A page-turning thriller peering into the future of noetic science
What we define as the scientific method is the process through which the acquisition of knowledge is achieved by natural observation, Cartesian experimentation and, finally, replication within the physical world. But the authentic human experience encompasses wider mysteries beyond the realm of this physical world.
Like astronaut Dr. Edgar Mitchell expressed when describing his return returning to Earth aboard Apollo 14, as he experienced the breathtaking views of our planet from above in his space capsule, humans have always had a primal need to bridge the gap between the physical and metaphysical dimensions.
I’ve always been fascinated by exploring this existential nexus. How much of our capabilities are we actually using — or are even really aware of?
One of my all-time favourites television series was Heroes. The fictional show featured ordinary people discovering their innate and inexplicable superhuman abilities. This is the same aspect that drew me into the book SPECTRAL STATE by Irish-born author Senan Gil Senan.
His captivating book follows a shy and reclusive gamer named Hano, who is recruited into a secretive government organization by a group of former military operatives for his remarkable ‘remote sensing’ or ‘remote viewing’ abilities.
Imagine closing your eyes and taking a ride through one’s stream of consciousness and being able to visualize events and scenes in remote locations — independent of time and space. This is the intriguing sci-fi world Senan’s narrative immerses his readers into.
The contractors see great potential in Neo and send an attractive female member of their unit, Aj’dina, to use her charms to get into his head and entice him to accept a job with them. Soon enough, the tables would be turned as Hano’s introduction into their world would be through infiltrating one of Aj’dina’s memories. As Hano’s missions begin involving increasingly daring and tactical ‘mid jumps,’ he finds himself confronted with the growing ramifications of living with dark secrets and facing the ensuing internal ethical battle of what to do with this knowledge.
Even already in our own daily lives, we are faced with societal debates about data privacy and the threats versus benefits of the ever-increasing efficiency of artificial intelligence. Where should the moral and ethical lines be in the process of using our personal data as members of an orderly society to fight crime and terrorism? How much should we know about the manner in which this data is collected?
These intrusions into or personal lives are no longer as crude and obvious as in the days of Stalin or Ceaușescu. Are there real-life Hanos working in our government agencies? Do we know how advanced current data-gathering technologies really are? These are all questions that ran through my mind as I read Spectral State.
Have government organizations and even corporations tapped into the power of the unconscious mind? Matrix-like you may wonder? Perhaps.
Senan shared an interesting anecdote on social media when he recounted how he happened to come across the photo of a nuclear power station which displayed a truly uncanny resemblance to a ‘remote viewing’ control centre scene he described in Spectral State. “I hadn’t bothered to research the layout of a nuclear power station because I figured that much attention to detail on a minor scene was unnecessary,” he said. But this serves to showcase the power of the unconscious mind.
Equally illuminating is Senan’s belief that the job of a writer is “to transport the reader to a place he or she is unlikely to venture.” Indeed, Spectral State takes the reader into mysterious worlds through ingenious plot twists that keep one guessing.
We are left to ponder and let our imagination go wild about what the future holds for the effect of technology and bio-engineering on society.
