‘Gateway to Gandamak’ — Introduction and Synopsis
Written by a member of the Quartermaine family, this work of speculative fiction covers 900 years of actual history from Normandy and Saxon England, to India in the era of the British Empire (the Raj) to England in World War Two, Northern Ireland in the Troubles, present-day Oxford, Thailand, and the war in Afghanistan.
The book is fiction with a science theme. It includes important ideas about the invasion (military, cultural, religious, and economic), resistance to a super-power, “humanitarian” interventions, insurgency, the success and failure of command systems, and duty performed in often traumatic and occasionally morally ambiguous circumstances.
Alan Turing’s iconic role in moving us towards the “Singularity” is examined, as his cruel destruction because of his homosexuality. The book explores how advanced artificial intelligence systems and simulations are used to game different war scenarios and what this implies for the future of humanity in an era of global conflict.
Excerpts or (perhaps) an abridged version will appear here on Medium. Here’s the synopsis.
Book 1 — Birth Pangs
Do not start something lightly, problems will arise at the start of anything — I Ching (3, Chun)
A Traveler lecturing in India, remembers the colorful, colonial, and war-torn history of the British Raj. His visit to Gwalior Fort in Central India reminds him of the storming of its three-hundred-foot walls, the Maratha and Sikh Wars, and vicious fighting during the Indian War of Independence (“The Mutiny”). His research focuses on the role of brave junior officers in defeating an insurgency despite the incompetence of the commanders and the failure of intelligence and information gathering.
Investigating a shocking environmental disaster, the Traveler meets an Englishman, James Quartermaine, whose family has served in India during the Raj. Intrigued by James’ story, the Traveler comes to England to find out more about the Quartermaines. He learns that a man named “Quatremain” was part of the sea-borne invasion of Saxon England by the Normans in 1066 and fought in the violent Battle of Hastings. Two families, the Mountfordes and the Quartermaines, have been entwined since the Norman conquest of England. Quartermaines have fought for the British East India Company, and one escapes death at the hands of the Afghans in the horrific defeat of the British Army at Gandamak.
James’ grandfather hears of another massacre by British troops at Amritsar and plays a role in the early development of Signals Intelligence. James’ mother, Barbara Mountforde, works at Bletchley Park on the Ultra (Enigma) program in World War 2 with Alan Turing. German codes are captured in a skirmish with a U-boat.
The Traveler narrates Turing’s story and how information science and codebreaking in the war bring humanity forward into the modern Computer Era. Alan Turing’s life and, importantly, his mysterious death — suicide or murder — are seen through the eyes of Barbara and her friend, Turing’s erstwhile fiancé, as a tipping point of computing science and artificial intelligence. James himself is drawn into the dangerous world of British counterterrorism.
Book 2 — Through the Gateway
There are rebels. The nobleman is unable to do anything. The great ones leave, and the lesser ones come — I Ching (12, P’i)
James Quartermaine tells the Traveler about his past. He joins the British Army and goes to Northern Ireland as the Troubles turn from civil resistance to insurgency and then a terrorist war. Manipulated by a psychopathic commander, a series of traumatic and shaming events force him to consider who he is. Searching for new meaning to his life, James leaves the military and finds work in Papua New Guinea, but he takes no action when a colleague wins a murderous game of wits. Older, more cynical, disillusioned with humanitarian efforts that go wrong, JQ returns to Oxford University where new and fascinating windows open into the exploration of man-machine civilization — Turing’s “thinking machines” and how simulation and game theories develop through AI.
Disturbed by what he has learned, unable to settle in academia, distressed James abandons his family and finds himself in Bangkok and in love with a beautiful singer. Middle-aged now, confused about the world and his life, guilty and ashamed about his behavior, post 9/11 he serves in Afghanistan using his analytical skills from Northern Ireland linked to ideas simulation technology to combat the Taliban.
After a traumatic attack in Helmand, James reads about the bravery of a British sergeant in the First Afghan War. He is determined to redeem himself, to do something right, and writes an investigative report about the war situation. He is lured to the battlefield of Gandamak where nearly two hundred years ago the 44th Regiment of Foot took its last stand against other enemies.
Bio
The Author, G.J. Quartermaine, served in the British Army as an engineer, was educated at Oxford University as an economist, and did post-graduate work on artificial intelligence in Canada. He became a manager for a multinational agribusiness corporation investing in emerging economies before establishing his own consulting company in Hong Kong and the UK. His later career includes work for USAID, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and various governments. He has served as a senior development advisor in many of today's conflict zones including Afghanistan, Iraq, Pakistan, Somaliland, and Yemen. He resides somewhere in Asia.
