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I'm so pleased to see this here! I've added it to my favorites. Also, I forgot to mention this in my email, but the references to Freud had the psychology student in me cracking up. I love your stories because they offer new angles on events and characters that have been written one hundred times if they've been written once, yet your style is lively, the stories are fun to read, and one can't walk away seeing Middle-earth the same ever again. This one comes with highest recommendations.

Thanks so much, G.A.! As for more, I anticipate that there will be another fic offering from the pandemoniverse posted here within the next few weeks. \r\n\r\nI met Jim Watson at a cocktail soiree at Cold Spring Harbor some years ago. He\'s pretty entertaining - glib and scary-intelligent, not unlike the two Tolkien technologists in my Trinity indulgence. I don\'t know that Watson and Oppenheimer ever interacted, but it seems to me that they should have!

Thanks so much, Tarion!  That piece is so far out in the AU that it's hanging off the edge of the known universe, but I have no shame.

 "And I truly spent much of genetics class contemplating Elven genetics...:D"

 Ay, caramba!  Or should that be "Ai, carambë?"  Don't get me started!  I have my theories. ;^)

Oh my, this is utterly fascinating. How potent the combination of philosophy and science in Tolkien and reality is - I admit, for the most part I've kept my interests in Arda and biology, but once again you've got me thinking about these things again.

I was impressed by the epigraph itself. I did not know 

about Oppenheimer, I confess, so this was additionally

mysterious and fascinating. I'm not sure I got the signifance of Jim's script, however - a recognition of the impact Watson & Crick's discovery would have on our knowledge of life & humanity? (Especially poignant since I've been dealing excessively with one such consequence/application these past few days. *g*) I might have to come back for a re-read. ;)

I'm glad I read this - thank you for sharing this brilliant piece with us. 

Thanks so much for the compliments, Klose.  "Trinity" really does form the foundation of my 'verse, and its themes inform much of my writing. The latter is less "engaging gap-fillers" but more often commentary on Tolkien's attitudes.  Of course, I'm hardly alone in interweaving commentary into fic.

Yes, there's some mysterious sub-text going on with Oppie's reaction to Watson's script.  Part of it is indeed due to the impact of the discovery.  But for the rest, one would need to analyze the mtDNA of the Oppenheimer and Watson of the pandemoniverse. ;^)

Oho, Sauron!  Sometimes I'm a bit thick ... I was thinking, "right, Fëanor and ... Eöl?  Doh! 

This is such an excellent idea, executed with appropriate irreverance.  I'll bet Sauron was more than a little jealous that he hadn't thought about splitting atoms ... or did he?  Seems more Morgoth-like. 

I love that Fëanor warns against psychoanalysis.  Imagine what a hash Freud would have made of his story! 

And of course the ironic origins of some of Jim's alleles isn't exactly germane to the story but it had me smirking nonetheless.

Thanks very much, Gwidhiel for your comments and compliments!  Yes, I am nothing if not irreverent. ;^) "Trinity" is something of a fictional offshoot of "The Tolkienian War on Science," my rather opinionated (and irreverent - how surprising) screed which resides both here in the SWG Reference section and on the Chimp Refuge.

A little clue to Sauron's identity -- besides the similarity of his modern alias -- is his missing finger.  I expect that Sauron (or at least my interpretation of him) is simultaneously envious and chuffed over Oppie's work on atomic fission.  Yes, the destructive aspects of atomic fission fit into Morgoth's nihilism, but like it or not, there are some beneficial applications of nuclear physics, too.  Technology is invariably a double-edged sword. 

Tossing Watson's eldritch alleles into the story may not seem obviously germane, but there's an overarching theme here (this figures in the majority of my ficcish hackery): brilliant, creative people are often morally fallible, and driven scientists and technologists ("thralls to knowledge") often seem to have a bit of the devil in them so... ;^)

"Imagine what a hash Freud would have made of his story!"

LOL moment here! :^D

Oppenheimer was entranced by psychoanalysis so I figured a reference or two was in order.  I like to imagine that as part of their rehabilitation* in the pandemoniverse, Fëanor and Sauron were subjected to whatever therapeutic flavor of the Valarin month that their counselor (I like to think this was Olorin - heh) decided to apply to them, ranging from Freudian to Jungian to cognitive-behavioral therapy! :^D  Oh, crud. I think a plot bunny has spawned.

*This concept of Fëanor and Sauron's "redemption," in addition to my more Miltonian interpretation of Sauron, is in part why I slap "AU" on pretty much every fan fic I write even if the strict accuracy of this designation is arguable.

Thanks so much, whitewave!  Yes, my fan fic amounts to commentary on science and technology in Tolkien's world, and sometimes -- maybe frequently -- as a counterpoint to Tolkien's own views, but sometimes confluent with them, too.  Glad you enjoyed my (brief) take on Fëanor.  He's my long-suffering scientist-hero.  Given that others have written Fëanor so well, I decided to focus on another scientific intellect, and one who fell much further than Fëanor, but still, the artisan of The Silmarils makes his way into my fics either directly or indirectly.

This is an absolutely stunning story, and is the one that led me to this wonderful archive. I love that Sauron and Fëanor were the ones to talk to Oppenheimer, for they know better than anyone else in Tolkien's world the consequences of such activities.

I love that the major scientists have Elvish/Maiarin genes. So, what does that say for the rest of us? The explanation for Elves' light-emitting eyes is wonderful!

With that, Fionn and Saunders simultaneously tossed the jewels and the ring high into the air where they swirled around each other until they could no longer be seen. Then the sky exploded with the radiance of a thousand suns.

Wonderful imagery there.

Seriously, I love how you interweave science into Tolkien. You have the knowledge and ability to do what I can only dream of.

~ Indy

Thanks so much for the compliments, Indy.   I'm honored that this out-on-a-limb story worked for you.  Tolkien's secondary world is so rich through his knowledge and use of science in it, notably botany and astronomy.  I'm just taking it a step further.

Trinity is the first fan fic I wrote (well, if you don't count the little story I wrote about Boromir in 1969 using my dad's manual typewriter), and it really is the foundation of my 'verse.  It was generated by the unusual sequence of reading Amercian Prometheus followed by The Silmarillion, which I had read many times when I was younger but had set aside for almost 20 years.  After reading about the physicists on the Manhattan Project -- and notably Oppie -- I recognized similar archetypes in both Fëanor and Sauron.  A couple of readers have interpreted "Trinity" to mean that I was saying the atomic bomb is the Ring.  Not at all.  it is, however, about the ambiguity of technology and the grave responsibilities that a scientist/engineer bears for what he or she creates.

"I love that the major scientists have Elvish/Maiarin genes. So, what does that say for the rest of us?"

In the Pandë!verse, genes -- mortal, hobbit, dwarf, elf, Maia, and even orc -- eventually reunite back to H. sapiens.  So, speaking as one of the rest of us in the Pandë!verse, I guess I'd have a Noldorin brain in a hobbit's body!  :^D 

Oppenheimer had intense blue eyes, described as "beautiful."  Being infected with Tolkienism, I looked at Oppie's eyes and thought, "Hey!  They're Finwëan!" ;^) 

Thanks again!

 

Pande, this is brilliant and completely original.  Only you could have written something like this: taking characters from Tolkien's world,bringing them to our world and then including the atomic bomb, the Bhagavad_Gita and Watson-Crick, all in one tight, entertaining, and deeply philosophical package.

I greatly enjoyed your characterization of Oppenheimer also, of whom I only know what he did and remember an enigmatic picture of a tall, thin man smoking a pipe and wearing that pork-pie hat.  I love your descriptions of both Feanor and Sauron (Fion and Saunders, heh) and Sauron's bonds of light and likening their creations to the bomb, as manifestations of the need for power and control, is just fascinating.  The questions that they raise are quite pertinent to our age.  Fascinating that you've juxtaposed Watson-Crick's discovery of the spiral helix where we finally understood the code of life at the same time as understanding how to utterly destroy it.  Brahma and Shiva - or rather Shiva in both his incarnations as builder and destroyer of worlds.   

“And stop smoking those damn things,” Fionn scolded. “You’re killing yourself with them.”    I have to laugh at this, considering what Oppie and company have just unleashed. 

Just an amazing story, fully deserving of your MEFA win.  

 

Thanks a million for the compliments, 'scribe!  "Trinity" is hanging by its nuclear fingernails on the very edge of the Tolkienian framework, but the unholy confluence of reading Amercan Prometheus within 3 months of a re-read of The Silmarillion caused my imagination to reach critical mass and detonate. :^D   One MEFA08 reviewer learnedly opined that Tolkien did not equate the Ring with the bomb.  As tempted as I was to respond with a snotty "No! Duh!  Thanks for pointing that out, Captain Obvious!" response,  I refrained. I didn't write this story as allegory, but as you astutely noted, as an exploration of timeless human archetypes, the moral quandries of invention and pride in one's creation, and the doubled-edged sword of technology.  Fionn and Saunders seemed like excellent vehicles for this exploration, and well, as one of their ilk (a scientist with far too much of her own hubris), I have a soft spot for these fallen technologists, including Oppenheimer.

Watson and Crick's discovery has also unleashed a Pandora's Box of ethical questions, just like Oppenheimer and the scientists of the Manhattan Project's did with letting the thermonuclear genie out of the lamp.  

Trinity truly is the foundation of the Pandë!verse so I am very glad that you read it and enjoyed it.  Thanks again!

What a clever - and brilliant - idea for a story!  You really do a nice job showing the similarities between Sauron and Feanor, the Ring and the Silmarils - but without ever equating them (for they are NOT the same, even though they are both capable of great destruction).  In Arda Marred, all knowledge is dangerous - but what choice do we have except to pursue it?  Not doing so carries its own significant costs.  All Oppenheimer - and the rest of us - can do is strive for the wisdom to use our knowledge and our potentially destructive abilities carefully and wisely.

Thanks so very much for the compliments, Ithilwen!  I very much appreciate them.  Trinity is near and dear to my heart as the first fan fic I wrote and put out there for public viewing (I don't count the little Boromir fic I typed out on my late father's manual Smith-Corona back in 1970 ;^)), and it truly represents the foundation of my 'verse.

As a scientist myself, I constantly see the double-edged sword of technology, and in fact, that is a theme that threads itself throughout most of my fics: technology (or "curwë" as Fionn, errr...Fëanor might say) can be used for both good and ill purposes, and thus an inventor bears responsibility in the act of its creation.  Also, JRRT's rather jaundiced view of scientists and engineers (although not for the "puree," more academic sciences and their practioners) caused me to have more sympathy for the devil(s). ;^)

Wow. I, um... wow.

That was amazing! I love how well you wrote this modern day (relatively modern, I guess) setting with the same skill that you write everything else. And that dream - and Sauron - and Fëanor - just so perfect.

"One hundred forty-thousand dead in Hiroshima. Seventy-four thousand in Nagasaki. Missiles with nuclear warheads in the Soviet Union and the United States aimed at one another, bristling atomic sabers ready to carry death across the continents. Three jewels and a golden ring ignited the sky. You are Brahma and Shiva. Be Vishnu. He had no regrets. He had done the right thing, but he bore the responsibility. And he had been punished."

I loved that - and the whole last scene. The entire story just seemed to flow really well, from the test to the dream back to the real world, and the little things about Hindu beliefs and the like were really nice. My world history class' religion's unit came in handy here, 'cause I know all those gods and about dharma and stuff, so I understood those references! That made me feel smart :)

The image at the end of the dream and repeated in the paragraph I quoted above was what really stuck with me, for some reason - the Silmarils and the Ring and a giant explosion of light.

This was an amazing story :D

Thanks so much, Astris!  Trinity was the first Tolkien fan fiction that I wrote, save for a Boromir ficlet I typed out on my father's old Smith-Corona typewriter in 1970.  No Internet then. LOL!   I have long been fascinated by J. Robert Oppenheimer, so reading American Prometheus and re-reading The Silmarilion almost back-to-back resulted in this unholy AU of a fic, and really, got the whole ball rolling insofar as the Pandë!verse is concerned. And of course, Trinity is a commentary on technology, a double-edged sword that brings us both wonders and terrors.  Certainly, Tolkien recognized this.

I'm glad the symbolic imagery of the gold ring and three jewels detonating into the massive explosion worked for you.  And also you felt smart! :^) 

Thanks again!

Wow, that was harsh, and surprising given the source - and the "junior" messenger!  I don't see Feanaro adopting that sort of attitude - ever.  The (very often expressed) idea that Silmarils (and their like) should never have been made strays close to an attitude that is all too common, but one that Tolkien would probably NOT find "heretical" - not in the least.  The forging of the Master Ring and the 1938-45 work, I grant you, fit (if one takes a particularly dismal view), but the Silmarils?  I don't see it.  But perhaps the fact you this story was written back in the "Elder Days" (saucy grin) is relevant here?  Anyway, a good story that made me think :)

And as an afterthought, the storms of that time were, and remain, puny compared to those Aule or Varda have unleashed on Endore in the past and could unleash again at any time :)

Thanks so much for reading my debut fic, maeglin! :^D 

But perhaps the fact you this story was written back in the "Elder Days" (saucy grin) is relevant here?

HA!  Could be.  My freshman effort here must be pretty hamhanded if the idea that Fëanor thinks the Silmarils never should have been made is what the reader takes away from this.  I'm certainly not going to make any major revisions to this, but when I wrote the story, I was kinda hoping that phrases like "Do not regret what you have done" and "...each man engrossed in the sight of his creation" might indicate that whereas both Fionn and Saunders might feel guilt after long, long years of reflection (in my alternative history, Sauron does not become an evil spirit gnawing on itself in the wilderness per Gandalf's canonical musings), they still take pride in their creations and when push comes to shove, do not regret creating the Ring or the Silmarilli, but instead note to Oppie that there comes a burden of responsibility for such creations.  Likewise, in Real Life, Oppie allowed as how "I had never said that I had regretted participating in a responsible way in the making of the bomb."  So, no regrets there either.  But again, clunky writing may have obscured this message. 

Maybe Fëanor's comment about self-inflicted guilt is an issue?  I could see how one might take issue with such an idea, given there's a pervasive tendency to paint Fëanor as "mad" and "obsessed,"  a man continually blinded by his desire to retrieve his creations from Morgoth.  I just don't embrace such a unidimensional view at all, just as I don't embrace the "mad scientist" trope or worse, that scientists are like those portrayed in the minstrel show that is The Big Bang Theory.  BUT!  What I was trying to say clearly didn't come across for you in this fic, so mea culpa for less-than-adequate writing.

And as an afterthought, the storms of that time were, and remain, puny compared to those Aule or Varda have unleashed on Endore in the past and could unleash again at any time :)


Definitely, and we both know that as readers.  However, that paragraph is written from Oppie's POV, and he might have "end of the world" thoughts churning along in the background of his mind's OS. ;^)

Thanks again!

So I'm a couple of hundred words in and completely sold.  

 

A chorus of sex-crazed frogs awakened those men who napped fitfully. The amphibians croaked and copulated with lusty abandon in a small pond near the camp, oblivious to the pending event. Then the thunderstorms had rushed across the desert, unleashing their fury with lightning and thirty-mile-an-hour winds, lashing out like fierce midwives as a new world readied itself to be born. The frogs. The storms. It was almost apocalyptic.


Incredible, lush, Biblical imagery.

 

Fionn beamed. “Excellent! You didn’t yammer about orbs of starlight and all that gossamer faerie bullshit. That is a perfectly rational -- and accurate -- explanation. I’m telling you, Saunders, he belongs to us!”

“Oh, crap, Fionn! Give it a rest.” Saunders rolled his eyes, silver light reflecting from them. He turned his attention back to Oppenheimer. 

 

Oh, foulmouthed Sauron - I love it :) and I love this too:

 

 his very distant cousin linked through eldritch genes embedded in the helices that coiled within their respective cells.

 

Such a beautiful blend of myth and science in that phrase.

 

I've been meaning to read your stuff for ages - Spiced Wine and Pink Siamese have both told me it's amazing - and after reading Spiced's story with your OC I decided I finally had to come and dip my toe in the water.  I'm so glad I did, and I look forwards to reading more.

 

 

I hadn't read this before; it was linked today on the SWG Discord. It has made me think about attitudes to bombs and war, and taking responsibility. Stunning.