Kenneth F. Gantz
Not in solitude

THE REFERENDUM. In recent days, there has been inevitable discussion about what has been called the 'referendum on drilling' and what the outcomes have been. The failure to reach a quorum, in particular. Less than one in three Italians went to the polls, and the victory of the 'Yes' (with a percentage greater than 85%) will have no effect, as the consultation would be invalid in practice.

It was a 'historical' referendum because, for the first time, the promoters were the Regions. That is, ten regional councilors (nine after Abruzzo withdrew) who had submitted the necessary signatures for the popular vote. It was also a referendum with political content, so to speak, given that a good part of these would belong to the Democratic Party, the same as the Prime Minister, Matteo Renzi, practically opposed to our country's energy policy positions.

In summary, voters were essentially supposed to decide whether the permits to extract hydrocarbons at sea and within the 12-mile coastal limit, as currently occurs, should last until the deposit is exhausted instead of at the end of the concession.

The issue is clear, without delving too much into technical aspects of any kind, as I lack the expertise (but I suggest reading the related documentation published over time by Greenpeace and about the danger of offshore drilling for human health and marine life), it concerns the usual theme of the relationship between man and environment which, although appearing in substance as one of the most radical novelties of the last fifty-sixty years, i.e., from the post-WWII period to today, has always been in practice one of the main reasons in human history on this planet.

2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. A few days ago, I was discussing a scene from the film '2001: A Space Odyssey', particularly the famous scene with the ape, armed with a bone, breaking the skull of its peer. Although this scene might somehow seem disconnected from the theme regarding the relationship between man and nature, it actually constitutes one of its fundamental elements. The relationship among human beings, in fact, (but this essentially concerns the entire animal world, or whatever would then be the 'counterpart' generally identified as 'nature') and what man's choices were, understood precisely as a species, from the beginning have necessarily been linked to the context in which this had to move. Human movements, conflicts, and even the earliest clashes were dictated by reasons primarily related to survival. Thus, as humans migrated from continent to continent, following the model described by the basic theory on Homo sapiens' African origin and the subsequent migrations defined as 'Out of Africa I' and 'Out of Africa II', expanded its presence over the whole planet, colonizing it and from the very start radically altering the environment around them, and this long before the industrial revolution and before issues related to the alterations of the environment we live in became as pressing and a matter of daily argument and discussion as they are today.

It is clear that all this happened in a manner that we must definitively describe as 'natural', consequently leading to a complex discussion on what is artificial and what is not, and which may lead anyone with a dash of irony to think of the debate on whether the egg or the chicken came first.

What is sure is that from a perspective we might even define as historical, rooted in the beginning of human history and precisely in the passage from ape to sapiens, it is difficult to define every environmental alteration as necessarily something violent and invasive, unless one wishes to consider a violent and destructive nature as the basis of animal - and even plant - life. Just think, for instance, it's the first example that comes to mind, of the devastating impact of the cat on the fauna that inhabited Australia and which has been severely altered since the introduction of the cute feline.

At this point, it clearly concerns the management of resources and a relationship with nature linked to compromise and a kind of 'collaboration', a partnership that is, after all, forced, given the necessary coexistence between the surrounding environment and man, which, in my opinion, does not, however, have written and defined rules, but which instead must necessarily be written over time.

THE INHABITANTS. As per the back cover, in this novel written by Kenneth F. Gantz, the monster is there, but it is not seen. The novel is set on Mars, where the Far Venture spaceship expedition has landed. The mission has a predominantly scientific purpose, and the crew is made up partly of military personnel and partly of scientists. A detail that is not secondary for the development of the plot, where we'll see opposed throughout the narrative the two main figures, Colonel Cragg, head of the expedition and determined to do whatever it takes to ensure the mission's success and to bring the spaceship and the entire crew back safe and sound to Earth; on the other side, Dane, a journalist and correspondent for the Amalgated Press and a physics assistant in Dr. Pembroke's research work.

In fact, Dr. Pembroke, a character whom in practice we will never really get to know or thoroughly define, but who we can certainly consider eccentric, constitutes the motive from which the events recounted in the novel start and the reason for the clash between the two mentioned protagonists. He, in fact, leading an expedition of four men, leaves the spaceship to explore the Martian soil and does not return. Due to the absence of communications, but convinced that the doctor is still alive, Dane decides to lead a second expedition in search of him, against Colonel Cragg's will, who intends to leave the planet as soon as possible due to anomalies (electric discharges) in the Martian atmosphere. The planet appears practically uninhabited, it should be remembered the novel was written in 1963, a year before the start of the Mariner Program, and back then we knew much much less about the red planet than today; but as mentioned, the planet appears practically uninhabited and hostile, as harsh as the one depicted in Ridley Scott's latest film, and its surface is covered only by a thick layer of lichen vegetation.

Once Dr. Pembroke is found, in a state of semi-consciousness, if not total unconsciousness, from which he will never recover, Dane will return to the spaceship, but from this moment onward a series of events will follow, including the central one of the contact with the aliens (or: the alien) and a series of mysteries, including the supposed infiltration of Asian agents onboard the spaceship, which will prevent the spaceship from leaving the planet and increasingly put Dane against Colonel Cragg, who considers the former part of some plot against him and the expedition. A typical conflict which then reproduces the usual one between science and the military's sense of duty, in an era moreover when space flight was mostly seen precisely as an appendage of the various military programs and not as something of primary scientific interest. A conflict as typical as it is heated and that in the end would leave even the reader hanging, who inevitably asks themselves who really is the 'monster' in the reckoning and in the clash between the different parties at play.

THE GREEN ECONOMY.The entire book and, in particular, the ending and the conclusions suggest in definitive a greater attention to each interaction between man and nature, understood in all its manifestations and, in the specific case, also to those life forms that do not belong to our planet. An approach that, on one hand, refers to what can be considered the millennial thought of the Indo-Sarasvati civilization, described in the Vedas, the sacred texts of the Aryan peoples who invaded northern India, and in practice the thought at the basis of Hinduism and, therefore, not by chance, something that dates back to the origins of human history. But also to the so-called 'Green Economy', the green economy and/or ecology and a model of economic development that primarily considers the environmental impact of the different production cycles, considering how this, the interaction between man and the surrounding environment, can have consequences on the economic and social level. A system (not only) economic that, despite the evident benefits for the community, is looked upon with suspicion by every political component - understood as political alignments in the classical right and left sense.

But what really is this 'Green Economy'? We are talking about something that has a strong ideological component but must necessarily base its principles also on reliable scientific and engineering data. Perhaps its true reason lies in the compromise between all components of our society, where matters of scientific nature and also moral nature are confronted, all aimed at the most typical purpose of solving problems, which has always been the real reason for our presence on this planet and in the future, who knows, also on other more or less distant planets in the boundless universe.

Quotes.

1. - Are you going to take more shots before take-off? - Humphries inquired.

- The automatic device is taking two a minute - Dane replied dryly and walked over to the table where the photographic equipment was set up, with the intention of checking its operation.

- No, I'm not talking about those - Humphries explained - I meant... if you take any more pictures of the planet, I'd like to be in them, so then they'll put me in the newspapers when we get back.

- Besides everything else, I'm also a physics assistant - Dane pointed out to him - and it seems to me that my duties don't leave me much free time, especially considering that one of the two is a series of reports for the Amalgated Press and the other is research work under Dr. Pembroke.

- It's just that I have a girlfriend in Richmond... and a photo like that could be useful to me.

Dane was on edge, like an irritated cat. While the other continued speaking, he kept his eyes fixed on the ashtray filled with cigarette butts, then, suddenly, almost without realizing it, extended his hand, grabbed it, and violently threw it against the wall.

- Hey doctor, what's got into you? - Humphries exclaimed, spinning his swivel chair.

- Who's in charge here?

The aviator looked at him, puzzled. What?

- If Colonel Cragg is in command, what can I do? No one can do anything when he's set his mind on something.

Humphries hurriedly checked that the intercom was closed. - Doctor, you need some rest. A couple of hours of sleep will do you good.

- You want a picture to impress your girlfriend. Colonel Cragg wants one in giant format so that when the Far Venture returns to Earth, everyone will cheer the great captain. The show goes on, even though Dr. Pembroke and three other men are missing.

- It's tough - said Humphries. - But ever since they stopped transmitting, I figured they were dead.

- But they're not - said Dane bitterly. - But since the colonel says they are, his word is as good as an official statement!

2. - Life? - he began. - What is life? Life has no urgency. It's not urgent to live. Death, however, is urgent. Who can say 'no' to death? Do you have urgent affairs for which you need to live? Who says 'yes'? Will there be other lives? What's strange about death? Don't you like these ideas, lieutenant? Did you come to me for the engine? No. You came to me for life. Because you want to continue living. I tell you I have no life for you. And you think I'm crazy. Instead, I'm just sleepy.

3. - Why, being Spanish, do you speak French when you're agitated? - he asked him.

- Like every other member of this mad venture I let myself be dragged into out of blind ambition, I have to tell you that I'm not Spanish. My grandfather was, and that's why my name is, but my father, my mother, and I, who bears the name José Ruiz Crusate in memory of my grandfather, were born in the glorious city of Paris, where I would still be today if my insuppressible vanity and your American flattery hadn't dragged me here. Paris! I should never have confined myself here like a canned sardine, with fear of engine failure and the obligation to listen to useless chatter. Why do I speak French, you asked? Because Spanish is not my language. You Americans, with your atomic propulsion, and the Military Astronautics, and the expedition to Mars, aren't even educated enough to tell me why a man born and raised in Paris shouldn't speak French?

- Sorry Ruiz - said Wertz - I just wanted to get under your skin. Now, tell me what you don't like about my idea, apart from the fact that it's a chemical concept and not a biological one.

- 'Not'! - Cruzate shouted. - It's you who don't understand. Not me. You understand neither the lichens nor life.

- Do you want to tell me why they expand more than a mile and a half a day in an arid desert?

Cruzate threw the lichen branch onto the counter. - Do you want to explain to me why the wheat shoot shatters the soil's crust and emerges in the spring? - He shrugged dramatically. - 'No', my friend, we see things, we describe them, we give them names, but we don't ask why they happen. Why does a man age? Why does a stone fall? Why doesn't it fly? Have you found the answer in your test tubes? 'No'. You are only capable of telling me the stone falls, and that's it.

4. 'Martians are one. One is good. Not one is bad. Many men equal bad.'

5. - Suppose lichens are not so much individual plants but rather parts of a colony. More lichens that function as a single entity, like one large plant, like a single entity anyway. We have colonies of this kind of plant on Earth too, among the lower forms of plant life like algae and fungi. I remember examining one under the microscope at university. It was called Volvox. The name reminded me of the 'vox humana', that electric organ that can mimic a voice, and which I've never liked...

Cragg shifted uncomfortably in his chair and burst out: - As usual, you're doing a lot of useless talking. Cut the short. Let's eliminate the biographical details, alright? That way you'll reach the point faster, assuming you have a point to reach. Must I always remind you that you'd do well to talk less and say more? This, by the way, also applies to what you write. In short, can you tell me how the hell lichens are sending radar messages? You said you knew it and we're waiting for you to tell us.

It was not the time to take offense, nor to point out to the colonel that he, too, usually so sparing with words, had spoken too much. - The Volvox - he continued - is a microscopic hollow globe composed of thousands of independent unicellular plants, connected to each other by threads of cytoplasm. This way, the colony functions as a multicellular individual rather than a simple physical aggregation. It reproduces individually and forms new colonies. That is, new colonies are produced from the ova of an existing colony. Who is to say that Martian lichens do not consist of colonies made the same way, i.e., individuals that unite to form a super-individual? And wouldn't it be possible for these colonies to be endowed with intelligence, so that each possesses faculties equal to those of a brain? Therefore, each lichen-individual that is part of the colony could be considered as the equivalent of a brain cell. And an aggregation of brain cells like neurons and aggregations in the human brain.

- The electric discharges! - exclaimed Cragg.

- Exactly. The electric discharges could be the expression of mental action, like the electric currents in our brain: only on a much larger and more powerful scale. Assuming that lichens with their colonies covering a vast area constitute a single brain, then the networks of sparks could be compared to nerve impulses, while the lightning arcing over the lichens would be the connections of these impulses in a unique association, as happens in human thought.

- Damn it! - exclaimed McDonald.