Turing's Delirium: A Novel Kindle Edition

My Essay on the book:Turing’s Delirium Turing’s Delirium (2003) is a novel published by one of Bolivia’s best fictional authors, Edmundo Paz Soldan. The book was published at the turn of the century and was very well received for how it highlighted important social issues in Bolivia at the time. In Turing’s Delirium (2003), Paz Soldan uses fiction to create a society that represents the condition of Bolivia under the national agenda of Hugo Banzer. The author draws on many events that occurred in Bolivia before this publication, while directing attention to issues he believes are most detrimental to Bolivian society. The story is told by the perspectives of multiple characters who each have their own specialized knowledge of the social situation that is occurring. The story jumps settings with each character in a soap opera-like feel to how it is narrated. The plot of the story unfolds in a time frame of just a few days. This novel is a futuristic, science-fiction thriller that is intended to represent Bolivia’s important political issues in the late 1990’s. In this essay, I will discuss how marginalization and a lack of autonomy is present in neoliberal societies like the one set in Turing’s Delirium (2003). Through an analysis of main characters, I will illustrate their oppression and the lack of control they have over their own lives in Rio Fugitivo. First, I will describe the city of Rio Fugitivo and what elements of its society represent neoliberalism. The majority of the novel takes place here, as it is a fictitious representation of a real city in Bolivia where turmoil occurred in the late 1990’s. Consequential effects of globalization can be seen in Rio Fugitivo just like in neoliberal societies and in Bolivia a decade ago. Bolivia itself is marginalized by international powers and corporations through privatization of social services, specifically electricity. In this novel, the power company Globalux creates a monopolization of an enterprise and all citizens of Rio Fugitivo are left with no choice but to be consumers of of this new private empire. Globalux creates price hikes, poor service, and remains unresponsive to the needs of its clients but with the support of Montenegro’s government, no action follows. Globalux justifies the hardship placed on its consumers by saying it needs to generate profits to build new plants to provide better service, but in reality all the revenue is leaving the country back to its first world headquarters outside of Bolivia. Paz Soldan equates this exploitation by Globalux to the Bolivian Water Wars where drinking water was privatized which lead to unaffordable levels of a basic resource required to live. As Maslow would state, when the basic need of life cannot be met, revolution results which can be seen in the growing protests and riots in Rio Fugitivo. [1] The exclusion of indigenous people in Rio Fugitivo also represents Neoliberalism. Bolivia has one of the highest populations of indigenous people in South America and Paz Soldan gives them a very small role in this story. Rio Fugitivo is supposed to be a more westernized city in Bolivia, but it still does not equally represent indigenous people in the government similar to other neoliberal countries. Periodically, he does mention comments by the “leader of the coca growers” in response to the growing unrest, but this is marginal. A comparison can be made from this indigenous leader to Evo Morales, the current president of Bolivia and the first indigenous president in South America, but again this is hardly mentioned by Paz Soldan. [2] Since this book is set in the year 2019, our author incorporates futurology into a setting where Rio Fugitivo is overrun by technology. It is described to be as much third-world as it is technologized. This makes for a hyperconnected society where everyone can contact each other without ever meeting face to face, similar to todays connected globalized economies. It mentions nearly everyone in the city has a smart phone and is connected with each other via the internet and certain programs. It is profound how accurately Paz Soldan writes on the future of technology back in 2003. In Rio Fugitivo everyone participates in a virtual reality MMOG(Mass Multiplayer Online Game) called Playground. Playground is described similar to the Sims game that was very popular in the West at the time of Paz Soldan’s writing. In playground, everyone is represented by an avatar that is the ideal version of themselves. One character, Flavia, mentions how different some people look in Playground than in real life. Correlations can be made from Playground to other major distractions in todays society that can really skew one’s perception of themselves, like Instagram/Twitter, Facebook, Grand Theft Auto, World of Warcraft, and Minecraft. The overuse of these programs distorts your own idea of reality and can lead to a lack of control over your own life. Being so focussed on how many likes you get on a Facebook post, or how many friends you can connect with on Playground, places importance on something so trivial. Coupled with strict rules these programs have, one’s own identity and thoughts can be shaped by the unbeknownst control by Big Brother. This fear is ever present in neoliberal societies today, as more people are losing trust in big corporations and governments in the West. (Trump Election) As briefly mentioned before, consequences of neoliberalism can be severe and often fall on the already disadvantaged people of society. Which is systemically bad for Bolivia as wealth inequality is already very high. With capitalism being a major aspect of neoliberalism, an economy is created where the rich benefit the most, while low wages are forced and accepted by the working class populations. Voices of MNCs are heard over those of the electorate in forms of lobbying, corruption, and bribes. Markets become saturated and force small businesses out of operation because MNCs can come in and provide services at a rate far lower than existing local competition. This creates a situation where families have few options for employment and can either join these new companies in town at lower wages, or be left to suffer. This model of forced economics can create great distain by people who lose their jobs in heavily affected areas by these decisions. When this model extends to a degree like it does in Rio Fugitivo, protest occurs and riots break out in opposition of powerful transnational companies. Passion and hatred is voiced to a level that some are willing to lose their life for the voices of their cause to be heard. This, in combination with Montenegro’s militarized government, creates a revolutionary dystopia of marginalization in Turing’s Delirium (2003). As much as a character thinks they have the power of autonomy in their own life, they actually do not and are mere puppets in the grand scheme, with their strings being pulled by powerful corporations. Next, I want to expand on a few characters’ struggle with autonomy and describe how the decisions made by Montenegro and companies like Globalux created a facade of security and democracy in Rio Fugitivo. First, I want to introduce Miguel Saenz, better known as Turing. Turing is described by his former boss, Albert, as a well oiled machine that has the ability to remove himself from his office work at the Black Chamber, essentially putting up blinders to any feelings or thoughts. Turing is very prideful and always rejoices in doing well and seeking Alberts approval. Throughout the majority of Turing’s career, he sees himself as a simple bureaucrat just making a living the best way possible in crazy society. He does not consider himself politically active and basically says his work is just a means to an end, rather than malice aforethought. As it turns out, hours before his death, he discovers the truth behind the mundane work of his entire career at the Black Chamber. It was indeed used to help capture and justify the murder of folks in opposition to Montenegro’s first regime. Turing takes this news very hard as he discovers his entire career has been a falsehood and that his once idolized boss Albert was behind it all along. This creates a struggle with identity and autonomy for Turing when he finds out his entire role in life has essentially been to be a pawn in a grand scheme agenda set by the dictator to murder the political opposition. Turing’s struggle over his own life can also be seen in his relationship with his prostitute mistress Carla. He repeats throughout the novel that their relationship is an escape from his professional and home life that is repetitive and dictated so strictly. He may want a divorce with Ruth, but cannot because of Flavia. In his search for happiness and contentment he always seems to run back to Carla for sexual pleasure and to try to fill the void missing in his life. He is conscious of how short sighted these endeavors are saying it is mere instant gratification, that the void returns as soon as he leave Carla. Carla also struggles with control in her own life, being a victim poverty, addiction, and an absent home life, herself. Ruth, Turing’s wife, is challenged with control over her own life throughout this novel too. She mentions how she was never able to finish her education thanks to the regime shutting down the university near the end of her studies. She also discusses how her hand was forced to be employed at the Black Chamber, in the early goings, to maintain a good relationship with Turing. She did not quit until she was physically unable to bring herself to work when her suspicion rose on the Black Chamber’s true role in Rio Fugitivo. Due to Montenegro’s orders, she could not even return to her office one day or posses her own property, a coded journal she had been working on most of her career. She was imprisoned for reasons outside of her control. Ruth finally mentions knowing the truth and having evidence to bring Montenegro down but is still scared for the repercussions of whistle-blowing. Once she finally agree to share the information with Judge Cardona, she then is still not even the holder of her own fate, as she is killed days after finally coming to terms with her role in prosecuting Montenegro. Judge Cardona can be seen to have a similar internal struggle as Ruth as how he responds to Montenegro. Cardona, also being a victim of drug addiction, knew that even when he worked for the regime, they had killed his beloved cousin and had no real power to serve justice to her death. He decided to take a different route and blame Turing’s family and eventually killed them. Finally, there is Flavia and Kandinsky who have a more proactive approach to their struggle with autonomy than the more submissive responses by Turing, Ruth, and Judge. Flavia and Kandinsky represent a new generation in Rio Fugitivo that thinks differently in response to the political atmosphere in Bolivia. Flavia is very aware of all the controlling rules and conditions placed around her and inside Playground. She is very wary of creating enemies. Though she respects these rules, she challenges them through creating a dialogue on her blog that represents both sides of a story that is trending in the news. This is a very unique approach to publishing news as most of the media in Bolivia has been privatized with other industries that often only show one perspective of a news story. She does receive criticism, but it is in the way she responds to the controlling nature of society in her city. She speaks on moderation when using playground and says she uses it as a tool to investigate more often than to escape reality, though she does lose herself in the unreal world sometimes. She is a nontraditional teenager with dreadlocks that puts forth critical thinking to formulate her own opinions on things that challenge the hegemonic thinking of what society dictates. Kandinsky is more radical than Flavia in his opposition of the regime and corporations. He is basically a hero among the Resistance for his cyber attacks on big businesses and the government of Bolivia. He is a minimalist from a working class family that has seen first hand marginalization of classes and the immobility of social status in his country. Kandinsky has a good understanding of how unfair life can be for certain people and targets organizations that force thinking and dominate the realm of influence over citizens in Rio Fugitivo. Kandinsky keeps a small circle of people he can trust to help him with his mission, knowing he serves a greater role in combatting the control that is trying to be placed over everyone in Bolivia. His response to autonomous struggles is fierce and he refuses to answer to anyone but himself, but in reality he is also a victim of himself in that he is always living in hiding, snooping around illegally everyday of his life. He thinks he controls all aspects of his life, but it takes a while for him to realize the victim he really is. I chose this topic of autonomy, control, and oppression in a neoliberal Rio Fugitivo because I believe it has been a recurring theme throughout everything we have studied in this class. New political regimes in Latin America have brought with them different orders and models of economics that leave citizens to suffer, especially poor ones. With every new president, rewards and punishments seemed to fall on certain groups of society throughout the region. This concept of struggling for autonomy can be felt in society today, even if we do not see it initially. So many powerful people make decisions that seriously affect the lives of many, and for any society to just sit back and let rich people and officials play games at the top should not be accepted. Its been very interesting to learn the processes of political change in the Southern Cone this semester through the examination of literature. My goal has been to apply the most dominate theme I have noticed in this class and analyze my favorite work in that lens.

This is a fast-paced story that plays on the astounding paradoxes of arguably the most backward country in the Americas. It could have been set in a more developed place & work just about as well. Paz-Soldan tells it from mutiple perspectives & the story just keeps twisting & changing as it moves along. Not only are the characters not what they seem to be, but several are not even what they think they are. Never-the-less, they are are quite believable (particularly for those who have experienced the strange mixture of background & nationality of those who come to Bolivia to "hacer las Americas." The biggest shortcoming, as far as I'm concerned, is that the author could have added more of the incredible culture of this enigma of a country. Maybe because the book was originaly written for Bolivians who take for granted the uniqueness of their land, he just lightly passes over some of the more interesting aspects of Bolivian life; we see no cholitos or "indios" and the only foods mentioned are the Americanized junk foods--no saltenas, quinoa, or those amazing puffed noodles. Still, the book is intriguing & well-paced. I imagine it would make a great movie (especially if it were filmed in Bolivia).By my preliminary reading, Paz-Soldan seems to come to the conclusion that although the global economy is certainly screwing the world over, nobody seems to be able to put forth a viable answer & that most of us, regardless of our position, are manipulated & driven by forces we are ignorant of. I'm going to have to read more of his work to see what, if any, alternative he offers.

One thing I liked was that part of it was in the second person. The story takes place in Bolivia and I was transported to a place that was new to me. It was easy to relate to the characters and I enjoyed reading it.

This is a hacker-counter-hacker story set in Bolivia, where the newly resurrected president hires an NSA official to set up the country's counter-espionage / cyber-security unit ("Black Chamber"). The main thorn in the side is a computer terrorist named Kandinski. Black Chamber has on its side a cryptanalyst with decades of experiencing tackling various types of codes. And the game is on, with the inevitable mole inside Black Chamber, fevered dreams which feature the dreamer talking in first person as Charles Babbage, Turing, etc.The book intersperses mathematical references throughout, including a long description of the Enigma machine, Fermat and Mersenne primes, etc. At one point, the Black Chamber director recalls how, as a child, he was taught number theory by his mother using the book, "The Man Who Counted.". The Ninth Pawn of White: A Book of Unwritten Verses . Quiescence: Musings Against A Setting Sun .

Not brilliant, but pretty damn good. Set in Bolivia in the near future, Turings Delirium follows a number of characters connected to the Black Chamber, a cryptanalysis department founded by a corrupt dictatorship.On one side is the government, on the other the hackers. There is also a great deal of history about modern Cryptography.