Order, elegance, beauty. Each of these tenets is represented by a fictional character-Martians referred to as "the three graces"-in this dystopian novella. In the Garden of Good and Evil brings together six scientists struggling to unearth the roots of Mars' downfall from the utopian planet it once was. Led by Professor Lotus Latus, the trio of best friends and young scientists, Jin-Jin, Be-Kas, and Fos-D embark on a critical journey to understand the true and correct meanings of good and evil. They first ponder the basic evolutionary brain chemistry observing a deer in a garden of dahlias and other plants, observing how it instinctively knows what to eat or avoid.
But one tree may be key to all understanding. Their interstellar exploration finds Jin-Jin returning to planet Earth on a reconnaissance mission to bring intelligence back to the team. They offer and analyze theories and one case study, in particular: why a strange tree called Uvariopsis dicaprio (actually named for actor Leonardo DiCaprio) with flowers growing from its trunk has become a symbol of authentic good on Earth-worthy of extreme measures to save it-while the annihilation of all living organisms including humankind is not only possible but clearly probable.
Although In the Garden of Good and Evil is a work of fiction, author Donald Lang, PhD, plumbs the depths of science to underpin the imminent realities facing our world, particularly with regard to the disintegration of human rights (explored in his recently published treatise, Never Again: Why Human Rights Charters Fail to Fulfill Their Mandates) while climate change remains a threat, destroying the world as we know it. As humans, our failure to understand the real meaning of good and evil for the betterment of everyone, and how it relates to human rights, can be found within our brain chemistry that enables us to discern and embrace order, elegance, and beauty.
