Host: Today, my guests are Raymond Raining Cloud…
Rain: Please, my friends call my Rain.
Host: Very good, sir. Ray is a computer engineer for the four-corners school district, and his adopted son….
Rain: He’s my son.
Host: My apology, sir. Ray’s son, and you’ll have to help me please with the pronunciation…
Xijo: Zee-Oh,
Host: Yes, thank you. Zee-Oh Ek Balam, you have a fascinating name…
Xijo: Yes, my family name is Yucatec for the the black jaguar of mesoamerican divination.
Host: Thank you for clarifying that. You lived in Mexico as a child, right?
Xijo: Yes, I was born in Valladollid, Quintana Roo, and my Uncle, Papa’s brother, who was a museum director in Merida, adopted me, and brought me to the U.S. when I was eight.
Host: And here you are today, the founder of Ek Balam Enterprises, designer of the Ek-O tensor software app, and a millionaire at the age of twenty two. That’s an amazing accomplishment.
Xijo: (silence)
Rain: Yes, my son has achieved great things, as I thought he would. I am excited to see what the future has in store for him.
Host: Yes, you must be such a proud father.
Rain: I am.
Host: Xijo, can you tell us more about the Ek-O Tensor software?
Xijo: Sure, the software uses simulated non-linear, high-entropy gradient spheres for mapping data, any kind of data that you want to throw at it. These spheres are then integrated through tensors networks to build real-time simulations of multi-dimensional data correlations.
Host: Hmm…
Xijo: Well, consider that most mapping or data matrices are simulated two or three dimensionally. The problem is, the earth is curved. Energy is being cycled through environmental systems. Graphic user interfaces for complex data mapping is limited by the dimensionality of the data system. The Ek-O tensor attempts to resolve this problem with simulated non-euclidean geometries. If nothing else, it makes it easier to realistically geo-reference mountain ranges as an alternative to GIS.
Host: And what made you want to design this software?
Xijo: When I started living with Papa, he taught me his love of computing systems. I guess, as I got older, I wanted to understand more about why… taking land away from indigenous people can be so crippling. I wanted to understand, and to simulate, environmental relationships, political and economic relationships. I’ll be honest, I wanted to join the tables of white software hegemony, and maybe turn those tables to better benefit my people.
Host: So, you designed the Ek-O Tensor.
Xijo: Now, when the scientists and the universities want to measure living environments, they can use my software (smiling).
Host: But, more than just scientists are using this software. Gamers are using it to hack into code. I interviewed a ghost hunting team that is using the software to model haunted spaces in real-time. I didn’t even mention how the Ek-O tensor is changing geographic information systems, like tracking animals through mountainous terrain. The software seems to be pretty handy in archaeological circles…
Xijo: Sure. Let the people use it as they see fit.
Host: With all of this in mind, Xijo and Rain what are your greatest fears?
Rain: I fear that this world will swallow my son whole, and that the light of hope will be lost.
Xijo: Of course, Papa.
Rain: It is true.
Host: And Xijo, what do you fear?
Rain: Here we go.
Xijo: What is my greatest fear? (repeats). My greatest fear… is that some of the children that were stolen by this government will never be returned to their parents, and that these children will be forever scarred. You see. Because I was one of these children at one time. What is happening now could have happened to me. My greatest fear is that the perpetrators of these crimes against humanity will dissipate into history as heroes, and their crimes will go unpunished.
Host: It’s so sad.
Xijo: It’s beyond sad. Sadness is empathy, this is important, but our empathy is held powerless against our own monstrosity. It’s not sad, anymore. It’s scary. It’s scary how people can become monsters. It’s scary that many can become monsters, and not even know it, not even acknowledge the monstrosity that occurs because of them. Isn’t that scary, that we can become monsters, and not even know it?
Host: That’s powerful.
Xijo: Many are powerless in the face of such monstrosity. That should be scary as hell.
Host: Hmm… I’m thinking this interview is suddenly less important.
Rain: Nonsense, continue. My son is just… passionate.
Xijo: And my father likes to turn me into a euphemism.
Rain: My son, to me at least, has always been larger than life. The simple words are for the ease of others.
Host: Let’s shift gears, what is the craziest thing that you have done?
Rain: (chuckles)
Xijo: Watch, it has something to do with me.
Rain: The craziness is a blessing.
Host: Care to give us an example?
Rain: Between the Gulf War, Federal politics with the reservations, and Xijo here, I’ve had my fair share of crazy. I’ll say that. But Xijo is a blessing because he pushes me to see more than I could without him.
Host: Xijo? Craziest thing?
Xijo: The craziest thing? Maybe, crazier than watching vans of children arrive at a detention camp in El Paso? Crazier than getting hosed with water in sub-freezing temperatures at Standing Rock? Crazier than watching survey equipment roll into Bear’ Ears? Crazier than being interviewed by Homeland Security Agents for a fucking social media post? Oh yeah, I got crazier experiences than that, like consoling my best friend’s Mom after he overdosed on fentanyl and booze. Yeah, that was crazy. But, crazy is hard to define, because it is also crazy my black friend is told by his programming teacher that there aren’t a lot of black people in information technology and maybe he should find another major. Now that is fucking crazy. That is crazy that is paid to be fucking crazy, an autocatalytic cycle of crazy now imposed upon us as institutional crazy. It was one thing to experience crazy, it is another to have crazy imposed upon you. Does that answer your question?
Host: That was magnificent. Sublime. I feel like I want a cigarette break. But first, onto the next question, if that is okay? Who are the most important people in your lives?
Rain: My mother and father, who taught me that love was the most important force in this world, and that love can carry and heal great tragedy. My wife Anya, who, remains with my in spirit, and our first son, Jaime, who… I never got to grow old with. Xijo remains the greatest gift that this otherwise lonely father could hope for.
Host: Xijo?
Xijo: My momma, who remains with me as only distant childhood memories…
Host: I’m sorry, she passed?
Xijo: She was taken from me in burst random cartel violence. I wish I could have known her longer.
Host: I’m sorry to hear that.
Xijo: You mentioned some of my success earlier. You should thank Papitza, Papa’s brother, who saved me from a life on the streets, and brought me to this country. You should thank the man sitting here next to me for adopting me into his life, and teaching me about hardware and software engineering. These are the people that gave me life. They are the most important to me.
Host: What are your dream jobs?
Rain: (chuckling) my dream job is the one that gives Xijo peace.
Xijo: My dream job? It doesn’t exist yet. I’ll have to dream it first, and then maybe I can make it real.
Host: If you could have dinner with any person, dead or alive, fact or fiction, who would it be?
Rain: Oh, if only I could have Anya, Jaime, and Xijo together around the dinner table at one time, I would die a content and full man.
Xijo: My momma.
Host: Finally, who do you admire?
Rain: I admire my son here, my sloppy hair-ed boy, oh, I love you so much, and I am so proud of you, my heart beaks that I can’t tell you better.
Xijo: I admire you too Papa. You paved the way for me to have the this life. I hope that I can honor that.
Xijo’s Theme song:
Rain’s Theme song:
The Paradigm Convergence 