Science fiction. The magical sand

 

Science fiction. The magical sand

This place is barren, lifeless, primitive; and when you look at it from a distance it looks like the abode of nothingness, a sort of invasive emptiness that is filled with everything, but hope! They call it the Desert Planet. 

And there is something very special about this planet. No matter where you are, and then in whichever direction you might look, you always feel you are in the middle of a continuously building pattern of sand and its invasive inevitability. Where if you enter once, you are there forever, as if you were a grain of sand desperately trying to identify your companion grain of sand, blown away by the wind, that has total control over defining this landscape of dunes. That landscape keeps changing, because sand grains possess no force whatsoever to bind with other sand grains. 

Universe did not gift us with water, but it gifted us magical sand that behaves like water.

And it is in this landscape of perpetual turbulence that our civilisation thrives and manufactures hopes in abundance. To the rest of the Universe dwellers we are the desert masters, who can grow life where life actually quits. Because its will and hardiness declines to adapt. And we do not feel burdened by its challenges and indifference, that comes with a selective harshness, with a propensity to target the survivor. You , me and everybody!

Because the planets of sand exist to support just one life-form, that of sand, wherever you see, it is the only life form. Because it moves continuously. And one of the chief traits that distinguishes a living thing from a non living thing is the trait of locomotion. If it is so, then does it not make sand an unconquerable life form of the desert? Because it shifts continuously, day and night.

But it is needless to say that it is different from trees, because they cannot move, and they produce oxygen the only known elixir of life. Although sand does not produce oxygen, it displays tree like behaviour. The sand dunes grow and the sand is always shifting. Without it there will be no rain. It is due to deserts that the rest of the world receives rain, yet it chooses to stay dry and parched itself, because it has a duty to perform, assigned to it by the Universe. Desert is sacrificing and giving in nature and so are the desert people. A natural inheritance I suppose.

Therefore, sand has all properties of any life form, but we the desert people know, it cannot replace the shade of trees, the cool breeze of the oasis, yet, it is essential if the universe has to survive. This is why we have found ways to live with the sand and it is our most abundant and most valuable resource.

Our elders developed several technologies that use sand to generate energy. And on the desert planet we have a famous saying, “never build your home on a sand dune, because it loves the wind more than anything else!”

It is from this saying we have learned our life’s most essential lessons and the secrets of sand centric technologies. When we first landed on this planet, we fell in love with it and we made it our home. Slowly we learned to use its disadvantages to our advantage; and we created marvels of scientific innovation simply by using sand, since it was the most abundant and easily available resource. 

The problem with most of the thinking beings who occupy other planets, is that they tend to exploit the resources that are least available. At a certain point their over exploitation leads to their extinction. And at this point the thinking quotient of that planet is at its maximum innovative output, unable to think beyond the already in use energy resources that fulfil their daily supply of energy related needs. And when this happens, a civilisation attains a saturation point in its innovative thinking. But if a civilisation uses most abundantly and easily available resources to generate power/energy, then this limitation that has haunted every civilisation since the first intelligent life form appeared in the universe, can be overcome.

With settled and non nomadic living, a civilisation makes maximum use of every resource available. There is prosperity, which leads to innovation, and development of many sciences and art forms. But this civilisation is busy believing that it is progressing and as such it ignores the underlying fact that is constantly working against this graph of progress. Mostly so, when the progress is based on exploitation of resources that are rare.

We, the desert people, have heard about many great civilisations on the now endangered planet called Earth, where many civilisations emerged, achieved pinnacle in art, culture, science; and then suddenly disappeared. As if some force wiped them off.

However, there is something very common in all of these civilisations. ( We the desert people often refer to Earth in our examples because this planet is envied by the entire Universe, for its abundance of valuable resources. But it is inhabited by a race of intelligent life form, that has reached its maximum output of innovative thinking, and is now struggling to deal with the undercurrent of colossal forces, we refer to as conscience of the Universe, that is trying to stall this progress, because it is more destructive than being conservative in nature. It has left the Earth bruised. To the extent that it has nothing left to offer.)  

So what are they doing wrong? 

Look at the great Egyptian civilisation, Mayan civilisation, Harappan civilisation, Mesopotamian and Sumarian civilisation ( from where major religions of the world appeared ) they have all vanished. And today there is nothing. Just a vast desert. And where there is desert there is sand. So, sand is still there. And that is where we come into the forefront of innovative science. Sand has taught us many things, and the most wonderful and secretive facts of life.

Soil nourishes as does water. But sand never steals, it never hides, whatever gets buried in it, it leaves it there, undisturbed and untouched by time. As long as wind does not blow. If it does, it only shifts it to another corner, but the integrity of that thing that is buried in the sand stays constant. 

This is why sand bred a flower as beautiful as Desert Rose. It grows in sand, which many believe is useless, but if you look at the universe, the Dark Matter possesses the nature of sand and wind. ( It is a great secret of the Universe. So, much cannot be revealed about it now!)

Without the desert, lush green forests cannot exist. That is why, we the desert people have another famous saying that goes something like this, “The desert rose is so beautiful, because it is God’s expression of beauty. When God feels disgruntled with the rest of the Universe, that time the only particle of beauty left in God seeks the form of Desert Rose. As it blooms, it makes God happy again and the Universe does not end. So the Universe owes a lot to the Desert Rose and the desert people.” 

Nobody can deny this fact, but there are a few who may, because they do not know that a thing like desert rose exists. Thanks to Mr. Sting, who composed the song, “Desert Rose” and made it popular on Earth. So, there is intelligent life there too, that truly thinks about innovation the way it ought to be thought.

Here is the famous song by Sting, titled : The Desert Rose. It certainly dilutes the desert fatigue, if at all there is anything like desert fatigue.

Song desert rose

So what should civilisations do in order to cope better with these underlying and continuously counteracting forces that try to stall human progress? Which of course becomes predominant if the course of progress is defined by exploiting natural resources of the planet that are rare and non-replenishable. The answer lies in a few simple examples that I shall share from the vast list of innovations we have developed on the desert planet simply by using sand. The magical sand, maybe that is why the ancient people used it to define time.

I- Power generation via Sand grids

Water has a unique quality. Its liquid form and its ability to assume the shape of the object it is directed in or towards. Haa haaa. But then, sand too has the same property, almost like liquid, but only in a different form. So if intelligent beings use their wit, it can be used to generate power, and far more effectively than water. Plus sand has more weight and it flows like water too. In addition to this, it does not lead to floods, if managed well. 

We have never experienced sand floods on our planet, but yes, few of our silly engineers did cause sand bursts and sand blasts too. But their magnitude of destruction was lesser than water caused disasters.

On Earth there is the Sahara Desert, and in India they say there is the famous Thar desert. A great source of energy lying there, just waiting for someone to put it to use.

We have a similar desert here too, only that our planet is 60% desert. We did not convert it into a desert, the alignment of our planet is such that 60% of it is desert.

So, one of our wise and eccentric innovators developed a wonderful power grid using sand. In the centre there is the main grid, with a massive dynamo that generates electricity. But to move the dynamo she needed some force. And water was not an option because our planet does not have it in surplus. So, she developed a low lying ground which is huge. On the left , at a higher elevation it has an enormous sand dune, and on the right side too it has a sand dune, but it is not filled with sand. 

Now for better and easy understanding allow me to change the tense of my sentences.

Via the left dune, using massive steel tunnels she channels sand in the dynamo grid, its force rotates the grid, and the sand escapes towards the right which has a steep drop. The grid uses 5% of electricity to lift this sand and deposit it on the sand dune on the right. 

Which then, via sensors, detects that the volume of sand in the left grid is very low, and it adjusts its elevation with flawless and precision calculation based geometric orientation, and flushes this sand back into the grid, which now gets collected in the left sand dune. It works on the seesaw principle. 

It is a wonder of modern science among all interplanetary power generation techniques. And there are no guesses about it. 

You cannot do it with soil. So sand is magical. Correct? 

All it needs is will, and political mood to use the right resources without putting any pressure on the planet. And our planet too has several tribes, and our planet too has countries, but each country specialises in something unique based on its geography and availability of resources. For example our vegetables come from a tribe that lives in the north part of the planet. And we have dedicated many power grids to meet their energy needs. A perfect coexistence.

II- Power generation via sand grain blasting

It is based on the simple principle of kinetic energy and one important law of physics, “every action has an equal and opposite reaction!”

Have you ever played squash?

Watch it on youtube if you haven't played it. 

It is a simple game where two people hit a rubber ball against a hard wall with their rackets. The force is very intense. 

Now imagine the wall has mini dynamos attached to it, which with slightest pressure generate current. And every time a ball hits them, these mini dynamos generate current, which is stored in a transformer and then channeled to various sources.

One of our energy development engineers likes squash and he once had this idea about using it to generate power. And he implemented it, only that he replaced the squash ball with sand grains.

Very simple method and design.

A wall with inbuilt mini dynamos which are impact sensitive. Now you might say, this scientist is delusional because dynamos need a lot of pressure to generate charge. Not really. Have you ever touched a leaf of  the touch-me -not plant? With your slightest touch it activates its reflexive action and its leaves fold. The wall mounted mini dynamos are based on the same logic.

This wall is bombarded with sand grains, and it creates an enormous amount of charge which is stored in batteries and then channeled to different sources. The sand never collects in the room, it pours through the cone like surface and then the same sand is recycled to bombard the wall with micro dynamos. Again and again, till eternity. Because on our planet, if a grid generates e.g. 340 Megawatts of power, we always use 10 to 15% of this power to satisfy the energy needs of the grid for it to be able to generate a continuous supply of energy. Thus, they can go on forever. But can you do this with water, not really!

I am sure you are already thinking, since when did the desert people become intelligent? I guess we do not show it, because we are lovers of desert roses. Shy like it, but resilient and beautiful like it as well. Only that you need to be willing to dare the harshness of the desert in order to witness the desert rose in its full bloom. I am sure it will leave you charmed and spell bound. 

III- Sand and tectonic plates based energy

This is again a unique design. We thought about it when we read about the tectonic plates and their movement.

It is based on the principle of pressure.

There is a huge pillar, with super efficient and super strong springs, on it rests a huge fan with four blades. Which are super sized blades. We direct sand flow on these blades, and the weight of sand puts pressure on springs, which in turn exerts pressure on the dynamo, making it rotate and generate energy. Which is stored and transmitted. Again, as the blades reach the maximum point of pressure, the sensors slide the electromagnetically locked gaps in these blades. And the sand falls into the collection areas that circulate it back to the channels, where it gets redirected into these blades. This procedure may lead to loss of sand. However, this is again measured by sensors, and the lost sand is replenished by sand directed via the desert.

Recently we have replaced the blades with new blades that tilt and pour the sand in the collection area.

We have many other models of energy generation grids that make the best use of sand. I have come across an innovation which if implemented, a planet will have zero dependency on perishable sources of energy and these energy hubs will have zero carbon footprint.

And today, the desert planet pioneers in energy production that powers hopes and a pollution free planet. Even our cars run on batteries that self recharge. There is no need for an external charging point. It has been my pet project and I am still working on its fine tuning. But this is one of my bravest ideas and it will create ripples in the energy sector which is undergoing a metamorphosis. That is much needed at this stage. If planets like Earth want to exist beyond another century.

Also, foods and vegetables that grow in the desert are what makes my love for botany very exclusive. A genetic marvel that does not tamper with anything, except one thing, human genius.

To know more about similar innovations, technology, refer to the science fiction novel, They Loved in 2075.

And there are a few things humans should never re-engineer. Human feelings and emotion of love, because if they do, the possibilities highlighted in the science fiction novel They Loved in 2075, will come true. And trust me, nobody would like to live in the world that will come into existence due to these ill thought and flawed changes designed to milk the human genome.

It is a romance science fiction novel that will make you believe in the desert, in the desert rose, and in the beauty of untempered human feelings. Which will be the main struggle of humanity in 2075. When it will be interacting with self aware machines, and competing with them at following levels:

A- Intelligence transition shifts taking place

B- Super paced evolution of human emotions and social structures 

Because a smart looking and always humorous humanoid can woo and impress anyone. Cant it! But then it will do it just for the sake of it and for the sake of its masters. And when real emotions mate with artificially generated emotions, it will lead to a new emotional sensation, that will benefit artificially intelligent machines, but it will destroy the original and fundamental makeup of the human genome that is responsible for developing human feelings and emotions.

To develop a better understanding of this topic please read about Epigenetics.

Epigenetics

And to know about the world that may be a reality in 2075. Please read the science fiction novel, They Loved in 2075.

PS. In 2075, a true energy efficient country will be the one, where every physical action or every human activity, generates energy. Because the need for energy will have skyrocketed by then, but the current resources that we use to generate energy, will have reached their lowest level. And it is at this point, we will have to decide which route we wish to take. The one taken by the great civilisations that time devoured and destroyed or the one that is followed by the humble desert people. Who have the humblest and the most beautiful looking rose growing in their part of the planet. 

The desert rose growing in the magical sand!