In the 70s, Hong Kong had a period of times where its citizens queued up on the streets to get water from an open tap to get water. Who can imagine millions of Texans are out of water supply and out of power last week and suffer from frigid weather in a state better known for its stifling heat?
In recent years, there has been quite an exodus of companies from California to Texas. Austin became the headquarters of Oracle, replacing the redwood shore campus where the database stacks are rightfully portrayed as towers visible from highway 101. The move symbolizes the ends of the global days of relational database. Hewlett Packard has been an icon in Silicon Valley, and not that long ago, Houston became the headquarters of Hewlett Packard Enterprise.
The rivalry between California and Texas goes deeper than the headquarters residence. The two states reside at far ends of the US political spectrum, have almost opposite opinions on climate control, renewal energy, and diversity. Texas is probably the closest rivalry of California. Be it the rivalry, be it be that many Californians have relocated to Texans, be it be that the many acquaintances in Texas, the sufferings of Texans feel pretty close to home. I wish the abnormal weather would come to a past, and the hardship could drive the right infrastructure improvements or changes of policy there.
In this era, the climate extremes are no longer rare, the people are more polarized, anti-Asian sentiment is bubbling up to the surface and for whatever strange things one can think of, there will be a social media cohort thinking similar strange thoughts. Are there correlations among all these? We are all part of an epic drama in the making. I just hope the drama will not end the same way as Remembrance of the Earth’s Past Trilogy.
I love the Foundation series by Isaac Asimov. Over the years, I forgot more than half of the plots. The pandemic avails me extra reading time, and I thoroughly enjoyed the Remembrance of the Earth’s Past Sci-Fi Trilogy. The first of the trilogy, “The Three Body Problem” is on the to-read list of Bill Gates, and a few tech celebrities have read and recommended it. Ten years after its debut, the series is still on the best selling Chinese book list. I read the English translation and have been super impressed.
The trilogy is a chronicle of human civilization from the Cultural Revolution to the far far future of the Universe. In the search of extraterrestrial beings, the astrophysicist, a survivor from the Cultural Revolution, uncovers the existence of aliens, and invites its visit to reset the human civilization. Humans have to face the impending annihilation by the other extraterrestrial civilization whose space fleets are well on the way. Our leaders and our species are ill prepared, and the society is split between worshipping the alien of advanced technology and fighting for our survival. Through the matured hibernation technology, these protagonists traverse from one era to the other; and are forced to make decisions that will forever change the course of human civilization. Their unique characters, their strength and weakness shine in the rich, sophisticated and well connected story plot over many centuries. Among the dark forest of civilization, the protagonists are becoming more and more aware human civilization is all but a minute existence in the Universe.
What will human being behave at times of crisis? Will human civilization and our solar system stand a chance? What will the world be like in the countdown of alien arrival? What if our solar system is in the hands of a computer operator out there, who can annihilate the solar system with a swipe? The ending is surprisingly dark yet fitting.
If you like the foundation series of Isaac Asimov, if you like a read that is equally entertaining as thought provoking, if you are looking for something that takes your mind off the pandemic, you are going to enjoy the characters, the unbelievable plot, the unusual writing skills of the author/translator, and the implication of the story.
oliviatamccue 