Monterey County Herald
Sunday, October 5th, 2008
| Nothing but the
truth "The Nadjik Pheromone" explores consequences of a biological lie detector By MARC CABRERA Herald Staff Writer Article Last Updated: 10/05/2008 01:41:04 AM PDT Contrary to what Agent Fox Mulder believed on the television show "The X-Files," the truth isn't out there. It's actually in there — as in your pheromones. That's the premise for Monterey writer Michael Hemp's novel, "The Nadjik Pheromone," which hinges on the belief that every human being produces pheromones that can be analyzed to determine whether that person is lying. The story and the characters are fiction, but Hemp insists the concept of "The Nadjik Pheromone" is real life. And the effects could be far-reaching. "(The concept) is not fiction. It's much larger than that," said Hemp, who also hosts a show at Wave Street Studios in Monterey, where he interviews local and national authors. Hemp spent 25 years as the official Cannery Row historian. His previous writing effort was a photo history of the famed area. "The Nadjik Pheromone" is a departure from that work, but Hemp said it's not that long of a stretch. "This is a different version of the better things I'm known for. It shouldn't be a huge surprise that a historian is also a novelist," he said. The book tells the story of war correspondent Michael Wolfson. On assignment in Bosnia, he is shot and witnesses the murder of his cameraman at the hands of corrupt soldiers. Upon his return, Wolfson is eager for revenge on General Wiczlavl Nadjik, the Bosnian military leader and the man he feels is responsible for his friend's murder, along with the slaughter of thousands of innocent Bosnians. Wolfson befriends a Carmel-based scientist who heads up a lab that deals with chromatography-mass spectrometry, or CG-MS technology. Wolfson learns the technology can potentially be used to determine absolute truth, as a certain pheromone is secreted whenever a person lies. The technology is refined in secret, but when National Security Agency officials learn of its existence, the project, and Wolfson, are put in jeopardy. Soon, other governments and military leaders, all the way up to the president, are hot on the trail of Wolfson and Nadjik. The adventures lead the resilient journalist to the biggest story of his life. The idea for "The Nadjik Pheromone" came about from a report Hemp and his wife had seen on the science of spectrometry more than a decade ago. At the time, Hemp set out to write a screenplay, but put it down soon after. As the war in Bosnia heated up and more people were reported dead, Hemp found himself more intrigued with the prospect of a pheromone lie detector. "It started because I hate what happened in Bosnia," he said. Nadjik is a pseudonym for the former chief of staff of the Army of Republika, Srpska Mladic, the general at large who was responsible for carrying out war crimes in Bosnia ordered by Radovan Karadzi , said Hemp. "Every day something happens where I say to myself 'I wish I could test that guy,'" he said. Hemp enlisted one expert in the field of spectrometry, Dr. Brian D. Andresen, to back his claims. In the book's epilogue, Andresen said the science is used commonly as a CSI laboratory process. "The futuristic 'Nadjik Pheromone' lie detector technology of breath and pore analysis technology may soon be a reality for all of us," wrote Andresen. "This is like a pregnancy test. If the molecule is there, you're toast," said Hemp. Hemp said the technology is available, but arduous case studies and millions of dollars in research will be required to refine the technology and make it viable. If that happens, Hemp said regulation on everything from who controls it to how it is used would be required. "When this happens, we better start thinking about how do we protect our constitutional rights?" said Hemp. "We better start thinking about who's going to control this thing and can people indiscriminately use this?" While the story is fictional, Hemp is excited about the prospect of one day being able to determine absolute truth. "They said breaking down the human genome was impossible, but they did that," said Hemp. "This could be next." Marc Cabrera can be reached at 646-4345 or mcabrera@montereyherald.com. |
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