Stanley Atwood interviews J. H. Lamensdorf 

author of Engineers of Fate

Click on the cover to see (and buy!) it at Amazon.com.

STAN: Welcome, Joe! May I call you Joe?

JHL: Sure, as long as we're speaking English. I'm Brazilian, my name is José, but we pronounce it differently from the Spanish hoe-zay.

STAN: Very well, Joe. I understand Engineers of Fate is your first book. When did you start writng?

JHL: I started writing at age 4. Actually I don't know how, but I taught myself to read and write. All I know is that when they tried to teach me, it was discovered that I could already do it. It's unfortunate that I can't just remember how, otherwise I might be reaping millions in royalties from my early literacy method.

STAN: Quite amazing! But don't you have any idea on how you did it?

JHL: No. But I can tell you the downside of such early accomplishment: now, almost half a century later, my handwriting is still as legible as scribblings made by a 4 year old kid. I use block letters when I want to make sure anything will be readable later, even by myself. And handwriting does not come with your DNA. My father's cursive writing is identical to the one on the Ford logo, and my mother always wrote with very clear, feminine letters.

STAN: Any other accomplishments of this kind worth mentioning?

JHL: You mean handicaps? Yes. I learned to type on my father's Remington at age 7. Of course, at that time only my right index finger had the strength to punch the keys. Hence again, so much later, I still type on the computer with just one finger... though at an amazing speed.

STAN: Okay, you told us about the physical act of writing. But considering useful content, when did you begin?

JHL: Not much later. I have a picture of myself at age 5 on an a stage, reading my own speech before the whole school - students, teachers, principals - for Teacher's Day. During grammar school, my essays usually were returned with the grade from the teacher and some compliments from the principal.

STAN: So you were a born writer?

JHL: No, I was always a tech guy, so I eventually got a degree in industrial mechanical engineering. But this didn't derail me from my original skill, as most of my work as an engineer involved technical documentation. Later I moved to human resources management, and from there to splitting my time between training and translation.

STAN: I see you are Brazilian, live in Brazil, and even so you decided to publish your book in English first. Why didn't you do it first at home?

JHL: The Brazilian book market is much smaller. Unless you are a well-known, best-selling writer, it's very difficult or quite expensive to get published in Brazil. Therefore, I made up my mind to shoot for the stars, and aim at the larger American market. If I can make it in the USA, it will be like going downhill to make it anywhere. On top of this, Stan, if you read the book, you know why I simply had to write it in two languages. If and when time comes, Engenheiros do Destino is ready in Portuguese.

STAN: Yes, I read the book. And I'm still asking myself if you invented all that stuff yourself, or if your Engineer of Fate actually put these ideas in your mind. Now tell me the truth...

JHL: Very honestly, I don't know it myself. Can you believe it? Evidence tends to point towards the second possibility.

STAN: Really?

JHL: Yes. Consider this... the first ideas for it struck my mind when I was in my late forties, the possible existence of the Engineers of Fate, and this name.

STAN: Did you have a vision or anything of the kind?

JHL: No, it just struck my mind and kept me wondering. This is why I believe an Engineer of Fate was actually putting ideas there. Then I told a few friends, and they all prodded me to write a book about it. At that time, I took the suggestion quite lightly, as I saw no chance of ever doing it. After all, I had lived for almost half a century, had translated many books, but had never written one. Why should I begin then? The urge suddenly became stronger when I reached the age of fifty-two. And finally one day I got started, just for fun.

STAN: And you wrote it from beginning to end, right away?

JHL: No, I actually wrote it in spurts, some times interspersed with weeks without even opening the file.

STAN: But most acclaimed writers say that discipline is essential, that you should write for a certain number of hours every single day.

JHL: Yes, I had read that, but it didn't work. On some days I suddenly had a lot of ideas for the book, wrote them, and then I stopped for days or weeks. This is why it took me almost a year to get such a relatively short book written.

STAN: Didn't you have a plan?

JHL: That's the strange thing about it, I really didn't. At the outset I had absolutely no idea on how long it would be, nor how it would end. This is another aspect that leads me to believe that my assigned Engineer of Fate was too busy now and then to keep putting ideas in my mind. The ideas came up without any visible sequence, but after I finished the book I saw how each one fitted into a framework that had been progressively built. I don't think I could ever imagine all that first, and then put it in writing.

STAN: You mentioned the building of a structure, a framework. Has your engineering background anything to do with the beings that control our fate being engineers as well?

JHL: Yes and no. Okay, my degree in engineering makes me an engineer. But this word has several other meanings in English that it doesn't in Portuguese. In Brazil, an engineer - engenheiro - is someone who has graduated from such school, nothing else. In English, it might be also the person who controls an engine, in the book, the engine of fate. Taking the Brazilian stance, the Engineers of Fate have to draw blueprints for their protégés so that these can accomplish their prescribed goals.

STAN: Why not any other profession?

JHL: Well, lawyers usually defend something; doctors heal; artists create; administrators run businesses profitably, none of which is the case... engineers must do everything with consistency and balance, otherwise their things won't work or stand up, so it was a good choice. And since Engineers of Fate was meant to be a thoroughly rational explanation, it was the ideal choice.

STAN: Yes, everything there is definitely rational. Are you religious?

JHL: I am what you could rate as a lightly practicing Jew. I know the traditions, the rituals and their meaning, but I don't practice them so often. I'm Jewish because I was born and brought up as such. What I use most from Judaism is its culture and ethics. As most creeds have these, I'd say they are as good as any other. My view is that one should change their faith when they feel it no longer provides them with the culture and ethics they want.

STAN: But are you spiritual, mystical, fond of the occult sciences?

JHL: I was an ardent skeptic of this for most of my life. However one of my lifelong tenets is to always keep learning. So some events taught me to change my views. Do we have time for a short story?

STAN: Sure! Go ahead!

JHL: My skepticism was torn to shreds with one event. A good friend of mine is a psychologist and astrologer. We didn't know each other so well when this happened. She used to boast about astrology and its power, while I kept my respectful and discreet skepticism.

STAN: Did she forecast anything important for you?

JHL: Not at that time. Anyway, I mentioned her skill to another friend - and these two never met - who was 38 and single at the time. She had just got a new boyfriend, which she thought would be the one. So one day she phoned me with both their birth dates, places, and times, and asked if my astrologer friend could check their sinastry. I obliged, and called her. She sat by her computer and had just started entering the data when she exclaimed, "Oh, this is bad! Tell this friend of yours to take great care on the 19th of this month. I can see something really bad about to happen, physically, to her on that day. A car crash, something of the kind." And so I called her.

STAN: So you gave her the warning. Did you check later on what happened?

JHL: Of course, on the 20th morning, I phoned her rather hesitatingly, unsure if she would be in any condition to answer the phone.

STAN: And did she answer?

JHL: Yes, and she told me: "Your astrologer was dead right! I believed her, and stayed home all day yesterday. For dinner, I decided to have what was left of some delicious tuna I had eaten the day before, which was in the fridge. I'm just back from the hospital, where I spent all night vomiting."

STAN: Really amazing! And did you have any other incidents of this kind?

JHL: Yes, but I didn't realize it at the time. When I was divorced from my first wife, a girlfriend had me take her to a fortune-teller, some 120 miles away from São Paulo. So I took my chance as well. He said that our affair would end soon - she actually broke up with me less two weeks later - and gave me a very detailed description of the woman of my life, he even described the kind of company she was working for for.

STAN: And did the description match?

JHL: Yes. I only met Deborah and married her four years later. Everything matched the description, the only difference was that this clairvoyant had said that she was blonde, and Deb's hair is light brown. Later she told me that four years before she had actually dyed her hair blond.

STAN: Did he forecast anything else that came true?

JHL: Yes. He looked at the lines of my hand and said: "You have three children, right?" I corrected him, as at that time I only had two boys from my first marriage. He said confidently: "Oh, yes, I didn't notice that the girl isn't born yet!". Well, the girl was born five years later.

STAN: Simply amazing. So now you believe in fortune-tellers?

JHL: As you read on the book, I believe that the Engineers of Fate put these ideas in the clairvoyants' minds, if it helps them in accomplishing their objectives. They might put wrong ideas as well, if there is a purpose for doing so.

STAN: So would all this be a basis for starting a new religion? Maybe you are looking for locations for places of worship, I could refer you to a real estate agent.

JHL: No way. This is just a rational explanation of how it the universe works. The Engineers of Fate are just doing their job, there is nothing to worship.

STAN: So it's the end of religions?

JHL: Absolutely not. Religions are an organized way of believing that there is something beyond mankind to run the universe. As you should have noticed, the Engineers of Fate are merely the executors of the plans made by the entities that the religions worship. The Engineers of Fate return to our world to live within us, and then go back to being Engineers of Fate. If you noticed, most of the beings worshipped by any creed - except the Creator, of course - once lived among us and, after they left, they didn't become Engineers of Fate, but occupied a higher position in the hierarchy.

STAN: So, if it's not a religion, what good does it make, if any?

JHL: It gives you a motive to listen to your inner voice, without feeling guilty of letting yourself going crazy. It also helps you explain why some things happen, and why some fail to happen. It gives you faith to go on when things go bad. And it also helps you to reason why some people do some things, especially the bad ones.

STAN: You are referring to the Negative Operators?

JHL: Yes. As I said, I do believe all these ideas did not pop up from nothing, but were placed in my mind. And the Negative Operators are the most convincing explanation for evil I could find.

STAN: Going beyond, do you have plans to write a sequel?

JHL: Hold your horses, Stan, it's just been published! I'm quite happy that the few people who read it so far - I mean, before publishing - none of them ever said a "Yes, but..." to me .

STAN: Who were these privileged people?

JHL: Just close friends and relatives. I know it's a biased public, but I asked them to be totally frank about it.

STAN: Relatives... are you related to Len Lamensdorf, the American writer?

JHL: We are good friends and distant relatives. Our family links date back from some 150 years ago, and we found each other totally by accident, something that today I see as crafted by the Engineers of Fate.

STAN: How come?

JHL: I thought that all the Lamensdorfs in the world were those few that survived the II World War and, in 1950, scattered to Brazil, Australia, and the USA. The aunt who moved to the USA was married, so she didn't keep her maiden surname. One day I had time to waste at the São Paulo domestic airport, because of a delayed flight. I could have gone for another cup of coffee, but instead I went browsing in the bookstore there. And Len's "Kane's World" in a pocket edition caught my eye. Of course I bought it. However it is a long story, and it took years before I finally got in contact with Len and his brother Jerry. But we are very fond of each other. Were it not for this, I'd never find out that some Lamensdorf left Krakow, in Poland, for the USA long before WWII, actually in 1850 and another one in 1900. It is this kind of event that often confirms the idea of the Engineers of Fate.

STAN: So this is the kind of message you intended with the book?

JHL: Yes. After reading it, you get a general idea of how the Engineers of Fate - as well as the Negative Operators, one shouldn't forget them - kinda try to drive the people in our world to keep it in constant evolution with consistency and balance. Then, most of the things you cannot explain start making reasonable sense to you.

STAN: Okay, but what's the purpose?

JHL: It enables you to stop mulling over the reasons for some past event, clearing your mind for the ideas from the Engineers of Fate. Maybe this was one of the reasons the Engineers of Fate had for having it published. Many people nowadays spend so much time trying to find a rational explanation - the "why?" - for past events, that maybe the Engineers are having a hard time to get their ideas through, so people can accomplish their objectives.

STAN: And where do Negative Operators fit into this?

JHL: Many of the current problems mankind faces nowadays derive from politics. As it is said in the book, politics is one of the most fertile territories for the Negative Operators to sow ideas, since it's all about power. Most people fail to understand why politicians do some of the things they do. And such things are discussed over and over in the media, so the Negative Operators' feats get a lot of air time and space. As the motives of Negative Operators are understood, it becomes easier to reason what is happening.

STAN: So will there be a sequel to Engineers of Fate?

JHL: I have asked - mentally, of course - my Engineer of Fate, and didn't get an answer so far. Maybe it's not yet in my list of objectives, maybe it is among somebody else's objectives.

STAN: But do you envisage a film on Engineers of Fate?

JHL: Well, there would certainly be public for it, the same ones who enjoyed the classic Heaven Can Wait and all its sequels and remakes. There are several TV series of the genre, like Touched by an Angel, Dead Last, Joan of Arcadia, etc. But if you look at the book itself, Engineers of Fate, there is absolutely no action, apart from a few examples.

STAN: So it wouldn't work...

JHL: I do have the basic ideas for a TV series with the Engineers of Fate. But I am not a screen writer. If this talent is engraved on the plastic-coated side of my plate, I haven't found it yet.

STAN: Are you thinking of setting up a partnership?

JHL: Yes, I'd really like to team up with a good script writer on this.

STAN: Then, what is there beyond the Engineers of Fate?

JHL: I expect each reader to develop their own vision of how it works. It's a compelling challenge for a lifetime, as we'll only know if this is true when we leave this world. It's interesting to notice changes in our lives, and try to figure out if we made them ourselves, or if they were a result of our assigned Engineer of Fate's action. It's fun to notice the Negative Operators behind every action we see as evil. But don't despair, maybe my assigned Engineer of Fate has other plans for me or for someone else about this. Anyway, it will always be comforting, in moments of distress, to know that there is someone struggling to restore consistency and balance.

[CREDITS ROLLING]

VICKY: (whispering:) Stan, we have a phone call!

STAN: There seems to be a spectator on the phone with a question. Do you mind, Joe?

STAN: (whispering to Vicky:) Keep rolling the credits! We've got plenty of them. If they end, roll them again, faster, nobody will notice.

JHL: Not at all. It will be a pleasure.

STAN: Who do we have on the line, Vicky?

VICKY: It's Skip, right from the neighborhood. Skip, you're on!

SKIP: All right! Who the f*** are you, Stanley Atwood?

STAN: Sir, we are still on the air, please watch your language..

SKIP: Gotcha! Who are you, Stanley Atwood? And don't "sir" me, okay?

STAN: Would you mind telling us where you are calling from?

SKIP: I'm calling right across the street from your studio.

STAN: Well, Mr. Skip, that's about as far as the FCC will allow us to broadcast. Have you been watching our show tonight?

SKIP: Your show and nothing else! I'm here at a repair shop to get my TV fixed, and all I get in every channel is your show. I'm waiting for you to shut down so this guy can see what's wrong with my channel selector. And don't you "mister" me!

STAN: Okay, Skip, but you know, we've all gotta work, and this is my job.

SKIP: Okey-dokey, but who are you, Stanley? I was watching all the time, but I couldn't see your face.

STAN: I'm Joe's virtual ego. You see, we needed someone to interview Joe.

SKIP: Naughty, naughty, Joe. Why did you have to resort to such a cheap trick?

JHL: Well, as I'm totally unknown, I wouldn't expect David Letterman, Jay Leno, Oprah, or anyone else to invite me for an interview, right?

SKIP: Yeah, you may have a point there, pal. So how did you set this up, I mean, the questions, the answers?

JHL: You can do it too, buddy. Whenever you want questions or answers from your Engineer of Fate, just ask yourself. He lives within you. And you'll never know if whatever you get is your own or from your Engineer of Fate, but for you it will have consistency and balance.

SKIP: Thanks, pal. Great idea. I'll read your book and try it.

JHL: Good luck! Bye...