Author Archives: Michael11111

MICHAEL CRICHTON’S RETRO-TECHNO-THRILLER

My books Techno-thriller Technothriller blog No Comments

great-train-dec-2Who invented the techno-thriller?  If your taste is military and hardware, then Tom Clancy. If other techno-areas, Michael Crichton gets the nod.

When we think techno-thriller, we tend to be looking forward—the newest ships and planes (in Clancy-land). Or medical or science technologies that are  just over the horizon—as in cloning dinosaurs in JURASSIC PARK, the perils of nanotechnology in PREY, biotech in THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN, quantum physics as a route to time–travel in TIMELINE.

But we think of techno-thrillers as looking ahead to oncoming tech. What about techno of the past—“retro-tech”? In the course of plumbing the depths of my book-shelves, I discovered that Michael Crichton wrote (if I may coin the term) a “retro-techno-thriller,” way back in the 1970’s. Retro-techno, as it centered around that tech breakthroughs of the mid-1800’s –that new phenomenon, the steam-powered railroads that were extending across England. What was Michael Crichton’s “retro-techno-thriller”? THE GREAT TRAIN ROBBERY.

I’d read it a long while back–see the cover above scanned from copy I read back in 1979 and again this week. That was probably just before seeing the 1979 movie with Sean Connery and Donald Sutherland, written and directed by none other than the same Michael Crichton.

In any case, I picked it off the shelf to have another read  and found it was like all new to me  . . .and very good, even by the usual high standards of a Crichton. In my mind, good thrillers—or novels, for that matter–are not only interesting in covering places, people, events and so on, but are also worthwhile. What do I mean by worthwhile? Basically, that I learn something interesting and significant while following the story.

TRAIN drew me on—built as it is around short, punchy chapters. As for “worthwhile”, I feel I learned more about life in Victorian London than from plowing through a handful of non-fiction tomes of that era (perhaps because I’d have fallen asleep long before those dry, academic accounts ended!) Not so with TRAIN—the background, the history, the way of life and expectations across class lines are so well integrated that you learn about that era as you follow on the cascade of events that led up to the robbery itself. And done subtly, though–in several chapters, background of the era begins, then blends into the “now” of the action.

Switzerland: the NEW hot place to store your gold and dirty money!

criminal gangs International crime blog Laundering dirty money No Comments

THE MAN WHO CREATED GHOSTS comes to a climax among the secretive banks of Zurich and Geneva. Why there? Because, as the old bank-robber famously said, “Banks—that’s where the money is!”  Especially in certain of the banks in Switzerland . . .particularly where the “ghosts:” had hidden their gold bars, coins, jewelry, cash and other dirty moneys.

But according to a recent article in Bloomberg Business Week  the Swiss banks are facing competition for this shady money from another kind of Swiss vault: one-time Swiss military bunkers now used to safely store vast or bulky amounts of gold and other goodies even further out of the sight of the prying eyes of governments and tax collectors.amsteg-switzerland-bunker-bloomberg-business-week

Here’s one of those vaults, outside Amsteg, Switzerland.  Bloomberg Business Week

Michael Crichton, and how he used an immersion tank to jump-start his ideas

Immersion tank mind-altering No Comments

I’ve read most of Michael Crichton’s thrillers–more than once, most of them–so I have his name on my Google Alerts to see what new comes up. Today, from the British site, Den of Geek, came this little tidbit buried in the post.

(Background, just in case not everyone remembers, CONGO was a thriller about apes, set in Africa. It was later made into a movie 15 years later, in 1995, but Crichton had elected not to be involved, for reasons that you’ll learn in the full blog post.  Link is below):

What grabbed my eye was this:

“Congo  was still only a title and a vague concept when he pitched it to 20th Century Fox producer Frank Yablans in 1979, and yet Crichton’s clout was such that he was handed $1.5m in exchange for its rights. That pay cheque was so huge, in fact, that the normally prolific Crichton wound up with a chronic case of writer’s block. Determined to shift it, he spent hour after hour lying in an isolation tank, gradually formulating his adventure story in the pitch darkness.”

Interesting to me for a couple of reasons. 1) Crichton was incredibly prolific, and I’d never thought that he’d get blocked. But seems he did.

2) It brought to mind that I had tried an isolation tank (also termed immersion tank or flotation tank) when I was researching my own sci-fi thriller, A REMEDY FOR DEATH  (which led to the character in the book getting quite a surprise, but I’ll refrain from any plot-spoilers.)  I found it a mind-opening experience, and doggone, I think I want to do it again soon!  Want to know more, google Dr. John Lilly, who came up with original idea.

The tank is filled with warm salt water, so you float, don’t get cold. It’s dark, and your thoughts go off in interesting ways.  Here’s a picture of one. (Full disclosure: the person in this tank is not me!)

By the way, both flotation tanks and hyperbaric oxygen tanks appear in my science techno-thriller, A REMEDY FOR DEATH.

flotation-tank

 

For the article I referenced  in Den of Geek:  : http://www.denofgeek.com/uk/movies/congo/43576/the-strange-prehistory-of-1995s-congo#ixzz4K4iRkxIC

“Should a human-pig chimera be treated as a person?”–question raised in Aeon

Bio-technology Techno-thriller No Comments

pig face“Should a human-pig chimera be treated as a human?”–that’s the title of an article I came upon in Aeon.  https://aeon.co/ideas/should-a-human-pig-chimera-be-treated-as-a-person

(The portrait of Mr. Pig comes from that article.)

It’s a variation of a question that I raise early-on in my technothriller,  A REMEDY FOR DEATH. In REMEDY, a researcher tries to implant brain cells from a human fetus into a young chimp. (Not a plot-spoiler: that is only a small part of the story,)

 

Want to read a FREE 100 page sampler of  A REMEDY FOR DEATH?

https://michaelmcgaulley.net/here-is-your-free-sampler-of-the-technothriller-a-remedy-for-death/

 

In the Aeon article, the focus is on the pigs that may be used to grow replacement human organs:

Continue reading → “Should a human-pig chimera be treated as a person?”–question raised in Aeon

5 SMART steps in responding to tough questions and objections

Career Savvy People Skills No Comments

51sp1GCwdZL._SX331_BO1,204,203,200_If you’re making a presentation, or even just sitting in a one-on-one meeting, and someone throws out a question, or even an objection, it seems only natural to respond directly to it.

But that’s not always the best approach, for a variety of reasons. First, you may not really understand the point they are raising (for that matter, the other person may not themselves really understand the issue they are raising). If you respond, more or less blindly, then you may fail to address the issue; worse, you may open up other issues.

Second, it’s best if you understand just why they are asking.  Sometimes the best response to a question is a really smart question

To paraphrase — was it Yogi Berra? — if you don’t know where they’re coming from, you’ll never be able to get them on the right track to where they need to go.  Are they asking this to clarify things? Or to draw you into a trap and set you up for an attack on your idea?

Third, what sounds like an objection (“I don’t think your approach will ever work here”) may actually be a question (“Why do you think that’s going to work here, given our situation?”)  Conversely, what seems like an innocuous question may be the tip of an iceberg of deeper concerns, and if you don’t look deeper you’ll lose the chance.
Beyond that, what may seem like  a simple yes-no question may offer the opportunity to deal with other related issues . . . if you know what’s really on the other person’s mind.
Of course, if it’s a simple question, or a simple, direct objection, then do respond directly. You don’t want to detour into unnecessary issues.
Otherwise, I suggest these five steps, though adapted to the situation and the individual. (Adapted from my book, How to Ask the SMART QUESTIONS for Winning the Games of Career and Life–Michael McGaulley)
1.    Explore. Ask questions to get the person talking about what they really mean by the objection, and why it’s important to them.  (“Why do you feel that way? ” will do if nothing better comes to mind.)

2.    Listen well to their response.  You may have heard this objection a dozen times already this week, but this person may put a different twist on it.  Don’t be too quick in cutting off their  response in order to interject your answer or rebuttal.  The more you know about this individual’s needs and mindset, then the better you can target your response.

Sometimes, if you listen without cutting in, you will find that the person asking the question will actually respond to her own concern, and say something like, “Never mind, I think I’ve answered myself. That’s really not so important, after all.“

3.    Restate, if appropriate.  In many cases, it can be helpful to both yourself and the other person to paraphrase your  understanding of the core of the the issues they are raising.  For one thing, it forces you to listen closely, so you can restate it clearly. Second, it forces the other to listen to you in turn, to ensure that your restatement is accurate.  Further, in some cases, by restating, you may be able to defuse, or take the edge off, the customer’s concern.

4.    Respond to what they have actually said.  There may be a deeper meaning behind the objection, so focus on that. Example:   “You say that your firm has already tried using consultants, and isn’t interested.  But I’m picking up a deeper message  that your dissatisfaction was with the work of one particular consulting  firm that didn’t work out for you.  I’d like to explain how  . . .”

5.    Move on from there; don’t get bogged down in your response.  Respond to the objection, then go on with your sales call.

If you say too much in response to an objection, you may blow it up into something larger and more significant than they originally had in mind.  If you bog down on it, repeating and elaborating your reaction, the other person may begin thinking this really must be a major concern, and take that as a reason not to buy.

Conversely, if you treat the objection as a small issue that can be disposed of quickly and easily, then  you send  the subliminal message that it is just that— minor, not a significant concern, not an issue that could possibly prevent your proposal from being adopted.