A WORTHWHILE STORYBOOK: ROSETTA 6.2 BY JAMES ATTICUS BOWDEN — PART 1

What makes a book worthwhile?

What makes a book worthwhile?

Well, the fact we cannot put the book down — it’s a gripping page-turner — has little to do with it. Many gripping page-turners only offer their readers relief from reality, an escape into self-deception. Instead of helping us, these books delude us. While we read, we pretend we are someone else, someone able to solve every problem, surmount every difficulty, conquer any opponent — someone able to impose his will. When reading such literature we avoid living; we procrastinate. We waste time. We do not learn what it is to realize the grandeur that is God’s Creation.

What is the difference between escapist literature and worthwhile literature? That difference often resides in who the author chooses to make the central character. Consider what the Bible does. The Bible tells many stories, most about imperfect, ordinary men and women. These people succeeded in their struggles only when they came to rely upon our Creator.

There is one dominant hero in the Bible. There is only one hero who solves every problem, surmounts every difficulty, and conquers every opponent. That hero is Jesus, but he does not impose his own will; he willingly submits to the will of the Father. As Jesus did with his example, worthwhile literature reminds us God is God, and we are not.

The Plot of Rosetta 6.2

Published in 2006, Rosetta 6.2 by James Atticus Bowden projects a grim future. The story begins September 3. 2011. Islamist terrorists have teamed with drug pushers to hook their victims on a vile new drug. They call this drug “sin.”

Our government teeters — indecisive. Political leaders and judges ignore the Constitution. Bereft of moral leadership, law enforcement flounders, becoming more corrupt. Desperate, wealthy suburbanites seek safety in gated communities (which they have transformed into walled security compounds). The remainder of the population struggles on in increasing fear.

Thus, Rosetta 6.2 presents the United States in crisis, the greatest since the Civil War. As the story begins, contending factions maneuver and skirmish, magnifying the chaos — awaiting the battle that will resolve the conflict. In the background, Maggie and Hillary, opponents in the 2012 presidential election, delineate the distinctly different sides in a raging Culture War.

Ostensibly, the story focuses on a team of system developers. Their role? These people must design, build and implement a Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (C4ISR) system capable of managing simultaneous arrests and military attacks against a world-wide network of Narco-Islamist-Terrorists (NITs). The task is monumental. Tens of millions of people must idenified, located, arrested, and locked up or executed.

The story begins as your standard techno-thriller, but it soon becomes apparent that it is not. This is about the ethics of conflict, a People divided, and personal salvation.

To Be Continued: Look for Part 2, The Issues Raised By Rosetta 6.2, on Tuesday.