Prokhor Ozornin - On the Wings of Hope : Prose

Without wind grass does not wave. Without programs, computer remains useless

So said the Great Programmer

To the East from the city, in a picturesque valley there is a large computer center with many supercomputers, - the man said.

The boy noticed that he is wearing unusual, unprecedented by him before clothes, and there is a strange helmet on his head. He never met him before.

Do you see?, - the man continued. - You will travel there and tell the others of your findings.

But how will I make my way there? - the boy questioned.

Its up to you to decide, - the stranger answered.

The boy reflected and bent his head. When he raised it once more - the speaking man was gone.

Next day the boy went there where the stranger has told him, however no matter how long he has been wandering through a neighborhood of the city, he encountered neither the mentioned valley, nor any other miracle. The following day he was in the countryside once again for he did not believe that such surprising person could have lied to him. If sometime they meet again, he will have the right to tell him that he has never seen a mentioned valley, but has heard mysterious unfamiliar sounds, brought from somewhere by a wind.

Many months passed since that, the stranger did not return, and the boy forgot him; now he was totally sure that he must find that center and uncover its mystery. By the sounds, brought by a wind, he will manage to locate this place and get inside. He lost interest to school and those with who he was on friendly terms earlier. He became a favorite target for sneers and mocking of his contemporaries, who were telling: He is not like us. He listens to wind for hours instead of playing with us. And everybody laughed at him.

Ten years later, having already become adult, the boy returned to that city in which he has grown. He has abandoned a thought of finding what the mysterious man was telling him about many years ago. Yet still he desired to leave a city, listen to the whistling of wind. He rose up early in the morning and went in that very direction where the wanderer has pointed him once. What a surprise it was for him when, having travelled only about one kilometer away from a city, he has found magical valley, for which he has been searching so vainly before.

When he has descended into the valley, his eyes saw a most amazing show - hundreds and thousands of computers, buildings, wires with sparkling beams of light, sliding on them, connecting each other into something uniform indissoluble whole. There were no signs of men. The boy went forward, curiously looking around. He did not even notice how he managed to enter some sparkling disk, located near one of the highest buildings - and was suddenly teleported inside. What a surprise it was for the boy when that very man who have once told him of this place, appeared before his very eyes.

- What are you doing here? - the boy asked.

- I have been waiting for you, - answered the man.

Even though a lot of time has passed already, the man looked exactly the same way as before, in the time of their first meeting. He gave him an empty writing-book.

- Write down: When the one who has decided to become a Knight of Programming, takes his first step, he learns the Way, lying before him.

- And who is that Knight of Programming?

- You know that already, - the man answered, smiling. - The one who is capable to comprehend a miracle of life, to fight up to the end for things he believes in, and change this world.

He never thought of himself as of Knight of Programming. And the man, seemingly, read his thoughts and told:

Everyone is capable of it. And though no one considers himself as the Knight of Programming, each person can become him.

The boy looked through pages of writing-book. The man smiled once more.

Write of the Knight of Programming, - he answered.

* * *

The Book of the Knight of Programming

When a man who has decided to become a Knight of Programming, takes his first step, he learns the Way, lying before him.

The Knight of Programming honors I. Tzins basic provision: Persistence is fruitful. He knows well that obstinacy has nothing to do with persistence. For there are projects, work in each lasts longer, that its truly necessary, and they exhaust powers and extinguish enthusiasm. And in such minutes the Knight is thinking: The prolonged project eventually destroys a heat of his workers. And then he stops working over programs, and grants himself a relief, returning once again into a world which others consider the only one existing. But never will he miss a moment of inspiration to go on with his creation.

The Knight of Programming knows, that certain algorithms have a habit of repeating. Often does he face difficulties which he has already overcome, and appears to be in a situation which he have already solved with honor, and this confuses his spirit: it seems to him that if everything repeats itself then he is trampled down on one spot, having no forces to move forward. I have already written that sort of things, - complains he to his heart. You did, - his heart answers him. -But have not fully implemented own ideas. And the Knight then understands, that his destiny gives him another chance to learn something which he had not wished to understand from a first time.

The Knight of Programming steadily acts counter with standards of programming. He will have no hesitation before leaving a secret back way in own program, or including the easter egg inside its code, defending an algorithm seeming ridiculous at first. The Knight of Programming can afford such things. He doesnt fear to cry, remembering former unsuccessful projects, or to rejoice on the threshold of upcoming new ones. Feeling that a right hour has come, he throws away his last programs, moving forward into a new desired creativity.

Understanding that his ability of programming is about to be exhausted, he leaves computer place and doesnt blame himself of having spent, coding, all night long.

The Knight has no willing to spend days of his life in aspiration of making a program, intended by others.

Knights desire the usefulness of their programs for the world to never fade away.

They live in this world, do not avoid others. It happens that they begin a new journey possessing no knowledge of necessary languages and tactics. Quite often they are being overwhelmed with fear. Not always do they code correctly. They suffer from trifling bugs in own creations, they happen to be restless and impatient, and at times it seems to them that they are unable to grow up. Often they are convinced that are unworthy of praises for what they have done already. Not always they are sure of what they are actually doing in there - in the boundless world of bits and bytes. They spend sleepless nights, suffering that their program may become unclaimed and useless. Therefore they are the Knights of Programming. Because they make mistakes. Because they torment themselves with questions. Because they seek the reason of own mistakes, look for and will, undoubtedly, find once.

The Knight of Programming is not afraid to look like mad one. Aloud and at the top of his voice he talks to himself, sliding his look through senseless for uninitiated lines of text. Someone has convinced him that its the best way of finding those places in the program which should be rewritten - and so he decided to check it in practice. At first it seems to him as an incredibly difficult task. He is assured that his code is perfect and he has nothing to change in it. And still he insists and persists, and conducts conversations with own reason every day. And says with what he disagrees and write nonsenses. But one day he notices that his code looks different. And thus he understands that he has opened a way to learning of the Dao of Programming.