Decipher

More Sci-Fi reading for your summer weekend: Javed Ikbal writes "Decipher by Stel Pavlou is a mind-blowing work of science fiction. If you thought Stephenson's Snowcrash did a great job of bringing myth and science together, bite into this. I am still shaking my head over the amount of research that must have gone into this book." Read on for Javed's review. Warning -- spoilers within. Decipher author Stel Pavlou pages 422 publisher St. Martin's Press rating 10 reviewer Javed Ikbal ISBN 0312280750 summary Ties together all the myths you can think of (Atlantis/Pyramids/Maya/Inca/Noah/Flood) and does it very well.

What it's about: Tag line: Mankind had 12,000 years to decipher the message. We have one week left ...

Let me make something clear. Although this is my first Slashdot review, I do not give this book a 10 lightly.

March 2012. The whole world is experiencing unusual weather. A commercial research ship is drilling in Antarctica when the drill breaks against something hard. The pressure sends up chunks of C-60 (Fullerene) with glyphs on them. Cameras show a wall miles under Antarctica: Atlantis has been found.

A linguist, a geologist, a physicist and an engineer convene at CERN, invited by the U.S. military to analyze the C-60 and the writing on it. They discover that the mysterious molecules can create standing waves to temporarily solidify liquids. The government wants them to go on an expedition to the site, assisted by some U.S. marines.

In the meantime, the earth is being hit by gravity waves emanating from the sun, and astronomers predict massive solar flare activity that will practically destroy earth.

And home by dinner time ... Natural disasters are occurring everywhere because of the solar activity, and a plasma cloud is being sucked into a hole in Antarctica. Atlantis is sucking in all that energy without any trouble. Everyone is hoping that the answer to the coming cataclysm lies in Atlantis. Just to round things up, the Vatican wants Atlantis blown up with an atomic bomb, and the U.S. president agrees. The marines will be carrying a warhead; if Atlantis does not yield its secret, it will be blown away.

The linguist and the physicist figure out that every 12,000 years the sun goes through a massive coronal mass ejection (it's a pulsar, but with a 12,000 year period) and last time this happened Atlantis was destroyed. They were building equipment to prevent the destruction, but could not do it on time. However, the Atlanteans left automated nanobots to complete the task for the next time it happened. The time is now.

The expedition reaches the core of Atlantis, but the nanobots, as a result of over 12,000 years of artificial intelligence evolution, do not want to help humanity. They know that if humanity dies, they will take over; but if humanity survives they will have to go. Last-minute tension, the hero gives his life for humanity, the earth is turned solid for a second by standing waves generated from structures all over the earth, the gravity wave passes safely and then earth and all its creatures are returned to normal form. All is well.

I strongly recommend this book, but note that this is not a quick read: you have to assimilate this book to appreciate the wide scope. Good reading!

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Comments

Interesting.

[xanadu-xtroot.com]

A linguist, a geologist, a physicist and an engineer

go into a bar and the bartender says...

Another review: Planet of the Apes

[CoasterFamily]

Nice review. I'd like to submit my review the book (and eventual movie) "Planet of the Apes". Here goes... A spaceship crash lands on a planet after a big space-storm thing. Something has gone horribly wrong. The astronauts escape (and some of them die) and see other people running. They follow them and find out that this planet is ruled by apes. There is some harrowing stuff and lots of adventure. In the end though, the remaining astronaut discovers that he is on earth! The apes of the planet have taken over. I recommend this as the best book I've ever read. Granted, it's the only book I've ever read. Plus, you'll never believe the shocking ending.

Re:I am in this book!

[aitala]

Ah, I remember relieving myself on you in Chapter 8....

The /. Review of Moby Dick (spoilers)

[burgburgburg]

The whale wins. Everyone but the narrator dies.

Re:The /. Review of Moby Dick (spoilers)

[ralmeida]

On, now it's TWO books I won't be reading. Thank you very much.

Other reviews by Timothy

[lobsterGun]

The Crying Game: It's not a woman!!!

Matrix: Neo's world is a computer simulation!!!

The Usual Suspects: Kevin Spacey is Kaiser Soze!!!

The Sixth Sence: Bruce Willis is already Dead!!!

Presumed Innocent: The Wife did it!!!

Sightings: Water kills the aliens!!!

Soylent Green: Soylent Green is People!!!

The Wizard of Oz: It was all a Dream!!!

Re:He says ...

[plover]

The geologist says "I think I can fit it in my hammer loop here on my belt"... Then the mathmatician butts in and says... "My engineering buddy here says that you can make 20 minute phone call for only one duck!"

So the bartender turns to the linguist, and says "Cunning."