About the Author.

 Puledda, Ph.D., was born in Rome in 1943. He attended the University of Rome, and graduated in Pure Chemistry in 1966.

After a period of apprenticeship at the Instituto Superiori di Sanita in Rome, where he dedicated himself to basic research in human hemoglobin, he transferred to the University of California in San Diego, where he obtained a Masters Degree. His thesis concerned mechanisms of blockage in the duplication of DNA in the cells of tumors through the use of different chemical substances.

Dr. Puledda was greatly interested by the social aspects of science. He realized an Independent Study of one year in length with Professor Herbert Marcuse, who was then teaching at the Department of Philosophy at UCSD. Later on, Dr. Puledda became concerned with ecological problems, and with environmental pollution in particular, a field that had just begun to develop at that time.

Since 1973, he works as a researcher at the Laboratory for Environmental Hygiene at the Instituto Superiori di Sanita. He is the author of about fifty scientific monographs regarding atmospheric and environmental hygiene. In Italy, he is part of two national commissions: Air Quality, and Limit in Concentrations of Atmospheric Pollutants.

His main interest is the social consequences of the applications of science and technology. He is a member of the international association Medicine Against Nuclear War and has been one of the founders of the ecological organization Green Future, which is active in various countries throughout the world.

Besides his social-fiction novel, The Tokarev Report, Dr. Puledda is the author of another book that is not scientific in nature. It is an essay entitled Historical Interpretations of Humanism, which has been translated into Spanish, and is now being translated into English.

The Tokarev Report was first published in 1981. When I received the book I read it at a single sitting. I thought that it was likable, absurd, and quite original. At that time, I believe I classified it as a political-fiction novel. Later on, I met some acquaintances that had also browsed through the book. When we discussed our points of view, I discovered a great disparity in our opinions. The Tokarev Report was then filed away in my mind, left until a better moment.

In December of 1982, I visited Puledda at the Instituto della Sanita, in Rome. There I found him working amid Petri dishes and equipment that measured environmental pollution. As usual, we drank a lot of coffee as we reviewed the world political situation, and the state of affairs in the field of science and technology. I knew that my friend was concerned with the accelerating arms race, and also with the consequences of genetic research. The last problem was almost an obsession for him. He had been quite impressed by this topic since his stay at the University of California, where he worked for a while, studying and experimenting in this field. Our conversation then turned toward his book. He told me that he wanted to publish it in several languages and to try to make a movie, but that negotiations in Hollywood had broken down because the main character was not American, but Russian.

I had a different point of view. I believed that the novel was difficult to understand, because it was so extravagant. It was far removed from the general sensitivity of that era. Production costs would have been enormous, because it takes place in so many remote locations. I believed that he should have seriously pursued his contacts at Cinecitta, because it was close at hand, even though the response had been negative. Finally, I asked him what was his real intention when he wrote The Tokarev Report.

"It is a pacifist novel, and everyone does what he can in his own way," he replied dryly. After that moment, we went on to discuss other topics.

Two years later, we met again, and again we discussed his novel, wondering why it had not received wider acclaim. My friend was less concerned, he was not worried about publicizing his work. After all, he had no previous experience in the literary field, and he had probably awarded, like most beginning writers, an exaggerated level of importance to his work. The novel had been written by someone with a great deal of talent, but perhaps someone who was more used to communicate scientific concepts than to engage in fantasy. I assumed at that point that the author had given up on being a writer of renown.

The conversation then moved on, but Puledda touched upon something that triggered my attention. According to him, the plot for the novel had been developed in 1978 by a friend common to both of us. During an evening, several of the people present were convinced that the story could become real, because many of the events that were foreseen (the change in political power in the USSR near 1985, ethnic and nationalistic upheavals, the advance of Islamic fundamentalism) were actually about to take place. Several of those present had joined forces to produce a "report ahead of time." They believed that if their predictions were not mistaken, and if they were able to send a memorandum to certain circles within the Soviet Union through the embassies, they would be able to change the course of certain catastrophic events.

They believed that nuclear disaster was quite possible. The main reason was not that one of the leaders of the Eastern or Western blocks could make that decision -- the main reason was the simple mechanical accumulation of certain factors. They argued that the statistical curves for "red alarms" would continue to increase exponentially. At first, the radars of the superpowers incorrectly detected oncoming missiles. These false alarms started to occur about once a year, then every six months, every four months, every three months, and so on. The problem was increasing because of more noise in the circuits, due to the proliferation of satellites and nuclear submarines. Therefore, a situation of crisis would soon arrive, and the system for attack would become unmanageable. All of this could reach a climax by 1985.

On the other hand, the group had verified that the economy in the East was declining, and this was accelerated by the arms race. Even if a nuclear accident could be avoided, this left the East with only two alternatives. Either they had to export chaos, or they would have to take the initiative towards disarmament. The weakest chain in the link was the Soviet Union, and only the Soviet Union could therefore produce a change in the unfolding of events.

I interrupted this story, asking Puledda if they had not considered that these possibilities had already been discussed by the Soviets themselves. I was beginning to get irritated by these childish fantasies. After all, the topic of nuclear accidents was being discussed even in Time Magazine. The crisis in the socialist economy was a secret known all over the world. It seemed to me that a problem as complex as this one was beyond the scope of some improvisers sitting at a kitchen table. And this business about sending a memorandum to the Kremlin, to 'inform' them about things that were so obvious... that sounded to me like the old joke about the absent-minded scientist that goes out on the street and forgets to wear his pants. It was quite obvious to me that some festive intellectuals (perhaps after consuming some alcoholic beverages) had unduly influenced my gullible friend.

"Sure, everyone is aware about the possibility for a nuclear accident, and everyone is aware of the economic difficulties with the USSR," said Puledda. "But no one seems to be aware that our entire civilization is going crazy."

"If you mean to say that the growth in the arms race is motivated by madness, I can agree in general terms. However, I believe it has more to do with the interests of the military-industrial complexes of the superpowers."

My friend looked at me askance, and then, very calmly, began to expound upon a theory about the insanity of civilizations. A certain pathology that seemed to advance from the beginning of history, manifested as tremendous tensions between economic powers, later turned to war, genocide and massive persecutions. It appeared to subside after massive blood-letting. Puledda explained that this madness was now at its climax and that there was enough cumulative potential energy to produce a final explosion. Naturally, this explanation seemed insufficient. Anyway, I didn't see what this had to do with The Tokarev Report.

"Well, what my friends have delivered to the embassies is a great deal of information that has to do with the symptomology of that pandemic. We want to motivate research by the Soviet dissidents. These people have a great deal of influence in political decision-making. It is possible that within their circles, some representatives of a new type of thinking will emerge, a new type of thinking that is capable of providing a response to an emergency that is so serious, and yet so new. I will tell you that even if many copies of the memorandum that was distributed by the end of 1989 were thrown into the garbage, we still have the possibility that at least one copy was kept by people who collect curiosities. I will add that these documents began to circulate sporadically at first, through the diplomatic missions, and then were distributed in great numbers, being delivered to Moscow through the most amazing routes. You see, the idea was that if the foreseen events began to unfold with a certain degree of accuracy, it could spark somebody's attention. What would be lost if nothing happened? Just some paper and some well-meaning effort. The Tokarev Report was inspired by the very same topics contained in the memorandum, yet followed the format proper to works of fiction. My intention was to open one more door to publicize the document."

I believe that he later spoke about the future explosions in the East, and about the inevitable turn of direction in the USSR, which would dissipate the nuclear conflict. He also spoke about a future political rearrangement that would affect Europe and the rest of the world, as a consequence to the earthquake in the Soviet Union. I felt depressed by hearing these prophecies from someone who had been trained in physics and mathematics. I did not continue asking questions. This anecdote remained, lost in my memory, in that sad autumn of 1984.

On January 7, 1989, I was present at a homage to Galileo in the Piazza di Santa Croce, in Florence. The main speaker was Mr. Puledda. Before he began his speech, he gave me a big hug, and then, murmuring, repeated the words that he had uttered at his laboratory seven years earlier:

"Everyone does what he can in his own way." After saying this, he brought out some papers and began to speak publicly into the microphones.

" I, Galileo Galilei, professor of mathematics at the University of Florence, publicly renounce my doctrine which states that the Sun is the center of the universe and does not move, and that the Earth is not the center of the universe and does move. With a sincere heart, and with a genuine faith, I renounce, condemn, and detest the errors and heresies that I have mentioned, and any other error, heresy, or belief that is against the Holy Church...

"This is the text of the public retraction forced out from Galileo under the threat of torture, on the 22nd of June of 1633 by the Tribunal of the Inquisition. Galileo retracted so that he would not suffer the same faith of Giordano Bruno, who was escorted toward the stake with a piece of wood inside of his mouth, so that he would not speak, and who was burned alive in the Campo di Fiori in Rome, a day in the winter of 1600..."

When Puledda mentioned the piece of wood in Bruno's mouth I noticed that he was deeply moved. I wondered if he himself felt prevented from completely explaining his truth. Later on, he continued:

"...the powerful ones of this Earth quickly understood that the New Science could be used to benefit their greed. So they have produced a legion of inventive gnomes (as Bertold Brecht once called them) who are willing to sell their science towards any end, and at any price, and who are covering the Earth with the machinery of death."

After speaking for half an hour, Puledda concluded:

"...we request, here, before the building that covers Galileo's tomb, we request from all the scientists of the world that science be finally used for the benefit of humanity. With this voice that now echoes throughout this square we launch this calling. We ask that an oath be instituted at all universities, at all research centers, a solemn oath similar to that taken by medical physicians (and which was created by Hippocrates in the dawning of the West) so that science is used only and exclusively to overcome pain and suffering, only and exclusively to humanize the Earth."

It was a moving speech. There was applause, flowers, camera flashes. Many people approached Puledda to congratulate him. From the crowd I saw two men approach who finally faced the speaker and greeted him warmly. I realized then than Perestroika was among us. I later learned that the memorandum had been thrown away by Bezhnev's bureaucrats, but did succeed in reaching the best hands, people who were desperately working to change the course of world events.

Today, in 1994, Puledda's book begins to take off again. I suspect that it will be received in a special atmosphere, an epochal atmosphere that is different to the time when the book was written. I cannot determine if the story that was published in 1981 has been confirmed to any degree by the extraordinary events that took place in the 1980's. I must admit, however, that this novel impresses me much more today that when I read it for the first time. Perhaps because of this, and because of certain public comments that I have made recently, I was asked to prepare this introduction. I have done so by making comments that refer more to the personality of the author than to the book itself. I am sure that the reader will understand why I have proceeded this way, and will be able to judge the novel on their own account.

 J. Valinksy

February 15, 1994

 And I will remember my covenant which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no more become a flood to destroy all flesh.