Next week sees the launch of the latest book by astronomer royal Sir Martin Rees. Secrecy surrounds the contents of Our Final Century?, but The Diary can divulge what Fortune magazine reported Sir Martin as saying at a meeting a couple of months ago. Sir Martin warned that in 20 to 25 years' time ordinary individuals will be capable of holding awesome power comparable with that currently held by nuclear-armed states, and that we are not yet prepared to deal with it as a society. According to the report:
"He elaborates on this at length in a book he's written entitled Our Final Century? ."