CODE TO ZERO - KEN FOLLETT

Code to Zero is a novel by the English author Ken Follett, published by Pan Macmillan. The story follows Luke, an amnesiac who spends the duration of the book learning of his life, and slowly uncovering secrets of a conspiracy to hold America back in the space race.

It is set out in both chapters and parts. There are five parts in the book, And an unknown amount of chapters, as they are titles by the time of day they are set.

[edit]Plot summary

In America, 1958 a man wakes up in a mens' room with no recollection of his past. His clothing, associates and surroundings suggest to him that he is an alcoholic derelict, however his behaviour, morals and instinct lead him to investigate and research his past. He establishes (by the simple method of going into a library and pulling books off shelves until he finds one that he understands) that he is in fact Dr Lucas - a rocket scientist, and well known in his field. He further establishes that he is directly responsible for the design of a rocket due to be launched by America in an attempt to match the Soviet Sputnik, and bolster America's entry into what would become the Space Race.

Well, the above was quoted from Wikipedia, now lets get down to my views about this book. Firstly, the author having chosen an almost impossible mission to complete in 3 days, has done complete justice to the pace of the book, making the protagonist seem like he wields super-human talents. Generally, books that narrate a whole speedy thriller within a small time frame end up making one minute of the action seem like an hour! Thankfully, this book is not one such! 

The characters in the book are restricted to minimal, have strong and radical convictions signature to a true patriot and spy, alike, have no semblance of being human, and they don't bother to justify themselves. So without much ado, the main interest and focus of the novel is the story. The characters' lives are intertwined with the plot, and after a point, seem like THE PLOT.

 This is a page-turner, literally, and gives any reader only ONE version of the story, because seemingly, Follett wants it that way.

olive soup

I'm too lazy to give you the ingredients, figure them out.
First you make a roux, which is the 6 tablespoons of flour poured into 3 tablespoons of hot olive oil and cooked until you have a darkened paste.
Soak the olives in cold water for 1 hour. Drain and coarsely chop the olives.
Heat a frying pan and add 3 tablespoons of oil, onion, and garlic, along with 2/3 of the olives. Saute until the onions are transparent.
Puree the mixture in a food processor along with 1 cup of the stock. Place this mixture into a deep saucepan and the rest of the stock.
Simmer for 10 minutes and add cream.
Whisk in the roux and simmer, stirring constantly until thickened. Add pepper to taste and remaining chopped olives, Tabasco sauce, and a dash of sherry.

garlic oatmeal

serves one.

ingredients:
oatmeal-1/2 cup
small onion (diced)-1
garlic pods (peeled, crushed and split)-2
oil-2 teaspoons
cornflour-1 tablespoon
water-4 cups
salt-to taste
aji-no-moto-1/2 teaspoon
black salt-1/4 teaspoon
powdered black pepper-1 teaspoon
spring onions (diced)-1 tablespoon

process:
boil oatmeal in 2 1/2 cups of water and a pinch of salt till cooked with a white broth.
heat oil in a deep vessel, add the onion and garlic and saute till the onions are translucent.
add the spring onions, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, mix well, stir-in the oat-broth and bring to a boil.
in a vessel, mix 1 1/2 cup of water, cornflour, aji-no-moto, black salt and black pepper and stir it into the oatmeal. simmer for a minute and serve.

BLUNDER i made: while boiling oatmeal, make sure it is thoroughly cooked although you can see the white broth initially, or else the soup will lack volume.

people say architecture is hard. well, i had my fair share of statutory warning that came along with the course package. i stood there, basking in delight for almost topping some almost third grade competitive exam.
what i needed was peace after the painful ejaculation that was, PUC exams. call me masochist but i somehow loved getting it over with. bah!

now everyone told me this ain't your piece of cake, i wished whole heartedly that this would be the first meaningful study i might ever undertake. that this was going to contradict every form of mugging, completely delineating my rote memory, stimulate my right brain and give me a dysfunctional right arm. was i prepared for it? i didn't care. i let it unfold cheekily.  

today i am, still letting it unfold. there's no cheekiness and rest assured, there was no separating work life and personal life here. there were no two ways to go about it. it was a life changing decision. it was the ultimate journey. i scrapped all the old MEs. and found many more new ones. i am a tumbling bead in the colourful, inconsistent kaleidoscope that is this way of life.

i love it. no, dig it.

weekend blues

i stare at the ceiling, just awake
what time of the day is it?
is it even day? or night? i debate
disorientation implicit.

i remember there's work to do
wasted the weekend have i.
food and drink are for survival no more
i fight an urge to thrive.

food and drink, i start to think
i have earned them not.
yet fed am i, with providence
leaving me senile and to rot.

i whip myself and rise to work,
see just a humble line on paper
while a myriad of such entities await creation
im rendered observer.

for more to come, and so to say
i'll have to think on toes...
for a brain on my foot, i pray,
for now, i forget my woes.

Morning Sick-O

It's eight a.m., the alarm goes off,
at breakfast-table i sit.
A phlegm-laced trachea, i muffle a cough
oh my god im sick.


Iv'e temperature, a bitter tongue
has curdled my sip of milk,
throat goes dry, weakened lungs
back to pajamas silk!