Gateway To Gandamak

Book excerpt: A Multi-dimensional Reality Game A traveller unravels puzzles and mazes as he leaps space and time. It is a game and a journey that has its roots in prehistoric India and China, although the Traveller, Krishna, follows one family through 900 years from the invasion of England in 1066 to Afghanistan. Krishna is a Pied Piper; his iconic flute opens gateways into the bloody slaughter of the Battle of Hastings, where the progenitor of the Quartermaine family fights for his life and fortune. Another gate opens into the chaos of the British Raj during the Mutiny. You will freeze during the long retreat of the Army of Cabool in 1842, break codes at Bletchley Park with Alan Turing, and find yourself standing, shocked, in the smoking rubble of a bombed pub in Belfast. Helmand, and Kandahar figure in the tale, until our protagonist arrives, finally, at Gandamak. The Quartermaine family struggles to survive, sometimes only with Krishna's help. His Homeric interventions allow him to reflect on human ideas of responsibility, courage and duty. Krishna is fascinated by humanity's quest for meaning in even the worst circumstances. He looks into the I Ching, Buddhism, computer science, and how "thinking machines" manipulate games and their rules. Krishna's discussions with The Shaman, the beautiful woman who bridges a gap between realities, restrain his digressions and explain his more esoteric ramblings. How is the game played? You must first follow the Traveller's music through the gateway to find out.