CORONA - The great flummox ?

COVID-19 a pandemic unprecedented for the times, which shattered the preparedness of businesses and economies, which changed the basics of human psychology and social definitions. So what is it actually ? This is The great flummox. 

Whatever it is, it has challenged everyone (at least the smart ones) to look at life and health, conducting and sustaining business, finding opportunities, battling competition with a very rare lens. Is it actually The pandemic, the way it is propagated so extensively? Is it actually the event which demands colossal changes in very root level structures? Or is it something else, something fundamentally different which aims to achieve the recherché. 

What happens when the desire for power is so inert that one can do whatever it takes? I mean literally. What happens when this desire is a shared goal of the already powerful? What happens when there is a crimson of good on the surface, for mankind's existence itself? It becomes a win win with a potential to convince the absolute. So let’s hear a story which is a work of fiction, only inspired to a certain degree.

When I was a kid, understanding the very basics of social studies, the books taught that a nation's economic strength is derived by the amount of gold reserves that they have. This was not true for the time because the change had already come and was prevalent. Gold had lost its shine and its liquidity. Something actually liquid and in irony shiny as well had taken its place. A liquid mixture of hydrocarbons which is present in suitable rock strata and can be extracted and refined to produce fuels including petrol, paraffin, and diesel. Yes you guessed it right, Petroleum. 

Mankind had understood the benefits of natural resources long back in history. It helped us live better and safer. Slowly with our wisdom we realised that these resources don’t just help us survive but thrive. We realised that it has helped us bodily but it can help us financially as well. Again a win win which is so convincing that it almost casts a spell. Thus came the industrial revolution. Nations became wealthy, the economy flourished, luxuries from dreams started taking shape. Happiness took a physical form. It was so lustful that love diminished, the principle of brotherhood got replaced by the concept of master and slave. Since then we have come a long way, have fought countless wars, for or against this lust for a mystique of happiness, Power. 

Slowly we understood that Power (which is happiness deceived) and Petroleum are actually very good friends and go hand in hand. They are bonded by the ultimate lust, Money. You see Petroleum derives money and money can buy power. So we expanded the use of petroleum and the misuse of power. This time not to fight wars (we kept it as a luxury or as a source of entertainment) but to form governments which rule nations. Governments needed money to sustain and execute its power to rule. Petroleum companies brought that money hence these were the king makers. So they lived happily ever after ! No, see this is where it becomes intriguing and very interesting. We are an eccentric species. 

Enter the biggest villains of our generation, these too were introduced to me in the same social studies book in school. Pollution and its different forms. Again my books had not caught up and were running behind. A super villain had already been introduced to the world which has the potential to cause an apocalypse - Global Warming. Irony, this is caused because of greenhouse gases emitted when petroleum is burnt. Will come to it later. 

In a separate act around the same time I was learning about pollution the world had started to see glimpses of a possible power shift. Petroleum which formed kings and kept kingmakers wealthy was shining itself on others too, in a way that abundance could be redefined. This time on more humble folks who lived as nomads for generations. The present and future of this land was about to swim in wealth. So much wealth that power could shift hands. 

So consider I am the King. The kingmakers that I had all this long cannot be trusted now as the source of their wealth is now found elsewhere. But I cannot lose my power, whatever it takes. Petroleum anyways has betrayed me and my people, I have to fight global warming too. Desperate times and it calls for desperate measures. I have to find an alternative to petroleum. I have to find an alternate that can restore my power and eliminate the possible apocalypse. I need a super hero or heroes. Enter Technology and Data. 

The world we live in is run by technology. It is not redundant as new things keep coming. Something which is again just not helping us survive but thrive. Giving us possibilities and turning them into reality in no time. We are again addicted to the lust. We want to be a part of it, we want to experience our share of the lust. Happiness has now taken a virtual form. But this time we too have taken virtual forms to experience it. We all have a virtual form in a virtual book, which also helps us create virtual albums and conduct virtual communication. This virtual world is as good as real, maybe even better. Virtual reality is changing the physical reality and we all are part of it. With this virtual self we can do wonders, land into our dream jobs, earn more and more wealth, shop for our needs and luxuries, travel with ease, get entertained and the list goes on and on. Too good to be true just this time you know it is true. This virtual reality makes our most innate feelings and thoughts very easily accessible. This is data, if used in the right sense it can generate wealth as never known before and this wealth can very well dictate power, we know that right ? Can this power be harnessed ? The answer is of course a yes but what is more alluring is that it can be harnessed very methodically, systematically, orderly and meticulously. This is eureka ! The king makers are now super heroes as well. 

Remember I am the king and the eureka hit me. I need my allies, the super heroes who have the technology and data. Data to dream and technology to fulfil. What can be the ultimate climax to this tale? A pandemic ! 

I start on the blueprint of my master project. One superhero plants the seeds of a possible epidemic a few years back. Calls for a global effort to contain it if needed. Inject fear. Years later a disease outbreaks in a province whose leadership dictates and cannot be trusted. This is the spark. Then some other side kicks belonging to a prestigious organisation (which many believe to be very credible) gives wind to that spark, and fire. A pandemic has hit, it sweeps the nations, millions are affected and thousands die. A virus perfectly placed, highly contagious but not so deadly. A war movie masterpiece and the world shuts down. Fear grips and it is here to stay. What's worse? We don’t have the antidote. A black swan that the world could not prepare for. Less was predicted and catastrophic is the impact. 

Ok snap ! I am not the king just wanting to be one, like most of you. 

So who benefits out of all this ? With all my experience of watching crime dramas on OTT platforms I say, “Follow the money”. Follow the money and the web is revealed. Who are the wealthiest people in the world ? What businesses do they own ? Are they growing even faster in the current times ? Are their share prices rising ? Do these companies have the power to form governments ? Are these the new kingmakers ? Do the kings benefit ? 

I leave you with the questions, remember it's a work of fiction, only inspired a little. But wait, what about the super villain, Global Warming ? Well technology will take care of it, in fact it has already started to. Look at the wealthiest people of the world, the super heroes. Anyways, are you going out emitting greenhouse gases ? I hope not and if yes, I guess it is less.

Some of you might be wondering, so what is in it for me ? Remember again, there are masters and slaves, for many others there is a rat race.