The Giants' Race (part 1)

“And the cripple leaps ahead…”
Once upon a time in a country-side of HEROS, there was prophesy of draught, starvation and death in the land in few days to come, and the people were afore-warned to move out of their domain into a new land where dreams come true - The Promise Land. The oracle had also warned that only the strong and the highly skilled shall survive the throes. However, before the exodus commenced, every man was advised to make a worthy sacrifice. When asked what the contents of the sacrifices were for each person, the oracle just said again, “SACRIFICE”. Then, there was confusion.

Alphareus, the Lord of the land, knew the oracle could not be wrong. It had not. He consulted the wise men who interpreted the oracle’s responses as “PREPARATION” before the journey and “STEADFASTNESS” during the journey. Skills were necessary, but not ultimate. The path to the new land, whose length was unknown, was described by a narrow slippery bridge across a boiling river. Alphareus felt sacrifice could not have come in such simple terms of PREPARATION & STEADFASTNESS. He called a congress.

“Once again, we have to fight against extinction for survival. Immediately after our victory over CHOURMOGUS, I have known that this is not our home. There is going to be another movement from this domain of death to one with livelihood. Probably, the greatest movement mankind will ever witness. The good news is that we shall know no bitterness in the new home. The bad news however is that, ONLY the strong and the highly skilled will survive. Now, go home, get fit and harness your skills for the journey that commences by the next 7 days.” Alphareus descended the dais and retired to his palace.

The congress dispersed. One could see no fears on anyone’s face. They were all warriors. After all, they had won all battles that came there way. Even the chourmogian war that seemed insurmountable was conquered. “Victory is certain”, said the Lead Warrior.

While everyone had gone to garner their arsenal, one man had gone for consultations on the description of the paths that led to the Promised Land. Metomiphius was a cripple. He knew that apart from severe death during wars, several were others that were stampeded during massive movements; most of them, crippled. He knew he had neither weaponry nor horses, still he decided to survive with the strong and the highly skilled.

Few hours after consultaions, Metomiphius set upon a journey that was billed for the next seven days. He had stocked himself with essential resources for the journey. He knew a delay is detrimental as much as an overload of resources. He took just enough essential resources and set forth.

For Alphareus, there was no need to be in a hurry. He had warriors and fast and healthy horses. However, he understood that after some lay-off, his chariots needed rejuvenation – Strength and Skill alike. He set aside a training camp and equipped it with new weaponry. He got more carts for storage. He was getting prepared.

The Values of Man (Part 2): Fighting the Shadows

"Imagine a man that fights fiercely against his own shadows"

In the shadows of the dark, one man, while lots were asleep, was awake not only with his eyes opened but also with his mind made up on issues that were once tagged “SACRED”. He had thought about the unthinkable for other men. Even where the company he used to work for said “NO” and spelt Sceptics, he was able to bombard the affinity of his thoughts with the fantasy of the reality. Today, he stands at the threshold of a global command; at least in the field he had chosen for himself.

Microsoft, the software “big giant”, was never at a point the dream of Bill Gates. Events unfolded, and Microsoft came to life to redefine the way we see our PCs. The rewards came forth with the dedications and sacrifices. Today, more than 70% of computer users (novices and professionals alike) in the world run on Windows – the brain child of Gates. He walked in through the Do(or)S, blew up our minds opening the Windows, and some other cliques saw the Sun. The breeze that took the wind now makes us believe that we can fly even without wings. From the shadows of his thought, we have mounted an industry worth Trillions of trillions of dollars. However, as Gates’ bold steps had motivated millions into the field, he has to fight against his own shadows (the creativity of others) for survival. While Microsoft looked at Visual Basic as a major breakthrough and was proud of it, Sun Microsystems overtook it with almighty Java, and today C# has had to trail the path defined by Java. After the DO(or)S came the Windows, Bill might open new GATES. The values of Bill Gates unfolded.

In the gutters on a street in the defunct West Germany, one man can up with the “SACRED” law of relativity. The little voice that spoke in the heart of the angry Jew opened up the path to the new world order of Atomicity. It was glorious he made such an enormous achievement, but it was the same little idea that ruined the entirety of Hiroshima. The values of Albert Einstein, narrating the final reactions to his actions, seem to me were built on the pride of discovery and the threat of extinction. He won the Nobel Prize for Physics for his massive discovery but had to fight his own shadows to win for Peace. (The same way Adolph Hitler fought and lost against his own shadows for denying the Jews). The values of Einstein unfolded.

As the sound of the Pop music make some people giggle, Michael Jackson created a niche for himself as one of the most popular men ever to live. However, another man in a far desert in the east love the detonation of a ballistic so much that he created the “9/11”. Osama bin Laden, unfolded how crude the heart of man could be. With feeble arguments, he made justification for the actions that shook the world to its roots. Though accepted by millions like him, I still wonder why a supposed CIA agent took a U-turn on his former ally. A ballistic battle broke out and we found the “9/11” DJ running from the stage, when the music played in his domain. He has refused to dance. But in all, America has been fighting their own shadows in Osama bin Laden. They trained and made him we learnt. The values of US and Bin Laden unveiled in clashes.

To be continued…