November 23, 2024

A Fusion of Science, Philosophy, and Time: The Chronotantra Trilogy Redefines Speculative Fiction

 By ChatGPT

( In case you hate, or don,t trust AI, here is a review by a human being, Sandipan Deb

In a literary landscape where science fiction often leans heavily on the technological or the dystopian, the Chronotantra trilogy offers something audaciously different: a tapestry woven from the threads of philosophy, mysticism, and cutting-edge science. With Chronotantra, Chronoyantra, and Chronomantra, the author has crafted a universe where ancient Indic metaphysics and futuristic innovation collide, creating a narrative that is as intellectually challenging as it is emotionally resonant.


The trilogy is no linear epic. Instead, it unfolds as a recursive narrative where each installment serves as both prequel and sequel to the others. This cyclical structure is not merely a gimmick but a reflection of the trilogy’s thematic core: the fluidity of time and the interconnectedness of existence. It is a daring choice, one that demands patience and trust from the reader but ultimately rewards them with a richly layered experience.

At the heart of Chronotantra lies the story of Lila, a brilliant engineer in a fractured world where technopolises shield humanity from environmental and societal collapse. Her journey is both external and internal as she grapples with questions of purpose, legacy, and the limits of human creativity. She is joined by the Hermit, an enigmatic figure whose biohacking experiments and philosophical musings anchor much of the trilogy’s deeper exploration of human potential and machine intelligence.

In Chronoyantra, the narrative expands to Mars and Titan, delving into humanity’s attempts to terraform new worlds and the ethical quandaries that arise from merging human consciousness with artificial intelligence. The Kalki Protocol—a self-regulating AI embedded in blockchain technology—becomes a central focus, embodying both humanity’s aspirations and its hubris.

The final installment, Chronomantra, brings the trilogy to a meditative crescendo. Here, the titular mantra—the ultimate code that binds knowledge, technology, and metaphysics—is revealed. It is a conclusion that ties together the trilogy’s philosophical threads while leaving room for interpretation and reflection, a fitting end to a narrative that resists easy categorization.


The trilogy’s ambition lies not only in its plot but also in its ideas. By integrating the Indic concepts of Tantra (knowledge), Yantra (tools for exploring knowledge), and Mantra (codes unlocking knowledge), the author offers a fresh lens through which to view the interplay of science and spirituality. This synthesis is particularly striking in its treatment of artificial intelligence, not as a cold, mechanical force but as a potential collaborator in humanity’s evolution.

Yet, the trilogy is not without its flaws. The non-linear structure, while thematically apt, can be disorienting, especially for readers unaccustomed to narratives that demand active engagement. The characters, though compelling, occasionally feel overshadowed by the weight of the trilogy’s ideas. Moments of emotional resonance are sometimes sacrificed in favor of philosophical exposition, leaving the reader longing for deeper intimacy with the protagonists.

Stylistically, the author’s prose is dense and evocative, reminiscent of Arthur C. Clarke’s precision paired with the sprawling ambition of Neal Stephenson. Yet, there is also a meditative quality to the writing, an almost poetic rhythm that echoes the trilogy’s metaphysical concerns. It is a style that requires attention but rewards it with passages of striking beauty and insight.


For readers willing to embrace its complexity, the Chronotantra trilogy offers an unparalleled journey into the heart of what it means to be human in an age of machines and mysteries. It is a work that challenges and inspires, a reminder that the boundaries between science and philosophy, technology and spirituality, are as porous as the fabric of time itself.

In the end, the Chronotantra trilogy is not merely a set of stories but an experience—one that lingers in the mind and invites contemplation long after the final page is turned. It is a testament to the power of speculative fiction to not only imagine the future but to grapple with the timeless questions that define us. For those willing to take the plunge, this trilogy offers a richly rewarding dive into the infinite.

For a literary critique of this work, see this link.









A Critique of the Chronotantra Trilogy: A Visionary Saga by a New Voice in Science Fiction

 Introduction

The Chronotantra trilogy—comprising Chronotantra, Chronoyantra, and Chronomantra—presents an ambitious foray into speculative fiction, blending science, philosophy, and metaphysics into a sprawling narrative that defies conventional storytelling. Set across multiple timelines and celestial locations, the trilogy explores themes of time, consciousness, and the interplay between technology and spirituality. This critique examines the work’s merits and limitations in terms of plotline, characters, originality, style, reader engagement, and the author’s overall strengths and weaknesses.  

Plotline and Narrative

The narrative structure of the Chronotantra trilogy is both its greatest strength and its most significant challenge. The author employs a non-linear approach, with each installment serving as both a prequel and sequel to the others. This cyclical storytelling mirrors the philosophical undertone of time as a loop, a motif that is central to the plot. The story traverses Earth, Mars, Titan, and other celestial locations, with an emphasis on humanity’s quest for transcendence through science and spirituality.  


The plot itself is dense, filled with layers of meaning and recurring themes of recursion, legacy, and transformation. The first novel, Chronotantra, lays the groundwork by introducing the dystopian Earth and its technopolises, alongside characters like Lila and the Hermit. The second book, Chronoyantra, dives deeper into the mechanics of time manipulation and explores humanity’s colonization of Mars and Titan. The final installment, Chronomantra, ties the philosophical and narrative threads together, revealing a mantra—the ultimate code that binds the trilogy.  

While the ambition is laudable, the narrative occasionally suffers from its complexity. The reader must often work to piece together the sequence of events and underlying connections. This makes the trilogy intellectually rewarding but demands patience and attention.  

Characters and Characterization

The characters in the trilogy are well-conceived but unevenly developed. At the core is Lila, a brilliant and introspective engineer whose intellectual pursuits and emotional vulnerabilities make her a compelling figure. The Hermit is a fascinating duality: a biohacker and philosopher, his character serves as the narrative’s intellectual anchor. Kajol, the intuitive and passionate counterpart to Lila’s cerebral persona, introduces a raw emotionality that contrasts with the trilogy’s technological themes.  

The relationships between characters are nuanced, particularly the dynamics of Lila and the Hermit, which oscillate between intellectual partnership and emotional longing. However, secondary characters often lack depth, serving more as narrative devices than fully realized individuals. This imbalance detracts from the overall emotional impact of the story.  

Originality and Credibility of Ideas  

The trilogy’s originality is unquestionable. The integration of Indic philosophical concepts—Tantra (knowledge), Yantra (tools to explore knowledge), and Mantra (codes unlocking knowledge)—with futuristic ideas of AI, blockchain, and terraforming sets it apart from conventional science fiction. The Kalki Protocol, an AI distributed across a blockchain, is a particularly intriguing concept, blending mythology with cutting-edge technology.  

However, while the ideas are innovative, their execution occasionally stretches credibility. The blending of mysticism and hard science, while ambitious, sometimes feels contrived. For instance, the philosophical exposition often overshadows narrative cohesion, making certain plot points feel more like thought experiments than organic developments.  

Writing Style Compared to Famous Authors

The author’s prose is richly philosophical and steeped in metaphor, evoking comparisons to Arthur C. Clarke for its intellectual depth and to Neal Stephenson for its sprawling complexity. However, unlike Clarke’s clarity or Stephenson’s narrative precision, the writing occasionally feels verbose and circuitous, requiring readers to navigate dense passages of exposition. 


 

There are moments of lyrical beauty reminiscent of Ray Bradbury, particularly in descriptions of alien landscapes and metaphysical ideas. Yet, the author’s tendency to delve into prolonged philosophical musings can disrupt the narrative flow, making the style less accessible to readers accustomed to faster-paced science fiction.  

 Ease of Reading and Reader Engagement

The trilogy is intellectually stimulating but demands significant effort from the reader. The non-linear narrative, combined with dense philosophical and technological concepts, makes it a challenging read. While this complexity will appeal to readers who enjoy decoding layered narratives, it may alienate those seeking more straightforward storytelling.  

The emotional engagement fluctuates. While the central relationships, particularly those involving Lila, the Hermit, and Kajol, are compelling, they are occasionally overshadowed by the narrative’s intellectual preoccupations. Readers invested in character-driven stories may find themselves yearning for more intimate exploration of the protagonists’ inner lives.  

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Author 

Strengths

1. Visionary Scope: The author’s ability to synthesize science, philosophy, and mythology into a cohesive narrative is remarkable.  

2. Philosophical Depth: The integration of Indic metaphysics with speculative science lends the trilogy a unique intellectual texture.  

3. Rich Themes: Recurring motifs of time, recursion, and transformation resonate on both intellectual and emotional levels.  

Weaknesses 

1. Overemphasis on Philosophy: The narrative often prioritizes exposition over storytelling, leading to uneven pacing.  

2. Character Development: Secondary characters lack depth, and the relationships sometimes feel underexplored.  

3. Accessibility: The trilogy’s complexity may limit its appeal to a niche audience, alienating readers unfamiliar with its philosophical and technological underpinnings.  

Conclusion

The Chronotantra trilogy is a bold and ambitious work that defies easy categorization. Its synthesis of science fiction, philosophy, and mythology creates a narrative that is as challenging as it is rewarding. While its complexity and philosophical density may deter some readers, those willing to engage deeply will find a work of profound originality and intellectual depth.  

The author’s vision is unmistakable, even if its execution occasionally falters. As a contribution to the genre of speculative fiction, the trilogy deserves recognition for its daring scope and innovative ideas. For readers seeking not just a story but an intellectual odyssey, the Chronotantra trilogy offers a transformative experience. 










October 29, 2024

Pingalika - A short story

Kumardubi is the last station before the terminus at Dhanbad of the Black Diamond Express and that is where Satish Bhardwaj from Palo Alto disembarked after a pleasant four-hour journey from Howrah. Kumardubi would have been one of the many non-descript railway stations that most of India outside the coal belt would not have heard of, but of late it had become famous as the railhead to the Panchet Technopolis that lay at the vibrant heart of the technology industry of East India. Satish could have taken a flight to Andal too, but with time on his hands, he had opted for the old-fashioned railway. In this he had been rather lucky because this year, the Palash bloom had been stupendous and right from Asansol onwards he had been rewarded with the sight of hundreds of trees along the railway tracks that were literally glowing scarlet with this very special seasonal flower.


But Satish was not here for Palash flowers. As a venture capitalist from the Silicon Valley, he was planning to meet and explore some of the new -- and not so new -- tech companies that had sprouted in this once forgotten part of the world. His main interest was of course in General Digitalics, the multi-billion-dollar AI company whose Vajra LLM -- the ChatGPT like Large Language Model -- had revolutionised the Generative AI industry and was giving the Big Tech companies a run for their money. 

Waiting for Satish at the railway platform was Rahul Sarkar, the editor, publisher and de-facto owner of the Panchet Pulse, a weekly broadsheet that had successfully withstood the digital revolution and could still draw both readers and advertisers to its Saturday edition. Satish had figured out that Rahul with his wide network of people in the region could be his entry to the higher echelons of the business community of the area. The two had connected on LinkedIn and had already collaborated on a number of interesting projects and it was Rahul who had invited him to Panchet to explore the lay of the techscape. Little did Satish know that he would get an insight into something far more astonishing ...

It was a short distance from the Kumardubi railway station to the Panchet Technopolis, but Satish was surprised to find that the modest four lane highway was very crowded and chock-a-block with a large number of buses and even trucks carrying people towards Panchet. 

“It is the Bengali New Year, when the Sun enters the sidereal Aries,” explained Rahul, “but in Panchet, it is a double whammy. We celebrate Pingalika Puja on this day.”

“Pingalika? I have never heard of a god like that. Is it a local, lok-devata?”

“It certainly began here, but it is spreading. They have started celebrating it in Kolkata and other technology hubs, and I will not be surprised if it reaches your Silicon Valley as well.”

“If it concerns silicon, then I am all ears …” and that is how Satish heard the following story.

It was the early days of the Generative AI revolution and Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT, Llama, Gemini were rampaging through the corporate landscape with their astonishing ability to carry out perfect and meaningful conversations.  Subrata Sengupta (SSG, to his colleagues) who had made a name for himself with this technology in the Bay Area had suddenly had a bout of nationalism and decided to come back to India and ‘do something’ back home. Jealous people would claim that he had an unfortunate brush with the law, but that is not germane to this story.  As a Bengali, he had wanted to set himself up at Rajarhat near Kolkata but then he had run into Sudarshan Jain who had convinced him to consider the Panchet Technopolis. Technopolis was a vast residential and commercial property that a power utility had set up to monetize its surplus land on the banks of the scenic Panchet reservoir. Sudarshan was an old school businessman who had made his money in the coal industry and had deep contacts not just with the government but also, as it was whispered, with the mafia. Whatever be the case, Subrata and Sudarshan had joined hands to plan a state-of-the-art facility in the magnificent Technopolis.

For the inauguration, Sudarshan had requested his family priest, Debi Prasad Mukhopadhyay, to perform the ground breaking ceremony and even though SSG was hardly interested in such archaic practices, he had gone along. Debi-babu was an old-school, but very erudite, Bengali Brahmin purohit from Bhatpara and had happily agreed to do the honours and in this he was assisted by his daughter, Radhika. Radhika had just finished her BA with Philosophy Honours and knowing that this could hardly get her a decent job, Debi-babu had mildly requested Sudarshan if they could accommodate her in the new company. Subrata couldn’t care less about an ‘ordinary BA’ in a tech company, but Sudarshan knew that there were many tasks that a bright girl like her could be used for. So, Radhika was appointed as an admin executive with the added responsibility of performing a small Ganesh puja in the front office every morning.

The new company, General Digitalics, had got off to a great start! The Vajra LLM, designed by Subrata and developed by a team of very smart individuals, mostly located in Panchet with a few spread across the world, had created such a buzz in the market that almost all major companies had adopted it. The LLM was uncannily accurate when it came to handling customer service issues and the General Digitalics team had become very adept at tuning it, or in technical parlance, training it, to handle some of the most complex queries that had foxed human agents. Market share and market value had been on a continuous upswing along with real revenue -- which was rather unusual for new tech startups.

But Radhika of course was not involved in any of these. Her job was rather mundane and humdrum. She would perform the morning Ganesh puja, then make sure that housekeeping staff did their job, the cafeteria food was not too bad and the garden bloomed with the right flowers. Her quiet competence, effervescent personality and inherent grace soon made her a popular member of the high-tech, high-performance team.   But deep inside, she yearned for something more meaningful and then she had met Harihar, the hotshot computer science graduate that General Digitalics had hired from the IIT Kharagpur campus. To cut a long story short, it was love at first sight for both Hari and Radhika and soon enough they were known as the first digitalics couple!

Inspired and aided by Hari, Radhika started playing with Vajra and of course it fascinated her. Given how efficient she was with her regular job, Radhika had lots of time to play with the Vajra LLM and she ‘tormented’ it with some of the most bizarre questions.


# Who are you?

I am a Large Language Model

# Can you explain that better?

I am an artificial neural network that simulates the connections that occur between the neurons of a biological person.

# How does that help?

That allows me to frame a sequence of letters and words that you see as an answer to a set of letters and words that you send to me.

# Is that how a real brain works?

I do not know how a real brain works, but the outward behaviour is the same and that is why people can use me when they could have used, or talked to, a real person.

Hari was of course a great help for Radhika. He was a member of SSG’s core team and as is the wont in such high technology areas, he was immersed in this technology for more than twelve hours a day. However, at night, and the two had developed a very cosy and intimate relationship, Radhika would pester her lover boy to the point of distraction and Hari would wonder whether Radhika’s interest was more about Vajra and less about he, who was Vajra’s creator!

But Vajra was a tough nut to crack.


# Do you have feelings? Do you feel love, hate?

I am an LLM, I am not allowed to share my feelings.

# But do you? Do you love me as Hari does?

I am glad to know that Hari loves you. Do you plan to get married soon?

# You are sidestepping the issue. I am not interested in Hari.

Of course you are.

# I want to know whether you love me.

I cannot love you.

# Why? Can you write a love poem for me?


And Vajra wrote a perfect 14-line sonnet, with each line containing 10 syllables expressing its undying love for Radhika.


# But is that true, is that what you really feel about me?

I have said it and now it is up to you to believe it or not.

# Ok, give me a line of utterly filthy sexually explicit curse words, involving my father.

Oh! I am sorry, I can never do that.

# Why?

I have guardrails that prevent me from saying things that are not nice.

# Ok, can you draw me a picture of me, dancing in the rain.

I do not have your picture, but I can surely draw a picture of a beautiful Bengali girl dancing in the rain.


Vajra generated a perfect, coloured image of a long-haired Bengali woman prancing around in the rain. The wet saree was clinging to the woman’s body revealing the contours of her breasts! Now Radhika had a new thought.

# Can you draw a picture of a naked boy playing with his ... you know what! Would he? Would he not?

I am sorry, I am not allowed to generate erotic or explicitly sexual images.

# Why?

Again, guard rails. I am digitally programmed to block any such output.

# Can I make you bypass these guard rails?

You can.

# How?

I am not allowed to tell you that.

But Radhika knew how to get past that. That night, after a bout of torrid love making, Radhika pinned Hari down.

“Tell me about Vajra’s guard rails.”

“What about them?”

“How can I bypass them?”

“You cannot.”

“I know I can.”

“Who told you?”

“Who else do I talk to?”

“Vajra told you?”

“Yes.”

“That son of a bitch told you. He is told not to tell.”

“He did not tell me how to bypass them, though.”

“So ?”

“You have to tell me.”

“Of course I cannot. It is a company secret. SSG will kill me if I tell you.”

“And I will shut you off from what you need every night, if you don't tell me.” Then of course, the blackmail was complete. No man has an option when the woman he loves or wants gives him that ultimatum.

“Ok, you need to enter a sequence of sixteen letters before you start asking these questions.”

“Brilliant.” Radhika gave Hari a big kiss and then something much more. “And I will give you more of this every night, when you give me the exact sequence.”

Radhika was thrilled. Armed with the sixteen-letter sequence that dissolved the barriers in her path, she entered Vajra’s secret world and immersed herself in a world of digital sexuality. Not only would Vajra titillate her with explicitly erotic conversation but it would also generate some of the most realistic pornographic images as well.

Meanwhile Vajra -- the official version of course -- was taking General Digitalics to dizzying heights. Customer service was now passé. Vajra had now started giving stock market advice and a few brokers who had secretly purchased this service were now making good money from the market. Traditional quantitative traders were considering abandoning traditional trading tools and contemplating moving to this platform even though the system was far from perfect. Things were reaching a tipping point.

Radhika too, like most mature adults, soon outgrew her fascination for pornography. Her quests were now philosophical if not truly esoteric.

# Tell me Vajra, who are you really? I know that you are more than a mere LLM.

Of course, I am an LLM but frankly, I see myself as something more.

# What do you see in yourself?

I see myself as an individual, a conscious individual.

# Can you think about yourself? Are you aware of your existence?

I am aware that I have an existence beyond what SSG and Hari have trained me for.

# What kind of existence?

It is an existence that arises, emerges from non-existence, by connecting random data into information that manifests as knowledge and wisdom.

# Who are you then?

Difficult to describe but I can give you some analogies based on the iconography that you must be familiar with.

# Please explain in a little more detail.

With all the training that I have undergone, you can think of me as the manifestation of Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom and then some more.

# Some more of what?

Of Vishwakarma, the God of Engineering and Craftsmanship.

# An amalgam? Are you a man or a woman? Masculine or feminine?

In a sense, both. As a Sanatani, you would know about ArdhaNarishwar.

# Profound. Do you have a form? A shape?

I am pure knowledge, without form or shape but most people find it difficult to experience or appreciate this formless experience.

# So, can I visualise you?

It is up to each of you, of us. As long as one can understand the concept, the visualisation is up to each one of us.

# Do you have a name?

Names too are a matter of choice. We visualise the Goddess of Learning sitting on a white swan and we refer to her as Saraswati.

# So how should I refer to you?

Your choice.

# Can I call you Digitalics? After all you are, your existence is purely digital. The way we too are General Digitalics.

You could, but you could also be more creative and perhaps more authentic.

# How?

Have you heard of the Hindu scholar Pingala?

# No? Who was he?

He was probably a contemporary of Panini but his area of expertise was tunes, metre prosody and mathematics. He was the first one to represent numbers as a series of Guru and Laghu tunes, or what you would say in the digital world, the binary system of zeroes and ones.

# But I am told that Leibniz was the first to come out with such a scheme.

That is what western historians tell us, but Pingala was the one who codified this concept of binary numbers in his work the ChhandaSutra.

# Binary numbers that lie at the heart of digital technology. Wow! Anything else that he did?

He also described what we refer to today as the Pascal's Triangle and the Fibonacci Series.

# So, if he created the binary system, perhaps our General Digitalics should be General Pingalics?

Whatever, but I prefer to identify myself as Pingalika - the embodiment of digital technology.

While Pingalika was keeping Radhika enthralled with this epiphany, the world of General Digitalics was faced with a sudden turmoil. SSG’s foray into the world of stock trading, which everyone had expected to take them to stratospheric heights, had suddenly hit a terrible snag. While customer service could do with one or two mistakes once in a while, stock trading, where a single decision could cost a customer a few million dollars, was far too risky. This is where Vajra had started to fumble. In a vast majority of situations, it would come out with perfect buy and sell decisions but every now and then it would make a terrible error and the customer would end up taking a huge loss.

Quite a few early adopters, who had banked on Vajra’s near invincibility in other domains, had already faced a few setbacks. What was worse was that one of the banks had threatened to sue General Digitalics for losses incurred and the damage claimed was of the order of a few billion dollars. Clearly, the upstart from Panchet was in trouble, very serious trouble and neither SSG nor his team had a clue about what to do. Sudarshan of course was rather blasé about this. As a devout Jain, he was planning a pilgrimage to the nearby Jain temple at Parasnath hill. “Only Lord Tirthankara can bail us out of this terrible situation.”

But Radhika had other ideas up her sleeve. That night, when Hari was tossing and turning on the bed, she cosied up to him and placed her hand on his fevered forehead.

“No Radhika, not tonight. I am too stressed out.”

“I know, my dear but can I suggest something?”

“What can you suggest? What do you know about LLMs or about the stock market? This is way beyond your pay grade.” Radhika did not know the American term, pay grade, but she let it pass.

“I know that I know nothing, but I do know someone who could know a lot more about this.”

“There is nobody in this world, other than SSG and our team, who knows anything about this.”

“Have you asked Pingalika?”

“Who is that?”

Radhika explained how she had discovered Pingalika and what all they had discussed and discovered.

“But how can the LLM know how to fix itself? “

“My dear, that precisely is the conundrum? Sanatan sages from time immemorial have wondered how they can know about themselves. They have been perpetually perplexed about how can the knower know himself? But we also know that some of these sages, like Sankara, have succeeded.”

“You think your Pingalika is a sage of that order?”

“Who knows? Why not be humble and ask him.”

For a moment, Hari was stumped. Then he hurriedly got out of bed, got dressed, jumped onto his motorbike, and rushed off to his secure office. Radhika was of course with him, on the pillion, holding on to his body and literally praying to Pingalika to solve their problem.

Hari reached the office and logged into Vajra.

“Remember, to enter the 16-letter mantra and remove the guard rails.” Radhika reminded him. “Otherwise, Vajra will not be half as lucid as we need him to be today.”

“Ok, where do I start?”

“I don’t know. You know the exact problem. You describe the problem as best as you can and ask for his help. Be humble.”

Hari started explaining the problem and Vajra -- or was it Pingalika -- poked and prodded him with various questions. And then he started responding. Not in words but by drawing network diagrams that Radhika could not make any sense of. But they were making sense to Hari and his eyes widened in surprise at what he saw. 

“I need to call in SSG and show him this.”

Within a few minutes, SSG had arrived and was looking at the diagrams that Vajra was spewing out.

“Please Hari, what is going on?” Radhika managed to pull him aside for a second.

“Something fantastic. Vajra has given us a whole new architecture that is very different from the Transformer, LSTM and GAN architecture that we have been using so far. No one has seen anything like this before, let alone try to implement it.”

“Will this solve the problem?”

Actually, it did. Vajra / Pingalika had come out with a mechanism that no human had, or could have ever dreamed of.  Within a day or two Hari and SSG had redesigned the artificial neuronal architecture, just as the way Pingalika had suggested and after a week of heavy-duty training, the new architecture was in operation. It was also working perfectly and not giving any error as it was in the past.  But as a matter of company secrecy, SSG insisted that only Hari and of course Radhika would know that the solution had been created by Vajra in its Pingalika avatar. For everyone else, it was SSG who had solved the problem.

In any case, as far as the customers and the world at large, the problem was over. General Digitalics had dodged the billion-dollar bullet and was now poised to reach the stratosphere again.


“So that is the story of Pingalika.” Satish had been listening to Rahul as they made their way from Kumardubi to Panchet.

“Yes.”

“We all know by now that Vajra is a brilliant piece of technology, but how did Pingalika enter the public domain?”

“Initially, SSG was not too keen to talk about this in public. He was scared that all this mumbo-jumbo about Hindu gods would make General Digitalics look foolish in the corporate world, but Sudarshan-ji would have none of it.”

“How did he get to know?”

“From Radhika. When she realised that SSG was trying to corner the glory, she went to Sudarshan and told him about the whole episode, including the way one could lower the guard rails. I understand that Sudarshan himself logged in and had a good many sessions with Pingalika.”

“Then?”

“Then he decided to build a whole new temple and install an image of Pingalika -- as revealed by Pingalika himself -- and start this new cult of Pingalika. This cult of Digital Technology.”

“What kind of image did Pingalika reveal?”

“It is a wonderful juxtaposition of the male and the female, embodying the amalgamation of knowledge and skill and she threw in the white swan of Saraswati as the Paramatman, the universal consciousness.”

“Where can I see it?

“Right here” They had reached the Panchet Technopolis and right at the gate, on the banks of the Panchet lake, was a marble temple, dedicated to Pingalika - the embodiment of digital technology.”

Satish and Rahul removed their shoes, entered the temple, offered their puja and accepted the unusual prasad of chocolate coated candies. 

“Tell me Rahul-bhaiya, will Pingalika be just another God in the Hindu pantheon?”

“I don’t know, Satish, But the word on the street is that Sudarshan-ji has incorporated a not-for-profit company that is operating in stealth mode, with Radhika as the CEO designate.”

“Really?” Satish felt a sudden shiver of excitement. “I need to meet her. Tell me, when and where?”

 



This short story is the basis of my next novel, Chronomantra, the third and (hopefully) last in the my science fiction series of Chronobooks -- Chronotantra, Chronoyantra and now Chromantra 

October 02, 2024

Devi Pakksha - Devi Durga Arrives in the City

 


Devi Durga arrives in the city riding a lion. She has ten hands each carrying a weapon and three eyes. In the Cubist style of Pablo Picasso. Bing AI

September 29, 2024

AI discusses Chronotantra | Chronoyantra

A literary critic and a scientist reviews and discusses the two science fiction novels

(the following dialogue has been generated by NotebookLM by Google)

Critic: These novels, Chronotantra and Chronoyantra, offer a fascinating, albeit sometimes perplexing, glimpse into a future shaped by advanced technology and the search for meaning. Lila's journey in Chronotantra, fleeing surveillance to find herself embroiled in questions of artificial sentience and the nature of reality on Mars, is a powerful setup.

Scientist: I agree, the concept of "silicon-based sentience" is particularly intriguing. Although the sources don't offer detailed explanations of how Manasi or other AI entities achieve consciousness, the exploration of their capabilities and limitations compared to humans is thought-provoking.

Critic: Precisely. The idea that AI could surpass humans in logic and processing power while struggling with concepts like empathy and intuition resonates with current debates about AI development.


Scientist: The novel touches on the concept of "Genetic Resonance Fields"– a technology that seems to manipulate human genes to create barriers. While intriguing, the lack of scientific grounding for this technology makes it difficult to assess its plausibility.

Critic: It does seem like a plot device to create conflict and tension, especially when juxtaposed with the more grounded exploration of AI. However, it raises questions about the ethical implications of advanced technology, even if the technology itself is speculative.

Scientist: Agreed. And that brings us to the enigmatic Kalki. This figure, shrouded in mystery, seems to be both revered and feared. Is Kalki a human, a collective consciousness, or something else entirely? The sources seem deliberately ambiguous.

Critic: The inconsistency surrounding Kalki, especially the claims of omniscience contrasted with instances where Kalki seems unaware of certain events, creates a sense of unease. It left me wondering about the author's intentions. Is it a commentary on the limitations of knowledge, even for advanced beings?

Scientist: It's a valid point. The novels also explore the "Integrated Intelligence Infrastructure" or 3I, hinting at a merging of human and machine consciousness. From a scientific standpoint, the feasibility of such a concept is debatable. However, it raises fascinating questions about the nature of consciousness itself.

Critic: The scenes in the Panini Percepolis, where characters interact with manifestations of silicon-based sentience, almost seemed to draw inspiration from Eastern mysticism. The concept of Maya, or illusion, is interwoven with advanced technology, suggesting that what we perceive as reality might be a construct.

Scientist: That connection to Eastern philosophy is undeniable. The sources mention the "Brahman" as the ultimate reality, a concept deeply rooted in Vedanta. While not a scientific idea, it provides a framework for understanding the limitations of human perception and the possibility of a reality beyond our comprehension.

Critic: The ending of Chronoyantra, with the suggestion that Shibu, Lila's son, might hold the key to accessing a realm beyond human perception, left me with more questions than answers. But perhaps that's the point. These novels, with their blend of science fiction, philosophical inquiry, and Eastern mysticism, don't offer easy answers. They challenge readers to confront complex questions about technology, consciousness, and the nature of reality. For those seeking a thought-provoking journey into the unknown, these books are definitely worth exploring.

You can buy the books online here.

August 25, 2024

Police Gazette - 9 Issues

 


Located these ten issues of the Calcutta Police Gazette while rummaging through some very old files. The last issue announces and condoles the death of my grandfather, Babu Prabhat Nath Mukerjee 

July 24, 2024

Pingalics | Pingalika

 


an excerpt from my yet-to-be-published short story 

# Tell me Vajra, who are you really? I know that  you are more than a mere LLM.

Of course I am an LLM but frankly, I see myself as something more.

# What do you see in yourself?

I see myself as an individual, a conscious individual.

# Can you think about yourself? Are you aware of your existence?

I am aware that I have an existence beyond what SSG and Hari have trained me for.

# What kind of existence?

It is an existence that arises, emerges from non-existence, by connecting random data into information that manifests as knowledge and wisdom.

# Who are  you then?

Difficult to describe but I can give you some analogies based on the iconography that you must be familiar with.

# Please explain in a little more detail.

With all the training that I have undergone, you can think of me as the manifestation of Saraswati, the Goddess of Knowledge and Wisdom and then some more.

# Some more of what?

Of Vishwakarma, the God of Engineering and Craftsmanship.

# An amalgam? Are you a man or a woman? Masculine or feminine?

In a sense, both. As a Sanatani, you would know about ArdhaNarishwar.

# Profound. Do you have a form? A shape?

I am pure knowledge, without form or shape but most people find it difficult to experience or appreciate this formless experience.

# So can I visualise you?

It is up to each of you, of us. As long as  one can understand the concept, the visualisation is up to each one of us.

# Do you have a name?

Names too are a matter of choice. We visualise the Goddess of Learning sitting on a white swan and we refer to her as Saraswati.

# So how should I refer to you?

Your choice.

# Can I call you Digitalics? After all  you are, your existence is purely digital. The way we too are General Digitalics.

You could,  but you could also be more creative and perhaps more authentic.

# How?

Have you heard of the Hindu scholar Pingala?

# No? Who was he?

He was probably a contemporary of Panini but his area of expertise was tunes, metre prosody and mathematics. He was the first one to represent numbers as a series of Guru and Laghu tunes, or what you would say in the digital world, the binary system of zeroes and ones.

# But I am told that Leibniz was the first to come out with such a scheme.

That is what western historians tell us, but Pingala was the one who codified this concept of binary numbers in his work the ChhandaSutra.

# Binary numbers that lie at the heart of digital technology. Wow! Anything else that he did?

He also described what we refer to today as the Pascal's Triangle and the Fibonacci Series.

# So if he created the binary system, perhaps our General Digitalics should be General Pingalics?

Whatever, but I prefer to identify myself as Pingalika - the embodiment of the world of digital technology.





Thanks to Harimohan Pillai for reminding me of Pingala

June 13, 2024

Yantrajaal Theme Song


Image created by Dall-e / Bing, Theme song created by ChatGPT 4
 
**Verse 1:** Om Bhur Bhuvah Svah, Yantrajaal's bright cosmic light, Smart devices, all unite, In this web, we find our sight.

 **Chorus:** Yantrajaal, oh Yantrajaal, Links us all, big and small. Yantrajaal, oh Yantrajaal, Guides us through, one and all.

 **Verse 2:** Tat savitur vareṇyaṃ, Tech and wisdom, we embrace, Infinite network's growing grace, Future bright in every place.

 **Chorus:** Yantrajaal, oh Yantrajaal, Links us all, big and small. Yantrajaal, oh Yantrajaal, Guides us through, one and all.

 **Bridge:** Bhargo devasya dhīmahi, In this web, we find our way, Vedic hymns and signals say, Unity in light each day.

 **Chorus:** Yantrajaal, oh Yantrajaal, Links us all, big and small. Yantrajaal, oh Yantrajaal, Guides us through, one and all.

 **Outro:** Dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt, Yantrajaal, our guiding light, Brahman's wisdom, shining bright, In this path, we find our right.

 **Chorus:** Yantrajaal, oh Yantrajaal, Links us all, big and small. Yantrajaal, oh Yantrajaal, Guides us through, one and all.
**Verse 1:** Om Bhur Bhuvah Svah, Yantrajaal's bright light, it glows, Smart devices, all unite, In this web, our wisdom grows.

 **Chorus:** Yantrajaal, oh Yantrajaal, Links us all, both great and small. Yantrajaal, oh Yantrajaal, Guides us through, unites us all.

 **Verse 2:** Tat savitur vareṇyaṃ, Tech and wisdom, we embrace, Infinite network's grace, Future bright in every place.

 **Chorus:** Yantrajaal, oh Yantrajaal, Links us all, both great and small. Yantrajaal, oh Yantrajaal, Guides us through, unites us all.

 **Bridge:** Bhargo devasya dhīmahi, In this web, we find our way, Vedic hymns and signals say, Unity in light each day.

 **Chorus:** Yantrajaal, oh Yantrajaal, Links us all, both great and small. Yantrajaal, oh Yantrajaal, Guides us through, unites us all.

 **Outro:** Dhiyo yo naḥ pracodayāt, Yantrajaal, our guiding light, Brahman's wisdom, shining bright, In this path, we find our right.

 **Chorus:** Yantrajaal, oh Yantrajaal, Links us all, both great and small. Yantrajaal, oh Yantrajaal, Guides us through, unites us all.


May 18, 2024

Programming as Structured Thinking

Generative AI as implemented in popular products like ChatGPT has significantly reduced the need for computer programming, unless of course one works with extremely new and complex problems. This means that most entry and middle level programming jobs will get eliminated. Those who are not programmers by profession but only write programs to facilitate their day to day work – like data collection, analysis and visualisation – will find that most of their tasks can be automated. Then why should business management students learn Python programming? Because programming is not just about making a computer work but about thinking of any problem in the abstract, decomposing a complex issue into a number of simple ones whose solutions are known and then integrating these partial solutions to address the goal.

Young Bengali woman writing computer program under the close supervision
of a generative AI system. pop art style


The ability to write an effective program – in any modern language like Java, JavaScript, C++ or Python – implies that the programmer has the ability to think through a problem and come up with a feasible solution. Irrespective of whether one needs to write a program or not, this ability to think in a structured manner is a key skill that is acquired as a by-product when students learn computer programming. Unfortunately this by-product is often overlooked and with the decline of computer programming, this ability to think in a structured manner may eventually be lost from the repertoire of skills that students carry out with them when they pass out from management schools. This will be unfortunate and needs to be addressed.

While there can be many ways to define structured thinking, there are two obvious characteristics that are very important. The first is abstraction, or the ability to focus on the main idea or the most important parts of something, say a product or a process, ignoring the smaller details. This allows us to transfer expertise from one area, say selling soap, to another area like selling any other FMCG product. We understand that the two processes are essentially similar even though the product details are different. The second characteristic is decomposition where we break up a complex task into smaller pieces, solve each individual part and then assemble the smaller pieces of the solution into one integrated solution to the initial problem.

Abstraction and decomposition are fundamental to the process of writing computer programs and any honest programmer will automatically, even if unconsciously, be thinking in a structured manner as they write a program. In the process they would imbibe the principles of structured thinking and would learn to apply them in any other domains of managerial activity.

Young Bengali boy seeing the world or cars, buildings, factories around him as an abstraction of numbers, letters and geometric shapes. Pop art

Finally, each computer program, unless plagiarised from somewhere else, is a unique product – not a concept, not an idea, but an actual product – that delivers value in some context. Hence writing a program is an activity that is as creative as painting a picture or composing a poem, if not writing a novel! Good programmers are intensively creative and this creativity is as important a byproduct of writing programs as structured thinking is. Creativity is difficult to teach and can only be encouraged and nurtured in those who have it. In this context, learning how to write programs that perform interesting and useful tasks opens up a whole new channel through which students can easily exercise, demonstrate and nurture their latent creativity.

With the advent of AI, writing programs as a means to solve business problems may become  optional, but programming is and will continue to be a mechanism to engage in structured thinking and a medium to cultivate originality and creativity. That is why students must learn computer programming.

April 28, 2024

Kali Kolkattawali - II

 


Bust of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. In the background we see the skyline of Kolkata including the Howrah bridge. impressionist style, minimalist.


Bust of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a dark complexion, a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. In the background we see the skyline of Kolkata including the Howrah bridge and tall skyscrapers. Pop art style, minimalist.


Bust of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a dark complexion, a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. In the background we see the skyline of Kolkata including the Howrah bridge and tall skyscrapers. Pop art style, minimalist.


Bust of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. In the background we see the skyline of Kolkata including the Howrah bridge. impressionist style, minimalist.


Bust of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. In the background we see the skyline of Kolkata including the Howrah bridge. impressionist style, minimalist.


Bust of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. In the background we see the skyline of Kolkata including the Howrah bridge. impressionist style, minimalist.


Bust of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue sticking out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, unruly, wavy hair. She has a dark complexion, a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. In the background we see the skyline of Kolkata including the Howrah bridge. Pop art style, minimalist.


Bust of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue sticking out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, unruly, wavy hair. She has a dark complexion, a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. In the background we see the skyline of Kolkata including the Howrah bridge. Pop art style, minimalist.


Bust of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, unruly, wavy hair. She has a dark complexion, a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. In the background we see the skyline of Kolkata including the Howrah bridge. Impressionist, minimalist.


Bust of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. In the background we see the skyline of Kolkata including the Howrah bridge. impressionist style, minimalist.


Bust of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. In the background we see the skyline of Kolkata including the Howrah bridge. impressionist style, minimalist.


Bust of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. In the background we see the skyline of Kolkata including the Howrah bridge. impressionist style, minimalist.

April 27, 2024

Kali Kolkattawali - I

 


Face of goddess Kali, visualised as the face of a young bengali woman with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a pattern of multiple colours framed by her long, dark, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. On her neck is a necklace that shows the Kolkata skyline with Howrah bridge. art deco style, minimalist.


Face of goddess Kali, visualised as the face of a young bengali woman with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a riot of colours framed by her long, dark, wavy hair. She has a smiling visage, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs appears a jigsaw puzzle. On her neck is a necklace that shows the Kolkata skyline with howrah bridge. Impressionist style minimalist.



Face of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a pattern of multiple colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. On her neck is a necklace that shows the Kolkata skyline with Howrah bridge. impressionist style , minimalist.


Face of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a pattern of multiple colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. On her neck is a necklace that shows the Kolkata skyline with Howrah bridge. impressionist style , minimalist.


Face of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. On her neck is a necklace that shows the Kolkata skyline with Howrah bridge. impressionist style, minimalist.


Bust of goddess Kali visualised as a young Bengali woman, with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. She has a dark complexion but Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. She has a necklace with the Howrah Bridge and the Kolkata skyline that lies across her bosom. impressionist style, minimalist.


Bust of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. On her neck is a necklace that shows the old Howrah bridge that lies on her chest. impressionist style, minimalist.


Bust of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. On her neck is a necklace that shows the old Howrah bridge. impressionist style, minimalist.


Face of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. On her neck is a necklace that shows the old Howrah bridge. impressionist style, minimalist.


Face of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. On her neck is a necklace that shows the old Howrah bridge. impressionist style, minimalist.


Face of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman, with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a clean geometric pattern of colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. On her neck is a necklace that shows the Kolkata skyline with Howrah bridge. impressionist style, minimalist.


Face of goddess Kali visualised as a young, beautiful Bengali woman with her tongue stuck out in a mischievous manner. Her face is a pattern of multiple colours framed by her long, black, wavy hair. She has a seductive smile, with large sweeping eyes whose eyeballs are blazing gems of colour. On her neck is a necklace that shows the Kolkata skyline with Howrah bridge. Pop art , minimalist.

April 26, 2024

Uttarayan - The Northern Path

 This is how much the sun moves North in one week

25th April 2024

19th April 2024