Accelerating Returns, Peter Anthony, CreateSpace, 2011
Here is a near future techno-thriller about those who welcome the accelerating pace of technology, and those who want to subvert it.
Isaac and Julia are part of group of rogue extremists called "blockers." Their intent is to perform acts of terror to present the public with spectacles of worst-case scenario science. They are not your average technology-hating luddites, but people in corporate boardrooms and research labs who want to slow the seemingly inevitable joining of man and machine.
There is a major corporate battle going on between Pelius Research and Talbot Laboratories, and Talbot is losing. Even though Talbot is America's largest biotech company, every day seems to bring another lawsuit, ethics violation, or other bit of bad publicity, all orchestrated by Pelius. To say that Arrica, the female CEO of Pelius, does not like Talbot, and Marcus Jovan, its founder and CEO, is much too generous. She wants to put Talbot out of business, and then buy out what's left in a takeover.
Robert Ploof is an arrogant little you-know-what who is not afraid to walk over people on his way to the top. After being fired by Talbot, and quickly hired by Pelius, he takes credit for a potentially huge breakthrough in the coming man/machine integration. A public demonstration of the breakthrough goes very wrong, with "help" from Julia. Meantime, there is a story of an estranged father and son, and a senior executive at Pelius with his own anti-science agenda. Does either corporation survive the Pelius/Talbot war?
This is an excellent story. Not only is it thought-provoking (is technology changing at maximum speed really such a good thing?), but it is also a strong and well-done piece of writing. It is very much worth the time.
Showing posts with label anthony. Show all posts
Showing posts with label anthony. Show all posts
Thursday, October 1, 2015
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Mass Casualties
Mass Casualties: A Young Medic's True Story of Death, Deception and Dishonor in Iraq, Michael Anthony, AdamsMedia, 2009
This is one person's chronicle of a year in Iraq as an Army medic. It is not a pretty picture.
The hospital is set up in, supposedly safe, northern Iraq. It has 3 operating rooms, so if a large number of wounded are brought in at the same time, very unpleasant decisions would have to be made about who lives and who dies. Staff Sergeant Gagney, the immediate boss of the medics, is one of those who seems to think that leadership involves lots of yelling. He agonizes for hours over the work schedule, and comes up with a rotating schedule for everyone; first shift one day, then second shift the next day, then third shift the next day, etc. Of course, this totally disrupts everyone's sleep patterns, so that, after a couple of weeks, everyone comes to work looking like the walking dead. After a month, a female staff sergeant, Hudge, is given the responsibility of making a new schedule. In half an hour, she makes up a more rational schedule that gives everyone the same shift each day.
Later, when Hudge goes to Gagney to express her concerns about the way the unit is run, she is loudly accused of being the one with the emotional problem. When she visits the unit's Chaplain and mental Health Officer, Gagney had gotten to them first and told them about her supposedly unstable mental state. Another member of the unit attempts suicide. Instead of being sent home, or otherwise getting the help he needs, he is assigned extra duties, and basically told to suck it up. Another Sergeant shocks the unit by announcing that he is taking an emergency leave because his son has attempted suicide. Word filters back to the unit that he was seen in a local bar, back home, getting very friendly with a couple of prostitutes.
A Marine is brought in with a broken jaw, so he is in a lot of pain. The doctor on duty would rather attend a unit-wide awards ceremony than attend to the Marine. The author is not the only one in the unit who learns the value of Ambien and NyQuil (drunk by the bottle) for nights when sleep is impossible. Did I forget to mention the frequent shellings that send everyone running to the nearest bunker?
To call this a "wonderful" piece of writing might be the wrong word, because it gives many examples of human idiocy in a war zone, but it really is that good. By all means, read the "official" stories of American military personnel in Iraq, the read this to get the "real" story.
This is one person's chronicle of a year in Iraq as an Army medic. It is not a pretty picture.
The hospital is set up in, supposedly safe, northern Iraq. It has 3 operating rooms, so if a large number of wounded are brought in at the same time, very unpleasant decisions would have to be made about who lives and who dies. Staff Sergeant Gagney, the immediate boss of the medics, is one of those who seems to think that leadership involves lots of yelling. He agonizes for hours over the work schedule, and comes up with a rotating schedule for everyone; first shift one day, then second shift the next day, then third shift the next day, etc. Of course, this totally disrupts everyone's sleep patterns, so that, after a couple of weeks, everyone comes to work looking like the walking dead. After a month, a female staff sergeant, Hudge, is given the responsibility of making a new schedule. In half an hour, she makes up a more rational schedule that gives everyone the same shift each day.
Later, when Hudge goes to Gagney to express her concerns about the way the unit is run, she is loudly accused of being the one with the emotional problem. When she visits the unit's Chaplain and mental Health Officer, Gagney had gotten to them first and told them about her supposedly unstable mental state. Another member of the unit attempts suicide. Instead of being sent home, or otherwise getting the help he needs, he is assigned extra duties, and basically told to suck it up. Another Sergeant shocks the unit by announcing that he is taking an emergency leave because his son has attempted suicide. Word filters back to the unit that he was seen in a local bar, back home, getting very friendly with a couple of prostitutes.
A Marine is brought in with a broken jaw, so he is in a lot of pain. The doctor on duty would rather attend a unit-wide awards ceremony than attend to the Marine. The author is not the only one in the unit who learns the value of Ambien and NyQuil (drunk by the bottle) for nights when sleep is impossible. Did I forget to mention the frequent shellings that send everyone running to the nearest bunker?
To call this a "wonderful" piece of writing might be the wrong word, because it gives many examples of human idiocy in a war zone, but it really is that good. By all means, read the "official" stories of American military personnel in Iraq, the read this to get the "real" story.
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