<!-- Do not use the "dated prod" template directly; the above line is generated by "subst:prod|reason" -->
Global Dawn [Gelbard, Deborah. Published, September 2006, Pendium Publishing. ISBN: 0-9724586-7-0] – A First GIS Novel
----

Global Dawn is the story of a GIS professional, whose ideological drive to bring Geographical Information to the world's citizens is grounded in his daily involvement with the Earth, its lines, its structure and its systems. He exposes Geographical Information as the binding force that can equalize nations and cultures, and he plans to build the Global Geospatial Data Framework that will enable it to do so.

Reuven lives in a region historically seen as the cross-roads of the World – the Middle East. He plans to build the core of his Geospatial Data Framework in Jerusalem(see The Geospatial Resource Portal, GIS Development Middle East Edition, "GIS & Human Resource Development/Geodatabase", Sept-Oct 2006, Vol. 2 Issue 5.)[1214], a city highly charged with the spirit, culture and energies of all the world's main religions and ethnic groups (see KJV Bible, Ezekiel 5:5). He believes that the city of Jerusalem is imbued with natural forces of its own that may be leveraged to bring his Global Dawn project to fruition.

Reuven is a powerful orator, and his enthusiasm for maps and geographic information soon impregnates the souls of his project followers. He states:
"Cartography didn't spring up in a vacuum. The people who drew the early maps knew far more than we do now about the Earth's patterns and forces."
His goal is to uncover those natural patterns that empowered ancient peoples with cosmic knowledge, and to distribute such knowledge to all the citizens of the world through the global network he intends to create. At the Annual Conference of the regional association ofcartographers, he launches his battle against the stalwarts of the mapping establishment:
"In the weeks preceding the conference, he diligently compiled his paper. Its title was ‘The Democratization of Cartography’. Against this backdrop, he planned to gently introduce his ideas for geographic information interchange and Global Networking.
In the writing of Global Dawn, Deborah Gelbard has drawn the threads of her inspiration from a multiplicity of sources related to cartography, global networking and belief systems old and new. The ancient concept of Mother Earth as a central energy source is cleverly knitted to such modern philosophies as those of R. Buckminster Fuller, Donald E. Ingber and former US Vice-President, Al Gore: Fuller's theories of natural synergy(see Buckminster Fuller Institute online ), Ingber's tract on the architecture of life(see Ingber, DE. The Architecture of Life. Scientific American Jan 1998) and Gore, whose dream of constructing a Digital Earth was first developed at NASA and more recently taken up by Google Earth.
The intricacy with which the author seamlessly joins these themes into the infrastructure of a lively plot with believable characters quickly draws her reader into the twists and turns of regular Israeli life against a background of war and natural disaster. In the words of Digital Earth pioneer and founder member of the International Society for Digital Earth, Dr. Timothy Foresman:
"First articulated by former Vice President Al Gore in 1998, the Digital Earth envisages a virtual representation of the Earth linked to vast digital archives facilitating understanding of the Earth and of human activity upon it. (see "Understanding our planet in the 21st Century", 1998, VP Al Gore, California Science Center, Los Angeles, California, USA.
[1215])

Her insightful use of the natural design secrets of the universe in the structuring of Global Dawn is in harmony with contemporary thought among those who contemplate a sustainable future for humanity. Among these, she cites R. Buckminster Fullerwhose majestic geodesic dome at the Epcot Center in Florida exemplifies the glorious and useful discoveries awaiting those who are closely attuned to the laws of nature.

By developing Global Dawn on the foundation of the Digital Earth, the author, Deborah Gelbard, has achieved an innovative concept in her novel: She weaves science, art, mysticism and spiritual growth into an enticing drama that combines the joy and the angst of embracing a common destiny for humankind amid grim, present-day realities."

The protagonist of Global Dawn is employed as a land surveyor. The implications of this daily contact preoccupation with the demarcation of the land and its boundaries are sharply articulated in the following description:
"Verifying existing measurements and calculating new ones, he moved ahead. The results of each of his surveys had to be entered with meticulous care into a computerized geographic information system or ‘GIS’. In it, each area’s defining features and boundaries, natural and man-made, were precisely referenced. While striving for objective accuracy in his work, its political significance did not elude him. Struggles over land ownership were at the root of so many of the world’s wars. Master of borders and boundaries, he had the freedom to mark new territory and to re-divide the land according to his judgment. His chosen lines became accepted facts in the street and in the courtroom. He believed himself to be a designated agent of change."

The book goes on to explore, first the history and roots of the mapping profession and then its projected future in a vision that might be viewed equally well as either technological fact or fantasy.

Given the story's location in the Middle East, it very naturally links the search of its protagonist for the early sources of mapping with that same region. Truly, this is no fictional improvisation, since this indeed the source of what is generally considered in the cartographic profession to be the first proper map: The Madaba Mosaic. Placing Jerusalem at its very centre, the Madaba Mosaic adds more power to the novel's plot in which Jerusalem is the destined location of the Global Information project, Global Dawn. The Madaba Mosaic dated back to the 6th Century BCE and was discovered at Madaba in Jordan. Although it did have precedents, it is the best-preserved early attempt at mapping, including the most detailed view of the City of Jerusalem of any uncovered from that period. The Madaba Mosaic is remarkable for its accuracy to the point that it can be considered of practical interest to cartographers, even today. The area covered by the Mosaic is vast: from the Nile to Tyre, and from the Mediterranean Sea to the Arabian Desert. The quest of Global Dawn with its central focus on the City of Jerusalem is thus firmly linked to ancient cartographic tradition. (see Jerusalem 3000: Three Millennia of History, 1996, Univ. of Southern Maine, Osher Map Library, Smith Center for Cartographic Education. "VI. Jerusalem: The Center of the World", [1216])

The Global Dawn project plan continues with active reference to existing projects of its kind, particularly at the La Villette Science City in Paris, where the Geode provides an inspiring prototype. Within the expansive Science City campus, the Global Dawn team experience virtual reality innovations that enable them to traverse forests, jungles, rivers, seas and mountains, becoming totally immersed in the Planet Earth’s environmental changes, past present and future. These fantastic visions are entirely built upon real geographic imagery, the product of serious geographical researchers, scientists and historians.

Further, the Global Dawn project is to be designed according to a natural architecture according to the principles of tensegrity and synergy that form the basis of R. Buckminster Fuller's famous geodesic domes. The Geode at the Science City in Paris is one example of such a dome, another is found at Disney's Epcot Centre in Florida. The protagonist of Global Dawn envisages the building of such a dome to house his Geospatial Data Framework and to crown the skyline of the City of Jerusalem. As the novel climaxes with the excitement of commencement of construction work, the following describes the approach to implementation of such an ambitious design:
"The experiential park was to be entirely modelled on synergetic principles. Its design would preserve all existing orchards and olive groves, water sources and archaeological finds. The landscaping would bow to the beauty of the surrounding hills and valleys, affording natural views for the visitor’s enjoyment. Dominating it all would be the geodesic dome – home to Global Dawn’s information core.
Mighty shafts of reinforced concrete were driven deep into the bedrock causing the ground to shudder and great energy waves to surge into the air. Huge scaffolding towers were erected to support the several hundred steel and concrete beams that would form the dome’s essential framework. Complex plottings and algorithms were displayed on-site via a computer network for on-the-fly verification of every stage. The completed dome would span some eight hundred cubic metres. Its weight would be tremendous. Accurate balancing of its geometric components would be the key to its tensegrity, dictating its ability to be naturally self-supporting. Precision in these calculations was paramount.
The construction method they used was inspired by Buckminster Fuller’s original top-down approach.(see Sieden, Lloyd Steven, The birth of the geodesic dome; how Bucky did it, The Futurist, Nov-Dec 1989 v23 n6 p14(5))[1217]
This meant that the main body of the dome was actually pieced together on the ground before being hoisted by cranes onto the foundation shafts. In this case, because of the heavy elements involved, the plan was to assemble it in a series of large segments."

The merging of geographic and natural architecture technologies and philosophies within the pages of Global Dawn is the innovative source of its claim to be the first novel to take its inspiration from the professional world of Historical Geography and its GIS application.