A Good Story, Rendered in Rough Draft
In the early stages of researching The Carbon Age, I came across a story that, for my purposes, was just too good to be true. It still is. I've given talks about it.
LifeGem is a small, suburban Chicago company, run by two sets of brothers, that manufactures diamonds from the cremated remains of clients' loved ones. For someone looking for way to make something as mundane as "carbon" a good story, I was pleased that the vanden Biesens and Herros had done so much work for me already. They spent a number of afternoons with me, pitching me stories and explaining how LifeGem works. But the book evolved in a manner different from the initial conception, and this tale fell out of it.
So, apropos of nothing, and against my better judgment, here is a .pdf of the last draft of the LifeGem chapter, "The Light Crystal," that I worked on. It's fact-checked but unedited. Before a half hour ago, I hadn't looked at it since 2006. (Just this week, I am beginning to clean carbon out of the basement):
LifeGem is a small, suburban Chicago company, run by two sets of brothers, that manufactures diamonds from the cremated remains of clients' loved ones. For someone looking for way to make something as mundane as "carbon" a good story, I was pleased that the vanden Biesens and Herros had done so much work for me already. They spent a number of afternoons with me, pitching me stories and explaining how LifeGem works. But the book evolved in a manner different from the initial conception, and this tale fell out of it.
So, apropos of nothing, and against my better judgment, here is a .pdf of the last draft of the LifeGem chapter, "The Light Crystal," that I worked on. It's fact-checked but unedited. Before a half hour ago, I hadn't looked at it since 2006. (Just this week, I am beginning to clean carbon out of the basement):
The Light Crystal
"You will not believe me even when tell you, so it is fairly safe to tell you. And it will be a comfort to tell someone. I really have a big business in hand, a very big business. But there are troubles just now. The fact is... I make diamonds." — Stranger, "The Diamond Maker," by H.G. Wells
Ever since gold first brought kings to their knees and gems induced men to kill or die, enterprising individuals have sought cheap ways to create or fake them. Making valueless things expensive is the dream of any businessman. Minting precious metals or stones is the apotheosis of that dream. Many have shared it. Among the most famous is Jabir ibn-Hayyan, the medieval Egyptian alchemist who concocted instructions for turning lead into gold. Sadly, ibn-Hayyan's theories never panned out. Worse, he himself quite possibly never existed... [more (.pdf)]
Posted by Eric Roston at 2/6/2009 10:54 PM 
Categories: The Carbon Age outtakes,death,business,carbon
Categories: The Carbon Age outtakes,death,business,carbon
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