![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/11\/robot-fly.jpeg\")
<\/a>The fly sat on a wall of a luxury suite in a five-star hotel in Vienna. It had been a dull and uneventful day for the fly until \u2013 a little before sunset \u2013 three grim and purposeful elderly men entered the suite, for what proved to be a tension-filled working meeting.<\/p>\nTrue identities of the men could not be determined. Judging by their accents, the three men were of British, Middle-eastern and East-European backgrounds \u2013 represented here by letters \u2018B\u2019, \u2018M\u2019 and \u2018E\u2019 respectively. The men made frequent references to someone they called \u2018Numero Uno\u2019; their references to others were in some kind of code.<\/p>\n
***<\/p>\n
E: Welcome to the quarterly meeting of the strategy group.<\/p>\n
B: Let\u2019s start. I don\u2019t have all night for this.<\/p>\n
M: Me neither.<\/p>\n
E: Standard protocol turning ON. No interruptions allowed until the meeting ends.<\/p>\n
[Click sound.<\/em>]<\/p>\n E: Proceedings are now being recorded with copy-protection. The only copy will reach Numero Uno; no other record will exist.<\/p>\n M: I\u2019ll go first. Lack of funds is a huge problem for us. Fighters need salaries, spares, ammunition. Promises were made.<\/p>\n B: We\u2019re working on it. Preachers are being sent to boost morale.<\/p>\n M: I repeat. We need money. Preachers are useless.<\/p>\n B: Money doesn\u2019t grow on trees. There are many claimants. We also know how much of it gets diverted to personal accounts. So don\u2019t push it.<\/p>\n M: I know exactly where the money comes from and how much. You know that my friends are the biggest sources of funds.<\/p>\n B: Don\u2019t push it. I will speak to Uno.<\/p>\n [A few moments of silence.<\/em>]<\/p>\n E: Money is always a problem; there\u2019s never enough of it. Can\u2019t the fighters learn to make do with little \u2013 like the Taliban do?<\/p>\n M: Ha! Can you<\/em> fight like the Taliban?<\/p>\n E: That\u2019s ad hominem<\/em>.<\/p>\n M: Yes \u2013 intentionally. Unlike the Taliban, our fighters have bought into the \u2018western good life\u2019 story. So we get far less bang for the buck.<\/p>\n E: This is a difficult situation.<\/p>\n M: Do we just leave them to their fate?<\/p>\n E: No comment.<\/p>\n B: Some matters will have to be given a very quiet burial \u2013 and the opposite PR spin. Remember we represent \u2018western values\u2019 today.<\/p>\n [Sound of laughter.<\/em>]<\/p>\n E: The charm of \u2018western values\u2019 is wearing thin. A new narrative is needed to ensure our intellectual and moral dominance.<\/p>\n B: We\u2019re on it. Uno is funding a couple of dozen scholars to explore plausible narratives supporting the coming historic transition.<\/p>\n E: Find some from India. The verbosity may prove useful. You never know.<\/p>\n B: Agreed. We may get good value for money there. Their heads are overflowing with all kinds of potentially useful notions.<\/p>\n M: I\u2019d say keep away from that lot \u2013 full of metaphysical notions of oneness and compassion and what not; subversive notions for us.<\/p>\n B: But useful in subject populations.<\/p>\n E: Yes. I\u2019m funding a few scholars in our own outback.<\/p>\n M: Let me tell you the hard fact, my learned colleagues. Nowhere do I see any promise \u2013 not in religion, not in ideology, not in philosophy, not in mythology. And that\u2019s why I recommend raw power \u2013 money, media, law, police, military \u2013 whatever form power takes.<\/p>\n B: Many disbelieve so-called \u2018western values\u2019. Face it. Over the last three decades, our tactics have been very badly executed, starting with Russia.<\/p>\n E: Yes, a nett loss. And now DT is not even trying to sustain \u2018western values\u2019.<\/p>\n [A few moments of silence.<\/em>]<\/p>\n E: \u2018Western values\u2019 do carry weight in Eastern Europe. The prevailing world-view there is early twentieth century. We must sustain their useful illusions using soft power. After all, man does not live by bread alone, right?<\/p>\n M: Of course not. An illusion is also needed.<\/p>\n E: Point taken. Let\u2019s start a \u2018Together for Liberty\u2019 campaign in eastern Europe.<\/p>\n B: Even then, how do we square the circle globally? We need to create \u2013 how shall I say \u2013 a shiny new cover, which casts its allure far and wide, all around the world.<\/p>\n M: There you go rambling again. Listen. There\u2019s no need to square any circles. Just ram our vision down their throats \u2013 wherever and whenever that is necessary. Ram, ram and ram. Make sure no alternate version of any so-called truth survives. After all, nobody objected to the \u2018post-truth\u2019 meme, right? In fact many seemed awed by it.<\/p>\n B: Our PR guys in London came up with that one; all Oxbridge, by the way. One even claims to have \u2018blue blood\u2019 \u2013 would you believe it?<\/p>\n M: This \u2018blue blood\u2019 thing is most useful to us. That\u2019s Uno\u2019s greatest contribution to the cause. Humour the old lady.<\/p>\n B: Wish we didn\u2019t have to wear ludicrous robes and headgear now and then, though.<\/p>\n M: Goes with the territory. I had to wear grass-skirts and headgear in Africa once. A guy must do what he has to do.<\/p>\n E: All for the cause. But the blue blood thing may one day outlive its utility.<\/p>\n B: Contingency plans are ready. Rest assured.<\/p>\n E: How about a grand unification based on the Christian thing itself?<\/p>\n M: Nah … That\u2019s impossible. Too many schisms have occurred already.<\/p>\n [A few moments of silence.<\/em>]<\/p>\n M: The Confucian message may work, I think, when combined with the right spin \u2013 peace, social harmony and what not. Add total surveillance, and it\u2019s sewn up nice and tight. That would be a truly historical pivot to the east \u2013 unlike what BO of the flashy teeth did. We have already started a \u2018Dialogue for Global Harmony\u2019 campaign in China.<\/p>\n B: You do have all the answers, don\u2019t you?<\/p>\n M: Sure I do \u2013 if you can live with that.<\/p>\n B: You might have to die for that.<\/p>\n M: Noted.<\/p>\n [A few moments of silence.<\/em>]<\/p>\n E: That reminds me \u2013 how effective is our targeting team now?<\/p>\n M: Within a month of a verified signal, we can get anyone on the planet. The protocol is that Numero Uno sends the signal. We also moonlight when that makes good business sense. Two hundred special recruits are under training.<\/p>\n B: Do you inform Uno about the side jobs?<\/p>\n M: Depends. He knows that the profits are huge.<\/p>\n E: He has other groups, including one on global finance.<\/p>\n M: Yes. They\u2019re the ba***rds who think they own the world. I bet they are the ones blocking my funds.<\/p>\n B: No comment.<\/p>\n E: There\u2019s much chatter nowadays about the impending financial crash. Any updates from the big centre of global finance?<\/p>\n B: The proven formula is still in play. Shake the tree only when the fruit is ripe. A major tactical change is planned post-shakeout.<\/p>\n M: I hope funds will then be more plentiful.<\/p>\n B: I\u2019ll then head twenty-billion dollars worth of projects in southern and eastern Europe.<\/p>\n M: Care to share some details?<\/p>\n B: Only if you kiss my a**.<\/p>\n M: We should handle a part of any work in that region.<\/p>\n B: I said only if you kiss my a**.<\/p>\n [A few moments of silence.<\/em>]<\/p>\n E: Are we done?<\/p>\n B: I have a message from Uno: Avoid rash actions. Avoid excessive loss of life all at once. But do keep up constant pressure. Good results are expected post-shakeout.<\/p>\n E: Didn\u2019t we hear that the last time?<\/p>\n B: The message is to be repeated; or it will be lost in disputations.<\/p>\n M: What the h*** does \u201cexcessive loss of life\u201d mean? We do have a goal, after all. Should we or should we not achieve our goals?<\/p>\n B: Rash actions are giving rise to opposing forces. In such situations, actions prove counter-productive and the goal recedes.<\/p>\n M: I thought loss of life on the other side was totally permissible.<\/p>\n B: The situation is changing much faster than anticipated. The consulate murder has created a huge disturbance. Turkey is gifted an ace it could only have dreamt about.<\/p>\n M: Surely PR can re-align that story to match our goals?<\/p>\n B: Yes, but the fact remains your associates are savage in their ways.<\/p>\n M: We\u2019ve known that all along, haven\u2019t we? Need I remind you guys about the collateral costs of being in the conquest business? There\u2019s no room for timidity here. Of course we could have done that journalist job without any trace. It would\u2019ve been a piece-of-cake.<\/p>\n E: Possibly they wanted to make a big statement.<\/p>\n B: Well, it misfired.<\/p>\n M: I don\u2019t understand the practical implications of Uno\u2019s message. We must project implacable strength. I need a one-on-one meeting with him.<\/p>\n B: Go ahead. I meet him every Tuesday. He has thousands of sources. His vision of life is amazingly deep and far-reaching.<\/p>\n M: Flattery will get you nowhere.<\/p>\n E: Can we not drop this line of talk, gentlemen?<\/p>\n M: I\u2019m no gentleman. I have a goal to reach and I am going to reach it \u2013 whatever it takes. What others think of me is of no consequence to me. My hands are soaked in blood already.<\/p>\n B: All for the cause.<\/p>\n E: I shall call this meeting to a close and turn off the recorder. Agreed?<\/p>\n B: Agreed.<\/p>\n M: Agreed.<\/p>\n [A few moments of silence.<\/em>]<\/p>\n M: What are the arrangements for dinner and recreation?<\/p>\n E: Each to his own suite. Dinner and recreation are arranged as requested.<\/p>\n M: The woman last time talked too much.<\/p>\n E: We\u2019ve sent you another this time.<\/p>\n B: I had requested a repeat. In fact, I\u2019ll make that handsome young man my Special Executive. Wife will also be satisfied.<\/p>\n E: Buy one, get one free.<\/p>\n [A few moments of silence.<\/em>]<\/p>\n B (LOUD): Damn! What\u2019s this bloody fly doing here? In a bloody five-star hotel?<\/p>\n E: What! At three thousand dollars a night! I\u2019ll call the manager!<\/p>\n M: I\u2019ll swat the damn thing with this newspaper!<\/p>\n [Loud sound of newspaper hitting the wall.<\/em>]<\/p>\n ***<\/p>\n That morning, the delivery boy threw the rolled-up newspaper rather hard at my front door. The loud bang woke me with a start. From being an unwelcome if tiny intruder in a five-star Vienna hotel, instantly I resumed my life as an ordinary Indian on an ordinary Indian bed. A zero-star bed, of course, but comfortable and familiar nonetheless.<\/p>\n To say that my mind was boggled would be a huge understatement. In that luxury suite in Vienna, I had heard how wannabe world-conquerors build their grand visions and map out their grand strategies. I was more horribly shaken up than I had ever imagined was possible.<\/p>\n After a sorely-needed hot cup of tea, and in the interest of historical accuracy, I wrote out the entire mind-boggling experience with as much fidelity as humanly possible. However, even as I wrote, I was certain that no reader would feel the sheer terror of the event as I had felt it.<\/p>\n _________________________________________________<\/em><\/p>\n \u2018Wish I could be a fly on the wall when X and Y meet one-on-one\u2019. This is an ardent \u2013 and not very uncommon \u2013 wish among those who must know \u2018what is really going on in the world\u2019. But last night a truly mind-boggling event occurred! Your humble correspondent had his \u2018fly on the wall\u2019 wish fulfilled! Naturally, what this particular \u2018fly on the wall\u2019 witnessed must be reported forthwith \u2013 as being of utmost and paramount significance to the future of mankind. Accordingly, this is your mind-boggled correspondent reporting, much more reliably than CNN:<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":121395,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-transcend-members"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121393\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121395"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.transcend.org\/tms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a><\/em>Dr. Naresh Jotwani is a semi-retired academic living in India and a member of the <\/em>TRANSCEND Network for Peace Development Environment<\/em><\/a>. Apart from part-time engagements in engineering education and consulting, he engages in an in-depth, personal exploration of how Gautam Buddha\u2019s profound discoveries and teachings can be applied to the acute problems of modern life.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"