John Smith – Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars

What if the history of humankind had a cycle? What if, periodically, the universe restarted the experiment of the human race? John Smith: Last Known Survivor of the Microsoft Wars is an intriguing and thought-provoking book written in the form of an interview between John Smith and Susan Krowley. Susan Krowley is a reporter for a newspaper. The world is fragmented and depopulated, and full of deadly radioactive zones and biohazard toxins, and technological knowledge has been lost since the Microsoft Wars. John Smith is an old man, now recalling the times before the Wars. When the war started, he and his grandfather retreated into a bunker after burying John’s parents. Soon after, John’s grandfather died, and he was left alone for many years. He was burdened with the responsibility of preserving the knowledge of the World that Was, or pre-Microsoft-Wars Earth. Now, he endeavors to give Susan Krowley a frame of reference.

A recurring theme is the loss of the beginning, and how detrimental that is to humanity. Susan unknowingly demonstrates this. She has no idea what John is talking about, and doesn’t believe him at first, thus the need for the frame of reference. John Smith emphasizes remembering history, and learning from it, so the people avoid making the same mistakes. A great portion of the book is devoted to the Atlantians, and how they influenced history. According to Smith, the Atlantians were left over from the last cycle of history, and started experimenting in the current human cycle, but lost control. They were greedy and selfish and manipulated mankind for their own needs, until they finally learned from the druids to live harmony with each other and Earth. It was interesting to see the connections Roland Hughes drew between ancient historic events and Atlantian meddling. Many parallels are implicitly drawn between the failing Atlanian society and our own. Through them we are taught the what-not-to-dos, but we are also given some solutions. Throughout the text readers are constantly kept aware of the non-normality of the environment by ignorant questions from Susan, which adds to the unsettling feel of the book. There are a lot of good points and intriguing ideas developed here; it is a book you will want to reread and ponder.