S
Subhash Kak
Guest
1
Once upon a time, two genius-swindlers tell the emperor of Usay that they can weave magnificent clothes that are invisible to those who are stupid. They are hired, and they set up looms and go to work. Four ministers arrive to inspect the operation. Each sees that the looms are empty but cannot admit to it for fear of being declared a fool.
When the ministers hold the review, they conclude that the weave is tight and nearly transparent and so fine that it can fool the untrained eye. They declare that the cloth is perfect for the emperor.
The emperor arrives next and at first feels the looms are empty but as the geniuses mime through the motions of fitting the cloth, he thinks his first impression was wrong because his eyesight is weaker than he has ever acknowledged.
Finally, the geniuses announce that the suit is ready. They pretend to put it on the emperor who sets off in a procession before the whole city. The townsfolk uncomfortably go along with the charade.
And then a child screams that the emperor is wearing nothing at all. The people realize that everyone has been fooled. The emperor, knowing that for someone in his position dignity is everything, continues the procession, walking as proudly as ever.
Later soldiers are sent to arrest the swindlers. But they have fled and they were not recognized for they were wearing masks.
2
Many years pass and a new emperor sits on the throne. The empire is prosperous and other kingdoms are envious of how it has maintained pre-eminence amongst all the states of the world.
In the midst of the good times, a revolution to achieve perfect justice rears its head. It claims that the way teaching is done in schools and colleges helps one race over the others. The revolutionaries announce that not only people, but academic disciplines, like math, organic chemistry, and quantum mechanics, are racist.
The revolutionaries say they wish to free women from patriarchy. There is clamor to decouple gender from the sex at birth. People are expected to be devoted to fairness, and erase words like ‘mother’ and ‘woman’ from professional vocabulary. The replacements are: ‘birthing bodies’, ‘birthing people’, ‘menstruater’, ‘people who bleed’, and ‘chestfeeder’.
They complain that there is privilege related to skin complexion, gender, and race. This is resolved by wearing masks and coverings that minimized the differences.
The revolutionaries argue that names from countries, communities or languages that were dominant in the past represent cultural advantage.
It is decided that old names will be replaced by numbers, or by 6 letter-long coded sequences in upper and lower case letters. Some complain about primes for unfactorability may create a sense of superiority.
Finally, the name generator systems are programmed to leave out primes. The old names of the countries are replaced by two-letter code words. The empire is simply called US.
3.
And then an epidemic strikes the world. There is palpable fear amongst the people, although the rich see business opportunities. Factories and cities are shut down and one is not allowed to travel without permission of the state.
The emperor seeks advice from the council. An old minister, named #QwerPbu, who remembers the history of the empire, announces that he has a miraculous medicine that will cure the sick.
The emperor is grateful and gives him honors, precious jewels, and a yacht covered with gold.
The old minister has one condition: the medicine should be given to both the sick and those who are well. He also demands that the sick are to be forbidden from using any other medicine.
The emperor accedes to the condition.
At the end of nearly two years of the epidemic, the epidemic is still raging.
The empire (US) (pop. 340 million) has spent nearly 20% of its GDP on healthcare at Ӂ10,700 per capita (Ӂ is the world currency). People have died at the rate of 2,616 per million.
Another kingdom, NI, (with one-third the population of US) spent Ӂ 4,300 per capita, with 146 deaths per million.
The empire and NI have used the new medicine for its sick. The poorer countries, with examples below, have used other cheap medications for they could not afford #QwerPbu’s concoction.
The very densely populated country BH (pop. 1401 million) spent Ӂ75 per capita with 346 deaths per million.
NU (pop. 278 million), Ӂ 120 per capita, has 512 deaths per million.
BN, pop. 167 million, Ӂ 45 per capita, has 168 deaths per million
NJ (pop. 214 million) has spent Ӂ 84 per capita with 15 deaths per million.
4.
As the sickness continues to spread and people who have taken the medication also dying, whispers about the medicine begin to make rounds. Although #QwerPbu had the emperor’s word that no story criticizing the medicine be allowed, the underground is amplifying the whispers.
Some say the medicine might not be as good as claimed; others say that some people are dying of the medicine.
#QwerPbu says the science is with him and the medicine in his chest is simply the best and if a few have died from the medicine that is a price society has to pay for the larger good.
Some complain that the fatality numbers in other nations are much lower in nations that spend far less on healthcare and don’t use the magic medicine. Others whisper that these nations may be using herbs and off-label drugs.
The old minister responds that the data from no other nation is to be trusted, especially if their healthcare expenditures are low for they could not have kept track of all the deaths.
The old minister has always respected NI, but he justifies the low mortality there by saying that people in that nation are disciplined and wear their masks all the time.
Now he speaks of wearing not one but several masks.
Some suggest that eople should be required to wear a mega-mask with slits for the eyes. Supporters argue that death in nations where people wear such covering are low.
The revolutionaries rejoice that mega-masks make it easier to solve the problems of privilege related to gender, race, and skin-color.
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