Rita Walker (Blog Eighteen):  By Dan Watt and Taylor Norris

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Rita Walker (Blog Eighteen):  By Dan Watt and Taylor Norris

Neil Degrasse Tyson had an interview with Joe Rogan in which he explained the dangers of transferring enough energy through the air to run devices.

https://www.livescience.com/46745-how-tesla-coil-works.html

https://thejoeroganexperience.net/joe-rogan-neil-degrasse-tyson-explains-microwaves/

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/engineering/wireless-power-transfer

https://www.askamathematician.com/2011/07/q-can-light-be-used-to-transfer-energy-instead-of-power-lines/

She bites her lower lip and taps her right foot as the phone rings.

“Hello,” a melodic deep voice answers.

“Hi,” she replies as she tries to hide the shakiness in her voice.  “Tonight is still good?”

“Yes,” Marlo replies.

“We’ll meet at the Oakhill Cemetery at 9 p.m.”

“Sounds good.”

“Okay, see you then,  bye.”

“Bye,” he replies.

She turns off her cell and clips a miniature camera onto the crown of her hair.

It’s still daylight as she drives through Brant Conservation Area to get to the cemetery.  She slows down when she sees Kanayago facing off against a much taller girl.  Mesmerized by the sight she pulls over.  That’s when she notices a light layer of snow covering the ground and a chill in the air.  The taller girl is holding a candle in the palm of her hand and with a point of her finger lighting the wick than with a snap of her fingers extinguishing it.  Meanwhile, Kanayago is holding a fork.  With a point of her finger the fork bends than straightens.  Kanayago is laughing.

Kaitlyn Lindemann as Kanayago (3)
Kaitlyn Lindemann as Kanayago picture by Katy Waring
Kaitlyn Lindemann as Kanayago (5)
Kaitlyn Lindemann as Kanayago picture by Kating Waring
Katy Waring fire final 4 Dan
Kating Waring as Ember picture by Kaitlyn Lindemann

Rita desperately glances around.  She breathes easier when she doesn’t see anyone.  Some things aren’t meant for the common public to see.  Angrily she honks her car’s horn.  The girls glance her way then scatter into the trees.

As she pulls into the cemeteries parking lot she takes in deep gulps of air.  Next class she’ll have to explain to Kanayago the dangers of using her powers when others can see, and find out who the girl that belongs to Rae is.  The energy frequency emitted through the air to manipulate particles to cause a flame to occur or metal to bend could seriously damage anything in-between.   There’s a reason wires are still used to power devices from hairdryers to stoves.  That much energy sent through the air could melt an object or severely hurt or kill a living creature.

Rita walks to the edge of the cemetery where a giant oak tree grows.  This is where she’ll meet Marlo.

Rita Walker (Blog Seventeen):  By Dan Watt and Taylor Norris

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Rita Walker (Blog Seventeen):  By Dan Watt and Taylor Norris

We take some liberties with Rita Walker, such as suggesting what supermarkets might be like in the near future.  The idea is to show possible solutions but there are always other ideas that might be better.  A concern is if only one replacement, like hemp, were to be used what would be the environmental impact of trying to grow enough hemp?  So the answer might be having a variety of sources to replace plastics in supermarkets.

https://www.huffingtonpost.ca/entry/sustainable-alternatives-to-plastic-bags_n_5a732a7de4b0bf6e6e225ee0

https://www.simpleecology.com/shop/organic-cotton-muslin-produce-bags

https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cellulose-film-packaging-market-is-estimated-to-grow-at-a-cagr-of-4-9-during-2018-2028-882076644.html

http://www.nzwc.ca/focus/food/guidelines-for-food-donations/Documents/18-064-FoodDonation-LiabilityDoc-v7WEB.pdf

It’s Saturday and Rita can hardly focus.  Tonight she meets up with Marlo near the Kanetic Reusable Batteries by the Oakhill Cemetery.  First she has to discuss an upcoming lecture with the Metro Supermarket manager.

She walks through the supermarket’s sliding glass doors and heads towards the Service Desk.  As she passes the aisles she notices that most of the customers are using muslin produce bags.  At the Service desk she asks for Ryan Day, the store’s manager.

“Hello Rita,” says a man in his forties who stands slightly taller than Rita.  He has fading blond hair and a sharp nose that makes his smile even broader.  “Let’s go for a walk.”

“The bags you see in the produce section are made from cellulose,” Ryan tells her.   As they walk past the other aisles Ryan points out the meat section.  Instead of Styrofoam or plastic for the base we use paper packaging coated with cellulose.”

“What’s the environmental impact of using cellulose?” Rita asks.

“That’s something the owners of the supermarket are considering.  If it’s affordable it might be better to use numerous sources to replace plastic.  So we have cellulose bags available but also customers can bring their reusable bags.  We have some packaging made of hemp but it would be devastating to the forest and farm to grow enough hemp to make it the only reusable alternative.”

“Well thank you for the good news,” Rita says as she gazes at the reusable packaging.  “What happens to the food that doesn’t get purchased?”

“Initially we sell it at a discount or give it to the foodbank.  Once it expires the food is sent to be converted into energy or fertilizer for local farms.”

“Can you give the food to the foodbank?”  Rita had heard supermarkets and food markets were concerned about being sued if they gave day old food to food banks.

“No, there’s a law called Donation of Food Act.  Obviously food that is moldy, smells bad or has other signs of going rotten cannot be donated.”

“Well, thank you Ryan, you’ve made my day,” Rita says as she offers her hand.

“My pleasure.  I hope to have more good news for you in the near future.”

As Rita drives home she wonders what the night will bring.  She researched Kanetic Reusable Batteries and found very little information except a list of its current employees.  Kanayago’s name was listed under research and development.

 

Rita Walker (Blog Sixteen):  By Dan Watt and Taylor Norris

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Rita Walker (Blog Sixteen):  By Dan Watt and Taylor Norris

Both nature and technology follow the circle of life.  A river that flows is alive and healthy but block off the flow and it stagnates.  Forget to fill a car up with gas or keep up the oil and other liquids and the gears rust and it eventually refuses to work anymore.  Everything is breaking down and building up constantly.  What happens to our bodily fluids is no different.

https://japanesemythology.wordpress.com/tag/kanayago-kami/

http://yokai.com/kirin/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_legendary_creatures_from_Japan

http://wessuc.com/agricultural-use-of-biosolids/

https://www.simcoe.com/community-story/7323434-from-toilet-to-field-barrie-poop-becomes-agricultural-fertilizer/

https://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Books/Building-Soils-for-Better-Crops-3rd-Edition/Text-Version/The-Living-Soil/Soil-Microorganisms

She stares up at the classroom.  Her heart pounding as she sees Marlo calmly staring back at her.  Later she’ll need to talk to him about visiting Kanetic Reusable Batteries with his help.  To Rita’s surprise a girl much shorter than Marlo with long brunette hair and wearing glasses with a metal frame is sitting beside him.  The girl’s innocent face is confusing considering her aura is metallic grey.  “Hi,” she says to the new girl.  “Welcome to the class and could you tell everyone your name?”

“Kanayago,” the girl replies with a sweet voice.

Rita is dumbfounded.  “Do you know the meaning behind that name?”

“Yes.  My parents told me they found me in a crib at the doorstep when they first moved to Canada from the Chūgoku Mountains in Japan.”

“They named you Kanayago?”

“No.  The name was written in Hiragana syllabary on a gold anklet they found around my left ankle.  Since I do not look Japanese my parents told me they were confused at first but accepted that it was the mythical Kirin that delivered me to their doorstep.”

Rita shakes her head.  Her bias suggested the child of Kaneki would be obtuse and the least likely to join her class.

“Today’s lecture,” she begins with a shaky voice, “is about biosolids.  It’s important in this class to remember we want to know where a product starts and where it finishes.  So we’re going to talk about how poop and urine is turned into biosolids.  We eat and drink, go to the bathroom and our waste–and let’s put waste between quotation marks–goes to sewage plants.  Then what?”  Rita stops talking and gazes across the room at all the students.  They all look confused, even Marlo.

“The excrement and urine or waste goes through many processes to change it into biosolids.  The biosolids are used on farms to help grow food.”  She sees that all the students have disgusted looks on their faces.  “Everything needs to be reused or recyclable with as little greenhouse gas emission as possible.  The biosolids are anaerobically or aerobically digested before they are used for growing food.  Think of a leaf.  It grows on the tree in the spring; helps gather sunlight and rainwater in summer, and falls off in the autumn.  Over the winter the fallen leaves give protection to plant beds and insects.  In the spring when thaw arrives the leaves break down and become soil.”

Marlo’s hand shoots up.

“Yes,” Rita asks trying not to stare intensely at him.

“Like cleaning out a gutter.  If the leaves remain from autumn to spring you’ll be cleaning out dirt instead of leaves.”

“Correct.  Thank you Marlo.”  She knows her eyes say I’ll meet you later but she hopes he’s the only one who notices.  “I want you to study up on biosolids and how each and everyone one of us can make this an easier process.”

 

Later in the day Rita goes to Moonshadows Metaphysical Shop near Mt Hope Cemetery to pick up a Haida made whale talisman.  But she knows the owner and opens the door to the house instead of the shop.  Rita halts in the front of the hall.  Inside sitting half way up on a carpeted stairway is the girl Kanayago where she’s reading a book.  Rita immediately notices the metal framed glasses and the silver ankh charm that sits against her chest held their by a silver necklace.  Kanayago seems absorbed in the book about nanotechnology.

Kaitlyn Lindemann as Kanayago
Kaitlyn Lindemann as Kanayago

Remembering this is a child of Kaneki and that she must tread carefully with this one Rita diligently steps back outside and gently closes the front door.

Rita Walker (Blog Fifteen):  By Dan Watt and Taylor Norris

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Rita Walker (Blog Fifteen):  By Dan Watt and Taylor Norris

In the past vehicle batteries were often just thrown in bodies of water like lakes or rivers.  Batteries can be completely recycled now.  The importance is getting the batteries to the recycling plant.

https://www.batterysolutions.com/recycling-information/how-are-batteries-recycled/

https://www.livescience.com/40459-what-do-cats-see.html

On the Grand River, just on the border with the Oakhill Cemetery, a new factory was built just the year before.  Rita had driven by the factory and saw a sign in bold blue letters with the words Kanetic Reusable Batteries.  Under the name were the words:  Clean Energy.   On her excursion the other night her feline nose suggested otherwise.

She wants to get inside Kanetic Reusable Batteries and see what’s going on but not in her human form.  Part of the factory extends into the Grand and she noticed the river’s water flows in and out of a grate.  But the grate opening is small and even as a rodent she doesn’t think she could swim through the river’s current to get inside.  Perhaps Marlo could help her with that.  Rán had told her she could find him at Mohawk Lake.  First she wants to observe him unnoticed.  Invisibility is sometimes just becoming something else.

It’s Saturday and the night before she had asked Zsofia to pick her up from a grove but not as her normal self.   She sees Zsofia’s BMW i3 pull into the parking lot.  As Zsofia gets out of her car and looks around, Rita leaves the grove where a pile of dirt sits beside the tree trunk of a black birch.   Zsofia looks down and waves at her as she opens the front passenger door.  Rita leaps inside.  It took a long time to get used to a cat’s poor daytime vision.  The reason she prefers to investigate at night.

As Zsofia drives towards Mohawk Lake she puts on the radio.  There isn’t much sense in talking since it would be one sided.  So Rita stands on her hind legs and stares out the window.

I’ll Melt With You by Modern English starts playing.  It’s like listening with two separate pairs of ears.  Her feline ears hear mumbo- jumbo but her human memory can still discern the words.

Once they reach the lake Zsofia lets Rita out.  She carries Rita towards the shore where Marlo is gazing over the lake.

Kyle Montyro as Marlo 1
Kyle Montyro as Marlo

“I’ll read my book for half an hour than honk,” Zsofia tells her as she sets Rita down.

Rita looks side-to-side as she steps ever closer to Marlo.  She sits on her haunches and stares up at him.

 

He crouches down and places the fingers of his right hand into the lake’s water.  Without looking at her he says, “I will get you inside the factory.”

Kyle Montyro as Marlo 2
Kyle Montyro as Marlo 2

Rita Walker (Blog Fourteen):  By Dan Watt and Taylor Norris

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Rita Walker (Blog Fourteen):  By Dan Watt and Taylor Norris

In 1974 Spanish pilot and marine officer Juan Pérez was the first European to discover the Haida Gwaii but bad weather stopped him from landing and claiming it for Spain.   James Cook, Captain of the Royal navy was the first European known to visit the Haida Nation.  Archaeology digs have determined the Haida have been living on the Haida Gwaii islands from 6000 to 8000 years ago.

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/haida-gwaii

https://www.raconteur.net/business-innovation/cobalt-mining-human-rights

https://norse-mythology.org/gods-and-creatures/giants/aegir-and-ran/

https://www.historymuseum.ca/cmc/exhibitions/aborig/haida/havwa01e.html

As she drives home from the college the sky is dark and clear.  A song she hasn’t heard in a long time comes on.  Chalk Circle’s “This Mourning” gets her tapping her hands against the steering wheel.  It reminds her why Kaneki needs to go back to Centre Earth.

The weeping willow string she planted is growing little nubs that she hopes will grow into tiny branches.  It was wonderful that Kaylee asked her to teach a Haida language course three times a week along with her once a week Environmental Technology class.  She knows she’ll be financially stable for the next three years.  Her real focus though is on what she does at night.  So with a cup of licorice tea she sits in front of her window in her kitchenette and concentrates on the tiny willow sapling.  A quarter moon shines through her window awakening the elemental inside her.  She could control its pull for her to change but tonight she wants to transform.  Her eyes remain open but become unfocused.

She finds herself at Soper Park.  Before her Oya is dressed ready for action.

“What do you want child?” Oya asks in an exasperated voice.

“To visit Rán.”

“This is a bad time for me child of Ailbe Rose.  I must deal with Kaneki’s influence on mining for cobalt in the Congo.   Think of Island and go!”

To Icelanders their home is known as Island.  It’s where her grandfather wanted to return to.

When Rita was five her father took the family to Kiusta at the northern tip of Haida Gwaii.  Taking her hand he led her to the shore where the ruins of a long boat rested near a group of ancient totem poles.  “My father, your grandfather arrived on this boat.  He was nearly dead when they brought him to a sweat lodge and your grandmother nursed him to health.  He came from far far away.  You and I have his eyes whereas your brother has pure Haida eyes like your mother.  I would find him staring at this ruin as we worked on his new boat.  I think he would have stayed if your grandmother had not died during the Tsimshian raid.”

Rita only remembers her father’s father vaguely.  Tall and strong, with long brown hair and a red beard that flowed to his chest.  His voice was loud sometimes but more often hushed as though his soul were broken.  By the fire pit he would stare at her but with his chin turned slightly away.  It made her feel as if he was watching her wearily.  His Haida Gwaii words were clipped and often he added words she had never heard before.  He always kept his distance from her.  “There is something else in this child,” she would hear him say to both her mother and father at different times.  He would shake his shaggy head afterwards and stare at her out of the corner of his eyes.

When she was four her father’s father had taken dry fish and fresh water onto his new boat with its many ribs.  “Someday others like me will come,” he warned before he paddled north towards the Bering Sea.  In the distance Rita remembered seeing him unfurl the strange red and white curving sail his mother had helped him sew.  He was right others like him would arrive at Haida Gwaii but Rita wouldn’t learn about that until later.

Her vision becomes cloudy.  As the cloud dissipates she can see Rán walking in modern clothes by a river.    Rán stops and turns to her with a beaming smile.  Rita realizes Kaneki has not made his presence known as much on Iceland—yet.

Gunnhildur as Rán for Rita Walker November 9 2019 by Freyr Holldorsson
Gunnhildur as Rán for Rita Walker November 9 2019 by Freyr Holldorsson

“What can I do for you Rita?” Rán asks in her boisterous voice.

Gunnhildur as Rán for Rita Walker November 9 2019 3 by Freyr Holldorsson
Gunnhildur as Rán for Rita Walker November 9 2019 3 by Freyr Holldorsson

“Do you have student named Marlo?”

“I do.  When you change you can watch him by the lake near where you live.  He is with you Rita that I can assure you.”

“Thank you, Rán,” Rita says as Rán fades away and she feels herself changing.

Rita Walker (Blog Thirteen):  By Dan Watt and Taylor Norris

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Rita Walker (Blog Thirteen):  By Dan Watt and Taylor Norris

The type of soil and climate found in a particular area will determine what plants will grow best in that location.  In Brantford the soil is mostly Luvisolic:  a mixture of clay, silt, and sand.  Clayey Gleysolic and Gray Brown Luvisolic are the main soils with the major crops being corn, soy, and tobacco.

https://soilsofcanada.ca/

http://ecozones.ca/english/region/135.html

https://www.gardenguides.com/128379-types-soil-ontario.html

https://soilsofcanada.ca/orders/luvisolic.php

https://www.thespruce.com/what-is-loam-1401908

 

Rita looks up at the students in her class and sighs.  She counts sixteen students and only one of the five she expected.  As she met each of the Ancients, though she only saw Rae, they gave her the ability to see an aura on the very rare occasion her path connected with another elemental’s.  She sees a blue hue around a tall man with dark dreadlocks and trimmed beard.  “Water,” she whispers.  His head tilts to the side as she speaks the word and she knows he has heard her.

“Soil is composed of many different chemicals and organisms.  The type of each is determined by the composition of the minerals in a given area.  Wind blows soil and glaciers move large chunks of it.  And what else is soil?   It is the by-product of death and waste.  When leaves die and fall off a tree or as plants wither and decay they decompose—into soil.    Whatever your body doesn’t use must come out as waste products.  In the natural pattern everything dies and everything is used to help the growth of life.”

“We’re going to focus on the soil in Brantford.”    Rita moves to the side of large screen behind her and clicks a button on a remote.  An image of Canada with multiple colours appears representing the different soil types and where they are located.  She uses the pointer of the remote and points a red dot to the area where Brantford is on the map.  “The yellow represents Luvisolic soil.  Glaciers pulverized the soil so that the dominant minerals are calcium and magnesium leaving the top soil as predominantly loamy or clay.  Loamy soil is a mixture of clay, silt, and sand.  Clay and silt help keep in the water while sand creates gaps for better root growth.

“Farmers use both cattle and human manure to fertile the soil.  That will be our next lecture.  Are there any questions?”

The man with the blue aura raises his hand.

“Yes?” Rita asks.

“What happens when the soil is polluted?” he asks in a voice that is both soft and deep, “and what about soil microorganisms?”

“That’s coming up in future lectures Mr.?”

Rita Walker (Blog Twelve):  By Dan Watt and Taylor Norris

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Rita Walker (Blog Twelve):  By Dan Watt and Taylor Norris

The Haida like so many other indigenous people had their children removed to learn European ways.  Midnight Oil made it clear that Australia’s treatment of indigenous people was a disgrace during the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia by wearing black coveralls with the word Sorry.  Nature has a way of diffusing the thought that any people are better than others when people of different races and backgrounds fall in love and have children.   People have different hair colour, skin colour, eye colour, physiques and yet are all the same.

https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/haida-native-group

https://www.songfacts.com/facts/midnight-oil/beds-are-burning

https://petergarrett.com.au/biography/

https://www.mohawkcollege.ca/about/campuses/six-nations-polytechnic-brantford-sb

Rita places the potted weeping willow branch into the back of her car.  With loving care she hopes it will grow.  Either in the fall or in the spring she will plant it on the schools lawn.

Midnight Oil’s “Beds Are Burning” is playing on the radio as Rita drives to the Six Nations’ Polytechnic College to organize her classroom.   She taps her fingers on the steering wheel as she sings “The time has come, a fact’s a fact/ It belongs to them, let’s give it back” along with the band’s lead singer Peter Garrett.   She read an article that at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney the band members performed with the word SORRY written across the chest of their black coveralls.  It was a blatant rebuttal of the Prime Minister at the time, John Howard, for his refusal to apologize for the former policy of removing aboriginal children from their families.  After reading the article Rita realized this destruction of aboriginal families happened all around the world, not just in Canada.  The song reminds her of how hard it is for her to keep positive.  But the world already knows about all the atrocities.  Now it’s time for everyone to focus on working together.  It’s time to show that those who were bullied are wiser and will not become the bullies.

She doesn’t think there are any songs that represent her, a half breed or multi-raced person.  Then she recalls hearing Cher singing “Half Breed” written by Mary Dean and composed by Al Capps.  She wonders, if like so many other songs and writings, did the lyricist really understand what it’s like to be a “half breed”?  Do they know what it’s like to find out one half of your ancestry was warring or abusing the other half?  She shakes her head to clear the negative thoughts away.

Sometimes life is strange.  As she pulls into the college Depeche Mode’s “People are People” comes on.  She pulls over and sings along with the band:  “It’s obvious you hate me/Though I’ve done nothing wrong/I never even met you/So what could I have done”.  Well, next week she’s about to meet four individuals who represent a hidden race of humans.  And she needs to figure out how to get them to work together.  One will be the hardest to change.  And one probably won’t want to collaborate with the others.

Inside the classroom she feels small standing at the bottom of the sloping floor gazing up at the desks that will allow the students to look down on her.  She set the potted willow on the ledge of the windows at the opposite side to the door.  Next she takes out her papers.  The first of the lessons will focus on the different soils found in different areas of Ontario and what’s being done to keep them healthy.

Rita Walker (Blog Eleven):  By Dan Watt and Taylor Norris

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Rita Walker (Blog Eleven):  By Dan Watt and Taylor Norris

Willow trees live all around the world.  Oxygen producers, pain relief from the bark, and used to make flutes to fish traps.

https://dreamastromeanings.com/willow-tree-meaning-and-symbolism/

http://tropical.theferns.info/viewtropical.php?id=Salix+mucronata

https://goddess-files.livejournal.com/3019.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f_fkZ3tW3U

https://goddess-files.livejournal.com/3019.html

 

Rita parks in the small gravel driveway across from the raised flower beds the city re-plants every year.   She heads towards the section of Mill Creek that flows through the park where the giant Weeping Willows grow.  When she was younger she fell asleep thinking about Rae.  But Rae did not answer, instead another ancient one appeared from Africa.

 

Her mother was telling her the Haida Creation Story.  “Raven was walking on the shore when he heard many noises coming from inside a clamshell…,” her mother was saying when Rita fell asleep thinking of Rae.

Her soul watched as she floated out of her body.  She saw her face, eyes closed, and mouth slightly open.  She saw her mother’s dark brown hair flowing over her shoulders in strands to cover the top of her deerskin shirt.  Her mother gently stroked her forehead and said, “Sleep.”  Her soul’s eyes turned upwards towards the ceiling of the tent and floated upwards by moving her arms and legs in a swimming motion.  As she swam between the Sitka spruce and Yellow cedar trees a tug to her chest pulled her down to the draping branches of a dwarf weeping willow.  She touched one of the thin leaves and found herself somewhere else.

She was hovering before a giant weeping willow with a creek flowing nearby.  As she stared, frozen in place at the willow’s gnarly trunk, a woman appeared.  So powerful and strong was the women’s presence Rita didn’t know if to flee or stare in awe.  “Child,” said the woman with raven coloured hair.  The woman’s voice had a lilt and a mixture of tenderness and strength that demanded attention as she pointed her finger at Rita.  “Why have you called me?”

Gloria Antwi as Oya and thanks to La Sab Hotel Ghana West Africa

“I was calling Rae,” Rita admitted still torn between wanting to flee and getting to know this woman better.

“Rae is healing her soul and I am with her through Raven.”

“You are connected to Raven?” Rita asks.  “I thought only the Haida knew of Raven.

“I am of the wind child–and the willow which in its many forms all around the World, both hears the wind and tells it stories–communicates with me.  When you thought of Rae she must have sent you to me instead.  I am Oya, the Yoruban Goddess of weather, and known to others like you as the Elemental Ancient One of Wind.  What do you seek from Rae?”

“She lives in the Haida Gwaii and is directly connected to my people.  So I seek wisdom from her.”

“Ah, I see.  You are not just Haida but also Irish, German, and connected directly to the Earth.  The World is round my child and that makes all things connected.  But we seek what is familiar and you are closer to Ailbe Rose than Rae.  So that may be why she will not answer you.”

“Why would someone want me to contact you Oya?” Rita asked with a slight bow.

“Some day you will meet the one who is connected to me.  Let her know that you and I have met.  The cat may eat the sparrow and the hawk may eat the rabbit but when there is a greater danger all creatures heed the warning of Raven’s call.  What argues and fights now will need to collaborate in the near future.  Unnatural things are beginning to be created out of what lies deep beneath the ground.”

 

Rita walks up to the willow she saw in her dream.  With great diligence and respect she snips a section of overhanging branch off.

Review of Cixin Liu’s “The Three-Body Problem” translated by Ken Liu

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A couple of weeks ago I decided I needed to take a break from working on my own stories and read someone elses.  As I walked down the aisles at Indigo’s in Cambridge (Canada) I came across an interesting title called “The Three-Body Problem” in the science fiction section.

This is a Hugo winning story for best science fiction originally written in Chinese and later translated into English and German.

After years of reading science, fantasy, and historical fiction along with other genres I didn’t think I could find something completely original to read.  Cixin Liu’s book caught my attention and held it until the end.  I’m not an astophycisist, nor an engineer, nor a mathematician so I am grateful he does an amazing job of explaining the sophisticated scientific concepts that run throughout the book.  There is also the fascinating matter of taking me on a journey through Chinese history and way of thinking.

Ken Liu sums up the book for those of us brought up in the West in the postscript of the book:  “The English words are arranged in such a way that the reader sees a glimpse of another culture’s pattern of thinking, hears an echo of another language’s rhythms and cadences, and feels a tremor of another people’s gestures and movements.”

A marvel of a story to read outdoors, or inside across from a  large bay window, where you can glance up at the stars.

D.W.

Liu Cixin:

https://www.amazon.com/Cixin-Liu/e/B007JP96JU

Ken Liu

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