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A Letter of Guilt, Disappointment and Concern

Ruminations about The Atomic Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by Knowledge


To Whomsoever it might intrigue,


First, I might need to introduce myself. The privilege of expressing my thoughts is being granted to me for the first time today so you won’t be familiar with what I really am even though you know my name. Myself Knowledge, the actual founder of all things. My journey starts when a person is born. I grow in them as they grow and subsists even after they die. The perception each person has of me is different and situational. For some, I am scientific understanding which is acquired by practical applications and experiments and for others, a familiarity or awareness of the numerous arenas presented by the world which exist in the form of facts, theories, memories, perceptions, testimonies, enquiries etc, acquired through experiences and education. Not bragging, but I am like oxygen and my absence for a second will be disastrous. Personally, I like to introduce myself as a character that honours ethics and humanity above all. I can go on about myself and my power for eternity as I have immense ‘knowledge’ about myself. So let’s move on.


Given this opportunity which might be the only one I will ever get, I intend to reveal some of my bitter experiences and emotions relating to the appropriation of the guidance and assistance I provide to mankind. As I have mentioned earlier, I benefit human beings in unique ways and its control isn’t in my hands because after all, they have been nourishing and developing me since the beginning. But honestly, the ride with them is chaotic and self-questioning. Even though the rapid developments are praiseworthy and mankind is achieving feats that were once considered impossible, I cannot condone employing my service for destructive and harmful purposes. The expectations I had of brotherhood, harmony and peace are crushed and I feel betrayed. Last year was the 75th anniversary of one of the most dreadful experiences of my life. I was put to work to threaten countries, harm people and destroy the land. It was during World War 2, a time of violence and utter ignorance of the sufferings of the common man. A group of eminent physicists whom I had assisted faithfully, developed an ultimate weapon for mass destruction, the atomic bomb. The betrayal starts from there. These Nobel Prize winners used the valuable insights I gave them to destroy humanity !!! I was enraged yet relieved because I believed that they were just exploring the limits and won’t actually use it as a weapon. My loyal companion, Albert Einstein’s letter to the then US President Franklin D Roosevelt suggesting the early development of bombs before the Germans, was like a stab from behind.