrons, which "Thank you." He was silent for several seconds, un- crashed into the molecules of her brain to "Now, here's something new." The left- seen behind his machinery. Then he said, produce gamma rays. In the cylinder side red zone began expanding; the whole "Uh, nothing. Seeing things, I guess." His around her skull, scanners were triggered image was being enlarged. The brain sur- humor came back instantly. "Stare at brains in sequence, hundreds of times a second, face was soon lost beyond the limits of the all day and you'll start seeing pictures in reading the ray emissions feeding and data cube, until the whole monitor was filled with them. Queen Victoria. The Yellow Brick to the monitor. She thought of a dollar-in- what must have been only afew cubic mil- Road." Larkin threw some switches, and the-slot arcade machine: Brain Invaders. limeters of brain. her the monitor went dark, the scanner silent. The green sketch-plan was gone now, The structure displayed was in layers of "Is that all?" she said, hands poised unnecessary, Weiss saw the outlines of her color, with strands of contrasting colors in- above the keyboard.

brain in blue, a lacy cyan haze filling out terlaced. It was, she thought, like the un- "Enough for today. Do you think you're the lobes of her cerebrum. Within it were derstructure of Manhattan, or oil wells in going to get a piece of music out of this?" spots of colors from further down the deep rock strata, or—and each time the Weiss's hands moved across the keys, spectrum yellow fringes around or- — hot image changed in her mind, the image in but the otl, tell power was "I reporters I ange cores—and in her left trontal lobe the monitor shifted its form. don't write 'pieces of music,' but I think so. was a blood-red star. "This is the — edge of a thought," Larkin It's too soon tell it'll " to what be like, but "Comfortable, Mrs. Weiss 7 said, suddenly quite intense. "For dec- "We'll do more scans. You're not really a "Yes." ades we argued about whether there were subject until I have an hour's tape on you, "Okay. Have a listen." He put a little cas- really, activity centers. Well, there are; the But no more until Monday," He moved the sette player on top of the console, and she scan shows them working. But what's the catches and released her from the scan- tensed—there were flashes around the difference between working-center brain ner, stuck a label on a tape cassette and cerebellum but it — was not her music. It and-noncenter brain? It's not line, a you made unreadable scrawls across it. was the Ninth. Her brain lit up. can see that, just line, not a any more than "It's three days till Monday," she said. Specifically, two more red stars novaed, the skin -was the simple mechanical struc- "Uh-huh," he said distantly. Then he looked at her, scratching his temple with his pen. "You ever climb a rock?"

It had taken two hours Friday night, at a shop that seemed to stock nothing but leather and blue denim and big hats, to get Mrs. Weiss fitted out with hiking rig. By noon Saturday they were on a trail in Rocky

Mountain National Park. It was no strain for her; she was in excellent shape for thirty- four, . she hiked regularly (over rather flatter ground), she had passed the ESA physi-

cal. At least, it was no physical strain. Keep looking at the trees, she kept telling her- self. Keep looking at the ground. Do not look over there. There's nothing over there but a thousand meters of straight down. They stopped for lunch in view of a peak Larkin. said was named Hallett. "Over twelve thousand feet. You look terrible. Pace too quick?" "No," she said, looking at a point about ' halfway up Hallett Peak. Half the rest of the distance up, anyway; she realized they were halfway up, and she chewed a su- percarbohydrate' bar in deep thought of meadows and living rooms. Larkin handed her a cup from his vacuum flask, and she

took a long first swallow. It wasn't water. Larkin said, "Hey, slow down, that stuff's too good tor guzzling." "White wine on a mountain?" "A loaf of gorp, a jug of Gewurztraminer. and thou beside me in the wilderness, Hoo boy, wilderness." "I think you're crazy," she said. "01 course I am. Alcohol is illegal in na- " " "

' tional parks. Try to look like you're drinking He looked expectant. She said, "You're High Fnght whiiw Weiss erlc-red chords ginger ale." supposed fo laugh at that, but let it pass. in the keyboard's memory and Larkin hid, behind his console. "Who's lo know?" She looked toward the It happens that I do remember where those laughing helplessly lecture stu- edge of their clearing, fell her feel getting notes came from. I was listening to fhe She watched him neurology damp, looked back. "In fact, who's to know geophone tapes I'd made in Oklahoma, dents on SIGMAPS and more mundane she did special series of talks if we fall off this vertical surface?" and had the coffee percolator on, and the subjects; a

"Sit-down. It doesn't really tilt. Invisible tripleis just, well, bubbled up, if that's not for advanced music classes and gave a hands aren't really thrusting you toward the a terrible choice of words." couple of recitals. gel . head- edge." He reached into a pockel of his "It's . . excellent." After the recitals she began to down vest and showed a fiat, black object "You sound disappointed"." aches behind her left eye; he gave her as- all. "If with a set of buttons on its face. "And if "I'm not. No. Not at all. Have you thought pirin and caffeine, and that was you anything untoward happens, this FM phone aboul your new work?" need aspirin-codeine. I'll prescribe if," he can call that ranger station —yonder"—he "There's hardly been time. You want to said, "but I don't hke tranquilizers for head- pointed, but she didn't look "and they'll scan me again, don't you?" ache, Valium in particular. You give some-

tell it just have the choppers out in nothing flat. Any "Mrs. Weiss, I could scan you for hours." body Valium, and they you works time, any weather. I've seen 'em come in She waited for him to kiss her, but he great, and you don't know whether to be with more ice than blade overhead." didn't. He closed the thermos of wine and happy or scared." to movies'. never aie "Well, at least I'll get a decent burial." said, "That's enough for a first day in the They went They He took a bit of beef jerky, sipped his mountains." twice at the same restaurant, She never wine. "You know, it's probably not heighls They drove back to Colorado Springs, saw where he lived. He never went further you're afraid of; it's falling. Everybody's arriving a little after dark. Larkin let Weiss than the hotel lobby. After four weeks they scared offallingat birth, and we overcome off at the hotel doorstep. She said, "If you'd weni back io the mouniains. — quattrocycle," told it io varying degrees. I'm not really sure like to come in for coffee "I'm going to do a she air. acrophobia is ,s separate 'car at all." "I've seen quite a few hotel rooms, him in the high, clear

"I didn't think you were a psychiatrist. Or "I have no idea whai thai is," he said, is that your other doctorate?" "unless you tell me." He shook his head. "Ph.D. eleclrical en- "Four cycles—subpieces that interlock. gineering." A little like symphonic movements, but not "Yeah? Me too. Don't call me Doctor." as elaborate as a symphony, and the parts QThe fourth cycle "Why?" are more closely— related. The ihemes o' Ihe cycles are "I'm an ariist. I want to keep my amateur snapped into existence "The temporal lobe," he said, "occipita standing." from silence, He chuckled. "My first research work-was parietal, and frontal lobes." on perception. One of the things we did as if the ear refused to "You guessed.'' — "Whai else have you been staring a! foi was put subjects over a cliff hear the chaos "What?" a month? It had to be that, or else cere- at its very beginning. Then "A 'visual cliff,' sorry. A drop-off, with brum, cerebellum, medulla, and pons."

I have to write two." She checkerboard painting to make it very ob- above the rush a "Hmm. may vious. We could read a basic fear blip: looked out at the peaks surrounding them, single line of melody rose?1 Some showed it more strongly than others, ice-blue and chocolate and snowcapped lis to look at but everyone showed it to some extent." and vivid red. " nottoo hard "All scientists are sadists," she said, them," she said. "Especially since ihey're watching him gesture explosively as he outside the window every damn morning. spoke. Do you ever get tired of looking at moun-

"Yeah, I'll buy that. Ever put EEG wires thanks," he said politely, "and one's like tains, Boris?" on a baby? The parents smile and nod a! another. Good nighl, Mrs. Weiss." "No, My melancholy Russian soul." you, helping science march on, and you "My late husband made me promise "You told me you weren't Russian. Jusl feel like a pervert. But the really weird thing ..,.," she started to say, too late. She had some family with long memories." was', there was no cliff. The perspective of watched from the curb until the car's tail- "Yeah. Mayoe me ancholy souls are ge^ the drop was painted on a dead-flat board. lights had vanished. netically determined." unconscious?' You could touch it, pound on it, jump on "Or part of the collective

did "Now there is something I would like to it —and people did all that—and we still Over the next Weeks she spend hours got the falling-fear blips," He turned to look in the scanner, listening to music, playing know. How long has it been, Helena, since at the mountaintop, the brim of his cap if. He. showed her tapes of other subjectSr you wrote Ihe Spacelab piece?" throwing his face into shadow. "If was like pointing out paUcms m patients with fugue, "One Thousand Orbits was . . . three ... an archetype.— A basic subconscious dementia, cranial wounds, the great years ago, Chrisirnas." code for " He held out his hands, palms spreading darkness of stroke. He gave her "That would.be nearer three and a half." outward, framing the view. a joystick wired to the main console so she "Yes. I suppose so." She said, "Faw down go boom?" could explore the corridors of her own "You'd produced much faster before that. He laughed. "Exactly. Exactly! We have brain, flying nap-of-cortex through con- hadrVt you?" major work to learn that fire burns, too much candy volutions, looping the corpus callosum. "I guess so. I did about one makes tummyaches— but faw down go On Thursdays the Air Force "gol its mon- a year after Terry died, plus (he other boom is hard-wired somehow." He turned ey's worth," as Larkin pul it: bored and things — songs, radio commercials." back to her. "How did you come by the unwilling cadets were sent in to be scanned "But nothing now for three and a half minor-chord triplets for the aquifer theme as they did mental and manual exercises. years." in Walking Beam Suite?" The Air Force wanted a magic indicator of "Not nothing, Boris. Nothing major. Do

"I thought you said you had terrible taste potential piloting skill. you think composers live on composing? in musjq," she said, surprised. He got Weiss a white coat and steiho- The firsl day we met, you talked to me about

"I don't know one note from another," he scope, and addressed her as Doctor ("It's 'patrons af court,' I'm a rich widow. If they all records down for floor tile I'd said, "unless I ask and somebody tells me." not a lie. right?"). They gave one young melied my

it aloud, still rich widow." "Well. I warn you, you won't get far ask- man a paper and told him io read be a ing artists where they steal things from." and the bewildered cadet recited all of "But not as happy." '

"I'd have, to think about it," she said, jok- but nothing that might relax her, make her picture, calling it anything she could think ing, and at once regretted it. Worry was rest; he would not let her rest until the mu- of. It was not that she had been made to marked in every part of him. She touched sic was done. He wanled to hear it. All right. keep her promise. She had just never his shoulder, asked about several things it She would give it to him. imagined that it could be so hard to keep. might have been, all of which he denied. "Let's go," Larkin said to her, "before we Writing the quattrocycle took almost Her head four began to hurt, and he said, "It's lose all the light." months. The lobes of the brain failed her tension," from somewhere very far away. as a framework, as did the gross struc- They went back to the city, and he left She left the Springs for home the follow- tures; she had to tear down and build up her at the hotel. ing week, with a trunkful of notes., her suit- again, note by note, phrase by phrase, The following week he went to Denver, case, and her keyboard. A taxi took her to The headaches became blinding more where he could not be reached and would the airport, and no one off. saw her That than once, and she would have to stop for not return calls. was just how she it. wanied a day, take aspirin, drink coffee, sleep; but On Saturday morning he phoned early, She had not been back to the house for only for a day at a time. from the lobby downstairs, They went to sixteen months, There were no deliveries When she was satisfied with the last note, the park, they climbed the trails, and that there to stop or start; the mail accumulated she made a shortwave call to the state po- afternoon he told her what the SIGMAPS at her post-office box until she or her New lice, telling them that the house would be scan had found, the Denver specialists York agent called for it. empty again, loaded tapes and bag and confirmed. The house had no telephone either, and keyboard into the Land Rover, and drove "Just tell me," she said {recalling "—what the electric power came from a generator away through (he yellow haze of autumn. the fuck?' "What is it?" "Nothing—"). "Did that ran on gasoline, moonshine, or any- you know then?" thing in between. In the basement was a They found a sheltered spot on the lee "Not for certain. Not then. And I didn't bombproof shelter, gas/biowar-protective slope of Shadow Mountain. Mrs. Weiss set want— couldn't I say anything until I was suits in several sizes, including maternity, up the keyboard and auxiliary tapes on a certain." and enough dehydrated food to last for at rock of a convenient height, and Dr, Larkin Well, she thought, this isone I can't blame least five years. unspooled a strand of wire and hooked it on Terry's ghost. In a room onthe main floor was Helena's to a pair of thin-panel speakers. Larkinsaid, "I really do want to hear your master composition console, a percolator, They had a tiny amphitheater symphony." in the and a framed photo of Terence Gallagher shadow of the spine of the land, Larkin "Quat-tm-cycle!" She turned away from Weiss, deceased, who had refused to be poured some white wine from his flask and him, looked down at the lake, too angry to. called a survivalist, insisting that he just settled down. Helena Weiss began to play. realize what she was doing. She felt slightly didn't believe in miracles. He had gotten a The first cycle crashed against itself in dizzy, touched her eye, where there was promise out of her, that if the time came waves of antiphony, a quick, bold, the imme- promise of pain. He would give her pills she'd on living without go him. diate theme for the right hand against a for that, because she could network in pain, Now and again, she would rage at his more deliberate and reverberating one for CONTINUED ON PAGE 130

92 OMNI Its secrets have been swallowed by hissing wind and the raw, wild weather of the plain

MERLIN'S ROCK

PHOTOGRAPHS BY PETE TURNER Dawn. August 2484 b.c. |USt one of many A great procession of Stonehenge myths men and rock crosses created over the mil- Salisbury plain. Under lennia. Some people the sting of summer relate the tale of Merlin sun. oxen haul sacred the magician, who sup- blue stones to the en- posedly cast a spell tranceway of a circular to send the blue stone bank; there men roll the sailing from Ireland to stones into a ring. the English plain. Oth- Some 500 later years ers claim the mega- the descendants of liths were built by ex- those first builders post traterrestrial "astronaut huge boulders upright gods." But finally, after in the earth, like sentinels. The constellation decades of research, a clearer picture is be- of stone described above and caught in the ginning to emerge. Scientists speculate that camera lens of photographer Pete Turner is the great archways pictured here— called tri- Stonehenge, in Wiltshire, England. For 4,500 lithons—were completed centuries after the years its niches and archways have been first Stonehengers began their awesome task molded by Britain's raw rains and hissing, wild The builders rolled huge boulders to the site winds. Legend has it that while turbulent and whittled tongues and grooves so that the heavens and dark, billowing clouds spiraled stones would lock together. Then, by wedg- above. Druids huddled within, performing ing blocks of wood under a platform, they strange, hermetic rites. The Druid legend is raised beams atop 20-foot-high boulders. TEXT BY KATHRINE JASON

94 OMNI did the Stone- why B i recent years hengers labor so long? Searching for a clue British prehistorian Christopher Chippindale in 1961, American astronomer Gerald Hawk- has discredited the observatory theory. "Even ins found that by walking around the stones if the astronomy is theoretically valid." he says, while applying mathematical formulas, he "England's murky weather makes accurate could track celestial patterns and predict such observation nearly impossible." Today even cyclical phenomena as solstices, equinoxes, Hawkins admits that Stonehenge was prob- and eclipses. Thus, he concluded in his book ably not an observatory. Instead, he says, "it Stonehenge that Decoded the ancient site was a site of rituals connected in some way was actually an "astronomical observatory." to agriculture, to the sun and the moon." DO p§k§s§

SEUENTH SENSE

BY ROBERT HAISTY

i hoping for two things: lo gel away from ihe gray Chicago rain and to finish my report for the Baltii But by the time we reach cruising altitude I'm sure neither is going to happen. There's no brt know the old guy in the window seat is going to be a talker.

it I him plop through the I halfway expected —as soon as saw forward cabin door, hold out his boarding pass to the blond stew- and say something that made her dimple sweetly. It's

; at least fifteen empty seats

1 .... as prunes, he's going to

y one of them and stop at your vere saving that seat in case Miss Galaxy came by. .„ „rf( really doing anything —just sitting there. Why do I find myseif staring at him? On closer study, he doesn'I ever

old; it's just that he seems archaic, somehow—and i Imagine a thoroughly circumspect turtle eyeing over his shoulder the galloping approach of a half-grown Great Dane puppy. He nods, grins. "You travel much?"

"Not a whole lot," I mumble halfheartedly. "Do you?" "Oh, yes indeed I'm on the move constantly." sorting out He sits quietly then, and I optimistically begin my notes for the report. But as soon as the stewardess has dr "

off gin a and tonic for him and a vodka lo gather. Thirty of it years hasn't stopped I'll be double-dipped damned." martini for me—and a faint, wistful scent that gnawing in the gut of a morning. That's I try again to withdraw to my papers, but of orange blossoms for both of us—he the loneliest time there is. Not the nights. it isn't easy. lowers his seatback, turns foward me, and At night, people draw together. You get a "Now then," he says, "you travel around siarls. "Yeah," he says with an ironic chuck- feeling of order. We've conquered the night some, don't you? Haven't you noticed the le that there could have been any question with soft electric lights and whiskey sours. difference lately?" about it, "I travel all right." Old travelers get together in quiet little bars "The difference in what?" He has a voice thai sounds deceptively and wear the night away. We don't say "The feeling. In the air." unobtrusive, quiet even; yet it carries han- much. We don't really to." have I shake my head. "What does it feel like?" dily above the roar of the engines nol an The Constant Traveler — stops talking" and I shouldn't have asked. man to ignore. easy And immediately, as if pulls an orange out of his pocket, digging "Listen," he says. "Not long ago I was he were the Ancient Mariner and I, the a stubby thumb into the. peel. The aroma in New Orleans. It was the end ot summer, Wedding Guest, I find myself putting makes think of my me Ihe stewardess, and I actually— one of those muggy nights you papers aside to listen to him. wish I had ordered two drinks. He offers can't stir with a stick. And we were sitting "I'll. tell you this: When you make as many me part of his orange, and involuntarily I out on a veranda bar, listening to the towns a year as I do. you get so you can start to reach for it, then draw back. mournful honks of the riverboats. trying to taste things in the wind. You pick up on all "Hey!" he says. "Were you born like drink ourselves out of a mood we didn't kinds I of stuff. once read: 'The constant that?"' like, but getting worse into it instead. Any- traveler grasps propositions too subtle to "Like—?" way, here's the story: describe. Too fleeting to hold. He knows "With ihree fingers." He leans forward "There were four of us at the table. Ralph things others do not.' to look across at my left side. "On each Turner and Bill Ryan—they're copies of me,

"Like I what?" know I rolled my eyes dis- hand?" though we don't really look a lot alike. But believingly toward the heavens before I "Yes, as' a matter of fact I was. Sure." we all have graying, thinning hair and what could stop myself. But he doesn't pay any "Well I'll be. Cause you any problems?" I guess you'd call travel-worn faces. The attention to that, or to my question. "No. No. of course not." other guy was new to me. His name was "I've come to realize it gradually," he "Well," he says, laughing, "long as you're Frank Burgeston, and there was kind of a says. "Through God knows how many not a piano player." keenness aboul him, As tall as Ralph, he thousand lonely breakfasts, up too early "Mo problem there. I'm what you call tone was powerfully built and in excellent phys- for the body to respond; trying to come deaf," I shouldn't have said it, because in- ical condition. He had a longish face, but back to life on Coffee too strong, pale eggs stantly his dart eyes to my ears, and I know it wasn't thin. His eyes, behind horn-rimmed too runny, with too much black pepper, and he is studying them now. glasses, seemed to burn with a restless the morning paper. Then out of the red- He starts to say something else but ap- energy. And my offhand remark that night clothed breakfast grill and into Ihe city, still parently thinks better of it. Instead he forces triggered something in them. sleeping in the morning haze all cities seem himself to gaze at his knees and says: "Well, "'I get a funny feeling.' I had said,

got those 'can't 3 get with the Neo- because, my head's still with the Paleolithic' blues." ' ' —

breaking a long silence that ensued after us? So we think we all have kind ears de- with the piano. We asked him how, then, in some of photo of the sexiest bikini model you ever to play trumpet in a pretty good symphony credible feat that human had we tinished ordering drinks, 'that some- premonition. known the piano was So what? You know we just saw to illustrate bilateral symmetry? That's orchestra. Well, after the concerts there tected them.' God's name, he had thing's going to happen pretty soon.' talked ourselves into it—with the long sip of his out of tune. "Why," he said, surprised we help of what I call torward , "Frank paused then for a " thinking.' would always be a reception for the guest 'So you feet it. too,' Bill said dryly, light- the goddamned humidity. Or " all reached for our should ask, "I saw it in your faces." maybe be- Uesus! You spend your time reading artist, And one night— after a particularly drink. By reflex; we ing a cigarette. " cause the market is Bill gulped. 'Who ever heard of so lousy.' about crystallography?' good performance— a stranger at the party glasses, swirling the remaining bits of ice 'Jesus!' "Old Ralph drew long — and hard on his "The drinks arrived then, and there " High to our left a anything like was 'It is one of the things,' Frank said, 'that dropped a verbal bomb. gently before we drank. pipe, 1 then cupped it in his hands as he let another long " man, Frank silence. When Frank linally interest " point of light came into view and moved 'I learned a lot from that me. Fascinating, in fact.' 'I remember he was a short, heavyset tiny the smoke slowly roll out. For the first time spoke he gave me another of " stars until, said. A lot. He-showed me how there are bout goose- 'I'll tell you what fascinates me.' with dark, bushy hair and quick brown steadily through the bright in Bill man ten years I suddenly had the desire to tlesh, though all he said was. "I'm continuing westward many inputs to our senses that don't reg- afraid chuckled. 'Ralph, when she comes back, eyes. New in town, he had been invited by crossing in front and smoke again, Ralph poked" at the pipe with there's it show up more to than that.' it for while to ister in our conscious minds but let's ask her if she's bilateral.' he certainly had not in- away from us, appeared a be a matchstick, a neighbor, and sending a small aromatic "He turned from in other The main ihing is to develop away us then, to gaze "Everybody simply stationary, then it was lost in the back- ways. cloud laughed, but our mood tended to stir up a hornet's nest. He across the table. He glanced for It's up a moment through the open It high confidence in what you perceive. more door as the would not stay up. It performance had ground. Probably a 707. was so we quickly drifted, like a curled remarked that, yes, the when a slight breeze shook the bartender like smelling. This inside deftly capped a tray of leaf of it. only the faint sounds of than intuition. Intuition is floating on a pond—blown first out, in been brilliant, and wasn't it unfortunate that heard nothing strings of red and yellow paper lanterns drinks with cherries like tasting. It's knowing sen- and lemon twists. boat. I is more — a Our aimless patterns, then back, then out again. the piano was a little out of tune.' trucks in the distance; then a won- hanging in shallow parabolas above the eyes shifted automatically lo " of story. sation of being aware.' catch the play We sat for a time, pensive. 'Is that all?' Bill asked, like the rest of dered again about the point Frank's tables. Ralph looked across at Bill, of " inte- then ripples along a pair of long, finely turned " is in its proper course. And you think we're sensing the 'I think we drink too much, and too late us listening, more than a little puzzled by Everything moving quickly back down to the checkered table- thighs in black net as Ihe cocktail waitress tor witches among grated reading from thousands of faces a! night.' Ralph said. 'Bad for the liver, you Frank's tale. I mused. Why do we look cloth, a little embarrassed at what . . he was executed a little dip that turned with ... an awareness . that something into a know. Back in Milwaukee they say, Dir is! "All! You wouldn't believe how upset the milkmaids? saying: -Yeah. too. I Me can't seem to shake smooth, practiced lifting right?' Ralph asked quietly, almost of the heavy tray wohl eine Laus uber die Leber gelauten: musicians can get over something like that. "Then Frank replaced his glass on the is not the damned thing.' when she straightened. " if he'd been afraid to voice it. Then she moved A louse must have walked across your He might as well have said the conductor table and sat with the tips of his fingers as "But it Frank's was eyes, and the way out " say it,' he on her next sortie. Was it really liver' tapes were being 'Why don't we go ahead and just my Frank echoed, smiling for the first time couldn't keep time. So the thing grew and touching. Ai the time the said what he did that set my backbone imagination that the mood of checking Frank replied flatly. 'What we're talking the whole that night. But then, falling back into his grew, and there were two armed camps: analyzed,' he said, 'we were also crawling. 'I can tell little you a more about place was quiet, and heavy, about is the end of the world— at least the and waiting? deep mood, he shook his head again. 'Look those who said the piano had been in per- out ihe stranger. What we discovered was it,' he said flatly. You aren't the only ones, "Frank seemed uncomfortable about an incredibly skillful lip- world as we know it. You know, there's been around this place. Mow, you can say it's fect tune and those who said, come to think that the man was you know. I got the same thing in Cleve- what he had just said, as if he had revealed livers, that he had been totally deaf a group somewhere hollering about it ever their or too many positive ions in of it, they had noticed it was a little off. reader. And land, the St. Louis—all over' more than he talk. nobody intended. Yet I had the dis- air. or the of the tape since early childhood.' since man learned to Now " phase the moon— but there's Finally somebody remembered 'Earthquake?' I said. Brushfire war?' tinct impression he wanted to tell us " once. anywhere is saying a thing. Because this some- not a person in here that doesn't act like recording of the concert, and the tapes "What!' we all shouted ai "Frank shook his head slowly. 'No,' he thing else. But he kept " the time it's for real.' watching the doomsday.' were put through an elaborate analysis with 'Well, I can tell you, we asked same said. silent We were for 1 a while. Then I rhythmic swings of the waitress, " were "We nodded, shuffled around in our and to 'Yeah sure, Bill grunted. 'Let's say that oscilloscopes and tone generators.' thing,' Frank said. 'Besides that, we shoved my chair back and stretched my change the subject he said. " chairs. 'Yeah; Frank agreed. Thai's about There's some it must be the ions.' All that, just to—' mad as hell because we thought he had legs straight out in front of me, wiggling right my beautiful bilateral symmetry for you.' " " stupid joke on us. But you it. But you feel so damn foolish coming He 'Or.' Frank replied, a little sharply, let's 'It was important to us! Anyway, the been playing a toes inside my shoes to get some blood turned back to Ihe table out and trying to talk about it. Do you see Do you guys say it isn't.' He hesitated a minute, results bore out the stranger's contention. know, when we confronted him, he was flowing. then 'Aaaaggghhh.' I said. 'Come on, know, one of the top textbooks in re- a giant fireball, or what?' the world said, 'Listen, lei me tell you something that Several notes had been out of tune, but so completely shocked. He said he hadn't you guys. What the hell's the with " matter on like I think I know crystallography uses a lull-page color happened a generally an in- alized we were not aware of the problem 'No. Nothing that. — few years back. See, I used slightly it was regarded as

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uncomfortable feeling about it for quite a they're on their way. An invasion. I don't sure. They do sense it. even think there'll be much violence. Just while, and now I'm They don't know we are here, of course, such superior beings ... it won't be our something is. And they're world any longer.' b'ut they know say much definitely not ready for our migration. If we "Well, I remember we didn't they will damage themselves after that, but shortly finished our drinks come in now and went up to what was— for me, at any trying to resist. convince It may be a struggle for me to rate— a restless night. I was glad to get don't the rest of the Encroach Team, but they've back on the road. And I really know got to be convinced. We certainly have, no what made me want to talk about it today. wish to destroy this planet or any of the After all, nothing's happened."

it. if Encroach debates too The Constant Traveler's story has filled beings on But it'll all be over. At best, we'll barely most of the flight. We must-be just minutes long, Leader Twelve It's be able to get word back to out of Baltimore, i glance at my watch. ail in time to stop them. Miserable communi- . about ten minutes. "How long ago was cations lag! Will we ever break the c-cubed I collect papers. that?" I ask him as my It's thing we de- it velocity barrier? a good "Oh, let's see . . . New Orleans ... must final meeting—and that have been three or four months." cided to have a Cappadocia finally agreed to "Well, that was quite a night you guys group from come. With Encroach so scattered and not had, huh?" I grin at him. looks allowed to use normal communications "Yeah. Yeah, I guess it was." He a channels. I'd never be able to get an little sheepish. migration. things and snap the agreement in time to stop the I finish gathering my

As it is, maybe I won't have too much case shut. Outside it looks completely all, what is one cycle to us? black. We must be in some heavy clouds, trouble. After hundred seventy-two but the flight has actually been very But think what one for them. They really smooth. Better get my jacket down; -they 're of their years can do remarkable degree of percep- just about ready to call the approach, do have a said, a rudimen- Ihe rain, especially at tion already— even, as he I hate landing in tary awareness sense, though they do not night. It's like being thrown out of the womb seem to understand the Schuman reso- at the wrong time. I hate the smell of wet It's even possible we could coats; having to stand in a little pocket of nances at all. In any case, it would people under a roof that's too small; the wait for two cycles. it now. schisch'mg sound the tires make on the be unthinkable to do water. All the lights are smeared. from Zealand does not And of course the baggage is taking The group New the one from Gala- longer. He waits with the ease of habit. The agree. Neither does others are undecided. others are shifting their feet, turning at every pagos. Some of the going to be easy. And the new noise, checking their watches. Finally It's definitely not our bags come down. time we're losing! heard of a thing. Are you "Say, do you want to share a cab?" he "I never such whether we can handle them'' asks, "They'll be hard to come by tonight." questioning ever had any trouble con- "No, thanks. I'm renting a car. Not stay- When have we trolling Originals?" There is much nod- ing in the city." the Zealand. "Oh, okay." He seems disappointed. ding of agreement with New "After all, we had a full report from Ex- I ask, a "Can I drop you somewhere?" ploration before anything was planned." little more kindly. European groups is He waves negative with a palm vertical. One of the Central "This is time to be calling "Wouldn't want to take you out of your way," heard from, no

it off, Too late anyway." "Come on." We lift our suitcases at the

Exploration," I tell same time and turn down the long corridor I'With all due credit to have not encountered this de- to the transportation area. "I'd be glad to them, "they our other galaxies. have the company." gree of development in It simply is not obvious on a casual en- The little hotel where he is staying is sev- is real sensitivity here. They eral blocks off the main route. It's an old counter. There accommodation." section, pretty run down, but it feels com- are beyond cycle or two they may fortable. There are a few islands like this "And in another anything," Galapagos retorts. one left in every city, and these old sales- be beyond "1 think have a choice. There's no men know them all. don't we steady. place else to go. You know how long it took It is still raining — cold and He this planet. We certainly can't risk turns his collar up, pulls the checkered us to find — with no place to travel hat down tighter, thanks me again, being burned out

I "They are not and dashes for the front door There is a "What risk?" interrupt. faster are. certainly. quick shaft of light, making silver wires of progressing than we in next cycle if we the raindrops, and he's gone. In afew min- We'll be able to come convinced they will be utes he'll be at Old Fashioneds, sur- have to. And I'm rounded by the red-amber glow of antique able to accept us by then. It should be are so much like us in many polished mahogany; warm, out of the rain. interesting; they RPNRJCO hold the smoke ways. Take away their extra finger, their pe- I stop-to light a cigarette, even ahead deep for a minute, then direct a slow, thin culiar ear structure, and they're sounds they call GOLD I of in certain things. The RUM stream at the windshield wipers before us — an music, for example "«Sii.V;l-i-? pull back out into the street. I have had •V; CONTINUED ON PAGE 1B4 '

1

Spokesman for the President's "star wars" policy, the secretary of defense says lasers, particle beams, and superfast computers may deter nuclear holocaust IRJTERV/IEUU

Weinberger has been the President's chief M | ASHINGTON, D.C.— Over ihe last 36 years most of to President Reagan. expanded military spending, for various I I the nation's 15 secretaries o! defense -have left a spokesman for vastly for wandering MX nuclear missile, and for the %J -U distinctive imprint on that office. Robert S. Mc- basing plans the Namara, who served Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, made President's "star wars" proposal that the United States seek to away from his mark as a manager. Melvin R. Laird, in President Nixon's defend the nation against Soviet missiles and to ease assured destruction. Cabinet, was known for his ability to persuade Congress, whence the doctrine of retaliation and mutually the of the he came to the Pentagon. James R. Schlesinger, who served Weinberger, however, is not merely mouthpiece during the Ford Administration, was a nuclear-warfare strate- President on national security. Most of the policies Weinberger helped to formulate; in Wash- gist. Harold Brown, President Carter's defense secretary, was advocates in public are those he with the influ- regarded as a superb technician. ington he is considered the Cabinet officer most long Today the incumbent, Caspar W. Weinberger, true to his call- ence on the President. Reagan and Weinberger go back a politics, and the loyalty up is said to be matched ing as a lawyer, is President Reagan's advocate— a single- way in California in January minded proponent of the President's policies on national se- by the loyalty down. Since Weinberger took office political battles with former Secretary of curity. Bdth the admirers and the critics of Weinberger agree 1981, he has been in Office of Manage- that he has at least one distinctive attribute, unswerving loyalty State Alexander M. Haig, the director of the PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANTHONY WOLFF ment and Budget. David A. Stockman, and rected energy, still has far to go, they say. White House Chief of Staff James A. Baker Even so, high-level interest in those 111, He gets along well with current Secre- weapons was expressed in late 1982, when tary of State George R.Shultz, although the Defense Guidance for the fiscal years Weinberger often takes more hard-line po- 1985-1989 was drafted. That document, sitions in the inner councils of government. written under the supervision of Under But generally speaking, those who thought Secretary of Defense for Policy Fred C. Ikle they could see light between the President and signed by Weinberger, outlines strat- and the secretary of defense have found egy and sets budget priorities for the De- themselves sadly mistaken. fense Department and the military ser- Beyond loyalty, however, the jury is still vices for the coming five years. Defense out on Weinberger's overall performance Guidance, which is slightly more than 100 as secretary of defense. His admirers as- typewritten pages, in effect holds the sert that the sixty-six-year-old Weinberger marching orders for the armed forces. is a quick study, which is what might be The 1983 Defense Guidance, which is expected from one who graduated magna classified as secret, includes for the first cum laude from Harvard in 1938 and from time a section devoted to directed energy. Harvard Law in School 1941. Personally, Over the next five years the services are his courtesy is unfailing, and his sense of instructed "to verify predictions of lethality humor, which is often self-deprecating, has and effectiveness; to expand the technol- defused more than one tense moment in ogy base toward identifying new concepts this city that thrives on confrontation. Per- and applications that could yield marked haps because of his good humor, Wein- increases in the capabilities of directed- berger has an affinity for picking up nick- energy weapons; to provide a scalable names. He was "Cap the Knife" during his technology base capable of supporting, days as budget director in the Nixon Ad- with confidence, decisions to initiate de- 4/f's a matter ministration, when he zealously cut other velopment of prototype weapons." Each people's budgets. As secretary of getting into a position of de- service is also assigned specific tasks. fense, he has been known as "Cap the In February the Joint Chiefs of Staff sug- from which we Suitcase" for his frequent travels, and "Cap gested in a meeting with the President that the Shovel" for scooping can track a rising missile, money into the he take the initiative in supporting the use military budget. And his relentless sup- of directed-energy weapons. Reagan was fix aim, and fire. port of Reagan's hard-line national-secu- intrigued and included the subject in his rity policies has earned Weinberger the The goal is to do it against televised star-wars address, despite sobriquet ."Defender of the Free World." strenuous objections from some technical thousands of On th'e other hand, Weinberger's critics advisers who feared he would get too far contend missiles, including missiles that his performance has been out in front of the technology. Since then weakened variety by a of shortcomings. Weinberger has actively promoted the plan that carry ten Those critics, many of them in Congress, in testimony before Congress, speeches, argue that he is independent warheads? rigid and incapable of po- television appearances, news confer- litical compromise. More than a few sen- ences, and interviews. ators and congressmen say they have been In addition to the star-wars initiative, offended by Weinberger, largely for ignor- technical specialists in the Pentagon have ing what they consider to be political im- been working on what some call revolu- peratives. He has come under fire from se- tionary technology for conventional wars. nior officials in the White House who It is similar to the star-wars idea, with contend that, for all his loyalty to the Pres- sensors as eyes, computers as brains, ident, Weinberger has not his done home- and precision-guided munitions as fists to work and has failed to master the admit- strike enemy tanks, ships, and aircraft. tedly vast field of defense. Members of the Those munitions, often called "smart press note that Weinberger has exerted bombs," are so accurate that one or two himself vigorously in public relations but could do the job that would take 50 or 100 assert that he's been ineffective in nurtur- rounds today. The technicians contend that ing a national consensus on defense. most of the technology is available now but In recent months Weinberger has been that the military services must be per- the leading advocate of the President's suaded to adopt the organization and tac- star-wars proposal. Although Reagan sur- tics to take advantage of it. prised the public'by including that in a Weinberger and Richard Halloran, the speech on defense in March, the idea of Washington-based military correspondent coupling sensors with computers and di- for The New York Times, discussed both of rected-energy weapons to attack Soviet these new military applications of high missiles had been percolating in the mili- technology during an interview for Omni. tary establishment for some time. The technology of infrared sensors and radar Omni: Mr. Secretary, the newest military has moved ahead rapidly, according to application of high technology is President technical experts in the Pentagon. They Reagan's proposal for missile defense in say that is being followed by swift strides space using lasers, particle beams, and in the development of computers capable other weapons of directed energy. How do of handling enormous amounts of infor- you go about developing those weapons? mation at extremely high speeds. But the What is available now, and how do you get third element, such weaponry as lasers and from here to there? particle beams, which are based on di- Weinberger; We can do a fair amount now. 110 OMNI But Ihe goal is something better than It I ex- is, am told, essentially a problem in because of their speed and potential isting ground-based, conventional ballis- very, very large and extraordinarily rapid power. Particle beams are considered to tic-missile defense, which consists of mis- capability. computer We must develop that have somewhat similar properties. Plat- siles that destroy incoming missiles. Those to the point where we can reliably identify, forms from which to operate are also nec- missiles do it quite close to Earth and are track, destroy and several thousand tar- essary [in military parlance, a platform is pretty good over small target areas, but gets In a very, very short space of time. As a ship, tank, aircraft, or satellite from which they are not totally effective. As a matter I say, we can do it with a few targets now. a weapon can be fired], and most of the of fact, it was the capability of that existing So to some extent it is a matter of expand- people who have talked to us indicate those ballistic missile to defend a small target ing the capability and the technologies we platforms should be based in space. The that was one of the factors leading the now have. But it is far more than that, be- Soviets are doing a great deal of work in President to choose closely spaced bas- cause as you get up into these very large- space, developing space weapons and ing for the MX missile, a decision he was scale attacks, .we see that the existing antisatellite capabilities. So from all points required to make within a very tough time problem more than multiplies. of view, it is important that we expend con- schedule imposed by Congress. It is capable of solution. It will take quite siderable research-and-development re- But that system really isn't good enough a while, but it is a great dream and a great sources in this area. for defending the country or defending hope that we could free the world from this Omni: The President spoke of a program large areas. What we would really like to type of nuclear, intercontinental ballistic that would go on for decades. What sort do is to get Soviet missiles as they missile. To come be sure, you would need other ol schedule do you have in mind, and what up out of their silos and before they fall defenses to catch any missiles on the way sort of phase lines could people expect for back into the atmosphere after their flight, down that you missed on the way up. The high-technology military applications? or before they get close to the earth, entire and system would have layers so that it Weinberger: I don't think there is any plan to destroy them. We hope to do that with would be as reliable as possible. that says we will have this program imple- nonnuclear weapons. The President wants to this do very much. mented by 1991. It isn't subject to that kind We can do some of this now. It is mainly It is completely consistent with his goal of of precision. It involves some new appli- a matter of getting into a position from protecting, not avenging, the American cations of what we are doing now. I have which we can track very early and very, people, and it is something that would add heard it compared to the Aegis system [a very quickly the path of a rising missile, fix enormously to the stability and hope of the collection of radar and other warship-based an aim, and fire some kind of destructive world. So we are organizing ourselves to sensors, computers, and long- and short- power at that missile. We can do that now do it, both internally and on a government- range weapons], which allows a cruiser to against a comparatively small number of wide basis, that is, raising the priority of it track several hundred targets while focus- missiles. But the test and the goal would very substantially. ing, aiming, and controlling the fire of be to try it against thousands of missiles, Omni: What are the most likely technical weapons against those targets, whether including missiles that carryten independ- avenues of approach here— lasers, parti- they are planes or rockets. Then there are ent warheads, and missiles whose war- cle 6eams, or something else? layers of closer-in systems, the most spe- heads can change. direction. Weinberger: Laser beams are promising cific being the Phalanx missile. In case your other missiles have missed the target ear-

lier, the Phalanx hits it on the way in. very close to its destination. We must have that kind of concept on an enormously expanded scale. The shortness of time we have to find, track, aim, and fire means that we have got to do computations on a scale that we are not

yet able to do. I hope that we can get this capability in the Nineties, before the end of the century, but I don't have any cer- tainty thai we can. We are going to devote

considerable effort to it. Omni: The key, then, is in computer tech- nology. Are you saying that computers must be able to absorb vast amounts of infor- mation from satellites and radar, examine the data, and direct weapons in outer space to .aim and then to fire?

Weinberger: That seems to be it. Ob-

viously, there are a lot of parts to it. But ultimately— and, indeed, immediately—we need something that will lock on to missiles very early in their trajectory and, at the same time, control, by aiming and firing, weapons systems that can destroy those missiles. But we have little time, and we

have to do it on a very large scale, be- cause the Soviets will have literally tens of thousands of warheads. Omni: The time here is measured in sec-

onds, as I understand It? Weinberger: Milliseconds. Omni: You are talking about a total battle time of as little as possibly one hundred twenty or two hundred seconds?

Weinberger: It is very short. It is a very big task a task about which a lot of — people ademic community, I hope, would get in- Weinberger: Well, we don't know the cost. say, "Well, we can't do it." Bui then, a lot terested and perhaps do its own research The cosl is obviously going to be a func- of people said that we couldn't fly. in certain areas. I would hope this area tion of how long we have to spend, how Omni: is the first What phase? would attract and keep a great deal of the quickly we have breakthroughs, and what Weinberger: As I say, we can do some of country's best intellects. These various it costs to develop computer techniques of it right now. But we have to improve our complex fields represent a type of work this kind. I just couldn't say. computer capabilities. We have got to that get looks toward protection of a people. We are going to devote substantial re- platforms. We have to improve the accu- it Believe or not, these are not offensive search-and-development resources to racy and reliability of the systems our com- weapons; these are nol weapons that go trying to find out what we have to do and puters can fire. And we have to do a lot against people. are These weapons that how we can do it. It will be a longtime ef- with improving laser and particle-beam protect people. I would that hope lot I a of fort. don't know how much it will have cost applications and techniques. the moral problems ihat people quite un- at the end of fifteen years or so. When we Omni: Will this be done by the Defense derstandably have with working on a nu- total the bill, we'll be able to tell you, But Department, the scientific community, or a clear weapon not would apply in this case, certainly substantial resources will and combinafion of the two? because here we would be trying to de- should be devoted to this, unless we are Weinberger: A combination. The Defense stroy weapons of destruction. forbidden to work on it because of Department will obviously do a lot of if. We Omni: What kind of research-and-devel- congressional veto. I don't see anything to have established a deparfmental commit- opment role will industrial companies and suggest that such an event will happen. tee that will coordinate the very consider- laboratories have? Omni: The second part of the question, Mr. able resources we are already devoting to Weinberger: Oh, there will undoubtedly be Secretary, was about trade-offs and what this. There will be a government-wide ef- contracts, and ihere will undoubtedly be you would not have to buy later. fort in which NASA, the Department of En- proposals, and there will undoubtedly be Weinberger: If it works, we will be able, I ergy, and various other groups will be in- a number of people who will offer to help, hope, to eliminate the need to keep, main- volved. That will through be managed an so to speak, or people who will say, "We tain, and continue'to modernize offensive intergovernmental group, and obviously we know what you are trying to do, and we weapons. That would be pariicularly true in Defense will have a great interest in the have the best system." But one way or an- if the Soviets develop comparable tech- process. Both groups. I hope, will be able other, we want to get the job done. We don't nology, and I assume they will. to recruit substantial amounts of scientific have any fixed idea that it all has to be They are working on it and, from a mili- talent trom throughout the country to help done in a government laboratory, or in the tary point of view, have been in space with this endeavor. private sector, or whatever. There is as- longer than we have. I hope that we can Omni: Generally speaking, would those suredly a lot to be done. just eliminate the whole possibility that scientists be invited to come into the gov- Omni: Two questions about cost: What is anyone might use missiles. That would ernment, or would they do their research all ot this going to cost, and what are the spark not only very substantial economic on contract in private laboratories? trade-offs—what should we not have to buy savings but hopes for worldwide peace as Weinberger: One way or another. The in ac- the twenty-first century? well. Now, that doesn't mean we can afford

to give Up conventional weapons, but it does mean that we could remove this om- inous nuclear shadow that has been hang- ing over the world for several decades. Omni: Even in the best of all worlds, though, wouldn't you have to keep some sorf of residual retaliatory force? Weinberger: Well, you always have to worry about .and plan against a scientific break- through that would give the Soviets a mo- nopoly or a weapon of ultimate destruction that would override deterrence.

Omni: Let me turn the discussion in a dif- ferent direction. How does all this relate to the subject of arms control? Are we likely to get into a situation where there would be a race between the Americans building defensive weapons and the Russians building offensive weapons? Or would you foresee a need for an arms-control agree- ment to make the thing work? Weinberger: Regardless of anything else,

I would like to get arms reduction— not arms control,' but an arms-reduction

agreement. I think that's vital, and I think that is vital whether we have any scientific development in the defensive arena or not. If America manages to get the kind of defensive system that we want, I would suspect the Soviets would not be far be- hind. That would then have the effect of canceling out these nuclear missiles alto-

gether. Both sides would know that its mis- siles wouldn't be able to get through and, recognizing that, they would turn their at- tention to other means of deterring war. But at least we would have removed the

CONTINULD ON PAGE 122 In the tradition OMINOUS of the Ftemish masters, e Canadian surrealist makes bold statements ICONS about our age BY KATHLEEN DILETTANTE PAINTINGS BY RALLE ' 1 /' rf

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"I paint in symbols that a "surrealist born five are part of a hundred years -universal language," ahead of his time." says Ralle, a Just as Bosch Yugoslavian-born artist used rich symbolic who now makes imagery to Ontario his home. depict religious allegory, Fascinated Ralle is drawn by icons, Ralle is an to archetypes in his admirer of the interpretation fifteenth-century Flemish of the themes of twentieth- painter Hieronymus century life. Bosch, who he says was "sand armor in £ By using symbols, his portraits represent a false sense I have tried to communicate of protection—"the feeling that one can escape technology." a warning Ralle chose the speared-fish image ti to people that technology "communicate man : s destruction of his is destroying environment." Says Ralle, "I juxtapose the symbols in my the romanticism and the mind to create my own stories —the ... beauty of Hie. 9 viewer should do the same/'DO tainly the use of some sensors for intelli- irUTE=R\yiELTU gence gathering. There will be betler and different tactics whereby we can multiply our forces by using technology, as op- threat of nuclear missiles. I wouldn't it find posed to just adding more and more divi- destabilizing to do that. I think it is vital that sions. We are looking for methods to en- we work on this. We would not want to be sure that even large masses ol enemy NONRESIDENT BACHELOR, in a position wherein the Soviets would manpower will not be-the deciding factor MASTER AND DOCTORAL learn how to do this and we would not. That in combat. We are also dealing with the DEGREES FOR THE would be dangerous. the On other hand, logistical problems of assembling such ef- it wouldn't bother ACCOMPLISHED INDIVIDUAL me at all if we had this ...... fective forces of our own.

and the Soviets had it, Columbia Pacific University, thelargest too. Then we could Omni: The experts say that many of the nonresidential sit down and negotiate with graduate university in the the idea that sensors can be built now, that the infor- U.S., has been authorized these nuclear by the State of weapons are now obsolete, mation-gathering and fusing technology California to grant nonresident Bachelor, and we will have to concentrate on exists, more particularly if digital computers a Master and Doctoral degrees in numerous conventional means. used, and that the fields, including Business, Psychology, communications ap- Omni: So far we've been talking Engineering, Health, and Education. about the paratus for dissemination is available. How President s recent initiative and plans that much more needs to be done before Deg rees are e arn ed th ro ug h a comb (na- you go well into the future. What about the more can really tion of full academiccreditforlife and work move into this arena? immediate future; technical experts in experience, and completion of an indepen- the Weinberger: We are doing a great deal in dent study Pentagon say that there project in the student's area of will be increased the field. There is electronic warfare the special interest. The time involved is emphasis on military use of space, which use of computers, and a lol of shortened very ad- due to accelerated, self-paced alre dy een s,arted - Wh at do you vanced technologies— learning. i? things that bring The cost is under $2,500. foreseeL™ there?^ intelligence and information gathering right Columbia Pacific University is attracting Weinberger: There will be much more fhere. down to the division level, where previ- accomplished individuals, members of the The armed services already rely on sat- ously they business and professional community, had been active only at general ellites for their long-haul communications, desiring to design their own projects and headquarters. and that reliance will receive academic acknowledgement for increase, I can't go We are seeking the ability to move very their personal achievements. into details about surveillance May I send satellites, but rapidly and to have very quick dispersion you more information? we are looking for greater accuracy and of forces, a high degree of mobility, and R.L. Crews, M.D., President what the technical people call specificity. flexibility with small, light forces that can The products will COLUMBIA PACIFIC UNIVERSITY be more useful, I'm told. move very quickly. That means equipping The Global Positioning System, which will all of those forces with 1415 Third St., Suite57W San Rafael, CA 9*801 very modern radar help in all sorts of navigafion, will Call Toll Free USA: 800-227-1 61 7, exl. 480 be en- and other sophisticated intelligence-gath- California tirely in place around 1987. Only: 800-772-3545, ext. 4B0 I'm told that a ering equipment that can change fhe whole ship, plane, or tank will be able to pinpoint nature of the battlefield. But we are also its position to within about fifty feet of any- working on tactics that can make it difficult where on earth. There also will for be more the other side to assemble reserves or reliance on satellites for weather reports, to mass DRESS tanks at one particular point to FOR SUCCESS... mapping and geodetic surveys, and en- take advantage of even temporary break- FOR LESS. vironmental studies. We're also beginning throughs. We are working on improved ra- ta use the space shuttle to carry military dar and improved "smart" weapons payloads, and that practice will become guided weapons, and all-weather all nighi more common in the future. It will cost less observation devices, to put-things up that way. Omni: One of the things these experts say 0mm: How about ASAT, the antisatellife is that "stealth" technology for evadinq weapons ra- system? dar can be appIied t0 any vehic|e _ So far Weinberger: Well, the Soviets already have we have used it on bombers fighter air- an operational antisatellite system, even craft, and cruise missiles but are we get- though it has limited capabilities. have ting to Send for free catalog We the point where it could be applied lo catch up with them if of fine traditional clothing we want to dete^ to a ship, tank, or anything else? them. Our program is moving at significant savings, along wilt Weinberger: I am not really going to be able the F-15 fighter and a rocket with a non- to talk Shop much about that. I think it's obvious conveniently at home or office, nuclear warhead. that we want to utilize whatever technology from our 100-page catalog for men and Omni: Turning to conventional forces, Mi we are able to in women. It's brimming with classic develop a way that would secretary, the technical experts here in the be most effective clothing and accessories, shown in full on the battlefield Pentagon say another revolution in the color. Everything is priced far below use Omni: Could I turn to precision-guided most fine of high technology in warfare is going stores, and your satisfaction to munitions? The technicians say that in the is come in the conventional unconditionally guaranteed. field. They talk artillery, for instance, munitions have a about sensors, the fusing of the informa- probability kill factor of five or ten percent tion stream— that is, the translating of all which means that you have to fire many forms of I°S. A. Banll ciotwers intelligence data into digital form— rounds to destroy a target Is it true that artificial intelligence, and dissemination so you will be able to build munitions with such goodthattheuserwill have the information great accuracy that the kill factor will be almost as soon as it happens, in what the ninety percent? Do you think that this is in military people call real time. All of this, the immediate future? they say, can be linked to precision-guided Weinberger: The accuracy and smartness munitions. What do you foreseeten or fif- of conventional weapons and the ability to teen years down the road? guide and utilize them at night and in all Weinberger: I think we will see the battle- kinds of weather-all of these things are field application of many of these things, being worked on constantly Certain , the t perhapstheuseoflaserweaponsandcer- greater the accuracy, the more you can — ,

war is no longer pinpoint vital targets and- have a much immediately into nuclear which we higher degree of confidence that they can the plan or scenario toward uhlock urn be destroyed. would be working. A nuclear exchange is terrible an action to resort to lightly. Omni: How long will it be before these ad- bo argument is that vances come into Ihe force? The other side of the m/nmu conventional forces Weinberger: Well, much of it.is coming into you have to increase in two ways: the traditional way, by recruit- the force all the time. We have a division tout larger standing military at Fort Lewis, out in Washington, that em- ing or drafting a modern ploys some of the latest tactics and has force, or through the use of very y.our military some of the latest equipment, computers, technologies that' multiply numbers of people and battlefield adaptions of things that were power but reduce the previously way behind the lines. You might you need. Ail the things we have been dis- cussing will do that. We have done quite a find it worthwhile to take a trip out there

it manned cruisers thai and let them show you all that stuff. Don't lot of now. We have better and have higher fire- ride in the dune buggy, however. are very much

1 in War 1 Omni: Why not? power than those we used World /UbUftfflAL and, as opposed to sixteen hundred peo- Weinberger: It doesn't have any springs. ple, we do it with three hundred nineteen. Omni: If you can get conventional explo- ItCfilUGUe/ this program. sives to such a point of accuracy that you So we have embarked on Stop Unwanted Habits — Lose Weight able to per- Enjoy Better Health would need far fewer rounds to destroy a Omni: Are you going to be Subliminal Techniques you can there a multiplier effect suade the military services to accept the With SCWL target, wouldn't be beyond your greatest expectations. high technology for go on logistics? Wouldn't you need less am- implications of the new Accomplish your most desired goals quickly a rev- simply when you learn the truly remark- munition, fewer ships or planes or trucks the battlefield? We are talking about and F- ! V-.:=-.-:or«l olutionary concept here, and the services to haul it, fewer people to handle it, and Techniques SCWL has now become the conservative when it ;'-..-. -- .11 f-i.i.- !(.-! r.^-iaiona! Athletes and maybe even fewer guns to fire it? tend to be rather men and women from all walks of life. Why? question comes to change. Will you be able to per- Weinberger: Indeed. There is no Because positive results can be achieved so the tactics, inexpensively by anyone about that. And in combat scenarios thou- suade the services io adopt easily and procurement prac- HIDDEN TALENTS! sands of miles from home, this becomes the doctrine, and the REVEAL Explore your inner creativity thai will spur this to pass? extremely important. It affects the air- and tices to make come With Techniquas you'll Oh, I think they are going to making ideas. SCWL sea-lift, it affects the numbers of troops, Weinberger: discover new talents. Play music, develop far ef- be very eager to do it. I' haven't encoun- much. and it enables us to make a more skills, improve your athletic ability and called the fective use of our troops for actual combat. tered any of what used to be our advantage as a de- battleship syndrome, which is opposed to "sCWL TECHNIQUES It is obviously to 'YOUR KEY TO PERFECT MEMORY" aircraft carrier. have both aircraft fending force to multiply as much as pos- the We This SCWL Technique alone could prove sible and to deal with hitherto favorite So-, carriers and battleships around. Edward Meyer, viet tactics, such as massing a very large "Shy" Meyer [General C. number— huge, overwhelming numbers the Chief of Staff of the Army until June 30] this from the Army at narrow points. has been working on Air Force Omni: What does this do to manpower re- point of view for quite a while. The the very latest tech- TOTAL CONTROL quirements, both in terms of numbers and is always interested in GAIN Stress - Overcome Narvousne has already made re- ilieve of training? nologies. The Navy Become More Self- Confident we Weinberger: Well, at the moment we are ductions in its manpower and, although different having very fine success and luck with an could use more ships, they will be all-volunteer system. We are getting all the kinds of platforms. think there is going to be a prob- people we can use and all the people we I don't levels where I've been need now. We will have to make sure that lem with that. At the

' I found that continues, since we have a somewhat privileged to deal with them, haven't shrinking demographic base [of young the military to be either hidebound or wed- ancient concepts or anything of that men and women of military age]. It is bet- ded to spend- ter to utilize the forces we have more ef- kind. They want to develop and are over- fectively and thereby not require very large ing a lot of time developing ways to numerical differences. additional numbers. If we had to go to war, come the we would certainly have full-scale con- There are always going to be those dif- scription, and we'd make sure that every- ferences in numbers, because free, open, don't like indl.V. body was at work on the projects most vital democratic, liberal societies don't like large ex- for the winning of that war. But if we do our standing armies. We OUR BOOK IS FREE problem is that job right, we'll never have to do that. penditures for defense. The on reserves implies a substantial Omni: If you can bring high technology to reliance mobilization. bear, conventional deterrence could work amount of time available for that will have that. So something like nuclear deterrence. Do you and I don't know we quick response, think that by using conventional deter- we have to try to get a MIDWEST RESEARCH rence there would be even less chance of which is the best kind of deterrenf. S delerrent, if us getting into a nuclear war? As for the strategic nuclear Weinberger: Yes. we can deter conventionally, we want to Omni: How could you achieve that? deter conventionally. We want to be in the have Weinberger: There is no question that we situation in which we can say we military power to deter an attack. want to reduce and someday, I hope, elim- enough not, inate nuclear weapons from our deterrent. Whether it will be too. much or no one power We can't do that, however, until we can can say. If we have enough military deter attack, we'll never know whether persuade the Soviets to do it, too. The old to an

if it deters an idea that we could have a short, conven- it was too much, because will succeeded. tional exchange and that it would escalate attack, we have DO "---a heavily instrument! earned in forr

other nalions I while their warships lurked all around the Soviet fleet—on the surface and be-

greal, but the mis- . - ..-s greater.

Then, out of the dawn sky. If **W ms*p

BY JAMES E OBE was on board) and now was nearing its competitors among the Western nations. tew months earlier at a space conference target in the southeastern Indian Ocean. Surely here was a mystery to warm the in Paris, Sevastyanov had also expressed A sonic boom echoed over the waves heart (and try the patience) of any analyst. confidence that the Soyuz-Salyut-Prog- just as the small space plane popped a Curiously, official Soviet statements of re- ress system would remain in use for parachute the for the final descent. With a cent years indicated that the USSR was next 15 years. (Saiyut is a Russian space splash and the hiss of seawater envelop- not really interested in such a project, at station serviced by Soyuz, a manned ing a still-glowing heatshield, the mission least not yet. Two of these public state- spacecraft, and Progress, a cargo-carry- ended. Frogmen jumped from a helicopter ments were particularly detailed and ex- ing vehicle slightly larger and than Soyuz.) approached the floating capsule. On plicit. The first came in June 1980, when These disclaimers contrasted sharply the space plane's wing was written its point chief cosmonaut Lieutenant General Vlad- with the rumors circulating in American and of origin: cccp. The Russian frogmen read imir Shatalov, three-time space veteran, told European space circles in the late Sev- this as the abbreviation for the Union of a Hungarian journalist, "Soviet specialists enties. Most sensational of the stories was Soviet Socialist Republics. have also investigated the possibility of the one about "Project Albatros" (the So- High overhead, Australian P3C Orion producing spacecraft that can be used viet spelling of albatross), which suppos- patrol planes photographed the opera- more than once. At this stage, however, edly consisted of a fully reusable, two-stage tiohs. Within hours, their film was rushed they consider that the employment of these system ot winged space vehicles. The craft to military intelligence analysts in the United spacecraft is not justified for Soviet re- was to be launched from a speeding hy- States. After years of myths and rumors, search, because the present tasks can be drofoil on the Volga River or the Caspian hard evidence was finally at hand. It was resolved with the well-tested methods in Sea. The first stage, much June bigger than a 1982, and the homecoming of the So- an economic way." Boeing ,l 747. would carry the orbiter to the viet Union's' Kosmos-1374" had just been Then, in April 1981, Cosmonaut Vitaliy edge of space and then glide back to a observed and recorded. Russia's "space Sevastyanov, hosts who a popular Soviet runway. The orbiter itself would continue shuttle" was real. television program on scientific topics, de- into space for its cargo mission before re- Or was it? For at least a decade, West- clared: "We are also thinking —on a long- turning to the same runway a few hours ern or observers had been awaiting the ad- range basis of a reusable — space shuttle. days later. According to the stories, the So- vent of the Soviet space shuttle— Russia's At present, however, detailed calculations viet terminology for such a vehicle report- technological riposte to the NASA space conlirm that the use of our existing system edly was raketa-plan ("rocket plane") or fleet ot Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, of transport of persons and cargo, as well kosmo-lyot ("space flier"). and their sister ships. From Soviet spokes- as orbital stations of the new generation, Most serious observers considered this men came conflicting and puzzling hints. will be much cheaper than a space shut- project far too advanced for a first step into Intelligence sources spoke of strange tle—in the next decade at least. We will space-shuttling operations. The Soviets preparations at secret Soviet spaceports. build large modular orbital stations suit- had demonstrated neither the materials, the There were rumors of a fully reusable space able for longer a stay of dozens of spe- computer capacity, nor the high-energy plane that would catapult Soviet cosmo- cialists, and for this purpose our [existing] rocket engines necessary for such nautics a sys- a generation ahead of would-be transport techniques are more suitable." A tem. And this skepticism was borne out later when the true origin of the Albatros

project became known: It was merely a de- tailed design study by students at a Mos- cow aeronautical-engineering institute. The real Soviet manned space program evi-

dently had no connection with it. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of Defense Harold Brown told a congressional com- mittee early in 1980 that he had seen in- dications the Soviets really were building a space shuttle. "There is evidence that they are working on something," he said. "It is probably more along the lines of the earlier U.S. program, the Dyna-Soar, than something of the capability of the shuttle." The Dyna-Soar, or X-20 space glider of the

early Sixties, was canceled before its first flight. NASA administrator Robert Frosch confirmed Brown's suggestion. And in 1981 Robert S. Cooper, of the Defense Ad- vanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), announced thai the Soviets were "working on a manned space plane." Nevertheless, the June 1982 Indian Ocean splashdown came as quite a shock to most Western observers, who were ex- pecting something a little more advanced and quite a bit bigger. So even though the June mission and a nearly identical follow- up flight last March were quickly identified as the rumored space plane, there were still several mysteries. Both launches had been staged at the "Before small Kapustin Yar rocket base on the lower we answer any questions about our six-month orbit of the planet Mercury Volga River. Both launches had occurred Commander Ferlinghetti and I would like to announce our engagement" at about midnight. The boosters— modi- fied medium-range missiles similar to the American Thor-— had carried the payloads der the standard nose cone used atop the on, was exactly what one would expect for southeastward, across the Aral Sea and booster rocket. Could it have been a pint- a warhead designed for "cross-range ma- the Himalayas and into very low orbits size prototype of what was to come? neuvers" to get from orbit to target. about 100 miles up— roughly 40 miles be- The mini-space-shuttle explanation was Would the Soviets build such a weapons low the lowest altitude of orbiting American so obvious and so neat that some skeptics system to attack American aircraft car- shuttles. Both times the one-ton payloads resisted falling for it. A few private analysts riers? The skeptics argued that the USSR separated from their booster rockets (which even went so far as to say these tests had would, since they had. already developed stayed in orbit several days before burning nothing to do with the Soviet manned space a nuclear-powered ocean-surveillance ra- up) and circled Earth once, crossing Ma- program at all. Instead, these observers dar satellite to look for such fleets. (This is laya, Java, Australia, the South Pacific, suggested, the objects lished out of the the same kind of satellite that has fallen out Panama, the North Atlantic, England, cen- Indian Ocean were dummy thermonuclear of the sky at random three times, most re- tral Europe, and then the Crimea. Over the warheads designed to drop out of orbit and cently last January.) Moreover, there are Crimea, where the main Soviet space- attack Western naval forces. likely to be American fleets near enough tracking facilities are located, the vehicles These analysts built Iheir arguments on to Soviet targets to be dangerous but out turned tail forward, and each fired a small what they knew of past Russian perform- of reach of other Soviet antifleet weapons. rocket engine to initiate its return to Earth, ance, beginning with the fact that the And even though such an orbiting weapon Both fell back across Iran, southern India, launch site, Kapustin Yar, had never before is outlawed by international treaty, the So- and Sri Lanka, where the June mission filled hosted any man-related missions. it But had viets have already demonstrated their lack the skies with fiery a streak. Minutes later been involved in weapons testing for 35 of regard for the treaty by developing, be- it landed, south of the Cocos Islands, in years. They also knew that only Iwo earlier tween 1967 and 1971, the so-called Frac- the eastern Indian Ocean, amid the wait- Soviet space vehicles had splashed down tional Orbit Bombardment System (FOBS), ing Soviet recovery fleet and the uninvited at sea, and then only because they were for placing nuclear warheads into tempo- Australian snoopers. returning from the moon. A splashdown rary low orbit for sneak attack. The photographs from this first landing would never a feature be deliberately cho- The 2,000-pound winged orbiters fished showed a streamlined craft with one stubby sen for a manned vehicle, the heretics ar- from the Indian Ocean are large enough to vertical stabilizer and two outboard aft sta- gued, And if these flights were merely carry a warhead of several hundred kilo- bilizers, both tilted outward. The front of aerodynamic tests, why would the Rus- tons, continued the heretics, and the launch the fuselage appeared to have a three- sians have gone all the way into orbit when vehicle is small enough to be based in al- paned cockpit window. From a top hatch they could easily have achieved the de- ready-existing missile silos in the USSR. amidships, parachute lines extended to a sired velocities at lower altitudes? The or- The "windows" on the vehicle's nose then, long, conical, inflated balloon presum- bital mission required — them to develop a are for the guidance sensors to peer ably some sort of recovery aid. The whole special service module complete with through, not for cosmonauts' eyes. And no craft could not have been more than 13 power source and retrorocket— a waste if landing system is needed, since the vehi- feet long and perhaps 10 feet across, from the spacecraft were merely a subscale cle would detonate high in the air. wingtip to wingtip. It would have just fit un- modeL The shape of the vehicle, they went Superficially, this terrifying interpretation seems to explain more elements of these missions than does the space-shuttle-test theory. But government analysts and oth- ers swear the vehicles "look like space shuttles." We can hope they have other classified data to support judgments that the weapons idea is "fantasy." Two days after the second splashdown, DARPA director Cooper unequivocally identified the Soviet vehicles as develop- ment tests for a Soviet manned space plane. No one could say, however, how much the test model would be scaled up for the manned version. Various estimates ranged from a factor of two to a factor of four in all dimensions. The second Soviet mini-space-plane flight last March coincided with the release of a Pentagon special report from the of- fice of the secretary of defense. The doc- ument, called Soviet Military Power, con- tained a special space-vehicles section that gave uncharacteristically specific pa- rameters on not one but two distinct Soviet space-shuttle projects. The first project was the space plane, the little craft that had landed in the Indian Ocean. "Orbital development test flights of the smaller vehicle have already oc- -rtb&fe curred," the report claimed. But the sec- ond project allegedly involved a space- craft—nicknamed "Shuttleski" by CIA photo analysts—with much greater per- formance capabilities than those of the American space shuttles. "Hi. Me, master. You, toot." The Pentagon report described this second vehicle as disturbingly similar to the U.S. design, but with the double ad- vantages of a lighter liftoff weight and a larger payload. Like the U.S. system, the Soviet Shuttleski includes a winged orbit- er, a large disposable external tank (half again as long as the U.S. equivalent), and

two strap-on booster units for liftoff assist- ance. These are evidently liquid-fueled, unlike the solid-fueled ones used by NASA. The Soviet shuttle "could be in regular use within a.decade," the report said. The Pentagon's information supposedly came from actual observations of existing test hardware. But in the week preceding the report's release, the Washington news- letter Aerospace Daily obtained an even more precise description of the Soviet space-shuttle orbiter vehicle, based on spy-satellite photographs of the craft at the Ramenskoye flight test center, near Mos- cow. The Soviet spaceship was 109 feet long (NASA's is 122 feet] with a 76-foot wingspan (compared to NASA's 78). The Soviet fuselage diameter measured 18 feet and the wing leading-edge sweep was 46 degrees— little different from Columbia and Challenger. Both the Soviet orbiter and the giant external tank were said to be trans- ported in cradles atop modified Bison air- craft, veteran long-range strategic bomb- ers. The giant new runway at Tyuratam, just east of the Aral Sea, was designed ex- pressly to accommodate these planes, ac- cording to Aerospace Daily. A few weeks later, even better photo- graphs were obtained. These showed one' of the Soviet Bison carrier aircraft—with an orbiter mounted on top — that had strayed off the runway at Ramenskoye and gotten stuck in the mud for two days. WE DON'T HAVE MEETING ROOMS Such observations allowed American analysts to assess the design differences in Jack Daniel's Hollow. But there are plenty between the U.S. and Soviet vehicles. For of nearby places to hold discussions. example, the Soviets evidently are still un- able to build powerful and reusable rocket engines like the ones that propel NASA's \bu see, making good whiskey doesn't call . shuttle. They are sticking to expendable engines mounted on their large, external for meetings. What you need is clear water tank (which should thus be counted as a rocket stage and not merely a tank). and choice grain; experienced Tennesseans Without engines at the aft end of the or- biter, however, the Soviets can streamline to distill your whiskey; and a rickyard for

the craft to give it twice the aerodynamic handling capability of the U.S. system. Ad- making charcoal to mellow

ditionally, analysts estimate that if the So- viets built payload doors at the aft end- its taste. Happily, we don't to look like a pair of clamshells—they could save even more structural weight. have to leave our distillery for CHARCOAL Without reusable engines and boosters, the system is not economical. But perhaps any of these good things. MELLOWED economy is not what the Soviets are after. And with Cashion's 6 According to General James Abraham- DROP son, NASAs associate administrator for Service Station down the spaceflight and a former Air Force Manned 6 Orbiting Laboratory astronaut, NASA's de- road, can even hold a sign never delivered the launch economy we BY DROP that had been anticipated, although it did meeting now and then. provide something almost as good: "spe- cial services," Speaking recently to a con- vention of the Aviation/Space Writers As- Tennessee Whiskey • 90 Proof • Distilled aid Bottled by Jack Daniel Distillery

sociation, Abrahamson explained that Lem Motlow, Prop.. Inc., Route 1, Lynchburg (Poo. 361), Tennessee 37352 "service— being able to provide a man or Placed in the National Register of Historic Places by the United States Government. CONTINUED ON PAGE 143 "

loping in a harmonic wind, until it shifted a bizarre angle. His head was back against into BOUNDARY the black. the stone, eyes open and staring at the sky, The fourth cycle snapped into existence hard as ice. There was a dark trickle from from silence, as if the ear had refused to his nostril. the left that laded crested: and Jaynes's hear the chaos at its very beginning. Then, Wot very messy, she thought. bicameral mind, the centers of direct re- the above incoherent rush of sound, a sin- She touched him. He was stiff and quite sponse having access to the higher rea- gle line of melody rose like vocalist in a . . an cold. Oh, Boris . how did you get so cold? soning potential only in moments of stress, unknown language, of singing those things She wondered if he "had firs! realized he and then only as an oracular voice from that no language has ever found words for. was dying the day she arrived, when he beyond. The overvoice ceased oscillating, A counterpoint split from the voice, the had that small seizure behind his console. becoming coequal to the instant mind: the "Starscape" theme from One Thousand "What is it?" "Nothing" But surely there breakdown of bicamerality, the origin of Orbits, and the melody sang against a had been earlier signs. The man who built conscious thought. background of stars, of crystalline, inhu- SIGMAPS must have known his own brain. The second cycle in thunder. began man precision: but in the melody the in- The goddam son of a bitch who had swin- The second cycle was concrete thought. humanity dissolved, and the distance to dled her out of the only fear that she could The' sounds of hunt, the the battle, the the stars—the boundary between what was admit to having. crowd; dance music and work song; gongs thought and what was not thought—was She shouted, "You got it out of me, didn't of bamboo and brass and steel Notes pro- bridged. you, you selfish son of a bitch? You wanted gressed evenly, bricks on bricks in square She launched into the last line. Her left me to do it, up here, so you could hear it measures and even time, until as the thun- hand played an overpowering major-chord just for yourself—all for yourself—and now der returned, the lightning cracking it sequence, while her right fingers picked what? How am I supposed to get us off across, the notes seemed to strain against out delicate knotworks of sound in the key- this rock? Listen to me, you bastard!" the lines, as if trying to expand. board's pipe voicings: a million impulses Two fingers of Larkin's right hand were The third cycle: abstract thought. of thought submerged in the torrent of in- thrust deep into his vest pocket. Note sequences leaped the scale as if tellect in motion, going on forever. Inside the pocket was his FM phone, with intuitively finding the upper registers; there And Amen! instructions, typed because his handwrit- were five-tone scales, twelve-tone, twenty- She leaned on the rock that held the ing was so bad. tone, in measures of seven notes or thir- board. Her knees were weak, and the sweat The helicopter came very soon, just as teen or any number. There was ragtime. was cold on her forehead the and back of he had said it would. And as it lifted them There was atonality. There were 4.33 sec- her neck. She turned slowly to face him. away, its lights like gemstones on the vel- onds of silence. There were blue notes 'And no headache," she said. "Guess you vet cloth — of the sky, Helena Weiss sat in its Doppler-shifted into the red. were It bending right. was just tension. Just open door, playing the last cycle with her around the universe and back. Ouf again Larkin was sitting with his back against fingers bloody, the notes echoing from the went the bridge, bending, stretching, gal- a'boulder. His left leg stuck out, twisted at peaks and in every layer of the air. CO

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The contestants in a game of mind manipulation find they are caught in their own malicious trap CARRION COMFORl BY DAN SIMMONS

N.I ina was going to lake credit tor the death of that Beatle, John. I though! that was in very bad taste. She had her scrapbook laid out on my mahogany coifee table, newspaper clippings neatly ar- ranged in chronological order, the bald statements of death recording all of her Feedings. Nina Drayton's smile was radiant, but her pale-blue eyes showed no hint of warmth.

"We should wait for Willi," I said. "Of course, Melanie. You're right, as always. How silly of me. I know the rules." Nina stood and began walking around the room, idly touching the furnishings or exclaim- ing softly over a ceramic statuette or piece of needlepoint. This part of the house had once been the conservatory,

it but now I used as my sewing room. Green plants still caught the morning light. The light made it a warm, cozy place in the daytime, but now that winter had come the "

room was too chilly to at night. use Nor did have thought he was see ng an aging but States. Quite expensive. And you're right,

I like the sense of darkness closing in attractive niece visiting her favorite aunt. (I it 'is a silly place to keep it. But it's the only against all those panes of glass. draw the line at suggesting I that anyone case have in the house with a lock on it, "I love this house," said Nina. would mistake us for mother and daugh- and Mrs. Hodges often brings her grand- She turned "I — and smiled at me. can't tell ter.) People usually consider me a well- children when she visits

you how much I look forward to coming dressed if not stylish person. Heaven "You mean it's loaded?" to Charleston. back We should hold all of knows I have paid enough to the have wool "No, of course not," I lied. "But children our reunions here." skirts and silk blouses mailed from Scot- not play ..." should with„such things I

I knew how Nina loathed much this city land and France. But next to Nina I've al- trailed off lamely. Nina nodded but did not and this house. ways felt dowdy. bother to conceal the condescension in her

"Willi would I be hurt," said. "You know This day she wore an elegant, lighr-blue smile. She went to look out the south win- how he likes to show off his place in Bev- dress that must have cost several thou- dow into the garden.

. erly Hills —and his new girlfriends." sand dollars. The color made her com- Damn her. It said volumes about Nina 'And boyfriends," Nina said, laughing. plexion seem even more perfect than usual that she did not recognize that pistol. Of all the changes and darkenings in Nina, and brought out the blue of her eyes, Her

her laugh has least affected. It been was hair had gone as gray as mine, but some- On the day he was killed, Charles Edgar still the husky but childish laugh I that had how she managed to get away with wear- Larchmont had been my beau for pre- first heard so long It ago. had drawn me to ing it long and tied back with a single bar- cisely five months and two days. There had her then one lonely, — adolescent girl re- rette. It looked youthful and chic on Nina been no formal announcement, but we sponding lo the warmth of another as a and made me leel that my short, artificial were to be married. Those five months had moth to a flame. Now it served only to chill curls were glowing with a blue rinse. been a microcosm of the era itself— naive, me and put me even more on guard. Few would suspect that I was four years flirtatious, formal to the point of preciosity, Enough moths had been drawn to Nina's younger than Nina. Time had been kind to and romantic. Most of all, romantic. Ro- flame over the many decades. her. And she had Fed more often. mantic in the worst sense of the word: ded-

"I'll send for tea," I said. She set down her cup and saucer and icated to saccharine or insipid ideals that Mr. Thorne brought the tea in my best moved aimlessly around the room again. only an adolescent— or an adolescent so-

Wedgwood china. Nina and I in It sat the was not like Nina to show such signs of ciety—would strive to maintain, We were slowly moving squares of sunlight and nervousness. She stopped in front of the children playing with loaded weapons. spoke softly of nothing important: mutually glass display case. Her gaze passed over Nina, she was Nina Hawkins then, had ignorant comments on the economy, ref- the Hummels and the pewter pieces, and her own beau— a tall, awkward, but well- erences to books that the other had not :her shopped in surprise. meaning Englishman named Roger Har- gotten around to reading, and sympa- "Good heavens, Melanie. A pistol! What rison. Mr. Harrison had met Nina in London thetic murmurs about the low class of per- an odd place to put an old pistol." a year earlier, during the first stages of the sons one meets while flying these days. "It's an heirloom," I said. "A Colt Peace- Hawkinses' Grand Tour. Declaring himself Someone peering in from the garden might maker from right after the War Between the smitten — another absurdity of those times—the tall Englishman had followed her from one European capital to another until, after being firmly reprimanded by

Nina's father fan unimaginative little milli- ner who was constantly on the defensive about his doubtful social status), Harrison returned to London to "settle his affairs." Some months later he showed up in New York just as Nina was being packed off to her aunt's home in Charleston in order to

terminate yet another flirtation. Still un- daunted, the clumsy Englishman followed her south, ever mindful of the protocols and restrictions of the day.

We were a gay group. The day after I met Nina at Cousin Celia's June ball, the four of us were taking a hired boat up the Cooper River for a picnic on Daniel Island. Roger Harrison, serious and solemn on every topic, was a perfect foil for Charles's irreverent sense of humor. Nor did Roger seem to mind the good-natured jesting,

since he was soon joining in the laughter with his peculiar haw-haw-haw.

Nina loved it all. Both gentlemen show- ered attention on .her, and although Charles never failed to show the primacy of his af-

fection for me, it was understood by all that Nina Hawkins was one of those young women who invariably becomes the center of male gallantry and attention in any gath- ering. Nor were the social strata of Charleston blind to the combined charm of our foursome. For two months of that "Your mother and I though! that perhaps you might enjoy piling with your now-distant summer, no party was com- Captain Asteroid Death Ray Pistol outside." plete, no excursion adequately planned, and no occasion considered a success —

unless we four were invited and had cho- both of us — used the Ability to translate the tread of high boots through the grass. sen to attend. Our happy dominance of the the fantasy into reality Someone was calling off the paces. I dimly pistol in youthful social scene was so pronounced In a, sense, it was our first Feeding. recall the weight of the my hand

Charles's hand, I think; I will never know that Cousins Celia and Loraine wheedled I do not remember the purported cause their parents into leaving two weeks early of the quarrel, perhaps some deliberate for sure—and a second of cold clarity be- for their annual August sojourn in Maine. misinterpretation of one of Charles's jokes. fore an explosion broke the connection, and the acrid smell of gunpowder brought me I ar- I recall Charles and Roger I am not sure when Nina and came up cannot who to myself. with the idea of the duel. Perhaps it was ranged to have serve as seconds on that back

It I never during one of the long, hot nights when the illegal outing. I do remember the hurt and was Charles who died. have other "slept over"— creeping into the oth- confused expression on Roger Harrison's been able to forget the incredible quan- small, er's bed, whispering and giggling, stifling face during those few days. It was a cari- tities of blood that poured from the our laughter when the rustling of starched cature of ponderous dullness, the confu- round hole in his breast. His white shirt was uniforms betrayed the presence of our col- sion of a man who finds himself in a situ- crimson by the time I reached him. There ored maids moving through the darkened ation not of his making and from which he had been no blood in our fantasies. Nor of Charles with halls. In any case, the idea was the natural cannot escape. I remember Charles and had there been the sight outgrowth of the romantic pretensions of his mercurial swings of mood—the bouts his head lolling, mouth dribbling saliva onto the time. The picture of Charles and Roger of humor, periods of black anger, and the his bloodied chest while his eyes rolled actually dueling over some abstract point tears and kisses the night before the duel. back to show the whites like two eggs in his skull. of honor relating to us thrilled both of us in I remember with great clarity the beauty embedded Mists floating Roger Harrison was sobbing as Charles a physical way that I recognize now as a of that morning. were up from simple form of sexual titillation. the river and diffusing the rays of the rising breathed his final, shuddering gasps on.

I innocence. It would have been harmless except for sun as we rode out to the dueling field. that field of the Ability. We had been so successful in remember Nina reaching over and I remember nothing at all about the con- our manipulation of male behavior— a ma- squeezing my hand with an impetuous ex- fused hours that followed. The next morn- Charles's nipulation that was both expected and en- citement that was communicated through ing I opened my cloth bag to find

pistol lying with things. would I couraged in those days— that neither ot us my body like an electric shock. my Why If had yet suspected that there was anything Much of the rest of that morning is miss- have kept that revolver? I had wished to beyond the ordinary in the way we could ing. Perhaps in the intensity of that first. take something from my fallen lover as a that alien piece translate our whims into other people's ac- subconscious Feeding, I literally lost con- sign of remembrance, why his fingers tions. The field of parapsychology did not sciousness as I was engulfed in the waves of metal? Why pry from dead symbol of our thoughtless sin? exist then; or rather, it existed only, in the of fear, excitement, pride— of maleness— the rappings and knockings of parlor-game emanating from our two beaus as they It said volumes about Nina that she did seances. At any rate, we amused our- faced death on that lovely morning. I re- not recognize that pistol. selves for several weeks with whispered member experiencing the shock of real- Nina's fantasies, and then one of us— or perhaps izing, this is really happening, as I shared "Willi's here," announced aman- uensis, the loathsome Miss Barrett Kramer. Kramer's appearance was as unisex as her name: short-cropped, black hair, powerful shoulders, and a blank, aggressive gaze

that I associated with lesbians and crimi- nals. She looked to be in her mid-thirties. "Thank you, Barrett dear," said Nina. Both of us went out to greet Willi, but Mr. Thorne had already let him in, and we met in the hallway. "Melanie! You look marvelous! You grow

younger each time I see you. Nina!" The change in Willi's voice was evident. Men continued to be overpowered by their first sight of Nina after an absence. There were hugs and kisses. Willi himself looked more dissolute than ever. His alpaca sport coai was exquisitely tailored, his turtleneck sweater successfully concealed the eroded lines of his wattled neck, but when he swept off his jaunty sports-car cap the long strands of white hair he had brushed for- ward to hide his encroaching baldness were knocked into disarray. Willi's face was flushed with excitement, but there was also the telltale capillary redness about the nose and cheeks that spoke of too much liquor, too many drugs. associ- "Ladies, I think you've met my ates, Tom Luhar and Jenson Reynolds?" Q^^hnM^o^^ The two men added to the crowd in my narrow hall. Mr. Luhar was thin and blond, smiling with perfectly capped teeth. Mr. Reynolds was a gigantic Negro, hulking "Henderson does the most important work. forward with a sullen, bruised look on his

He reads the fine print on our government contracts." coarse face. I was sure that neither Nina

nor I had encountered these specific cat's-

of destruction. paws of Willi's before. It did noi matter. love of pain, the pleasures Willi never referred to his use of the Abil- "Why don't we go into the parlor?" I sug- evidently the only gested. It was an awkward procession ity as Feedings—] was ending with the three of us seated on the one who thought in those terms— but Willi heavily upholstered chairs surrounding the sometimes talked of The Hunt. Perhaps it Georgian tea table that had been my was the dark forests of his homeland that grandmother's. "More tea. please, Mr, he thought of as he stalked his human Thome." Miss Kramer took that as her cue quarry through the sterile streets of Los

forest, I to leave, but Willi's two pawns stood un- Angeles. Did Willi dream of the certainly by the door, shifting from toot to wondered. Did he look back to.green wool foot and glancing at the crystal on display hunting jackets, the applause of retainers. the gouts of blood from the dying boar? as if their mere proximity could break Willi remember the slam of jack- something. I would not have been sur- Or did and the pounding prised if that had proved to be the case. boots on cobblestones 1 "Jense!" Willi snapped his fingers. The of his lieutenants' fists on doors^ Perhaps dark Negro hesitated and then brought forward Willi still associated his Hunt with the Now that you've an expensive leather attache case. Willi set European night of the ovens that he had clicked the catches helped to oversee. it on the tea table and set the world on fire it it Hunt. open with his short, broad fingers. "Why I called Feeding. Willi called The

call it anything. don't you two see Mrs. Fuller's man about I had never heard Nina getting something to drink?" "Where is your VCR?" Willi asked. "I have enjoy some of When they were gone Willi shook his put them all on tape." head and smiled apologetically at Nina. "Oh, Willi," said Nina in an exasperated the warmth. "Sorry about that, Love." tone. "You know Melanie. She's so old Nina put her hand on Willi's sleeve. She fashioned. You know she wouldn't have a leaned forward with an air of expectancy. video player."

"Melanie wouldn't let me begin the Game "I don't even have a television." I said. without you. Wasn't that awful of me to want Nina laughed. to start without ybu, Willi dear?" "Goddamn it," muttered Willi. "It doesn't here." Willi frowned, After fifty years he still bri- matter. I have other records He dled at being called Willi. In Los Angeles snapped rubber bands from around the just he was Big Bill Borden. When he returned small, black notebooks. "It would have to his native Germany—which was not often been better on tape. The Los Angeles sta- because of the dangers involved —he was tions gave much coverage to the Holly-

. in . . once again Wilhelm von Borchert, lord of wood Strangler, and I edited the Ach! dark manor, forest, and hunt. But Nina had Never mind." Willi they had first met, in He tossed the videocassettes into his 1 called him when 1931 in Vienna, and Willi he had remained! briefcase and slammed the lid shut. "You begin, Willi dear," said Nina. "You "Twenty-three," he said. "Twenty-three

It doesn't go first." since we met twelve months ago. seem that long, does it?" I could remember the time when we leaning would have spent the first few days of our "Show us," said Nina. She was very reunion in conversation and catching up forward, and her blue eyes seemed with one another's lives. Now there was not bright. "I've been wondering since I saw even time for small talk. the Strangler interviewed on Sixty Minutes. Willi showed his teeth and removed news He was yours, Willi? He seemed so—" clippings, notebooks, and a stack of cas- "Ja, ja. he was mine. A nobody, A timid settes from his briefcase. No sooner had little man. He was the gardener of a neigh- left alive that the po- he covered the small table with his material bor of mine. I him so than Mr, Thorne arrived with the tea and lice could question him, erase any doubts. Nina's scrapbook from the sewing room. He will hang himself in his ceil next month Willi brusquely cleared a small space. after the press loses interest. But this is slid At first glance one might see certain more interesting, Look at this," Willi similarities between Willi Borchert and Mr. across several glossy black-and-white Thorne. One would be mistaken. Both men photographs. The NBC executive had tended to the florid, but Willi's complexion murdered the five members of his family was the result of excess and emotion; Mr. and drowned a visiting soap-opera ac- Thorne had known neither of these for many tress in his pool. He had then stabbed him- years. Willi's balding was a patchy, self- self repeatedly and written so share in blood consciously concealed thing —a weasel on the wall of the bathhouse. with mange; Mr. Thome's bare head was "Reliving old glories, Willi?" asked Nina. smooth and unwrinkled. One could not "death to the pigs and all that?"

imagine Mr. Thome ever having had hair. "No, goddamn it. I think it should receive Both men had gray eyes—what a novelist points for irony. The girl had been sched- would call cold, gray eyes— but Mr. uled to drown on the program. It was al- Thome's eyes were cold with indifference, ready in the script outline." cold with a clarity coming from an absolute "Was he hard to Use?" It was my ques- curious despite myself. absence of troublesome emotion or tion. I was thought.—Willi's eyes were the cold of a Willi lifted one eyebrow. "Not really. He blustery North Sea winter and were often was an alcoholic and heavily into cocaine. left, he hated his clouded with shifting curtains of the emo- There was not much And There's only one Sumbueo Romano tions that controlled him— pride, hatred, family. Most people do."- "

"Most people in California, perhaps," It could have been an accident." let us see your claims, Nina." His voice said Nina primly. It was an odd comment "Don't be ridiculous," snapped Willi. He was flat and empty. Even Willi had lost some from Nina. Years her father ago had com- turned toward me. "'This one was very hard interest in the Game. mitted suicide by throwing himself in front to Use.'Very strong. I blocked his memory Before Nina could begin, Mr. Thorne en- of a trolley car. of turning on the gas. Had to hold it away tered and motioned that dinner was served. "Where did you make contact?" I asked. for two hours. Then forced him into the We adjourned to the dining room—Willi "A party. The usual place. He bough! the room. He struggled not to strike the match." pouring himself another glass of bourbon coke from a director who had ruined one "You should have had him his — use and Nina fluttering her hands in mock frus- of my lighter," said Nina. tration at the interruption of the Game. Once "Did you have to repeat the contact?" "He didn't smoke," growled Willie "He seated at the long, mahogany table, I

Willi frowned at me. kept his it He anger gave up last year." worked at being a hostess. From decades under control, but his face grew redder. "Yes," smiled Nina. "I seem to remem- of tradition, talk of the Game was banned

"Ja, ja. I saw him twice more. Once I just ber him saying that to Johnny Carson." I from the dinner table. Over soup we dis- watched from my car as he played tennis." could not tell whether Nina was jesting. cussed Willi's new movie and the pur- "Points for irony," said Nina. "But you The three of us went through the ritual chase of another store for Nina's line of lose points for repeated contact. If he were of assigning points. Nina did most of the boutiques. It seemed that Nina's monthly as empty as you say, you should have been talking. Willi went from being sullen to ex- column in Vogue was to be discontinued able to Use him after only one touch. What pansive to sullen again. At one point he but that a newspaper syndicate was inter- else do you have?" reached over and patted my knee as he ested in picking it up. He had his usual assortment. Pathetic laughingly asked for my support. I said Both of my guests exclaimed over the skid-row murders. Two domestic slayings. nothing. Finally he gave up, crossed the perfection of the baked ham, but I thought A highway collision that turned into a fatal parlor to the liquor cabinet, and poured that Mr. Thorne had made the gravy a trifle shooting. "I was in the crowd," said Willi, a tall himself glass of bourbon from father's too sweet. Darkness had filled the win- "I made contact. He had a gun in the glove decanter. The evening light was sending dows before we finished our chocolate compartment." its final, horizontal rays through the stained- mousse. The refracted light from the chan- "Two points," said Nina. glass panels of the bay windows, and it delier made Nina's hair dance with high- Willi had saved a good one for last. A cast a red on Willi hue as he stood next to lights while I feared that mine glowed more once-famous child star had suffered a. bi- the oak cupboard. His eyes were small, bluely than ever. zarre accident. He left had his Bel Air red embers in a bloody mask. Suddenly there was a sound from the apartment it while filled with gas and then "Forty-one," said Nina at last. kitchen. The huge Negro's face appeared returned to light a match. Two others had She looked up brightly and showed the at the swinging door. His shoulder was died in the ensuing fire. calculator as if it verified some objective hunched against white hands and his "You get credit only for him," said Nina. fact.'"l count forty-one points. What do you expression was that of a querulous child. "Jaja." have, Melanie?" "... the hell you think we are sittin' here 'Are you absolutely sure about this one? — "Ja/ interrupted Willi. "That is fine. Now like goddamned " The white hands pulled him out of sight. "Excuse me, ladies." Willi dabbed linen

at his lips and stood up. He still moved

gracefully for all of his years. Nina poked at her chocolate. There was one sharp, barked command from the

kitchen and the sound of a slap. It was the slap of a man's hand— hard and flat as a

small-caliber-rifle shot. I looked up and Mr. Thorne was at my elbow, clearing away the dessert dishes.

"Coffee, please, Mr. Thorne. For all of us." He nodded and his smile was gentle.

Franz Anton Mesmer had known of it

if even he had not understood it. I suspect that Mesmer must have had some small touch of the Ability. Modern pseudosci-

ences have studied it and renamed it, re- moved most of its power, confused its uses

and origins, but it remains the shadow of what Mesmer discovered. They have no

idea of what it is like to Feed.

I despair at the rise of modern violence.

I truly give in to despair at times, that deep, futureless pit of despair that poet Gerard

Manley Hopkins called carrion comfort. I watch the American slaughterhouse, the casual attacks on popes, presidents, and

uncounted others, and I wonder whether there are many more out there with the Ability or whether butchery has simply be-

come the modern way of life. Ail humans feed on violence, on the small exercises of power over another. But few have tasted— as we have— the ultimate power. And without the Ability, few know " "

the unequaled pleasure of taking a human war and the nightly televised body counts tainly a sign of weakening Ability. Nina did life. Without the Ability, even those do ended, who they demanded more, more, and not appear to have noticed. feed on life cannot savor the flow of emo- the movie screens and streets of this sweet "I have them all in order," said Nina. She tions in stalker and victim, the total exhil- and dying nation have provided it in me- opened the scrapbook on the now-empty aration ot the attacker who has moved be- diocre, mob abundance. It is an addiction tea table. Willi went through them carefully, yond all rules and punishments, the I know well. sometimes asking a question, more often strange, almost sexual submission of the They miss the point. Merely observed, grunting assent. I murmured occasional victim in that final second of truth when all violent death is a sad and sullied tapestry agreement although 1 had heard of none options are canceled, all futures denied, of confusion. But to those of us who have of them. Except for the Beatle, of course. all possibilities erased in an exercise of ab- Fed, death can be a sacrament. Nina saved that for near the end. solute power over another. "Good God, Nina, that was you?" Willi

I despair at modern violence. I despair "My turn! My turn!" Nina's voice still re- seemed near anger. Nina's Feedings had at the impersonal nature of it and the cas- sembled that of the visiting belle who had always run to Park- Avenue suicides and ual quality that has made it accessible to just filled her dance card at Cousin Celia's matrimonial disagreements ending in shots so many. 1 television had a set until I sold June ball. fired from expensive, small-caliber ladies' it atthe height of the Vietnam War. Those We had returned to the parlor. Willi had guns. This type of thing was more in Willi's sanitized snippets of death— made distant finished his colfee and requested a brandy crude style. Perhaps he felt that his terri- by the camera's lens—meant nothing to from Mr,' Thorne, I was embarrassed for tory being was . invaded, "I mean . , you tne. But I believe it meant something to Willi. To have one's closest associates show were risking lot, weren't a you? It's so . . . these cattle that surround me. When the any hint of unplanned behavior cer- it . was damn . . so public." Mina laughed and set down the calcu-

lator, "Willi dear, that's what the Game is

about, is it not?" Willi strode to the liquor cabinet and re- filled his brandy snifter, The wind tossed bare branches against the leaded glass of

the bay window. I do not like winter. Even in the South it takes its toll on the spirit. "Didn't this , . . . . guy what's his name . buy the gun in Hawaii or someplace'" asked Willi from across the room. "That like sounds his initiative to me. I mean, if he was already stalking the fellow— "Willi dear," Nina's voice had gone as cold as the wind that raked the branches, "no one said he was stable. How many of yours are stable, Willi? But I made it hap-

pen, da/ling. I chose the place and the time. Don't you see the irony of the place, Willi? After that little prank on the director of that

witchcraft movie a few years ago? It was straight from the script— "I don't know," said Wilii. He sat heavily on the divan, spilling brandy on his expen- sive sport coat. He did not notice, The lamplight reflected from his bafding skull. The mottles of age were more visible at

night, and his neck, where it disappeared into his turtleneck, was all ropes and ten- dons. "I don't know." He looked up at me

and smiled suddenly, as if we shared a conspiracy. "It could be like that writer fel-

low, eh, Melanie? It could be like that." Nina looked down at the. hands on her lap. They were clenched and the well- manicured fingers were white at the tips.

The Mind Vampires. That's what the writer was going to call his book.

sometimes wonder if he really would have written anything. What was his name? Somefhing Russian.

Willi and I received telegrams from Nina; COME QUICKLY. YOU ARE NEEDED. That Was

enough. I was on the next morning's flight to New York. The plane was a noisy, pro- peller-driven Constellation, and I spent much of the flight assuring the overly so- licitous stewardess that I needed nothing,

that, indeed, I felt fine. She obviously had

decided that I was someone's grand-

mother, who was flying for the first time. CONTINUED ON PAGE 158 SOVIET PLANE COMT::\„Q: FHOIv' HAG = '£ a woman in orbit to tend equipment and to exploit what happens there— may be the most important service the shuttle pro- vides tor the future." He explicitly pointed to the development of the Soviet shuttle as proof that they, too are convinced of the value of such services. This flurry ot new data on "Soviet space- shuttle programs" that became public early in 1983 did not really solve any of the mys- teries, however. Even the first hard evi- dence for a Soviet shuttle from the Indian Ocean test reflected nothing more than a technology mastered in the mid-Sixties by

American space engineers. It seems likely that the Russians will need several years to produce a full-scale manned version ready for testing. At that rate, the vehicle could hardly be- come operational much before 1990. And it is difficul! to imagine any manned orbital missions for a 1990 space plane that couldn't be conducted now by the already available Soyuz-T.

The Soyuz-T is a three-man spacecraft based on the structure of the classic Soyuz but outfitted with entirely new equipment.

It began operations in 1981 after an ex- pensive five-year test program. The ex- pense will have to be amortized overyears of use— another reason Western observ- ers tend to doubt the imminence of a new' Soviet manned space vehicle, As for the giant shuttle described by the Pentagon and buttressed by "leaks" of spy- satellite imagery, its purpose is even more questionable than that of the Indian Ocean craft. Perhaps one disturbing answer can be found in Moscow's propaganda blitz against the American space-shuttle pro- gram. Sovie! news broadcasts consist- ently portray the NASA spaceships as car- riers of weapons (including H-bombs), weapons platforms, satellite interceptors. and "space pirates" out to kidnap peace-

ful Soviet scientific satellites. Conceivably, Soviet leaders believe this

doctrine, or Soviet military planners fear it.

In either case, they- might decide to create their own system as a counterbalance, whatever the cost.

If the Soviets are indeed building such vehicles for this reason, they have allowed gross misperceptions of U.S. intentions and capabilities in space to foster a potentially wasteful technological detour. The project could actually damage any of the really valuable Soviet programs, such as their

permanent space station. It could even help bring about in reality the scenario the Soviets just imagine at present: armed and highly maneuverable space shuttles on combat missions in orbit. We can only hope that the code name AlbatroswiW prove to be close to the mark: that the Soviet space shuttle, in whatever

manifestation it finally takes, hovers peaceably aloft, threatening ho harm. DO hearsed these visualizations enough times, ers massage the athlete's back muscles. ruiiruD the imagery of success will eventually The lights begin dimming, and a soothing overcome the imagery of failure." voice fills the room: "Relax, you are going CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22 In addition, Ogilvie says, the sports psy- on a journey." For the next half-hour, a hyp- ballplayers are a healthy population "full of chologist tries to cultivate a player's "lan- notherapeutic tape of Hoefling's voice leads strong, determined, independent people." guage of success"— the way he speaks to the athlete through relaxation exercises, Nevertheless, because the players face himself when he is in command of a situ- words of encouragement, and such sub- incredible stress, including constant pub- ation. When a pitcher who gives up a few liminal instructions as,-"l will keep control." lic scrutiny and the possibility of a sudden, hits keeps saying to himself, "I'm screwing Hoefling has a personalized tapelor each early end to their careers", they can often up again, the manager's going to pull me player who uses the chamber, and he use professional help. any minute," it's liable to become a self- changes the messages according to the To find fulfilling out just what strategies- to use, prophecy. The psychologist gets player's needs. If a player has been down- Ogilvie and his contemporaries generally the player to look at his hand and say such ing a few too many drinks lately, for ex- begin by giving a subject two or three psy- things as, "You beautiful son of a bitch, ample, Hoefling may sneak in a subliminal profiles, chometric tests that yield insights you're gonna make me a million dollars." message, such as, 'Alcohol is bad for my into a player's particular psychological Though many of the teams in baseball body," to help him break the habit. As the needs. Once the tests are completed, the have dabbled in psychological techniques tape ends, the lights slowly brighten, sim- psychologist holds a one- to two-hour in- of one kind or another, the Philadelphia ulating dawn on the picture of the ocean. terview with the player. For those with se- Phillies may be the first to wholeheartedly The athlete usually emerges feeling re- rious problems, Ogilvie likes to conduct embrace them. In addition to referring laxed, positive, alert, and in the best pos- what he calls a "minimarathon"—an ex- troubled players to New Jersey psychia- sible mood for a day of long, hard work. tended one-on-one encounter. During this trist Tom McGinnis, the team also has ac- Several Phillies sing Hoefling's praises, 10- or 15-hour session Ogilvie probes re- cess to a couple of very effective psych- but none sing louder than the usually tac- lentlessly for the secret causes of the man's ological weapons right in the clubhouse. iturn Steve Carlton, whom many consider anxieties; often enough, he finds his an- to be the greatest living pitcher. When swers in obvious, startling bursts of reve- Carlton came to the Phillies, in the early lation. Toward the end of one marathon, an Seventies, he had a respectable lifetime athlete who had plummeted, seemingly on winning percentage of .556, but he had yet purpose, from the top of his profession, to realize his full potential. Since giving suddenly cried, "Daddy, why don't you love

Meteorologist Bill The saucer-inves- Hele was cruising the tigation squad also Taconic State Park- came up with some bizarre contradic- way in Westchester County, New York, tions. Simultaneous when he saw a sightings in lowns check- mark-shaped miles apart sug- the object with six pris- gested lhan ob- matic lights. The row of more one ject. hundreds of of multicolored lights And Con- blinked off for a mo- sightings in five ment, Hele recalls, necticut towns a after the West- then shifted to bril- month chester incidents in- liant green, The whir- ring form was almost dicated a possible 1,000 yards across, hoax. Witnesses he adds, and hov- there described en- gine sounds and ma- ered 1 ,000 feet in the that could air. Two or three min- neuvers have been per- utes later it gradually forma- drifted to the north formed by a planes and out of view. tion of small So began the most trying to mimic the spectacular display original open V. Such reports, in fact, con- of UFOs In the history vinced one local Fed- of New York State, UPDFtTE UFD eral Aviation Admin- and possibly the na- of top-notch pilots flying out tion. On three consecutive Thursday nights as well as a istration official that a group couple of Friday and Saturday nights, from March 17 of the tiny Stormville airport, in Dutchess County, New York, manufactured the glowing UFO. through March 31, 1983, hundreds of people ' around had Westchester reported a boomerang-shaped object that But Imbrogno disagrees. "Single-engine planes," he hovered soundlessly and shot dazzling rays of light. says, "cannot hover soundlessly, make ninety-degree of lights." Within days of the first sighting, accounts were ap- turns, or shoot down dazzling beams un- pearing in newspapers throughout the country: And the As for Hynek, he says the case is one of Ihe most mounting reports soon reached Phil Imbrogno, a West- usual he's ever seen. "Most UFO sightings occur on lonely chester science teacher and field investigator with the back roads in places like Oklahoma," he notes. "But this Center for UFO Studies, based in Evanston, Illinois. Im- UFO was seen in a relatively urban area over a number brogno, colnvestigator George Lesnick, and J. Allen Hy- of days, with a broad spectrum of witnesses." nek, director of the center, quickly launched an in-depth Well-known UFO critic and aerospace journalist Philip investigation, interviewing witnesses and cross-matching Klass also ventured an opinion: "I've been investigating for seventeen years," he commented, "and data with an Apple II computer. Doctors, lawyers, nurses, UFO reports heads of corporations, and housewives, the team found, have yet to find an indication of an unknown or extrater-

It take lot to convince me, all gave descriptions that matched Hele's. Even a group restrial phenomenon. would a seventeen years of striking Metro-North trainmen were startled to see the but it could be that for the first time in spectacular lights over their picket line in Brewster. this is an unexplainable case."—TONIA SHOUMATOFF "

pathetic psychologists, theologists. and spiritualists to assist Its patients, And in just three years, the group While meditating, a young has grown from a phone woman recalls being en- line in Big Sur to a 24-hour tombed alive during a referral service, with on- previous life. This sudden call counselors in 32 coun- jarring of her subconscious tries. Workers are currently mind has triggered mood organizing retreats for swings ranging from long-term care

depression to hysteria. "If understood and treated Most psychiatrists would as difficult, confusing, or label her psychotic, recom- dramatic stages in a natural who examined the frozen mending a hospital stay, developmental process,' mammoth tissue, however, drugs, or both. But accord- says counselor Peggy time Nexl you visit Siberia, cast doubt on such plans. ing to Stanislav Grot, M.D., Goodale, "these experi- you might be offered some Paleontologist David Webb, resident scholar at Califor- ences can be regarded as exotic culinary fare: mam- of the Florida State Museum nia's Esalen Institute, such a transformative and evolu- moth meal, roasted or fried. in Gainesville, for instance, diagnosis would be a grave tionary; they don't have to The mammoth, that hairy found the flesh was poorly mistake. The young woman, be dark nights of the soul." ancestor ol today's ele- preserved. "By and large," he says, Is actually In the SEN asks troubled ESPers phant, has been presumed Webb said, "the specimens midst of a "spiritual emer- and past-lifers, as well as extinct for of thousands were about fifty percent gency," a frequent conse- potential counselors, to Call years, But people have re- sludge and fifty percent real quence of death and rebirth, the network at (408) 667- portedly eaten the animal's cells, and the chance of past-life recall, and ESP 2151—Sandra Hansen frozen remains for centu- cloning them is pretty slim To provide the stricken ries. During the Twenties with today's technology." with appropriate care. Grot "For whatever a man may tourists visiting Siberia Eating the disintegrating and his wife, Christina, do, he does it in order to claimed they feasted on flesh may not be too good have recently founded the annihilate time, in order to mammoth flesh. It's been idea, an either. Geologist Spiritual Emergency Net- revoke it. and that revocation that rumored Russian scien- Robert M Thorson, of the work (SEN). The network is called space. tists occasionally gather University of Alaska, in -Hermann Broch for "mammoth banquets." Fairbanks, is presently ex- And just recently a group of cavating a local, partially Soviet construction workers preserved mammoth, caused a stir among paleon- Though he hasn't had the tologists by preparing chance to taste mammoth mammoth meat for meat, he did sample the Iheir dogs. flesh of a bison found In The issue came to a head permafrost sediments some last year at a Helsinki sym- 30,000 years old. "The

posium on mammoth tissue. piece I ate tasted pretty Some researchers sug- bad," Thorson says. Col- gested that mammoth may leagues who ate mammoth still be roaming the Siberian meat also found the quality plairs. And zoologist Niko- left a lot to be desired, lai Vereschchagin, of the he adds. But at least no- Soviet Academy of Sci- body's gotten sick. ences, even proposed clon- — Rick Boling ing a new mammoth herd from a few frozen cells "All history repeats Itself." American researchers —Erich von Daniken I4B OMNI "

school principal Sam Lucas put the issue to a vote lasi Most high schools have a spring. The student body mascot— usually a panther, decided by a 98 percent a tiger, or a knight—dis- margin to keep the demon, played on football heimets. much to the relief of school athletic jackets, and class officials. (II would have rings Out at Chnstiansburg cost the school system High School, in Christians- some $30,000 to replace burg, Virginia, the mascot is the demon logo on rings. a bit more diabolical: a uniforms, and more.) blue demon, complete with "Unfortunately, the stu- horns, goatee, (lowing dents thought we were cape, and pitchfork criticizing them." Kitts notes. The Chnstiansburg Blue "But I'm not saying that hills where some of the there is-.anything satanical heaviest battles took place," he explains. "So it's not Each winter hundreds of unreasonable that the vul- vultures descend on the tures could have been cannons and monuments of attracted to the bodies: they Gettysburg National Military might have scavenged the Park The carnon-eating horse carcasses, stayed birds— labeled by myth and on for the winter, and then history as sentinels of gotten into the habit of death— roost amid the coming here. The vultures grapevines^ and their drop- could also be drawn by pings cover the ground the region's vegetation or like a heavy dusting of snow by the prominent slope Black vultures and turkey of its hills." vultures, says park resource Greenlee is currently specialist Harold J. Green- working with students and lee, have been visiting professors from Virginia the Pennsylvania site for at Polytechnic Institute and least a century But now Pennsylvania State Univer- Greenlee and colleagues sity to study the vultures' on T-shirts and in a 12- about them I'm saying have launched a study habitat, as well as their fodt-high painting in the the demon is real. We are to find out why. The group's migration and feeding pat- school .gym for decades. supposed to be In a battle prime theory: The birds terns. The group also plans But now a group called with him, not a partner were attracted to the area to scour the extensive

Parents Against Demons is with him And I'm still deter- on July 1, 1863. after the written history of the Civil trying to get that changed. mined to do away with the start of one of the bloodiest War for mention of the grim "Demons are real," explains mascot." battles of the Civil War. Gettysburg scavengers. mother and group founder Reporter Ray Cox, who After three days of fight- "We want to explain to the Diane Kitts. 'And they do first broke the story In ing, says Greenlee, Plum public," says Greenlee, evil things m the world. the Roanoke News adds: "I Run, a small stream that "why nine hundred vultures roost in I don't want ny think people were upset flows through the battlefield, continue to a na- kids cheering the devil." because the devil was the ran red with blood Nearly tional park."— Sherry Baker Kitts, who attended symbol of a school named 50,000 men lay slaughtered Chnstiansburg High School Chnstiansburg. But the or dying. And thousands "You can't blow dust away herself, took petitions to truth is, the town was named ol dead horses covered the without making a tot of area churches, collecting for some' man named Chris- ground for months. "The people cough. 500 signatures against tian, not the religion." birds roost on Little Round —Prince Philip, the symbol. As a result, —Sherry Baker Top and Big Round Top, Duke of Edinburgh Clancarty, an official of whose new book The [he British House of Lords, Aquatic Ape was recently the book has also been published in the United

responsible for the first UFO States by Stein and Day. If

Investigation Committee In that v 2 thee s, the British history. "Let's face lion and the hyena would it," says the earl, the com- surely have lost their hair as mittee's president, "every- well Instead, she contends, thing can't be explained. man lost his hair for the

Like this Alternative 003 If same reason the whale and it's not a hoax, it's probably the dolphin lost theirs:

the most horrible conspir- "Because if any fairly large acy since the Third Reich." aquatic mammal needs

Peter Rondlnone to keep warm in water, It is better served by a layer I— ' that Her of fat on the inside ol its skin > eminent than by a layer of hair on

". .".// people of what the outside of it."

they know about UFOs? I Speech would not have ime our people emerged as an aid to the were told the truth." hunt, either, Morgan contin- —Brmsley Le Poer Trench, ues, adding that primitive Earl of Clancarty tribes surviving today hunt In silence despite their rich iice stafis- heritage of language. More tersons— likely, speech became es- Are the The remarkable features sential toprotcman when the ' the Soviet Union I he iha; set humankind apart need to swim and dive cut ing people, then sending 'hen he trorn the apes can be ex- down on eye-to-eye contact, them off to Mars? Yes, an interview with plained by a watery detour making facial expressions according to the book Alter- imaginary astronaut Bob along the course of evolu- difficult to read.

native 003. The kidnapped Grodln, who supposedly tion Thai, at least, is the Morgan also notes that zombies, the book explains, walked on the moon and opinion of British author while human tears distin- 1 are building a Martian saw "space prisons ' for Elaine Morgan, who says guish our species as "the retreat for geniuses hand- caplives en route to Mars. that somewhere between weeping primate," seals and picked to create a master At one point In the interview, 3 5 million and 9 million other sea mammals cry race and rule the universe. in (act, Grbdin claimed years ago, our ancestors as well. "If we view man as Once the colonies are that the space shuttle was took to the oceans and a land animal," she says, built, the zombies really designed to transport there began a long series of "he is unique and inexplica- will be deslroyed- "human cattle," aquatic adaptations. When ble, if we view him as an

Altemative 003 is only a "But l never imagined they reemerged to live ex-aquatic, he is conforming joke, of course; It was people would take this stulf on land, their bodies were to the general pattern," published on April Fools' seriously," says Watkins already "naked" compared In the absence of fossil Day oi 1977, by Avon But "Since its release, the book to other apes; and their evidence for the missing despite the book's ob- has been translated into hind legs, grown long and link, contends Morgan, the viously outlandish claims, it several languages, including strong from eons of swim- aquatic theory makesas has convinced and terrified Iranian. I've gotten hundreds ming, were ready to assume much sense as other argu- readers around the world. of letters from people con- all the work of walking. ments formulated to fill To make his book believ- vinced their missing friend Man did not lose his hair the gap.—Dava Sobel able, author Leslie Watkins or wife is on Mars. One man because of the need to admits, he mixed fiction ms he talked to run while hunting in the with a twisted version oi the Bob Grodins sweltering heat ot the open truth. For instance, he According to the Earl of argues Morgan, 151) OMNI feeling no pain but still remained upright. cerning the tournament and a slight cold, MAN-riOUNTAIN Mounds of food were being consumed. A shook hands, bowed, and went out into the businessman tried to grab-ass a waitress. lobby, where the hostess valiantly brought This was going to become every bit as him his shoes and overcoat. He wanted to won more than nine matches ever beat an nasty as all such parties. help her, but she reshouldered the coat opponent who has lost seven. That had 'A song! A song!" yelled the head of the grimly and brought it to him. been the case with Takanaka. Eight was fan club, a businessman in his sixties. "Who He handed her a tip and signed the au- the number of wins needed to maintain will favor us with a song?" tograph she asked for. current ranking.) Man-Mountain Gentian got to his feet, It had begun to snow outside. The neon

"I could feel him going," said Pekowski, went over to the musicians. He talked with made the sky a swirling, multicolored in Polish. "I think we shouid talk to him about the samisen player. Then he stood facing smudge. Man-Mountain Gentian walked the May tournament." his drunk, attentive audience. through the guickly emptying streets. Even "Have you mentioned this to his stable- How many of these parties had he been the ever-present taxis scurried from the master?" to in his career? Two, three hundred? Al- snow like roaches from a light. His home "I thought of doing so after the tourna- ways the same, drunkenness, discord, was only two kilometers away. He liked the ment. I was hoping you could come with braggadocio on the part of the host clubs. stillness of the falling snow, the quietness me lo see him." Some fans really loved the sport, some of the city in times such as these.

"I'll be just another retired wrestler by lived vicariously through it. He would not "Shelter for a stormy night?" asked a then." miss the parties. But as the player began ragged old man on a corner. Man-Moun-

"Takanaka respects you above all the the tune he realized this might be the last tain Gentian stopped. others. Your dampatsu-shiki ceremony party he would have to face. "Change for shelter for an old man?" won't be for another two weeks. They won't He began to sing: asked the beggar again, looking very far have cut off all your hair yet. And while "I met my lover by still Lake Biwa up at Gentian's face. ." we're at it, I still wish you would change justbeforeTaira war banners flew. . Man-Mountain Gentian reached in his your nind," And so on through all six verses, in a pocket and took out three or four small,

"Perhaps I could be Takanaka's dew clear, pure voice belonging to a man half ornate paper envelopes that had been sweeper and carry his ceremonial cloth for his size. thrust on him as he left the club.

him when he enters his last tournament. I They stood and applauded him, some The old man took them, opened one. would be honored." of the wrestlers in the stable looking away, Then another and another. "Good! You'll come with me then, Friday as only they, not even the stablemaster, "There must be more than eight hundred knew of his retirement plans and what this thousand yen here," he said, very quietly "Yes." party probably meant, and very slowly.

The hosts were much drunker than the - He went to the stablemaster, who took "I suggest either the Imperial or the Hil- wrestlers. Nayakano the stablemaster was him to the club host, made apologies con- ton." said Mar-Mo..in:;iin Gsrlian, then the

152 OMNI '

wrestler turned and walked away, The old man laughed, then straightened himself with dignity, stepped to the curb, and imperiously summoned an approach- ing pedicab.

Melissa was not home. He turned on the entry light as he took off his shoes. He passed through the sparsely furnished, low living room, turned off Ihe light at the other switch. He went to the bathroom, put'depilaiory

gel on his face, wiped it off. He went to the kitchen, picked up half a

ham, and ate it, washing it down with three liters of milk. He returned to the bathroom, brushed his teeth, went to the bedroom, unrolled his futon, and placed his cinder

block at the head of it. He punched a button on the hidden tape deck, and an old recording of Kimio Eto playing "Rukodan" on ihe koto quietly filled the house. The only decoration in the sleeping room was Shuncho's print The Strongest and Ihe Most Fair, showing a theater- district beauty

and a sumotori three times her size; it was hanging on the far wall.

He turned off the light. Instantly the sil- houettes of falling snowflakes showed through the paper walls of the house, cast by the strong streetlight outside. He watched the snowflakes fall as he listened to the music, and he was filled with mono no aware for the transience of beauty in the world. Second To Man-Mountain Gentian pulled up the puffed cotton covers, put his head on the One. building block, and drifted off to. sleep.

They had let Hari off at his house. The interior of the runabout was warm. They Diamond Collection: were drinking coffee, in the near-empty parking lot of Tokyo Sonic #113. "I read somewhere you were an archi- The RX-735, Mitsubishi's Electronic-Tune in-clash Car Stereo tect," said Killer Kudzu. that's rivaled only by its mentor-the CZ-747. "Barely," said Melissa. The RX-735 is a collaboration of state-of-the-art features, "Would you like to see Kudzu House?" he asked. sizzling audio performance, and reliability that is undeniably Mitsubishi. For an architect, it was like being asked to one of Frank Lloyd Wright's vacation Our latest addition to the Diamond Collection has a universal homes or one of the birdlike buildings de- chassis and features Quartz PLL frequency-synthesized tun- signed by Eero Saahnen in the later twen- ing. The Electronic Memory enables programming of 6 FM tieth century. Melissa considered. and 6 AM stations. Or touch a button and the RX-735 auto- "I should call home first," she said after matically scans to the next station. a moment. Performance includes 16 watts of clean, crisp, power. "I think your husband will still be at the Mitsubishi's unique "Pinch-Off" auto-reverse cassette mech- Nue Vue Club, whooping it up with the money men." anism, Digital clock and frequency display. Loudness control for plenty of bass boost at low levels, and of course, faderand "You're probably right. I'll call him later. I'd love to see your house." balance controls for four speaker systems. Mitsubishi's RX-735 also has an additional feature many

The old man lay dying on his bed. manufacturers rarely talk about, it's affordability. "I see you finally heard," he said. His The RX-735 is unquestionably Mitsubishi. voice was tired. And it's only second to one. Man-Mountain Gentian had not seen him A in seven years. He had always been old, fMITSUBISHP but he had never looked this old, this weak. Dr. Wu had. been his mentor. He had ^mCAR AUDIO Diamond Collection: RX-735. started him on the path toward Zen-sume

(though he did not know it at the time). Dr. Wu had not been one of those cryptic koan- spouting quiet men. He had been boister- "The novice Itsu went lo the Master and Kudzu was a vine, originally trans- ous, laughing, playing with his pupils, yell- asked him, 'Master, what is the key to all planted from China, raised in Japan for ing at thern, whatever was needed to get enlightenment?' centuries. Its crushed root was used as a " them to see. 'You must teach yourself never to think starch base in cooking; its leaves were

There had been the occasional letter of the white horse,' said the Master. used tor teas and medicines; its fibers, to from him. Now, tor the first time, there was "Itsu applied himself with all his being. make cloth and paper.

a call in the middle of the night. One day while raking gravel, he achieved What kudzu was most famous for was its "I'm sorry," said Man-Mountain Gentian. insight. ability to grow over and cover anything that " "It's snowing outside." 'Master! Master!' yelled Itsu, running didn't move out of its way. 'At your house, too?" asked Dr. Wu. to the Master's quarters. 'Master, I have In the Depression Thirties of the last

Wu's attendant was dressed in Buddhist made myself not think about the white century, it had been planted on road cuts

1 ' robes and seemingly paid no attention to horse! in the southeastern United States to stop either of them. " 'Quick!' said the Master. 'When you erosion, Kudzu had almost stopped prog-

"Is there anything I can do for you?" were not thinking of the horse, where was ress there. In those ideal conditions it grew

asked Man-Mountain Gentian. Itsu?' runners more than twenty meters long in a

"Physically, no. This is nothing a pain shift "The novice could make no answer. single summer, several to a root. Its vines can help. Emotionally, there is." "The Master dealt Itsu a smart blow with climbed utility poles, hills, trees. It com- "What?" his staff. pletely covered other vegetation, cutting

"You can win tomorrow, though I won't "At this, Itsu was enlightened." off its sunlight. be around to share it." Then Dr. Wu let his head back down on Many places in the American south were Man-Mountain Gentian was quiet a mo- his bed. covered three kilometers wide to each side

ment. "I'm not sure I can promise you that." "Good-bye," he said. of the highways with kudzu vines. The Great "I didn't think so. You are forgetting the In his bed in the lamasery in Tibet, Dr. Kudzu Forest of central Georgia was a U.S. kitten and the bowl of milk." Wu let out a ragged breath and died. national park. all. "No. Not at I think I've finally come Man-Mountain Gentian, standing in his In the bleaker conditions of Japan the up against something new and strong in bedroom in Tokyo, began to cry. weed could be kept under control. Except

the world. I will lose. either win or Either that this owner didn't want it to. The lights

way, I will retire." Kudzu House took up a city block in the playing into the snowy sky were part of the "If it did not mean anything to you, you middle of Tokyo. The taxes alone must have heating and watering system that kept could have lost by now," said Dr. Wu. been enormous. vines growing year-round. All this Melissa

Man-Mountain Gentian was quiet again. Through the decreasing snow, Melissa had read. Seeing it was something again. Wu shifted uneasily on his pillows. "Well, saw the tights Their beams stabbed up The entire block was a green tangle of vines there is not much time. Lean close. Listen into the night. All that she could see from and lights. carefully to what I have to say. a block away was the tangled kudzu. "Do you ever trim it?" she asked. ooL-.sibie "The traffic keeps it back," said Killer "It is somelir"c;; to oo more than Kudzu, and he laughed. "I have gardeners win," he said. "I'll tell my husband." who come in and fight it once a week. What's They're losing." "My offer is always open," he said. He They went into the green tunnel of a reached over and opened her door on the driveway, Melissa saw the edge of the runabout. "Life won't be the same after he's

.. house, cast concrete, as they dropped into .. ^ift°rhf rrtimriiMM—mmm aBuatvNail? the sunken vehicle area. She climbed 0..1: shading 70-n more mar There were three boats, iour road vehi- the cold. He closed the door, whipped the cles, a Hovercraft, and a small sport flyer vehicle in a circle, and was gone down the parked there. crunching street. He blinked his lights once Lights shone up into a dense green roof before he drove out of sight. from which hundreds of vines grew down- ward toward the light sources. She found her husband in the kitchen. "We have to move the spotlights every His eyes were red, he was as pale as she week," he said. had ever seen him, A butler met them at the door, 'Just a "Dr., Wu is dead," he said, and wrapped tour, Mord," said Killer Kudzu. "We'll have his huge arms around her, covering her drinks in the sitting room in thirty minutes." like an upright sofa. "Very good, sir." He began to cry again, She talked to hin "This way." quietly. Melissa went to a railing. The living area "Come to bed. Let's try to get some or the lobby sleep," she said. was the size of a bowling alley, a) the thing that made

I of a terrible old hotel. "No. I couldn't rest. wanted to see you Dr. Tetanus famous. The balcony on the. second level jutted first. I'm going down to the stable." She out from the east wall. Killer Kudzu went to helped him dress in his warmest clothing. a console, punched buttons, He kissed, her and left, walking the few and the Meanies boomed from blocks through the snowy sidewalks to the n^ Moe dozens of speakers. training building. Killer Kudzu stood snapping his fingers The junior wrestlers were awakened a! for a moment. "Oh, send me! Honorable four a,m They were to begin the day's work cats!" he said. "That's from Spike Jones, ot sweeping, cleaning, cooking, bathing, an irreverent American musician of the last . feeding, and catering to the senior wres- century. He died of cancer," he added. tlers. When they came in they found him, Melissa followed him. noticing the things stripped to his mawashi, at the three-- everyone noticed—the'Chrome Room, the hundred-kilo push bag. pushing, pushing; Supercharger Inhalorium. the archery straining, crying all the while, not saying a

- range ("the object is not to- hit the targets," - word. The floor of the arena was torn and said Kudzu), the Mososaur Pool with the grooved. , fossils embedded in the sides and bottom. They cleaned up the area for the morn- She was more affected by the house and ing workouts, one junior wrestler following its overall tawdri'ness than she thought she him around with the sand trowel. would be. At seven a.m. he slumped exhausted o "You've done very well for yourself." a bench. Two of the/uryo covered him with

"Some manage it, some give it away, quilts and set an alarm clock beside hin for in afternoon. some save it. I spend if," one the They were drinking kudzu-tea highballs in the sitting room, which was one of the "Your opponent was at the ball game last most comfortable rooms Melissa had ever night," said Nayakano the stablemaster. been in. Man-Mountain Gentian sat in the dressing "Tasteless, isn't it?" asked Killer Kudzu. room while the barber combed and "Not quite," said Melissa. "It was well greased his elaborate chon-mage. "Your worth the trip." wife asked me to give you this."

"You could .stay, you know," said Kudzu. It was a note in a plain envelope, ad- in calligraphy. He "I thought I could." She sighed. "It would dressed her beautiful only give me one more excuse not to finish opened and read it. the dishes at home." She gave him a long Her letter warned him of what Kudzu said

look. "No. thank you. Besides, it wouldn't about "more than winning" the night be- give you an advantage in the match."' fore, and wished him luck. "That really never crossed my mind." He turned to the stablemaster. "I'm quite sure." "Had Killer Kudzu injured any opponent "You are a beautiful woman." before he became yokozuna last tourna- "You have a nice house." ment?" Man-Mountain asked, "Hmmm. Time to get you home." Nayakano's answer was immediate. "No. "I'm sure." That's unheard of. Let me see that note." He reached out. c) the delicious combination

They sat outside her house in the cold; Man-Mountain Gentian put it back in the of equal parts of Drambuie his The snow had stopped. Stars peeped envelope, tucked it in mawashi. and scotch over ice.

through the- low scud. "Should I alert the judges?"

i "I'm going to win tomorrow, you know," "Sorry, I "shouldn't have mentioned said Killer Kudzu. said Man-Mountain Gentian, "You might," said Melissa. "I don't like this," said the stablemaster. Three hefty junior wrestlers ran in nately to the straining, then bending with the freight trains had collided in his head. There dressing room carrying Gentian's kesho- line, other, neither ge: advantage. There was was a snap as his muscles went tense all mawashi between them. a legendary match live years ago which over and the momentum of the explosion took six thirty-second tries before one in his brain began to push at him, lifting, The last day of the January tournament wrestler bested the other. threatening to make him give or tear always in. packed them Even the maega- The referee flipped his fan. Gorilla Tsu- through the back of his head; shira and komusubi matches, in which nami fell flat on his face in a heap, then His feet were on a slippery, sandy bot- young boys threw each other, or tried to. wriggled backwards out ot the ring. tom, neck-high wave crests smashed into drew enough of an audience to make the The crowd screamed and applauded him, a rip tide was pushing at his shoulder, novices feel good. Takanaka. at one side, pulling his legs up, twisting his The call for the ozefc-class wresllers Then the yobidashi said, "East—Man- muscles. He could feel his eyes pushed came, and they went through the grandi- Mountain Gentian. West— Killer Kudzu." back in their sockets as if by iron thumbs, ose ring-entering ceremony, wearing their ready to pop them like ripe plums. His lig- great kesho-mawashi of aprons brocade, They hurried their shikiris. Each threw aments were iron wires stretched tight on silk, and gold, white their dew sweepers salt twice, rinsing once. Then Man-Moun- the turnbuckles of his bones. His arms and sword-bearers to the sides. squatted tain Gentian, moving with the grace of a ended in strands of noodles, his face was Then they retired to their benches, easi dancer, lifted his right leg and stamped it, soft cheese. or west, to await the call falsetto- by the then his left, and the sound was like the The sand under him was soft, so soft, voiced yobidashi. double echo of a cannon throughout the and he knew that all he had to do was to Man-Mountain Gentian watched as the stadium. sink in it, let go, cease to resist. assistants helped Kilter oi his Kudzu out He went immediately to his mark. And through all that haze and blindness ceremonial apron, gold with silk kudzu Killer Kudzu jumped down to his mark, he knew what it was that he was not sup- leaves, purple flowers, yellow stars. His glaring at his opponent .across' the meter posed to think about. forehead blazed with the People's Repub- that separated them. Everything quit: He reached out one lic of China flag. The gyoji, off guard, took a few seconds mental hand, as big as the sun, as fast as He looked at directly Gentian's place and to. turn sideways to them and bring his fan light, as long as time, and he pushed smiled a broad, crooked smile. into position. against his opponent's chest. There was a great match between Go- In that time, Man-Mountain Gentian could The lights were back, he was in the sta- rilla Tsunami and Typhoon Takanaka, which hear the quiet hum of the electrical grid, dium, in the arena, and the dull pounding went on for more than thirty seconds by hear muffled intake ot breath from the- other was applause, screams. the clock, straining, both men groaning, wrestlers, hear a whistle in the nostril of the Killer Kudzu lay blinking among the ring sweating until the gyoji made them stop, north-side judge. bales. and rise, and then get on their marks again. "fiuuu!" said the referee, and his fan "Hooves?" Man-Mountain Gentian heard Those were the worst kinds of matches jerked. him ask in bewilderment before he picked for the wrestlers, each opponent alter- Man-Mountain Gentian felt as though two himself up. Man-Mountain Gentian took the enve- lope from the referee with three quick chopping motions, then made a fourth to the audience, and they knew then and only then that they would never see him in the ring again. The official clock said 0.9981 second.

"How did you do it, Man-Mountain''" asked the Tokyo paparazzi as the wrestler showered out his chon-mage and put on his clothes. He said nothing. He met his wife outside the stadium. A lone newsman was waiting with her, "Scoop" Hakimoto. "For old times' sake." begged Hakimoto. "How did you do It?" Man-Mountain Gentian turned to Me-

lissa. "Tell him how I did it," he said. "He didn't think about the white horse," she said. They left the newsman standing there, staring. Killer Kudzu, tired and pale, was getting in his vehicle. Hakimoto came running up.

"What's all this' I hear about Gentian and a white horse?" he asked. Kudzu's eyes widened, then narrowed. "No comment," he said.

That night, to celebrate, Man-Mountain Gentian took Melissa to the Beef Bowl. He had seventeen orders and helped Melissa finish her second one. They went back home, climbed onto their futons, and turned on the TV. Gilligan was on his island. All was right with the world. DO —

already shown in interest his outline and anyone ever bothered to sort through the would offer him a contract CARRION tomorrow if he- clutter and debris of his remaining notes. would change the title to The Zombie Fac- tor and put in more sex. " "It could be like that writer, ./a, Melanie 7 Willi managed to arrive twenty minutes "So what?" Willi had said to Nina in dis- Willi patted my knee. I nodded. "He was before I. Nina was distraught and as close gust. "You have me fly across the continent mine," continued Willi, "and Nina tried to to hysteria as I had ever seen her. I She had for this? might buy the idea myself." take credit. Remember?" been at a party in lower Manhattan two That turned out to be the excuse we used Again I nodded. Actually he had been days before she not — was so distraught to interrogate this Alexander somebody neither Nina's nor Willi's. I had avoided the that she forgot to tell us what important during an impromptu party given by Nina party so that I could make contact later names had been there when she found the next — I evening. did not attend. The party without the young man noticing he was herself sharing a corner, a fondue pot, and was not overly successful, according to being followed. I did so easily. I remember confidences with a young writer. Or rather, Nina, but it gave Willi the chanee to have sitting in an overheated little delicatessen the writer was sharing confidences. Nina a long chat with the young, would-be nov- across the street from the apartment build- described him as a scruffy sort, with a elist. In the writer's almost pitiable eager- ing. It was over so quickly that there was wispy little beard, thick glasses, a cordu- ness io co business with Bill Borden, pro- almost no sense of Feeding. Then I was roy sport coat worn over an old plaid shirt- ducer of Pan's Memories, Three on a Swing, aware once again of the sputtering radia- one of the type invariably sprinkled around and at least two other completely forget- tors and the smell of salami as people successful parties of that era, according table Technicolor features touring the drive- rushed to the door to see what the scream- to Nina. She knew enough not to call him ins that summer, he revealed that the. book ing was about. I remember finishing my tea a beatnik, for that term had jus! become consisted of a well-worn outline and a slowly so that I did not have to leave before passe, but no one had yet heard the term dozen pages of notes. the ambulance was gone. hippie, and it wouldn't have applied to him He sure, was however, that he could do "Nonsense," said Nina. She busied her- anyway. He was a writer of the sort that a treatment for Mr. Borden in five weeks, self wifh her little calculator. "How many barely ekes out a living, these days at least, perhaps even as fast as three weeks if points?" he She looked at me. I looked at Willi. by selling blood and doing novelizations were flown out to Hollywood to get the "Six." he said with a shrug. Nina made of television series. Alexander something. proper creative stimulation. a small show of totaling the numbers, His idea tor a book— he told Nina that Later that evening we discussed the "Thirty-eight," she said and sighed he the- had been working on it for some time possibility of Willi simply buying ar op: en atrically. "You win again, Willi, Or rather, was that many of the murders then being on the treatment, but Willi was short on you beat me again. We must hear from committed were actually the result of a cash at the time, and Nina was insistent. Melanie. You've been so quiet, dear. You small group of psychic killers, he called In the end the young writer opened his must have, some surprise for us." them vampires, mind who used others to femoral artery with a Gillette blade ran and "Yes," said Willi, "it is your turn to win. It carry out their grisly deeds. screaming into a narrow Greenwich Vil- has been several years." He said that a paperback publisher had lage side street to die. I don't believe that I "None," said. I had expected an explo- sion of questions, but the silence was bro- ken only by the ticking of the clock on the manlelpiece. Nina was looking away Irom me, at something hidden by the shadows in the corner. "None?" echoed Willi.

"There was . . . one," I said at last. "But

it accident. was by I came across them'

robbing an old man behind ... but it was completely by accident." Willi was agitated. He .stood up, walked to the window, turned an old straight-back

chair around and straddled it, arms folded. "What does this mean?" "You're quitting the Game?" Nina asked as she turned to look at me. I let the ques- tion serve as the answer. "Why?" snapped Willi. In his excitement it came out with a hard v.

If I had been raised in an era when young ladies were allowed to shrug, I would have

it done so: As was, I contented myself with running my fingers along an imaginary seam on my skirt, Willi had asked the question, but I stared straight into Nina's

eyes when I finally answered. "I'm tired. It's

been too long. I guess I'm getting old."

"You'll get a lot older if you do not Hunt," said Willi, His body, his voice, the red mask of his face, everything signaled great an- ger just kept in check: "My God. Melanie, you already look older! You look terrible. This is why we hunt, woman. Look at your- self in the mirrorf Do you want to die an old woman just because you're tired of using "You'll never get-away with this." them? Willi stood and turned his back. "Nonsense!" Nina's voice was strong, . THE NEWEST STATE-OF-THE ART LIFESTYLE PRODUCTS FOR HOME & OFFICE. orinrui ELECTrearuicB TRY THEM FREE FORK DAYS

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confident, in command once more. "Mel- his Mr. ego when Thorne brought in a check tant to Willi. We'll have to find a way to end anie's tired, Willi. Be nice. We all have times already made out to william o. borden. it without hurting his feelings. Perhaps we

like that. I remember how after you were I Again asked him to stay, but he pro- could visit him next spring in Kahnhall or the war. Like a whipped puppy. You wouldn't tested that he had a midnight flight to Chi- whatever he Galls that gloomy old Bavarian even go outside your miserable little flat in cago. He had to see a pri2ewinning author place of his. A trip to the Continent would Baden. Even after we helped you get to about a screenplay. Then he was hugging do wonders for you, dear New Jersey just sulked you around feeling me good-bye, his companions were in the "Yes." sorry for yourself. Melanle made up the hall behind me, and I had a brief moment "I will be in touch-After this deal with the Game to help you feel better. So quiet! of terror. new store is settled. We need to spend Never tell lady a who feels tired and de- But they left. The blond young time man some together, Melanie . . . just the pressed that she looks terrible. Honestly, showed his white smile, and the two . . Negro of us . like old times." Her lips kissed Willi, you're such a Schwachsinniger his bobbed head in what I look as a fare- the air next to my cheek. She held my fore- sometimes. And a crashing boor to boot." well. Then we were alone. arms tightly. "Good-bye, darling." I had anticipated reactions many to rhy Nina and I were alone. "Good-bye, Nina." announcement, this but was the one I feared Not quite alone. Miss Kramer was stand- most. It meant that Nina had also tired of ing next to islina. at the end of the hall. Mr. I carried the brandy glass to the kitchen. the Game. It meant that she was ready to Thorne was out of sight behind the swing- Mr. Thorne took it in silence. move to another level of play. ing door to the kitchen. I left him there. "Make sure the house is secure," I said. It had to mean that. Miss Kramer took three steps forward. I He nodded and went to check the locks "Thank you, Nina darling," I said. "I knew felt my breath stop for instant. an Mr. Thorne and alarm system. It was only nine forty- you would understand." put his hand on the swinging door. five, Then I but was tired, I very Age, thought. I She reached across and touched my tine husky little brunette opened the door went up the wide staircase, perhaps the knee reassuringly. Even through wool my to the hall closet, removed Nina's coat, and finest feature of the house, and dressed skirt, I could feel the cold of her fingers. stepped back to help her into it. for bed. It had begun to storm, and the "Are you sure you won't stay?" sound of the cold raindrops on the window guests would My not stay the night. I im- "No, thank you, darling. I've promised carried a sad rhythm to it.

plored. I remonstrated. I pointed out that Barrett that we would drive to Hilton Head Mr. Thome looked in as I was brushing their rooms were ready, that Mr. Thorne had tonight." my hair it and wishing were longer. I turned already turned down the quilts. "But it's late—" to him. He reached into the pocket of his "Next time," said Willi. "Next time, Mel- "We have reservations. Thank you any- dark vest. When his hand emerged a slim " anie, my little love. We'll make a weekend way, Melanie. I will be in touch blade flicked out. I nodded. He palmed the of it as we used to. A week!" Willi in was a "Yes." blade shut and closed the door behind him. much better since mood he had been paid "I mean it, dear. We must talk. I under- I listened to his footsteps recede down the his thousand-dollar prize by each of us. stand exactly He how you feel, but you have stairs to the chair in the front hall, where he

had sulked, but I had insisted. I! soothed to remember that the Game is still impor- Would spend the night.

I believe I dreamed of vampires that night. Or perhaps I was thinking about them just prior to falling asleep, and a fragment

had stayed with me until morning. Of all mankind's self-inflicted terrors, of all its pa- thetic little monsters, only the myth of the vampire had any vestige of dignity. Like

the humans it feeds on, the vampire must respond to its own dark compulsions. But unlike its petty human prey, the vampire carries out its sordid means to the only possible ends that could justify such ac- tions—the goal of literal immortality. There Is a nobility there. And a sadness.

Before sleeping I thought of that summer

long ago in Vienna. I saw Willi young again — blond, flushed with youth, and filled with pride at escorting two such inde- pendent American ladies.

i remembered Willi's high, stiff collars and the short dresses that Nina helped to bring into style that summer. I remem- bered the friendly sounds of crowded Bier- gartens and the shadowy dance of leaves in front of gas lamps.

I remembered the footsteps on wet cob- blestones, the shouts, the distant whistles, and the silences.

Willi was right; I had aged. The past year had taken a greater toll than the preceding

decade. But I had not Fed. Despite the hunger, despite the aging reflection in the

mirror, I had not Fed.

I fell asleep trying to think of that writer's

"Wbat a great idea, last name. I fell asleep hungry. Martha! If you miss, I'll have something to write about!" DO

To be concluded next month. 160 OMNI " —

satisfaction with her new environment di- suspended between long poles sup- minished, and. as is the case with every ported on [heir shoulders. The head porter

EARTH captured gorilla I have ever known, she handed a note 0'->i"ir-i'.,l-!;, -?r:M -AC.I" ;,: me from a friend. "They've took a sudden turn for the worse. She com- captured another gorilla. They want you to badly wanted to hug her but did not do so pletely stopped eating, her dung seeped take care of it but didn't know how to send for fear of jeopardizing first the trust she out in liquid bloody pools, lay it and she hud- up to you; so I improvised this thing. Hope had been able to place in a human being. dled in pile of a nest vegetation, shaking all is going well with the first. Doubt this Coco sal on my lap calmly for uncontrollably. a few min- Nothing I could do, includ- one will survive either." utes before walking to a long bench below ing playing tape recordings ot other goril- Incredulous, I paid the porters and had the windows that overlooked nearby las, could shake her out of this semico- the barrel brought into Coco's room, leav- slopes. With great difficulty she climbed matose lethargy. I started heron antibiotics, ing Coco outside in the sun-filled pen. onto the bench and gazed out at there the but was no sign of response, and she Because the captive showed no incli- mountain. Suddenly she began to sob and continued to fail at an alarming rate. nation of emerging, I laid the barrel on its shed actual lears, something I have never sixth night On the of Coco's stay at camp, side and gently spilled her onto the foli- gorilla seen a do before or since. When it I carried her to bed with me for I as- what age-covered floor. I was horrified to see finally grew dark she curled up in a nest of sumed would be her last night alive. that the young female was far more ema- vegetalion I had made for her and softly Warmth and security were all that I could ciated than Coco had been ; Pus was ooz- whimpered herself to sleep, now provide. At five o'clock the following ing from wounds on her head, wrists, and During the next two days Coco ate in- morning, instead of finding a corpse in my ankles from deep cuts where she ob- creasing amounts of natural vegetation, arms I found Coco still alive and both of viously had been bound by wire. From the Galium, thistles, nettles, and— after a bat- us lying in a bed soaked with diarrhetic extent of her infections and deterioration, tle of wills—she accepted a milk mixture dung. She seemed somewhat more lively, I judged she had been caught about the containing all the medications I consid- and I hoped that her crisis might have same time as Coco but had had to spend ered essential tor her health. Yet she con- passed during the night. After giving her nearly a week longer with her captors. tinued to cry frequently, particularly when the medicine, I carried her outside into a Three days passed before Pucker looking out of the window of her room. large One wire enclosure adjoining her room, named for her morose and dejected facial day gorilla vocalizations were heard from built so that she might have access to the expression—would accept the same milk the slopes behind camp, causing Coco to sun. The door was closed between the formula I was giving Coco. Estimated to keen more than I ever. Quickly turned on room and the cage to allow men and my- be about a year older than Coco, Pucker the radio as loud as possible to drown out self to sanitize every inch of her room and was far more introverted and depressed the sounds of the group, but Coco contin- put in fresh foliage and saplings. by the changes brought about in her cap- ued to gaze up at the slopes for most of While we were working I suddenly heard ture than the younger female. Much later I the day, whimpering softly, with the knowl- porters' voices approaching camp-. I ran learned that Pucker had come from a group edge that her own kind were near. outside and saw about six men carrying of about eight animals and, like those of On the third day the youngster's partial what looked like an oversized beer barrel Coco's group, all the family members had died trying to defend the youngster. De- spite my constant reassurance that she wasn't going to be further harmed, Pucker remained extremely apprehensive, partic- ularly when people were heard or seen near the infants' room or outdoor cage. The day finally came when Coco was healthy enough to be allowed the freedom of the trees and meadows around camp. Pucker had not yet sufficiently recovered

from her wounds, and I doubted my con- trol over her. On our first venture outside

the cabin I had to carry Coco on my back, since she seemed overawed by the vast amount of open space around her. Even when we perched on a huge Hagenia tree trunk laden with Galium and other gorilla foods she wouldn't leave my lap. The 30-minute reintroduction to the "wild" took us no farther than some 165 feet from the cabin. Pucker, who had gone into the outdoor cage to watch Coco and me leave, began whimpering softly. The cries soon built up into loud sobs terminated by screams shrieks and as Coco and I moved

farther away. I was obliged to return much sooner than intended, although Pucker's cries seemed to be ignored by Coco. The howling subsided upon my obedient re- turn, but in typical Pucker style our reentry was totally ignored as she feigned a sud- den interest in feeding. Her behavior might have seemed comical; nevertheless, I felt

it indicated a deep sense of deprivation.

On the morning I was ready to take both "I think don't you mean an astronaut. I think you mean a proctologist babies out, the park guards came up to camp unexpectedly. The two youngsters were in their outside run when the guards was nothing I could do to prevent their re- noisily arrived, carrying spears and guns. turn to cages. I wrote to Cologne imploring Terrified, the infants fied into the room, the zoo director to allow me to reintroduce SEVENTH SENSE

climbed onto the highest shelf, and clung the gorillas to.the wild in a "foster group," there for the remainder of the day. The but received a flat negative in reply. "We agree with Central USA." The Afri-

guards demanded that I immediately turn Several after the weeks Conservator's can groups stand up. "We've seen it too. the gorillas over to them for the trip to the visit, the park guards returned to camp to There is no question of their sensitivity,

Cologne Zoo. After an hour I was able to demand the gorillas, but this time in a very must be allowed lo"develop before we ap- rid of get the intruders by convincing them aggressive manner by waving rusty rifles proach them. They must be able to un- that the gorillas were not well enough to at me, the youngsters, and the Rwandese derstand — to accept us." leave— the truth, at feast in Pucker's case. camp staff. By now Coco and Pucker freely "Agreed!" shouts Far North. Two days passed before the accepted the babies could men on the staff but retained "If we are going to call it off," Encroach of their be coaxed out room. a deep fear and timidity around unknown Leader says, "it has to be done immedi- later Some weeks we again had an un- Africans. For this reason I was quite sur- ately. Let's have the vote now." expected visitor, in the form of the Con- prised when the gorillas tried to "attack" "I think you're imagining things," Gala- servator. The behavior of the the guards two young- by screaming and beating vi- pagos mutters. 'And I'll tell you something his sters upon arrival epitomized my own olently at the wire between themselves and else. Disengagement won't be trivial." .feelings exactly: Coco hid and Pucker went their would-be. captors. Their actions were

to the door separating my room from theirs just the cue I needed to tell the guards they Galapagos was right about that. We car- and slammed it shut. were more than welcome to enter the room ried the vote, it though was closer than I The Conservator had made the long to collect the gorillas but that they couldn't had expected. But it has taken unfil Friday climb to camp to demand the infants' expect my help. Nothing, including the to work out the details of the disengage- prompt release to the Cologne the wrath of the Conservator, Zoo. For could possibly ment. I am thoroughly tired by the time I

second time I insisted that they were not have induced the men to enter the pen, linol.y get to the airport. well enough to travel. I While was desper- and in a few minutes they left. Afterward I He is there. The Constant Traveler. He ately insisting for more time, the sounds of learned that they told the Conservator the lifts the arm resting on the bar a couple of play chuckles, chasing, and wrestling un- juveniles were still much too sick to travel. inches in greeting. "Hello, Traveler," 1 tell fortunately were heard tram the next room. A tew days later the Conservator arrived him. "Is this a coincidence, oris somebody

I silently cursed them both for choosing at camp, accompanied by guards carry- following somebody?" this inopportune time to play, even though ing a small, newly built, coffinlike box in- He grins, showing the wide gap in his

I was pleased that they would play in spite tended for the captives' flight to Cologne. front teeth. "Pure, plain coincidence. Hap- of the Conservator's presence. The harder The only opening to Ihe box was a small, pens all the time, believe me."

I pleaded to keep them, the more insistent _12-inch door. Ventilation not — had even been "Well"— I signal for a beer "I don't know he was about taking them. He claimed that considered. The Conservator, moreover, about that." the Cologne Zoo was exerting the effrontery pressure on had to ask that I pay for the "Oh, yes," he assures me. "When you've him for the animals, sick or not. What he container. Eventually he left, with traveled content more you'll know what I mean. You did not tell me was that the giving the equivalent ot zoo was $30 in his pocket. I was keep running into ihe same people." him a trip to Germany, ostensibly slightly 9" to act as pleased only I because had gained "How was your stay I reach for the beer. a "companion" for the gorillas. For a man several more weeks until the terrible de- "Great. Made a couple of good sales. who had never been out of his own coun- parture day by explaining that the box Heyl How about that market? Up nearly try, this was indeed an exciting prospect. would have to be entirely rebuilt. sixty points this week." After a circuitous and argumentative When the dreaded cay came, numerous "Yeah!" Suddenly I am not so tired any- conversation, the Conservator stated flatly pages of instructions for Coco and Puck- more. "Interesting, isn't it." that if I did not immediately relinquish er's care Coco were provided. Tins containing "Interesting, hell. It means about three and Pucker, he would send poachers to their milk formula were strapped on to the thousand bucks to me. Say, what flight are capture two more young gorillas. He had crate's sides, and a fresh selection of for- you on? Going back to Chicago?" called hand. my That same day I sent a est vegetation, the last they would ever eat, "No. Another direction." cable to the Cologne officials, telling Zoo was packed up. I also placed two large "Too bad," he says, just before he drains them that they the could have captives bracket fungi inside the crate. The instant the glass and pops it down on the bar with once I felt the infants were well enough to the youngsters ran in to grab them, the door a loud, long sigh of pleasure. "Sorry I won't make the long journey. Sending that cable was latched shut. The porters who would be having your company." He slides easily in order to avoid further slaughter carry the was one box down arrived a few seconds off the stool and picks up his case. "But I'll of the biggest compromises I had to later. all I make That was could endure. I ran out see you again somewhere. Better run. I got during the years of my gorilla research. At of the cabin, ran through the meadows of a plane to catch." that time there were few regulations our con- countless walks, and ran deep into Ihe I watch him walk out into the main cor- cerning exportation or importation of en- forest until I could run no more. There is~no ridor, then angle off to the left and merge dangered species. The Conservator's in- way to describe the pain of their loss, even into the stream of shoulders, heads, and tentions to capture more young gorillas left now, more than a decade later. assorted luggage moving to ihe flight me no alternative but to relinquish For " Coco a number of years a member ol the gates. I am sorry to see him go. He's like and Pucker. the Once man had left, I went Cologne Zoo periodically informed me of pari of the furnishings. But just before he into the infants' room and received enthu- Coco and Pucker's welfare through bul- said good-bye there was an instant when siastic welcomes from both. Hugging them letins and photographs. The photographs he looked at me, waniing to say some- to me, I felt like a traitor. revealed to me all too clearly that the cap- thing—and in that instant he, a superbly The days of feeding and playing went tives were just barely tolerating their caged trained professional, knew he had violated on as usual for Coco and Pucker. Their lively environment/While writing this book I security. He is a machine-tool salesman behavior resembled that of two little that rowdy learned Coco and Pucker, within a like I am a Xeninian sheepherder! girls at summer camp. For myself,- most of month of other, each died in 1978 in the That story of his — fantastic. It bought the joy of watching them flourish into near- Cologne'Zoo.DO them one hundred seventy-two years, normal, playful - juvenile gorillas was gone i anyway. But there was no Frank. And no Knowing their time in the forest was so lim- Gorillas in the And no Ralph, or New Orleans bar. ited and their future so bleak was' con- Mist, which was published m Anqusi bv Hough- There was a light in the sky, all righi. Was stantly depressing, particularly since there ion Mifflin. © 1983, by Dian Fossey. there really a deaf man? Perhaps. DO 164 OMNI as most movies go. But he uses this central 12,000 cycles per second. concept like a clothesline on which FIL/ to hang As prosaic as all this sounds, Snow has abstract notions about space, time, color, been passing his painterly image through waves, death, storytelling, and represen- many changes along the way. He uses a this particular case. Because it is directed. tation. (Characteristically, the shooting took variety of color filters, film stocks, super- And it is controlled. But the control is not him a week and the editing, a couple of imposed flashbacks of earlier stages in the that control of directing your heartstrings. weeks, "but I did spend lot a of time mus- zoom, and qualities and degrees of proc- It makes the wilderness yours in one sense, ing a year") In — Snow's most recent film essing and light exposure to keep the film because there's such a distance between (So Is This, 1982), with roughly the moving same like a kaleidoscope; yet, it seems the means of recording it and the of kind running time, he has the brass to till his to be practically standing still. (Many of the thing that the wilderness is. And it also silent screen with nothing but one printed same technical variations in Wavelength brings into question the whole process of word after another; his imagination and re- are used to comparably fluid effect on the the perception of nature." sources keep audiences amused and in- single words in So Is This.) In Snow's ele- Forever resourceful in reusing material. volved all the way ihrough. gant description of the movie's progress, Snow later remounted Abeloos's machine How does he pack so much into so little? "The space starts at the camera's— spec- in a video-installation piece with four mon- In Wavelength, the zoom's journey across tator's—eye, is in the air, then is on the itors. "The camera goes in the center and the loft—pined on the sound track by a screen, then is within the screen— the you can set it for different patterns. It's really sine wave gradually from its moving lowest mind." He has also described the film as nice; the National Gallery of Canada bought note lo its highest—starts uneventfully. But a "pun on the room-length zoom to the it. It's called De la. Obviously it's a com- as the camera approaches the tour double photo of sea waves, through the light pletely different thing from the film, be- windows and intervening wall space of the waves, and on the sound waves." cause you get involved in watching the other side of the loft, a man is heard break- A simpler and wittier forward camera machine move and seeing the kind of ing into the building and walking upstairs. movement defines a 1976 Snow short drawing that it makes on the monitors, re- He staggers into the frame and drops dead called either Breakfast or Table Top Dolly. lating the movement to the kind of images on the floor—just before the zoom blithely In this case, a camera fronted by a shield that are produced." lurches past him. of see-through plastic slowly creeps across Something of a prankster and philoso- Still later, a woman enters, discovers the a table, converting an artistic still life of pher at the same time, Snow, in his mid- moribund body, and phones her boyfriend groceries— eggs, orange juice, sugar, fifties, has a flair for starting off with an while the camera steadily approaches one Dixie cup, plates, and fruit— into a sticky, unlikely or outrageous idea and somehow of the photographs posted on the central gooey mass of garbage while the sounds making it work. In his first major film {Wave- wall space. The photo proves to be a pic- of dishwashing are heard offscreen. A length, 1967], 40-odd minutes long, he be- ture of sea waves. The sound of an ap- movie about consumption? If eating is be- gins with a stuttering camera zoom across proaching police siren with merges the sine lieving and hearing is deceiving, you had an 80-foot Manhattan loft: not much action, wave, which by now has risen from 5D to better believe it. DO

w

166 OMNI irUTELLIGErUCE CONTINUED FHOM PAGE 24

ers," in their specific field or domain. One Cognitive program, Explorer, was devel- oped for an oil company. In response to

naiural-language.questions, it consults a database, retrieves information, and con-

verts it into maps of oil wells. Another pro- gram, Marketeer, was developed as a nat- ural-language interface for Access, a marketing-analysis database from Dia- logue, Inc. And Broker accesses informa- tion from Standard and Poor's stock-mar-

ket database, Compustat. The company is now developing advisory systems, costing between $250,000 and $350,000, to pro- vide linguistic fluency and decision-mak- ing support in personal investment and tax preparation. "Our advisory systems are basically computer models of human ex- perts," Schank explains,

For the future the company is consid- ering a way to offer such computer exper- tise to owners of personal computers.. Us- ing a modem—a device to connect home computers to distant mainframes via tele- phone—anyone could tap into the wisdom of Cognitive's advisory systems, paying only for the amount of time they were con- nected. Users could pick up advice on in- vestments, for example, almost as easily as dialing a long-distance call. Symantec, a spinoff of Machine Intelli- gence Corporation (which makes robot vi- sion), has ambitious plans for its natural-

language system. Based on work first done at Stanford Research Institute, the com- pany is developing a $300 to $500 pro- gram that combines rules of syntax and semantics with a proprietary database management system (DBMS) designed for the IBM personal computer. A business- man could use the system to keep his own file of personnel and sales data that could be accessed easily using ordinary Eng- lish. An earlier version of the technology, called Straight Talk, is currently available for $660 as a natural-language interface for the Dictaphone System 6000 word processor. Symantec hopes to market the new DBMS system by the end of this year, Meanwhile, one company already mar- kets a widely used English-language sys- tem for personal computers. Mention Savvy to anyone in the a'tif.cia-irieli-gence com- munity, and you will immediately trigger a semantic debate. Developed by Excalibur Technologies Corporation, this $349 to $950 tool talks to computers but ignores such niceties as semantics and syntax completely. Instead, it concentrates on rec- ognizing letters of the alphabet as they are punched into the keyboard. It uses a - pattern-recognition system— matching up strings of characters—to identify key words and phrases typical of the user. The Savvy system may not be artificial intelligence, but it is already popular with Apple II users, and the company is introducing a model for the IBM personal computer. What's next for Savvy? Natural-Ian- guage interlaces for personal robots. Savvy has developed a general-purpose inter- face that will be marketed for the RBX5 robot manufactured by RB Robots, of Den- Good times offer: ver. And, says company spokesman Nel- son Winkless, this interface could be Fourteen oz. glass mug for sale. It's the two-fisted way adapted to other robots, like Heath Com- to drink to good times and pany's Hero. In fact, predicts Savvy pres- salute your great taste in ident Jim Dowe, the personal robot and the jrinks.Whynotstarta personal computer will eventually merge collection? Please send into one mobile, intelligent system capable this coupon, along with a of humanlike decision and behavior. check or money order In research-and-development laborato- for $4.95 per mug (no ries from Bell to Bolt Beranek and New- cash please) to; Seagram's 7 Crown Mug . man, work is already under way on the next Offer, P.O. Box 725. Dept. generation of natural-language technol- 253, Lubbock, TX 79491. ogy— programs that can combine the in- depth knowledge of an advisory system like Explorer with the adaptability of a query system like intellect- "What's hitting the market now is just the tip of the camel's nose under the flap of the tent," says Wil- liam Woods, of Bolt Beranek. Widespread use ot natural-language systems for computers is still a decade away, believes Ken Lim. ol Dataquest. "But each piece of technology further closes [he gap between man and machii Someday," Lim predicts, "the human brain may actually be able to think commands directly into computers." Until then, we will have to be happy with machines that un- derstand slang. NEW WARES: HARD AND SOFT Personal computers can create some pretty powertul color graphics —from sim- ple pie charts and bar graphs to complex computer-aided designs. Now there is a simple way to instantly reproduce these cybernetic doodles and preserve them for posterity. The Palette system, developed by Polaroid, is a desk-top unit that plugs IT IS WHAT "Caviar in, caviar into the Apple II and the IBM PC and au- SSi'Stf?""" B ^ft^^H^R tomatically converts even monochromatic JW !?v ' ;*C Jl^^T^^^ out." When it comes to computer game displays into full-color prints or slides. The l« i§ ^^ ^kJH I ^^^ !K i% software, this Palette system includes a software disk- LBHl Ja ^^W adage fits only ette, a 35mm camera back and adapter ^^M one brand. Because Ir.fooom prose aames stimulate your imag- plate, and the Polaroid 35mm Autoprocess ination and challenge your personal computer's capabilities to a slide developer introduced earlier this year. degree notinny else in sol; ".Yareappn.jj.n lies, instead of putting The instant-print attachment is offered as ninny little arcade creatures? on your screen, we put you inside our an option. ($1,300. from Polaroid Corpo- nviron- Square, st.ori ration, 575 Technology Cam- the bridge, MA 02139.) like of which you won't find elsewhere. The secret: We've found the way -o plug our- prose right into your imag- Chinese, with, as many as 40,000. ideo- ination, and catapult you into a whole new grams, is certainly not the easiest lan- ... dimension. guage to master. But now any computer Step up to Infocom. All words. No can be retrofitted with a circuit board to pictures. The secret readies of your print perfect Chinese. The board, a Chi- mind are beckoning. The next dimen- nese-character generator developed by sion is in there waiting for you. Eastern Computers, Inc., works with an or- dinary English keyboard. Letters of the inFOCOIIY English alphabet are combined to con- The next dimension stuct each ideogram: It takes multiple key- strokes to generate one character. But each ideogram represents a word rather than just a letter; the total time required is com- parable to'that needed to type in English. Q SSI ($400 to $500, from Eastern Cornpulers, Inc., 120 South Lynnhaven Road, Virginia Beach, VA 23452. )DQ Tfe@ Atftsst

, © ARTCUMINfGS 1 nata being a mechanic. Once— Just once- /0^ -„ I'd like to know \^ 4ir^ G*r% No problem how it feels to work in ar\ office

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in a country that has proved particularly generous to a project. Indeed, the willing- ! auDia-FdRum ness to fund the ESA stems in large part the best in self-instructional from the realization among politicians that foreign language courses using while you might [ell the guy next to you to to compete in the coming technological audio cassettes — featuring piss off, but later you will go out and have era, Western European industries need the those used to train U.S. State a beer together," research and technological benefits of a Thrown' together in a foreign country, vital space program. As with most ESA de- Dept. personnel in Spanish, often under c fficult wo^hg conditions, ESA cisions, however, the repercussions of the French, German, workers undergo a'crash course in multi- contracts-for-contributions policy are most Japanese, Greek, national integration. They form clearly felt at the operations sports clubs, level. Arabic, Chinese, | flflim hold barbecues, and respectively await prime example, according to fc^CHU A ESOC Italian, and _ Italian, French, German, or English film night operators, was the awarding of a Contract more at the company canteen. They suffer the to a state-run British firm for the computer B TOtGign inevitable affairs support , common to enclaves of system of the Meteosat satellite. language on foreigners and accustom themselves to "That computer should never, ever have one another's national characteristics. been there," admits a British head opera- your own! At ESOC, the Germans share a reputa- tor on the Meteosat operations team. "We 53-9794. or fill out tion of being thorough and methodical know it was done so that Britain could share and ad to practically to a fault. The Italians and French in the Spoils, so to speak. But we're trying Audio-Forum register as hotheaded and impulsive. Brits to support a spacecraft, which is difficult lite 50-L Gn-the-Green are stubborn, and the Scandinavians party enough. And we had to do it with this totally Guillord. CT Q6437 a lof. Yet when it's zero minus ten and untried and unfamiliar computer system." counting, with hundreds of millions of dol- If the compromise inherent in its multi- lars' worth of equipment on the multiple national character stands as an ESA weak- computer and data screens at operations ness— often requiring lengthy political de- center, no one is checking passports, bate— it may also prove the agency's 'All the pressures build at launch, and greatest strength. A successful launch in at/ at that point we're in the same boat no mat- late June proved that Ariane is over some ter where we come from," says a Scottish of its teething problems. From now on. the Slate /Zip

! flrn pa'TiC-sriy hieresiea n i.eheck cicice)- shift leader at ESOC. "That's when we tend ESA rocket should be able to place a com- "" Spanish n French Z Ge'ma'i to work best together. If the mission fails, munications satellite into geosynchronous * [J Greek ETRUSsian Swahili : we're all upset. You're part of a team." orbit for about the same price as the space % Otter _____ M "It's around the .board-meeling table' shuttle can. Yet the cost cutting and basic %-.------_--•» where it often falls apart," adds a col- design that resulted Irom compromise kept league. "The British delegation can't be the development cost to about 10 percent seen as giving in to the Germans, the Ger- that of her American competition. mans can't be seen as giving in to the Compromise also resulted in the strictly Send for Your Free French, and so on." nondefenseroleoftheESA, adopted in the

If the team spirit felt at launch is seem- charter at the insistence of neutral mem- Edmund Scientific ingly absent around the conference table bers Switzerland and Sweden, and estab- at ESA headquarters in Paris, it's not be- lishing fhe agency as the closest in spirit Catalog Today! the pressures are less intense. to the United cause any Nations' declaration for a America's largest mail-order market place of Both politically and economically, the weapons-free space. In their resulting role of ltjsj(] ara -mt ria'.ig vsiues *: r nob- member nations of ESA lie galaxies apart. as goodwill ambassadors among space students, schools and industry. With worldwide recession widening the agencies, ESA officials have established void between inflation-riddled Italy and relations between the agency and space relatively stable Switzerland, for instance, programs in every interested country in the seemingly minor debates over when to world, including the United States, the So- align currencies assume huge import, viet Union, and China. And on such co- Yet, tempering these discussions is the operative projects as las! year's launching underlying awareness that the countries of of India's App e saxlhlc ESA operators are Europe can mount a meaningful space quick to put a Hindi inflection in their Eng- challenge only if they are unified. No Eu- lish or to sneak gjest operators on the au- ropean country acting alone could have dio loop for illegal calls to faraway friends, achieved satellite launch and operations Eventually the cooperative project that capability in such a short time. And along could prove the agency's most successful the way to positioning the agency as a .solid and innovative isESA's very reliance on 11 third behind the U.S. and Soviet space ef- separate member nations for support and forts, ESA officials did pioneering work in direction. Says former director general Sir multinational space cooperation. Hermann Bondi, now chairman of the Na-

"One of the first lessons we learned at tional Environmental Research Council, in ESA was that when you put different na- England, "There are certainly advantages tions with very different ideas together, and disadvantages to, ESA's multinational working for a common goal, you have to character. It's bound to make the agency _ Edmund Scientific Co Ccpl. N£- is consider the individuality of those na- a little slower and less efficient than strictly I Edscorp Bldg.. Barrrngton, NJ 03007 | ie your FREE Catalog. j tions," says Lenhart. "Each decision has national space programs. Yet, it gives the psychological and sociological implica- ESA a measure of stability. Every country tions, and each country expects a certain goes through periods of uncertainty. return for its investment." "With eleven members, it's less likely that That return comes most significantly in trouble in any one country will hurt the the form of con: '-acts awaroed lo industries space program. You spread the risk."OQ THE ARTS

/ A. A. Attanasio

first atomic bomb blasted Closer to home, Arthur C. Clarke of great scientific optimism with a bleak Theinto reality in horrifying 1945, and prefaces his latest work, 2010: Odyssey 1998, where science is blamed for the surprising the entire world, Two (Ballantine), with the honest disclaimer imminent collapse of civilization. The including the scientists who invented it. that his book will "be' out of date by links between the two times are tachyons. Amazingly, 2001." the weapon itself was The novel, a sequel to 2001: A faster-than-light particles. The scientists accurately predicted 32 years before by Space Odyssey, is engaging and of 1998 use these time-reversed signals to one of the earliest science-fiction imaginatively writers, wrought, but as a work of send a message backward in time to H. G. Wells. Wells, in fact, coined the extrapolative fiction, it deserves Clarke's the physicists of 1962 with the desperate term atomic bomb in his "scientific qualification. 2010 is the story of the hope of undoing the human causes of romance," The World Set Free, published rendezvous of Spacecralt Alexei Leonov a future ecological disaster. in 1913. The technical information fof at Jupiter with the U.S. Discovery, the The disenchantment with science of that boldly prophetic novel was taken, craft David Bowman abandoned to Benford's future society mirrors a dissat- some of it word for word, from "The confront the alien monolith in 2001. isfaction that already exists. Fear of the Energy of Uranium," a 1908 Harper's Bowman and the infamous computer unknown in science has led many to see article physicist by Frederick Soddy. HAL reappear in fhis novel, and the book William Blake's "dark Satanic mills" Nowadays atomic bombs are more is loaded with marvelous "factoids" echoed in the skyline of Three Mile Island. commonplace than mustard gas was in about the Jovian system. But the science The optimistic expectations of progress Wells's day, yet the extrapolative fiction of the story blurs into mysticism instead prevalent in Wells's time have been that Wells invented is practically extinct. of technological prediction. tempered by grim disillusionment since Most of Ihe speculative fiction published Has science become so complex that then. In a world on the brink of self-

Ihese days ignores current scientific it can only be extrapolated mystically? destruction, it is no wonder that fantasy ideas and relies instead either on the Gregory Benford's Timescape (Pocket fiction predominates in the marketplace. supernatural or on futuristic technology Books) successfully projects a near- Where does this leave science fiction?

so advanced that it has the power, future society and its physics without Traditionally, science fiction's role has myslery, and accoutrements of magic. resorting to the supernatural—and its been to traverse the yawning gap between Part of the reason for this avoidance ol realism is frightening. His novel connects technology and the popular imagination. realistic science is the widening gap the post-Sputniki pre -moon -walk decade For the writer this has become a danger- between what science writer P. C. Snow ous assignment. Unless an author is called "the two cultures"—technology naturally endowed with the wide-ranging and the humanities. These two cultures sapience of an Asimov, he must either not only speak different languages, but be an expert, like physicist Benford, their world views are frequently antago- or have expert guides, like those Clarke nistic, as described in Isaac Asimov's acknowledges in his book. novel Foundation's Edge (Doubleday). Despite the difficulties of creating Asimov's two Foundations share respon- Wells's kind of fiction in Ihese science- sibility for the survival of humanity. The shy times, our future-committed society First Foundation has mastered the physical must use its imagination to test new sciences. The Second Foundation technologies against the human embodies the secrets of psychohistory principles we've inherited from our past. and the mathematical description of And it is not just the general public that human its behavior; and leaders can needs to compare discoveries and control the thoughts and emotions of values. Scientists must also look up from individuals. Though the two Foundations their research and consider the ways that are humanity's guardians, their mutual their ideas will affect people. The guilt antipathy endangers the whole galaxy. that physicists experienced after Only ihe intervention of third a power Hiroshima and Nagasaki is the price they prevents chaos. By blending philosophy paid for forgetting that our search for and science, Asimov artistically knowledge is also a quest for wisdom, addresses the gap between the hard Science urges us toward a hopeful sciences and the irrational dimensions of future. If we use our souls along with our the human soul. Unfortunately, it is minds we will arrive, because through unlikely that any such third force will . fiction and science— as dreamers and appear in our troubled century, 1 successful blend ol thinkers—we are already there. DO 172 OMNI —

TECHNOLOGY THE ARTS By Patrick Tierney

story is as old as art 1531 The itself: , when Catholics believe the Virgin votive candles. Attempted replicas of fire Fingers inscribe stone Mary appeared io an Aztec convert showed badly faded colors and signs of tablets; mysterious visitors leave named Juan Diego. She gave him roses, decomposition. a statue behind; an ethereal image mysteriously blooming in winter, as proof Modern scientists theorized that some precipitates on wood or cloth. All of these of her visitation. According to tradition preservative in the pigments themselves are familiar calling cards to both art Mary's likeness miraculously stamped might account for the crisp, unsullied historians and theologians. But the scien- itself upon Juan Diego's tilma, or apron. hues of the Virgin's portrait. A sample sent tific investigation of religious objects which he used in carrying the roses to an to Nobel Prize-winning Austrian chemist "not made by human hands" is as new unbelieving bishop. Richard Kunh, however, was returned and disconcerting for scientists as it Scientific controversy over the tilma to church officials in 1936 with a cryptic is tor believers. After they take off their dates back to 1666, when the first of appraisal: "On the two fibers analyzed, vestments and put on their private selves, several panels began their investigations. one red and the other yellow, there do no! churchmen doubt; "What if it's a By the eighteenth century, experts exist animal, vegetable, or mineral color- forgery?" In their laboratories scientists recognized peripheral decorations (an ants." No one knows what this means, fret: "What if it's not?" angel, a sunburst, and stars on the blue since explanations from chemistry drop questions These are now being asked mantle) as obvious additions to the off abruptly outside the animal, vegetable, about picture a of the Virgin Mary that original. But the lifelike execution of the and mineral kingdoms. Efforts to find is the revered most religious icon in central figure confounded artists because Kunh's complete study of the fibers have

the Americas. Every year millions of it seemed to combine oil, watercolor, so far failed, and new analyses are still pilgrims travel to the Basilica of Guada- tempera, and fresco effects simulta- in the planning stage. lupe, in central Mexico, to see two strips of neously— an achievement they considered Others suspected Renaissance artists old sacking cloth, coarsely woven and even more remarkable given the crude, of sizing— glazing —the tilma, a proce- weakly stitched together, bearing the unconventional canvas of agave, a dure judged indispensable for making image of an olive-skinned girl in a pink vegetable fabric. Doctors could deduce paint adhere to such a difficult surface. robe. This "Dark Virgin" has been the no natural cause for the survival of the But infrared photography employed center of Latin American religious fragile tilma, exposed to centuries of by Philip Callahan, a biophysicist and symbolism ever since December 12, humidity and the smoke of numberless infrared expert with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Jody Smith, a philoso- phy-of-science professor from Pensacola College, in Florida, detected neither underlayers of sizing nor overlayers of protective varnish. "It is remarkable," Callahan wrote following a three-hour examination of the painting, "that after

more. than four centuries there is no fading or cracking of the original figure on any portion of the agave tilma, which unsized— should have deteriorated centuries ago." "We also used infrared to search for an undersketch," Smith explains, "because paintings without underdrawings are almost nonexistent from that era. There was none. We were even more surprised

by the absence of brush strokes— it looks as though someone applied the paint with a jet spray instead of a brush. We concluded that the image was created by an unknown technique." The same conclusion is being reached by another line of inquiry that began in 1951, when an oculist examined the pupil Does computer enhancement of the Virgin's cornea re a sce'je nr.soied 4y0 sear^ age,'' of the Virgin's right eye with a high- 174 OMNI CQNTirjUED ON PAGE 190 —

HE COSMIC BURF TARS By Marcia Bartusiak

strange marriage between ^^\ they all become identical, or symmetrical, only one trillionth the size of a proton. #^^*astronomy and particle physics when energies get high enough. At that stage the submicroscopic, %is reshaping # our understand- Testing such ideas, however, is another expanding ball of hot radiation was ing of that primordial explosion known as matter. The energies required to achieve beginning to cool to less than 10" de- the Big Bang. Most recently particle that wondrous symmetry are cosmic, grees K. Normally that's the temperature physicists have suggested that the on the order of 10" electron volts. As MIT at which symmetry should have broken— universe may have begun not particle only with a physicist Alan Guth points out, when the unified force would start to bang but with a sort of cosmic burp— "Generating such energy in a lab would differentiate and subatomic particles like an infinitesimally brief moment of require a linear accelerator a light-year quarks, electrons, and neutrinos would superaccelerated expansion. long." This is why particle physicists become separate entities. But this did no! Why are particle physicists suddenly eagerly turned to cosmology. The forces happen right away. Instead, according interested in astronomy and cosmology? of nature were assuredly one during to the inflationary model, the cosmos They have recently realized that the the first moments of the Big Bang. became supercooled and remained tremendously hot birth of the universe Guth was the first to suggest that at its symmetrical as the temperature plunged, provides the perfect laboratory to test their inception the cosmos underwent a just as water can sometimes remain latest mathematical musings grand — period of exceedingly rapid expansion, liquid below its freezing point. This delay unified theories, or GUTs for short. or inflation (the big burp). He arrived in its "crystallization" placed the universe With GUTs, investigators of the submi- at this conclusion when he used GUTs to into a state of high energy that pushed croscopic world of elementary particles theoretically re-create the universe's it ouiward faster than had been are beginning to show how the three cataclysmic birth. Guth's "inflationary" postulated by previous Big Bang models. nongravitationai forces o! nature model was announced three years ago Once symmetry broke, the energy was electromagnetism; the weak interaction and has since been revised by particle suddenly converted into all the particles that governs some forms of radioactive physicists Andreas Albrecht and Paul and radiation that surround us today. decay; and the strong nuclear are force— Steinhardt, of the University of Pennsyl- Researchers are enthusiastic about the really the same. Each force acts differ- vania, and physicist Moscow A. D. Linde. idea because it explains some long- ently at the low temperatures of our Their scenario -35 begins 10 second after standing cosmological mysteries. Why is everyday life but, say GUT theoreticians. the Big Bang, when the universe was the universe so flat, that is. neither measurably open (destined to expand forever) nor closed (ready to collapse)?

Guth and his colleagues suggest that if inflation had occurred at the moment of creation, space would have quickly flattened out, much as the surface of a balloon smooths out under expansion. And. there are other questions. Why are galaxies and energy distributed so evenly in all directions? Because just before inflation, our universe was a fraction the size of an atomic particle, small enough for matter to get uniformly mixed. But one problem remains: galaxy formation. The inflationary model can explain how dust and gas eventually clumped together to begin the formation of galaxies. "According to the simplest grand unified theories, however," admits Guth, "galaxies tend io collapse into black holes at a rather early point in the universe's history." That dire prediction obviously did not come true, but supporters of the inflationary model are confident that someday they'll be able to match theory with. observation. DQ BOB' Cifm.9-

'-.,, isor? . . . The /:a/ sbc-i computer chips . cannruiuruicMTioajB no Krupp employee was to be laid off. How The Mysteries were they to be paid? The answer from Berlin: /rgendw/e—"Somehow." of Mind publishing one ol ihe most imaginative and T. A. Heppenheimer thought-provoking magazines available on Fountain Valley, CA the market today. Lewis Bottomly Genetic Reversal Phoenix At Thomas Jefferson Junior High School, in Teaneck, New Jersey, we have incor- Another Soul Saved porated the material from Omni into the di- all your I wish to thank Omni for changing the science curriculum. We have found rection of my life. Having been born a com- articles interesting and informative, partic- plete klutz, I'd never mastered the art of ularly the ones that deal with genetic re- tying a tie. Scot Morris came to my rescue, search. The following poem was inspired however, with his item "Tie One On," in the by your publication Games column of the April 1983 issue. Therein he described a procedure so sim- The scientists say we all were once ple to master that even a total spastic like slime, /way back in the past dark ages of myself can be happily tying away after only time./Perhaps we came out from under a few hours of diligent practice. a rock,/as gooey as Volvox or blue-green Once, my first question at a job interview Nostoc. THE TWO WORLDS 7 " was, "Er, what is the dress code here WE LIVE IN Salary and perks meant nothing if a tie was Did you ever conjure the algal strand,/ required. Having suffered from years of the ignominious Oscillatoriai/perhaps the Man is not just an isolated entity on such humiliating taunts as "clip-on nerd," green ooze on the tip of your slide/was Earth. He is also of a greater world— the Aunt Gloria. Cosmo,'. The forces that create galaxies I saw no relief in that approach. Omni has once Uncle Donald or your and island universes also How through saved my life. Now I can confidently move man's being. The human body and its up into management, head held high (no Now, before I compose another dark — vita J phenomenon Life— are of the same clips showing), looking toward a bright fu- verse, /just imagine evolution all in re- spectrum of energy of which all creation ture. Why. this completely justifies my two- verse, /In your place the algae ... su- consists. The universe is.ux'j because you erudite, /the sapiens year renewal! preme new Homo are one of its myriad forms of existence. Don Stockbauer ... a green Thallophyte. Stripping away the mystery of these

. Webster, TX Imagine . . Cosmic forces within you increases the

.Buffalo Bill Volvox shot bison with guns,/ personal reality of the Self. There is no Clearing the Air - and mighty Babe Ulothrix swatted sixty adventure greater than the exploration of Self. The article "The Greening of West Ger- home runs. /Henry Wadsworth Prolo- many," by James Kitfield [Earth, April 1983],- coccus, the American whter,/and J. Ed- This Free Book is accompanied by a photo showing a large gar Spirogyra, the elder crime fighter. The Rosicrucians, a worldwide cul- electric-power plant with five smoke- tural organization, have shown thou- stacks. The air above those stacks is en- So treat the green plant with a new point sands of men and women how to ration- tirely clear; not a trace of emissions or pol- of view./Who knows, it might someday ally explore their inner world of Self. A lution is seen coming from them. Nearby be great/to ponder Ronald Reagan Eu- vast psychic realm lies just beyond your are a set of large cooling lowers. We see glena as your president, /or taking Vic- conscious mind. It is a link with your that emissions are indeed coming from . toria Gleocaspa out on a dale. potential criratii'ify and attainment. Not them. Anyone who knows about power magic, not fantasy, but a revelation of plants, however, will see that those emis- Love the gelatinous Anabenna, do not the fullness cif you r being. Write today for sions' are nothing but steam, which does show disdain,/for it could have been a a. free copy of tho Mastery of Life. It tells no more than add humidity to the air. diatom washing you down Ihe drain. /So how you can learn and use more of what Clearly; then, this power plant represents doubt not my words. Just let the thoughts the best available in pollution control. linger,/an algal strand washing you off The photo caption reads, "Pollution in its finger! The Rosicrucians are: West Germany has spawned a generation Neil Glazer - Not b religion of youth dedicated to the environment." Principal • Non-political Since successful efforts al controlling Thomas Jefferson Junior High School • Non-profit pollution are denounced as pollution, it ap- Teaneck, NJDO pearsclear— as clearas the air above those USE THIS COUPON smokestacks— that these West German CREDITS Scribe DLV youth are not really worried about attack- vsdv K^ti-Sir- JiUSlCiiUClAN ORDER. AMOHC ing pollution. Instead, they are concerned Kiitiry'jrian Park San Jose, California 95191, U.S.A. with attacking industry. Of course, they day Shaw; page 26 L i Gentlemen: wouldn't dream of doing without the elec- Pltnsp sssid mpfi iii'.py..if th* .'.'jirr-.i of Life tricity they use; they just don't want it pro- I am sincerely interested. duced by power plants, no matter how ad- -' It -> L.r:3f: f,^ F . vanced their pollution controls. --3i. page Still, amid the fever swamps of the Ger- :. :,... ! ;-K'

• .-.. :•: .. .. «'.;....;. i man left, such flights from reality are far p-jps page 50 lop T I

::;.':-!, .; .,,., from new. Om:r.o. pag asami I Ida: page

of I, the Socialists World 1 At the end War ,.,.,' Olga IB bottom, S ! took over in Berlin and canceled all-con- The ROSICRUCIANS paos i/2. ..'-. :. tracts and payments to the Krupp firm, which employed over 100,000 workers. :e : page V ullivan udios These same Socialists then decreed that Oughtagraphs: signatures the way they oughta be CDRJlPETITOrU By. Scot Morris

ur Competilion #26, announced GRAND PRIZE-WINNER: $100 in the January issue, asked for "oughtagraphs"—the ways various famous personalities should have signed their names, Many names suggested obvious presentations and were repeated often: Moses, Zeus, Mickey Mouse, Van Gogh, Johnny 0a$h. The single name entered more often than any other: Dolly Parton. D"7 We favored oughtagraphs that looked as if they really could be signatures, but cn we broke our rules in a couple of instances (Rube Goldberg and M. C. Escher) for some intricate signatures that wouldn't very likely appear on the backs of checks. —Kristin Hagen, Alameda, CA The idea and the name for this compe- RUNNERS-UP: tition came from Jeffrey Scott, of Los $25 EACH

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—Peter Vanags, Seattle —Brenda Petruska, East Brunswick, NJ —Eleanor Klein, Los Angeles

Melissa Jay Craig, Cleveland —Pascal Portfolio, Huntington Beach, CA af rru

(§> *yT Jf^hu —Ken Faukenberry, St. Simons Island, GA —Beverly Kopp, Wayne, NJ —Gina Bluso, Northfield Center, OH HONORABLE MENTION

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-Howard Aho, Ferndale, Mi —Hermine Cohen, Selma, AL —Gordon Carleton, East Lansing, Ml ScLodof^ot

—Steven W. Reed, Ypsilanti, Ml —No name or address

Grand and Shirley Newlands, —Ed Guyot, Reseda, CA Newmarket, ON

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Angeles, the originator of the animated Stooges. The grand prize-winner will money winners were female. Pac-Man TV series. Scott helped us receive .$100, and nine runners-up will The entry from Melba B. Stapleton choose the winners. In the January issue receive $25 each. The oughtagraphs on ("May West") gets a special booby prize. we printed Scott's original designs for this page receive honorable mention. The calligraphy is well rendered; the

Charles Richter, Galileo Galilei, Hermann It is worth noting that Omni's female spelling, however, merits a "dishonorable Rorschach, Count Dracula, Uri Gefier, readership shone especially brightly mention." Shall we take away Ms. Dr. Joseph Guillotin, and the Three in this competition: Six out of the ten Stapleton's Omni subscription? DO 182 OMNI —

9. ON TRACK. The moon'sorbif around the sun is always concave toward the sun. At

EMfUlES tjme, it no even when is swinging OTORMAMCE toward ANSWERS TO GAMES (PAGE 16 vONTiNui !.: i =iO'.i "ftC-ii- «: the back side of the earth, does it ever 1. TUNNEL TRAIN. gravity train would recede A from the sun. The moon's annual she produces music that is as disorienting indeed work. Strangely enough, such path looks like a a 13-sided polygon with in its sound as it is in its implications. train would make all of its trips in about 42 rounded corners. Perhaps the most striking of her mach- minutes, the same time it would take an inations is the tape"-bow violin, which she object to fall through the center of the earth. first developed about four years ago. It The time is constant regardless of the tun- consists of a violin with a tape-playback nel's length. head mounted on ifs bridge. The bow that 2. TILTING. To compensate for the curva- is drawn across it holds a strip of prere- ture of the earth. corded audio tape instead of the conven- 3. TOUCH. Although the wrinkles and tional horsehair. The speed with which An- bumps on the earth's surface appear large derson draws the bow determines whether to that rise us — mountains more than five we hear a word, a syllable, or just a tone miles up, ocean trenches over six miles of what exists on the tape. deep you wouldn't — be able to feel them As she moves from point to point across on the miniaturized globe. To the touch, in the stage, adjusting and calibrating her fact, earth the compressed would feel electronic arsenal to create the 78 distinct smoother than an ivory billiard ball, worlds of United States, Anderson be- 4. SHOOT. Photographs show that the comes the new technological woman, our moon is the size in positions. same both digital diva. Dressed in black, her dirty- Atmospheric refraction would have the op- PLANET IDENTIFICATION blond hair glowing like silver, she brings posite effect decreasing A. — the apparent Jupiter. Huge as it is, Jupiter is the fast- messages from the front. "There are a lot size of ihe moon. The illusion is universal est turning planet, completing a revolution of things thai I say in performance," she it is apparent even in in a planetarium, but about 9 hours, 50 minutes. confides, "about technology and its fail- there is still fully no accepted explanation B. Venus. It turns once on its axis in 243 ures. But I'm using very sophisticated for it. Ptolemy argued that the horizon moon Earth days, in that time it has gone more technology to say them." appears larger because we can compare than once around the sun (an orbit takes The 18 segments that make up United it with distant trees and buildings. This the- 224.7 days). Thus, incredibly. Venus is the States, Part I, called 'Americans on the ory is still the most widely accepted one, only planet with a day longer than its year. Move," were first performed in 1979 and but it doesn't explain why sailors see the ,.C. Mercury. revolve around the theme of transportation moon illusion just as vividly at sea. D. Earth. (along with electronic communication, one 5. SURF It is convenient to speak of the E. Saturn. of the Big Science networks). Parts ll-IV

going it moon around the earth, but is more F Neptune. (Pluto's orbit is so eccentric center on politics, money, and love. "Really, accurate to that say they form a two-body that since January 23, 1979, it has been really hot topics," she adds. system that revolves around its center. This inside Neptune's orbit. Pluto won't be far- If United States, Parts l-IV can be said common center of gravity is actually inside thest until again March 15, 1999. Until then, to be about anything, it is about connec- the earth because of the earth's greater the mnemonic should be "My very earnest tions— the connection between Anderson the mass. As earth swings around this mother just served us pickled nuts.") and the audience, and ihe mysteriously but center, centrifugal force causes the ocean G. Pluto. The first two letters are the initials electrically charged spaces between her waters to flow away from the center, pro- of Percival Lowell, who predicted the exist- words, sounds, and images. Physically ducing two outward bulges on opposite ence of Pluto; the last two letters start the those spaces are energized by the con- sides of the globe. surname of Clyde Tombaugh, the man who nections she establishes with her ma- 6. WATER POWER. earth's The rotation is in 1930 discovered Plufo from Lowell Ob- chines and her fellow "technicians." In gradually slowing down. Don't look for- servatory, in Arizona some segments she makes use of a dou- ward to a 25-hour day, or to getting a few H. Uranus. The axis of its rotation is so nearly ble harmonizer, a synthesizer with a re- extra minutes of sleep in the morning, on the plane of the solar system that either peat-mode capacity that can change pitch however. The effect is just enough to add end could be called north. Because of this, over a range of two octaves. Her engineer about one second to the earth's day every one cannot say its rotation is clockwise Bob Bielecki supervises amplification lev- 100,000 years. or counterclockwise without ambiguity. els and acoustic design, and projectionist 7. OVER. About feet. UP AND 18.5 It isn't I, Mars. The two moons that Swift pre- Perry Hoberman coordinates the custom- the distance from the ground to the bar dicted are Phobos and Deimos. ized-projection system that superimposes that is imporlani, but the distance from the images throughout the performances. In jumper's center of gravity (CG) to the bar. MANY MOTIONS Big Science, the segment that closes Part A six-loot male's is CG about 3.5 feet above A. The motion of our gaiaxy through the III, Anderson conducts synthesizers, en- the ground;so to jump his height he must universe. gineers, and photographs into a sym- raise his CG 2.5 feet. On the moon he would B. Motion around the center of the galaxy. phonic evocation of American cities and be able to raise his CG six times as high, C. Motion of the earth around the sun. Note towns and the "science" that connects or 15 feet. raising By his legs up to clear that this speed is faster than the next, which them. "Golden cities, golden towns, and the the bar same way he does on Earth, might not have been expected. long cars in long lines. And great big sci- he could add that 3.5 feet back to the jump D. Motion of the solar system through the ence." Behind her, mammoth architectural (just as on Earth), bringing him to the 1.8 galaxy (in the direction of the star Vega, in photographs of city buildings throb and feet 6 inches mark, which is just over half the consfellation Lyra). glow in layered images on movie screens. the height fhat is commonly quoted. E. Revolution of a point on the equator For people who play video games, watch 8. PULLS. The moon's most pronounced around the earth's axis. the news and eat at the same time, and orbit ;s around the sun, just as the earth's F Continental drift. North America and Eu- consider home computers a necessify is. in So, a sense.the sun has captured the rope are separating by about 3 inches per rather than a luxury, Anderson's work hits moon. The earth causes only a small per- year. It is estimated that the Atlantic Ocean home. For a society fhat thrives on sensory turbation in the solar orbit that the. moon is now 1 20 feet wider than it was when Co- overload, she has created hieroglyphics would have if the earth weren't here. lumbus crossed it in 1492. OQ that speak with deadly accuracy. 00 164 OMNI , FTH ANNIVERSARY ISSUE fUEXT Qnnrui FUTURE SHIPS mmmwmm days aboard one of the spaceships of the f u Writer James E. Oberg forecasts the lines of some of the ungainly-looking vehicles that will bring the ithin reach and make pfanet-hopping al-

; simple as taking a weekend excursion, n drives,

i lightsails doited with tiny holes, and on fusion and antimatter engines. And he predicts that the

' >gies will have a profound effect < the way we perceive space. In the future, we'll

John Updike, America's leading novelist, helps celebrate Omni's fifth anniversary with a short story, "During the Jurassic." In a delightfully per- ceptive fantasy, Updike takes a satiric look at the cocktail set. This is one party \

miss. Also in tl

from Isaac Asi...~. ., ...... ^ ... A top investigator from Earth is brought to Aurora when a robot is mysteriously rr and intrigue run And Dan Simmons's novelette Carrion C concludes with a terrifying and deadly cf

RETROSPECTIVE

ary, Omni did a follow-up of the leading sto-

ries that have run since 1 978. The findings reveal that Omni was right on target in predicting the triumph of the space shuttle, the advent of test- Q ' the checkered success of the ar a retrospective of the future

the way we saw it, read "Across Five Octobers." PHEflOfUlEfllM

light in this fly's- Nature photographer R. Hamil caught this ghostly study of light and for early one morning while searching for his native northern Minnesota. Working burn away the dew. Smith att; 3BSES5UESU final picture. Each«™point reflected the sunlight mirrored in the individual drc strung along the fragile rigging of the

' . The resulting view was decidedly

thiv. Smith says it seen; a young man with his hand on his same positions, but in different sizes. This

beard in a pose of extreme consternation; is exactly what I would expect from the en- ICHNOLOGY a bare-chested Indian in an act of prayer; hancement of human corneas, given the a black woman; a family group; and other difference in angle and distance between powered ophthalmoscope. He was aston- religious persons also dressed in Francis- each one and the scene in question." ished to see the liny, embedded bust ol a can habits. Tonsmann argues that the Image-enhancement technology is so man, a finding since confirmed by a half- Guadalupe painting is really a life-size new in art that few qualify to referee Tons- dozen oculists. "snapshot" ol the Virgin Mary, whose eyes mann's work. The first successful appli- Of course, the human cornea reflects reflect a remarkable scene: Juan Diego cation of digital image processing was by what a person sees at any given instant. opens his tilma on December 12, 1531, be- three scientists at NASA's Jet Propulsion And several doctors were convinced that fore the Franciscan bishop of Mexico, Juan Laboratory who reconstructed the under- the Virgin's corneas were reflecting a spe- Zumarraga, while members of Juan Die- drawing of a Flemish masterpiece last year. cific sight in Juan Diego's line of vision. go's household look on. One member of the (earn. -Donald Lynn, Intrigued by these reports, Aste Tonsmann To most people all of these computer suggests that "Tonsmann's findings would decided to undertake the "digitalization" data look like a series of Rorschach ink- be more useful if he could obtain the image of the eyes of the Virgin of Guadalupe. blots open to any subjective interpretation. of the corneas directly, perhaps through a Tonsmann, a Cornell Ph.D. currently active Tonsmann replies that the faces are better television camera operating at much lower in satellite image processing, first tried recognized by someone accustomed to light levels and with a broader dynamic computer enhancement with photographs image processing — easily distinguished, range than the photographs he's presently of human eyes and was able to reproduce, for example, from the enhancement of eyes enhancing." by magnification of the corneas, exactly taken from other paintings. Lynn is trying to assemble a group of what his subjects saw the instant the shut- "The figures correspond amazingly well scientists and art conservators who will ef- ter snapped. He then applied the same to hislorical records of Juan Diego's meet- fect these kinds of sophisticated experi- method to the Virgin's corneas, dividing ing with Bishop Zumarraga, when the pic- ments on the Guadalupe painting. each square millimeter into 27,778 liny ture first unexpected v appeared. In fact, Until more is known, however, critics will blocks, color-coding each one and en- the mos! prominent Franciscan looks like have their hands full explaining how six- larging them all by a factor of 2,000. Thus Zumarraga as he was portrayed in a paint- teenth-century Aztecs painted micro- a computer re-creates what the Virgin ing by the artist Miguel Cabrera. We also scopic Franciscans into the infinitesimal "saw" more than 450 years ago. know," the excited Tonsmann continues, spaces of the Virgin's corneas—without Tonsmann identifies the following fig- "That the bishop had a. black female ser- underdrawings or brush strokes —on an ures in his dramatic miniature: an Indian vant, who can be recognized by her hair. unprepared, unprotected sacking cloth, (Juan Diego) opening his tilma before a "When we compare the enlargements using a pigment whose origin is neither an- Franciscan; the Franciscan himself (the "from both of the Virgin's eyes," Tonsmann imal, vegetable, nor mineral. bishop), on whose face a single tear is claims, "we find the same figures, in the It's an old story. DO

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EXPLORMTIOrUS CONTINUED tROM PAGE 30 •, J>5-'R-:.> has been an Akihabara merchant for more than 26 years. Take began in a small stall When in doubt, (from which he still sells) and has ex- panded his company to a modest three- store chain. Now he sells everything from calculators to reel-to-reel tape decks. "I reach for once sold things like condensers and vac- uum tubes," he recalled. "I remember in 1958 when the first transistor radios were your Runes sold here. We never thought there would be anything like an integrated circuit." Take said the area experienced some of its biggest growth in the late Sixties, when U.S. soldiers on leave from combat duty in Vietnam flocked in to buy cameras and high-quality stereo equipment. Today, Akihabara draws huge numbers of hard-core kit builders who scour the second-floor shops and busy stands for semiconductors, memory chips, and diodes or liquid-crystal-display digital readouts. There are about 200 outlets for u can unlock your future with a key from the past. These 25 such electronic parts. Neal Ulevitch, an c stones, each inscribed with an ancient Viking Rune, offer the American living in Tokyo tor the past tour key to understanding yourself, your problems, and your life, fust and a half years, has built two home com- reach into the elegant drawstring bag and pick one of the Rune Stones; puters from parts bought in Akihabara the accompanying deluxe book tells you its meaning and message shops. Ulevitch said there is a growing for the future. It's like having a. shrink in a hag—and, said Margaret market for Apple II computer knockotfs Mead, "you don't have to make an appointment to see your Runes." counterfeits by all definitions— sprouting " AvniJnbJf! whcn:v<:r hooks ore sold or direct from up in the back rooms of some stores. "They ST. MARTINS PRESS, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 1OO10 look exactly like the real Apple lis, only (Mail orders: please enclose $21.1)0 and send orders Attn: PY. without the Apple logos," Ulevitch said. "It's Includes Book, Stones and Bag.) the forty-eight-K central processing unit with the regular keyboard. The software is a direct ripoff; it even says Applesoft when you boot it up. The price is about two hundred fifty dollars."

If you're shopping for a legitimate prod- uct in the district, there are a few sugges- FOR tions that might help you obtain the cheap- est price. The best way to get the salesman's attention is to begin playing with FUTURE REFERENCE the item, you're interested in. (Demo models are available everywhere, and almost every major store has at least one English- Moving? We need 4-6 weeks onnrui speaking salesman.) notice of a change of address. Fill 5700. Bergenfleld. N.J. 07621 that Walkman RO. Box Let's 'say you see a Sony n the attached for'". III. for instance, with a list price of 22,000 Subscription or Renewal? yen (abouf $82 at current exchange rates). New The salesman may cross out the price and One year of Omni is $24 m -he L 3 write ib,oco yen on the card (about $65), $34 in Canada and overseas. saying something like "special price for Please enclose a check or money you." If you point to the shop next door and order fc-' the appropriaie amour'- shake your head— meaning you can get it and allow 6-8 weeks for delivery cheaper down the block you might per- — Listing/ Unlisting Service? Omni suade him to go as low as 15,000 yen ($55). makes the names addresses Don't buy a camera or lens in Akihabara. and its There are better deals in the Ginza district, of subscribers available to other or even in the United States. publications and outside com- High-fidelity cassette tape is very inex- panies. The publications and pensive, and it's almost impossible tobuy companies selected are carefully without seeing it cheaper someplace else screened fo' their acceptability in Akihabara. Be certain that electrical ap- and quality of their offers. If you pliances have 110-volt outlet plugs. Many would like your name removed warranties are honored only in Japan; so from this mailing list please check bear that in mind if you make a major pur- the appropriate box on the chase. And shops with tax-free signs will save you a 15 percent commodity fax when coupon. you produce your passport.DO — —

A hole through the earth and questions on a cosmic scale

By Scot Morris

Last month we presented here the other end of the hole. If you never touched 4. SHOOT THE MOON. If you want to

outrageous "outside-in" theory, which the edge of the hole, and if there were take a picture of the full moon and get the claims that the earth is a hollow sphere no effects of air resistance, you would largest possible image on film, should

and that we are inside it, along with continue oscillating back and forth forever. you shoot it when it is directly overhead

everything else in the universe. When the The trip would be amazingly fast (and therefore at its closest point to

geometrical operation called inversion about 42 minutes for a one-way drop to your position on Earth), or when it is down is performed on the earth's sphere, the antipode, 84 minutes for the round trip. near the horizon? Almost everyone says everything formerly outside the sphere is Global thinking along these lines has that the moon is largest near the horizon. mapped to a corresponding spot inside, inspired us to put together some other Is this an atmospheric effect or a

and vice versa. As we explained last questions about our planet, its nearest psychological one? Does it show up in

month, if the inversion is followed companion, and our fellow travelers. photographs? completely (which would invert the laws of physics as well as the geometry of -1. TUNNEL TRAIN. Lewis Carroll proposed 5. SURF'S UP. The ocean tides are caused space), there would be no practical test another sort of earth hole in the second by the gravitational pull of the moon that could prove this cockeyed theory part of his fantasy novel Sylvie and Bruno, and sun, mostly of the moon. But why are wasn't true. in which a German professor described there two high tides a day? When there's We don't believe the outside-in theory a-train that would travel from city to city, a high tide on the side of the earth closest for a moment, but one writer who does powered only by gravity: "Each railway is to the moon, there is simultaneously a says that the only test would be to drill a in a long tunnel, perfectly straight; so of high tide on the opposite side of the

hole straight through the center of the course the middle of it is nearer the earth, farthest from the moon. How do earth to the other side. If the earth is center of the globe than the two ends; so you explain the second high tide? What

convex, as conventional views have ft, every train runs halfway downhill, and makes the water bulge in a direction

the hole will come out on the other side of that gives it force enough to run the other away from the moon? the earth, some 8,000 miles away. If the half uphill," earth is a concave sphere, no one knows Ignoring friction and air resistance, as 6. WATER POWER. The motion of the how this experiment will come out, since before, would such a gravity train work? earth and moon causes the tides. And the

no one has ever drilled through the shell About how long would it take to get from, ceaseless sloshing of the tides is having to the "outside" of the universe. say, Los Angeles to San Francisco? an effect on the motion of the earth. We're not sure this through-hole would From LA. to New York 7 What's happening? really settle the question, and we would therefore support Senator William Proxmire 2. TILTING TOWERS. The longest 7. UP AND OVER. The moon's gravity is and any others who might oppose federal suspension bridge in the world is the about one sixth that of Earth. II you weigh funding for such a project. Humber Estuary Bridge, in England, just 120 pounds on your bathroom scale, Still, the hypothetical question is an short of a mile long between the you'll weigh a mere 20 on the moon. An interesting if one: What would happen you supports. (Opened in July 1981 , it beat object tossed straight up on the moon will jumped down a hole that went straight out New York's Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.) go six times as high as it would on Earth through the center of the earth? One The two towers are not quite parallel. if thrown with the same force. of Alice's first "wonders" occurred as she They are 1 .375 inches farther apart The first Lunar Olympics will be held in fell down the rabbit hole: "I wonder if I at the tops than at the bottoms. Why? an enclosed arena, warmed and air shall fall right through the earth! How filled, so that athletes won't be encumbered funny it'll seem to come out among the 3. TOUCH TEST. The earth is almost a by space suits. If a high-jumper can people that walk with their heads sphere, but not quite. Not only is it flattened clear a six-foot bar on Earth, to what height ." downwards! The Antipathies, I think. . . at the poles and bulging at the equator, will he or she be able to jump on the The question itself goes back to and slightly larger in the southern half moon? The answer usually given—36

Plutarch, and even Francis Bacon and (as who among us is not?), but it also has feet— is incorrect.

Voltaire argued about it. Galileo gave the irregular features on its surface that answer we accept as correct: You would anyone can see— mountains, canyons, 8. PULLS. About how much, do you fall faster and faster (increasing your ocean bottoms. If the earth were reduced think, is the moon affected by the gravi- speed but decreasing your acceleration). to the size of a billiard ball, and all the tational pull of the sun, as compared until you reached maximum velocity oceans were dried off with a towel , what with that of the earth? The moon stays about five miles per second—at the would it feel like? Would you be able to with us and doesn't go flying oft toward earth's center. Then you would decelerate feel the mountain ranges, the ocean the sun; so the earth's attraction is greater, until your speed reached zero at the valleys, and the continental boundaries? right? Wrong. The sun pulls more than 192 OMfSI E. The least dense planet. With an

average density of 0.7, it wouid float on

water if you could find a pool big enough. R As we go to press, this planet is farthest from the sun. G. The only planet (other than Earth) with only one moon; this planet was named after a Roman god. Perhaps

not coincidental ly, the spelling of the name commemorates both the man who predicted the existence of the planet and

the man who actually discovered It. H. The only planet on which one cannot identify a north pole, or specify

unambiguously whether it is spinning clockwise or counterclockwise.

I. The planet whose moons were

first described in this uncanny passage from Jonathan Swift's Gulliver's Travels: "They [the Laputans] have likewise discovered two lesser stars, or satellites, which revolve about [the planet], whereof the innermost is distant from the centre of the primary planet exactly three of his diameters, and the outermost five; the former revolves in the space of ten hours, and the latter in twenty-one and an half."

The description is approximately accurate. What's hard to believe is that it's from a work of fiction published in 1726. The first telescope big enough Clockwise tram lower right: How iong would it take to fall through the earth (with no friction or air to see the satellites in question was not resistance)? Why are there two high tides every day? Why does the moon look so much bigger built until 1820, and they were not, in fact, on the horizon than it does overhead? What is the path of the moon around the sun? identified until 1877—more than 150 years twice as hard as the earth. So why hasn't served us nine pickles": Mercury, Venus, after Swift's remarkable prediction, the sun stolen our moon away? Earth, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, MANY MOTIONS Neptune, Pluto. 9. ON TRACK. What sort of path does But do you really know them? Each of The spot where you're sitting is moving the moon trace in ils yearly cycle around the statements beiow describes one through space in at least six different the sun? Clearly, it stays close to the planet only. Can you put each orb in its ways—the galaxy is moving through earth's orbit. The drawing at top right proper place? space, the star system is moving through shows the moon wobbling back and forth A. The planet with the shortest the galaxy, the earth is revolving around six estimated across Earth's orbit. Aside from not day— it spins on its axis more rapidly than the sun, and so on. Here are being to scale, is the diagram approxi- any other. velocities at which you are now traveling. mately accurate? When is the moon's B. The planet with the longest What does each speed represent? orbit convex toward the sun? In other day— it takes longer than any other planet A. 375 mps (miles per second; 1 ,350,000 words, about how much of the time during to turn once around. mph). its orbit is the moon curving away from C. The planet that achieves the B. 170 mps (612,000 mph). "" the sun? - highest velocity in its orbit around the sun, C. 18.5 mps (66,600 mph). averaging over 107,000 mph. D. 12 mps (43,200 mph). PLANET IDENTIFICATION D. The densest planet. It is E. Up to 1,035 mph. Sure you know the planets. As in the approximately 5.5 times heavier than an E 1.5 inches per year. old mnemonic, "My very earnest mother just equal volume of water. Answers are on page 184. DO '

1 CM a!i trie mysteries of the universe, death '.... .'Li,' ranks, among those we know least about. known as astral projections tvtany such One reason, usually ottered bait in jest, . casos have been recorded but the most Is, ''No one has .ever come back'fo toil us tamous asvra! orpjectlon occurred fast ' wh'aubs.iike,' -Or has someone'^' Death- year in Cleveland. While in the hospital

''has- gotten a lot' of scientific attention, having a chronic col drained, a forty- .'.'.' in the. past few years. Are we oh the' brink live .'.,!' ;; .,!.''!' n oai.nnan of unraveling; the great mystery of the named Lance Rivers suffered a massive hereafter? -Let' us briefly exan"me : someo!- near! attack; His-'hear: stopped beating ' the ttneori.es -ahc ^search. for two minutes, and he was pronounced : .-; Firsttn ef.e..ES thequestion.ohwhen- y .clinically dead. Rivers later r(=p or ecj

: i: .'... . .! :> . that dunng those 120 seconds he lelt as E;simpi.e.ru!e of th dm. be' When a person s though ne ware -icating up near the heart : stopped beating., thai person was celling or the room and warcning qmeily

considered i to el-nicaiiy .1 be dead. (Even..' a as n -k ! >: lanvi s 'V rod person in dihnt happen to clinic I ;: be a around bod iver; ; accour- at- the moment his hea^t stopped beating-, of what, he saw and heard is the most the rule stili'applied.)..- chilling acoouni io date of what actually

. But now that medical technology can . happens after dealt-.

revive alpersor!- whose slopped, "I head ha? . remember lying ;n bed and suddenly doctors. are struggling. to write an entirely foci ng scarp pair my chest.

. new definition. This is no easy task, .since Rive'S reports; "I wen; blank for a lew most doctors already have-trouble i seconds, and when came to.. I was sort

f : reading their own writing, let alone anyone o float-no, s : ow ! y be ng lilted higher else's'. Sii'l. Ihey generally LAST now agree and higher I oieariy remember hearing 1 '. criterion; oh anew Death occurs when . the doctor say. Tm sorry. He's dead:' 'there is no longer any brain activity. (This This was. followeo immediately by my

' .'definition '-puts mary a politician in ; ". brother-in-law WJDRD sobbing. 'Oh, God. I lust immediate deep troubled hope he has iusmarceu SyJ.ohn.Fiear.ra Then the'e Is the hotly oebated question " Show some 'aspect!' my sister 'of whether there .is. an afterlife. Long snapped After all, he s my brother. We » Is it possible- we beicre the. scientific community became gotta do what s rlgh:.' intrigued with. the possibility of a " 'Yeah, sure,' my brother-in-law are already, dead and this . ; hereafter, them had various artistic ,-..-.: ?$;; been answered, 'as lung as ; q cost an. is the- afterlife? s-terrrpis \c examine 'he question Most arm-land a leg; '.'.: !''.. " Would this mean that i 'Speaking of which.' toe doctor asked, plays', Ufa After Death o! a Salesman and "tiave you considered leaving your

' i ' tVftose bfe Alter Death is;k. Anyway?. brother o r parrs of him, re science 7 We ''

: will . t iesser patient funerals suddenly/ have a just down the hail who; . become more success; there is the television show The needs a new eel of :

' generally agree that after "a persbndies, qui of. here and. buy a- black eress before

' his soul- leaves the- body and travels to fhs'mall closes.-' a different plane Trie only exception . "Then everything went cork. When i .to "iiis-rule occu-s -a/hen a person pies In' awe

a plane mishap, In which, case his Soul doctor was gone.. My siste 1 - and b-oihei- wiil have to remain on board, or belli in-iaw were gone. : So was my Watch, my transistor radio, my St. Christopher: Does this mean death automatically medal, my e

' .spells the end of contact with- oiners? At baskets, and my dnch tray. .-he irromer-'it there is no scientific evidence Do expediences like Mr RIve's's suggest to that l$ suggest anyone capable of thai 'here .'S something like an afterlife'' making contact with someone who has if that can be we- died. (The same hoies-fua for making ars already dead, arc tn:s s tne afterlife? contact with a doctor living or dead, era (Talk snout your raic Disappointments..!

. weekend.) Of course . ; them are those v'Vould ha n. m no n. ; :.o who wil: try to contact aoeceasec Joyed of us couid make a small forlune In the through one long .: m leasing coffins s v claiming' to be a medium- ;s probably maintenance, one-beo-'oom sondes"?. nothing more than a con man whose only And most Irnpodan!. w'Hj this mean that .Interest ts. making contao! with your giggling at funerals wil suddenly become

' wallet. > !:'.. i \\ ' , Law- ; iCOOpfabl cracked- down on this .scam, h-ji. people science tor the answers, DO- should beware There. is slilua'small

group of mediums at : arge.

..-There, is,- however one area coming under more