Another one of those dreams....

I know that it was not really my fault, but the guilt will stay with me anyway.  And, of course, History is certain to lay the blame at my doorstep, regardless of who made what decisions...

It started off innocently enough:  some bod with a crazy idea and enough money to finance the R&D.  All I was going to do was run some tests, take the cash and tell him that his idea was rubbish.

But who was to know that it would actually WORK!

Put rice and water into a centrifuge - spin it at the right speed and VOILA!  The spinning forces the water into the rice, an action which creates heat at the same time!

Yes!

We learned how to cook rice by centrifuge...

It went massive.

The inventor/backer made a mint.

Soon, you could not switch on the TV without seeing Chef Tony singing the praises of this new device, the REVOLUTIONARY WAY TO COOK!

OK, so I appeared on some of the Infomercials, but, hey, I did all the hard work so why shouldn't I get something for my efforts?

And it wasn't just rice that was being cooked, either.  If you needed to add water to it, you could cook it in the centrifuge.

Every home needed one.

Most western homes GOT one!

Then someone had a BIG IDEA. 

How about making HUGE INDUSTRIAL-SIZED ONES?

They could be planted in cities in the developing world, hooked up to solar panels - whole neighbourhoods could be fed easily and cheaply, without the use of smokey fires or parafin burners.  It would be amazing!

And it was!

It caused a massive shift in the way the poorest in the world ate, the benefits were huge!

But then it happened...

It was in the slums of Mumbai...

The centrifuge had been spinning for a few minutes when, bang, a support gave way.

It wasn't my fault, I was not in charge of maintenance!

I try to tell myself that it really wasn't as bad as the news reports said it was.

I mean, how much damage can a vast, rapidly spinning drum cause as it rockets through a shanty town?

And the oil refinery wasn't TOTALLY destroyed when the ruptured tanks exploded...

And quite a few ships managed to avoid being trapped in the blazing oil slick that spread out into the river and sea. 

They eventually put out the flames that engulfed the riverside apartment blocks, some of those offices will be usable again.  Maybe...

No, it wasn't really that bad, I am sure.

You believe me, don't you?