identified with, so I imbued him with certain similarities of background and ethnicity. Later, he developed
more individualized traits, and became his own man. As the story developed, I realized that I was writing two
separate stories that ran in parallel; one, the story of a man fighting against destiny; and the other, the
story of the evolving prison city of Enterprise. Around the time of my screenwriting adventures at Johns
Hopkins, where I studied under Marc Lapadula, I realized that Jack Branski was actually conflicted between
his background in physics and the normal superstitions and mystical beliefs that most people carry around
with them. I had decided to adapt the novel to a screenplay, and it was then that Jack Branski morphed into
Jack Luck, the dice-wielding physicist, who was fighting a bad luck ticket dealt him by fate.
I had already begun my studies of subliminal thought processing some years before, but it was only when
writing about Jack Luck, that I began to see how subliminal thought processes affected our everyday lives
in unseen ways. Jack Luck became the mystical believer who was conflicted between rational logical
thought and superstitious beliefs. He had a broader knowledge of science than most people, and yet he
still felt he was moved by unseen forces, things bigger than himself that were beyond his control. He made
the classical mistake of intelligent man and made links between unrelated events in an effort to explain his
reality. Thus, despite being an educated physicist, he still felt compelled to roll dice and look for signs of
the creator's intent in every nuanced event. He believed he was in control of his own destiny, and yet
events kept happening that seemed to prove him wrong.
Throughout the book, I played on the magic of signs and symbolism, and there is much that lies just below
the surface. Because of the time frame over which the original manuscript was edited, I was able to layer
imagery with detail that just isn't noticeable to the conscious mind in one or two reads. However, the
subconscious mind, being more alert, won't miss the subtleties and they will eventually bubble to the
surface over time. The time frame for that depends on the individual reader.
Also during the evolution of the novel, I had become more aware of the scanning processes within the mind,
and my studies led me to various theories of consciousness and states of awareness. I was able to deduce
certain patterns that were related to these basic processes of the human mind. Much as quantum
mechanics is nothing more than wave functions adopted to explain physical events with mathematical
precision, the god codes that I discovered were just overlays matched to internal sequences in the mind.
The god codes are part of my ongoing researches of which I have just scratched the surface. I actually
never called them god codes until my recent interview with Joshua J. Peabody. The name just popped out
and it fit, so we decided to stick with it. It's easy to pronounce and remember.
Along the way, the adapted screenplay
made it to Hollywood, where it landed in the
semifinals of The Chesterfield Writer's Project.
It might not be a coincidence that shortly after
that, some scenes from the screenplay appeared
in some major motion pictures. It was unnerving,
but I had all the documentation to prove that I
was the originator, should the need ever arise.
I won't mention the movies by name, but anyone
who reads the novel and then sees them will
certainly see exact parallels. That's why I
recommend all writers thoroughly document their
work. Not to sue or litigate, but just so no one
can accuse you of not being original. It's largely
a waste of time and energy to litigate anything.
It's far better to just keep writing.
Of course, I never realized that the novel would
lead me into some of the long term adventures that
I have had, nor did I envision it taking on the role
of an avant-garde piece in mind research. That
was completely unforeseen. My researches
accidentally overflowed into my writing. That's the
way basic science sometimes happens. Right now,
neurons are already being grown on silicon chips
in the hope of one day directly interfacing with the
human mind. Understanding the scanning
sequences and firing rhythms of neurons will
ultimately help us make that mind interface.
First came the sense of hearing, now the sense
of sight, and within a few decades, we will be
mapping human thoughts into computer matrices.
Far from being a horror as in the Borg of Star Trek,
the ability to interface with other human minds will
finally restore the god voice which man has been
longing for since his conscious awakenings,
thousands of years ago. After that, the shared
consciousness of the world's societies will preclude
wars, and advance us forward a thousand fold
faster. It is impossible to imagine what that
hyperconscious state of awareness will be like, but
I imagine that when we get there, it will almost be
like talking to god directly. What a surprise it might
be if it is then finally revealed, that, (to twist a
paraphrase of an old comic strip character):
"We have met the creator, and he is us!"
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