I am become death, the destroyer of Worlds!

I am become death, the destroyer of Worlds!

Those words, spoken and written many centuries ago and recorded in the Bhagavad Gita, that ancient, vendantic script of the Hindus. More recently the phrase was given new life by Dr Oppenheimer, 'father' of the Atomic bomb (see below video)

His tearful, introspective speech on the trinity tests (known as his 'atomic age' speech) quoted the Hindu God. This great mind, applied to the struggles of his time and imbued with an understanding of particle physics and the science required like no other man of his time had literally spent himself on the most destructive project in all of human history: the splitting of the atom.
The most destructive until now – the present (June, ad 2011).With the success of the Trinity experiments and the Manhattan project the world was forever transformed. A new power had been granted the leaders of men. An awesome power that could literally smite/obliterate entire cities and nations.
The balance of world power was shifted and as more nations obtained the technology through negotiations or outright theft, the world became familiar with 'deterrent' philosophies like M.A.D – or 'mutually assured destruction'. No longer was power measured in the size of an army or navy. The nukes, we were told, would keep us safe.

“If anyone used them we'd all be dead and NOBODY wants to be dead, then there is the 'fallout' (deadly radiation) for years - so NOBODY will use them....right?” was how most people slept at night.
This is of course AFTER Japan had been bombed twice.

Duck and cover! 

Life went on, as it will. Only now it was with a new imperative for progress.

Each ideological side in the human game of politics had to keep up in the 'arms race' that followed. To fall behind was not an acceptable risk, for reasons that anyone may easily surmise. Small nations pursued it to 'safeguard territorial integrity', larger nations to 'provide a shield' for their areas and allies. Missile, anti-missile, torpedo and all typed of delivery and counter delivery technology became a secondary race, as did extremely expensive and expansive underground facilities for the leadership and elites – should push come to shove and a nuclear war be declared.

Then something happened. 

One of the ideological sides in this 4 or 5 way conflict fell and the pronoids took the lead.
With the Soviets gone, we were told, the cold war was over! Never mind China, Korea, or the Arabian/Muslim block. Never mind south American communists. Castro had tried before and failed. So we, in our ivory towers, smugly assumed there was no problem. 

Until September 11^th, 2001.

On that horrible day, it was explained to us in no uncertain terms that there were people dedicated to using any and ALL means to destroy our way of life, and these fanatics did NOT fear death, as the Soviets has supposedly done.
Instead, powered by their interpretation of faith in a God that demands constant conquest of 'infidel lands' by means of a 'Holy War', these men revere martyrdom and seek a death in battle against the enemies of their God.
This 'message' was written in the blood of innocents, and would be repeated time and again in the decade that followed.
The people and ideology behind these attacks keep telling us they have an atomic or nuclear weapon and will detonate it. The powers (Iran, Pakistan, Arabia) that provide the money and materiel for these fanatics are developing the means to mass produce 'the bomb'. And of course the former Soviets, once again Russians, claim they cannot FIND all their bombs they had stored in the fragmented former southern states – now almost entirely independent Islamic states.
As if to amplify the nightmare, this realization came with the added aspect of originating in nations that supply the world with 70% of our fossil fuel energy.
They have their daggers to the very throat of our economy, it seems.

But wait! What about Nuclear Power?

Was that not supposed to be the 'upside' of nuclear technology? Why is that not how we would light our homes and run our vehicles? Nuclear electricity was to be the great redeemer for Hiroshima and Nagasaki, no?
It does supply 'hydro', or electric power in many advanced areas, but it is messy at best and dangerous at worst. We see this 'mess' as parts and expended fuel become the subject of debates over how and where this should happen. Nobody wants those things in their backyard! An oil tanker or gas/petrol truck? Sure. Depleted radioactive fuel and irradiated machine parts? NO THANKS!
Even in nuclear medicine, the one feature of nuclear science that has not been completely hijacked, there is the risk of problems. Shortages of materials, over exposure, and unknown / uncontrollable side effects are standard. Think of the sign on the Xray room door.

So so much for clean. Safe? Only as safe as the people managing it and as the forces of nature will permit. The recent tragedy in Japan should clearly illustrate my point to all but the most die-hard 'progressives'.

So here we are today, being told the NEXT BIG THING is on it's way!
And guess what folks! It is much cleaner and more powerful than anything we have ever imagined: Anti-Matter!

The stuff of Star Trek. But before we get our warp engines engaged, we may want to reflect on the patterns we see in this type of thing.

Currently, to isolate anti-Matter for the new record time set this week (16 min) and at incredibly small amounts, you need the most advance labs and a particle/wave 'collider' like the CERN near Geneva, which is the location of the newest groundbreaking research into anti-Matter containment. In other words this science is in it's infancy and ripe for exploitation.

 It is as the German, British, American, Russian, and Japanese Nuclear programs were in the 1940's: Barely moving, extremely expensive and full of destructive potential.
Infancy...But that will not stop the grand claims of it's advocates. Claims such as clean cheap (or even free!) energy, the potential for space exploration, and to allows us to peer into the universe as it was formed after the great singularity known as 'the Big Bang' – the Genesis moment of the universe! WOW!
Sound too good to be true? Well, it probably is. Let's not forget all of science's broken promises of the last century.
But there is always hope. If just ONE of these aspects is true, antimatter research could be a force for good.
But what about the other side of the coin? What about the new Trinity?
I mean, let's face it, it is not WHETHER or IF somebody will weaponize anti-Matter, it is about WHO gets it and when. Who get the device first, and how they intend to demonstrate their power.
Whether it is a bomb of inconceivable power (clean or dirty) or some sort of disintegration device, the certainty in my mind is this: Someone will develop anti-Matter weaponry, if it is at all feasible.
Hopefully it is not in our lifetimes and when it does happen, it is used by the right people for the right reasons. There is always hope.
But, if it is in our days that these sciences be brought to bear on the peoples of this world, then those who witness it should remember this year as the year that anti-Matter was isolated. The year that another great power and responsibility was granted to our leadership.
Is this the doom that the millennial 'end is night' set all predict? I highly doubt it.
But it is definitely the dawn of a new age with the potential to do great things – or 'to become death, the destroyer of worlds'. The answer to which (or both) will be spoken by the first people to smelt the ore into a blade.
I sincerely hope it is our sword, and that we are still us.