Ice 196°C G.R. Indugopan
G.R. Indugopan’s novel Ice 196°C is possibly
the first complete science fiction in Malayalam literature. The work
brilliantly uses the possibilities and hypotheses of science and technology.
Science fiction is the area, where Malayalam literature is still unable to set
its foot. Ice 196°C could be an ice breaker for Malayalam literature.
The
novel is centred on two characters and their eternal revenge for each other, Bindusaran
and Rasmidharan. Once great friends, they were Malayalees settled in the U.S
running a successful company. But they became enemies living to kill each other.
The action starts with the murder of Bindusaran. Anticipating his fate
Bindusaran had already made a bond with Dr. John Hopkins, the owner of the
Alpha Life Extension Institute. After the murder Dr. Hopkins preserves
Bindusaran’s head in cryonic suspension. Bindusaran’s mutilated body is taken
as proof to substantiate his death.
To his
dismay, Rasmidharan finds that Bindusaran is planning to make a comeback ‘from
the death’, after decades, to take him down. In his second birth Bindusaran
would be younger and richer. Fearing his entrance Rasmidharan decides to apply
for cryogenics ‘to born again’ younger and stronger.
The
introduction of Dr. Shyam Nair, a genius in the field of Nano medicine, is a
turning point in the plot. He virtually connects the brains of the opponents,
Bindusaran and Rasmidharan. The novel attains a new manner from that moment on wards. Dr. Shyam was shocked to recognize that his research may lead to the
creation of a dangerous generation. The novel move to the climax with the
dilemma of Dr. Shyam and describes how he tries to overcome the problems.
The
story of Dr. Shyam’s childhood in Kerala is brilliant sub plot. The idea of
programmed humans created with the DNA of the persons living in cryopreservation
is an admirable concept. They are created in the lab through cloning and
growing inside the lab. Their brains are empty and unable think or feel or act
themselves. The scientists upload and install programs to their brains and they
act in accordance with those programs. They are practically working as a computer not as
humans. The personal robot of Dr. Shyam, which starts to feel like human beings
and at last commits suicide to save Dr. Shyam is another memorable event in the
work
Ice
196°C discuss about the life of humans in a future world, where technology
plays the pivotal role.
