1
Documentarian Progress Report: Notes Towards a Heterochronic Timeline,
Elena Kassel
Heterochrony, as translated from the works of Haeckel, Tung, and Alonso reveals that our corporeal present is not the culmination of a progressive and uniform linear time. This notion suggests the co-existence of multiple and irregular time-trajectories that converge into poly-temporal assemblages. It suggests that the heterogeneous present is not a point in time, but instead is the intersection of a multiplicity of variably deep and diverse timelines. This report is to accompany a proposal for a drawing to be made in conjunction with the upcoming project. The elements listed out below are summary items to be located on the drawing, if the process results in such a thing. They are in essence the key recursive elements we are finding consistent throughout the heterogenous timescape.
"The explanation is obvious. The Garden of Forking Paths is a picture, incomplete
yet not false, of the universe such as Ts'ui Pen conceived it to be. Differing from
Newton and Schopenhauer, your ancestor did not think of time as absolute and
uniform. He believed in an infinite series of times, in a dizzily growing, ever spreading
network of diverging, converging and parallel times. This web of time - the strands of
which approach one another, bifurcate, intersect or ignore each other through the
centuries - embraces every possibility. We do not exist in most of them. In some
you exist and not I, while in others I do, and you do not, and in yet others both of us
exist. In this one, in which chance has favored me, you have come to my gate. In
another, you, crossing the garden, have found me dead. In yet another, I say these
very same words, but am an error, a phantom."
It seems that Plenaes references this concept quite often - see section 6 of the manifesto. The claim is essentially that art unlocks a perception of heterochrony which enables us to travel in time and space in search of the linked temporal assemblages which coexist and intersect with our own. Take for instance literature, which allows us to come in contact with those in a distant past who lived through similar events, or even conjectures (with a touch less clarity I’ll admit) about how those in the future may deal with related issues.
Emission Limits
Limits, to varying degrees, have been in place since the mid twentieth century - when we still told time in years. Their effectiveness is disputed across the timescape but largely acknowledged as a sufficient interim measure. They reflect slowly changing sensibilities about the environment, resources, and consumption ethics. Moreover, they are the initial step towards conceptualizing deeper timescales.
Consumption Limits
A generally more recent development and much more contentious, consumption limits were not present everywhere in the timescape. We found many strands which simply refused to go down this route. Interestingly not all of those ended in what we would call a catastrophe, some were able to maintain reasonable levels of emissions, waste, and quality of life without direct regulation. Generally speaking though, they seem to be the integral second step to a culture of responsible stewardship. Consumption minimums often went hand in hand.
Reparations
Only present in timstrands we find to be on positive trajectories, it seems that this is an integral step to grapple with regardless of precise orientation. Reparations can exist regarding race, class, and environment among other things. All seemingly equally important, although of course the humanist in me ranks them in the order presented. Crucially, instigating procedures of meaningful reparations indicates a willingness to go beyond the sustaining of the current situation and into the regenerative. It is a crucial step.
Denialism
The fight against denialism has been waged since presumably time immemorial. Our first artefact representing this concept was an allegory depicting voluntary prisoners of their own limited realities, largely representing our own comfort in ignorance and apathy. Unable and/or unwilling to leave the cave of darkness, they never fully realized what the light outside illuminated - and so could not be bothered to care about anything other than their own limited realities. This is also an issue our study on heterochronicity aims to alleviate.
Throughout the cycles the plague of denialism has been oriented in different directions, but the articulation and symptoms are largely the same. Whether it is directed towards climate, systemic realities of capital or democracy, even the simple idea of truth/proof/evidence - we have never encountered something outside of its grasp.
Carbon Sequestration
Sequestration efforts fall in much the same bucket as reparation initiatives. Simultaneously progressive and regressive depending on the observer’s perspective, various policies and practices have been attempted throughout the cycles to ambiguous effect. With ever-shifting calculations of target volumes and cost/benefit analyses the net gain has been historically questioned, and the Resistance are the only group who still pursues such projects.
Era of No Return
We opted to examine this temporal assemblage as a strand rather than an intersection. To clarify, it is much more logical in the conventional methodologies to designate a ‘Point of No Return’ - the moment after which, one’s choices become set and irrevocable. However, without our current situation we believe the designation of a singular point to be impossible, not to mention based on faulty assumptions. The Era of No Return for the well-being of Gaia spans innumerable cycles. Some have theorized it began with the first territorialization of land, some with the great acceleration, some with the industrial revolution, some believe it is happening (or rather, reinstancing itself) on the cusp of the present, and others still believe it has yet to come.
As is the case with many such hyperobjects, we are simply unable to straighten out all of its entanglements into a network that may be understandable for humans or our most advanced machines. Perhaps there is a lifeform out there that can understand, or perhaps we must somehow consult the extra-temporal entity itself to come to any significant conclusions. Both possibilities seem equally unlikely.
Food Production
Agrarianism appears as both a beneficial and antagonistic force in this chronicle. The first stumbling steps in the cultivation of land were the gestation of astronomically influential forces. Territorialization, the concept of property, the dwelling that was then built there, the first fundamental foray into the extraction of resources, etc. The industrialization of food production accentuated many of these issues while introducing new ones of its own design. While over the cycles the mass-growth techniques and facilities have seen much evolution, the infrastructural and cross-cultural networks they are enmeshed with have remained largely the same.
The current land reparations scheme touts a return to permacultural practices of ages past. The networks becoming harder and harder to support along with the land becoming less and less fertile lead to increased practices of localized stewardship and individualized production. Inextricably intertwined with market forces and geopolitical alterations, we propose a new heterochronic model for understanding the causal relationships. (See Luciabel et. al.)
Free Market Reformation
The exchange of digital goods and services appears to remain the last truly intact aspect of what our predecessors knew as the global free market. While the loose coalitions of territories (mainly those contiguous) still participate in acts of exchange, it would appear the practice is becoming more and more difficult to maintain. Large levels of distrust added to the increasing factionism work directly against the cross-territorial trade networks.
For more information, see the work of my esteemed colleague Morgan Kernes.
Geopolitical Disruption
It would appear that there were two primary responses to new localized economies. Countries with strong authoritarian governments seem to have closed borders, resorting to a kind of turtling isolationism which harkens back to the days of the Cuban Republic or Japanese Protectorate. Those with more liberal governments have seemingly dissolved all sense of national identities (we plan to investigate further in the coming census project what levels of cultural affinities still remain), and those neighboring each other seem to be largely embracing a kind of mutualistic collectivism.
Anarcho Syndicalism
Following the martyrdom of Anarres Odos the anarcho-syndicalist movement has seen rapid expansion. In lieu of waiting for states to reorganize it seems that many have taken to self organization. Camps are most prominent on the Afrasian Continent, but are rapidly gaining ground in the Atlantic Islands as well. It may well prove to be the most successful form of organizational system for the coming cycles.
Note: We haven’t heard from any of our group in the Americas for some time, we may have to send other representatives if we do not receive the data needed soon - the publication can only wait so long.
Factioning
In the wake of general acceptance of the New Climatic Regime the populace has split into distinct camps which seem to be agnostic of geopolitical borders. Our earlier political and social divisions are seemingly forgotten as the overbearing weight of an unprecedented sense of hysteric time forces many to align with a particular stage of grief.
Denialists have held the same mentality since before the New Climatic Regime was widely acknowledged. Fueled in no small part by the post-truth nature of contemporary politics, the majority of this constituency are located in areas where the climate is still acting under a depressive timescale.
Acrimonists rage with a white-hot fury. Some blame themselves for not realizing earlier, but most blame those in power, the media, the system, the scientists, the corporations, and so on, for not doing enough or convincing them to do theirs. This anger often manifests as a violent anarchy, looting and destroying the institutions which they feel betrayed them – consciously or not.
The Resistance (also known as The Reclamation Group) are, as the name implies, still holding out hope and fighting for a – if not indefinite, at least longer – future. They are perhaps operating within a chaotic system that spins and whirls indefinitely, but in the end is exactly as deterministic as an attractive system which coalesces at zero. Their actions, as assessed by most experts, are futile.
Depression as a stage/category does not warrant a consideration in the playing field, although they deserve far more than a footnote in this report. A new neurological disease (if one can call it that) is running as rampant as any infectious disease we have seen in the last century. Faced with the meaninglessness of any choice, they refuse to make any choice at all, resulting in a kind of akinetic mutism. Many stop functioning all together, opening their eyes to watch is about all they can muster.
Those that have accepted our situation have somewhat idiosyncratically called themselves Contemporaries. They understand the mistakes that have been made, and also that it is beyond them – or indeed our – power to alter them. They are in many ways the ironic ideological counterpart to the Denialists.
Post Script: This project lays the groundwork for a broader census project, likely spanning the next geological epoch - these things are getting faster and faster it seems. I am in contact with colleagues from the UNX as well as from a particular group whose name I can at this time not divulge. Reports from their constituencies are forthcoming, and will be added to the final Heterochronicity Report.
2
Correspondence between Albert Tsing (scientist/sociologist) and Ana Miranda (activist/writer)
Ana,
It’s been a while. How are you doing? I wanted to check in with you, get an update, make sure you’re okay given all that’s been going on. I imagine things aren’t so pretty, so please prove me wrong.
Much love,
Albert
--
Albert,
Ai Dios, que passe el dia rapido... Well I hate to say that you’re right. All the climate problems affect the south and coastal nations far more, so everything is worse than you’d expect by listening to your news. But you can rest easy enough, I am doing just fine - as fine as any of us can be with this weight on our shoulders. It’s been a while since I’ve heard from you. Much has happened.
I’m not making much music any more, I know you always loved that. I’ll still play for you if you come, but it doesn’t fill me with the same alegría de la vida, you know. My writing is going well, and people are catching on. I’m getting booked on the radio a lot to speak, not much on TV. Seems like it’s probably going to go extinct soon. Too costly. At least here. Plus we have the sense not to listen, ha!
We are slowly gathering people, the group is receiving more and more letters every day. We’re building up Albert, one day it will come time and maybe some real change will happen. Until then I better not say much more.
Would love to hear what your fascinating mind has been fixated on these days…
Mucho Amor,
A.M.
--
Ana,
I receive your letter with mixed feelings. It is so good to hear from you, yet so painful to empathize with your situation.
Indeed, I’d like to float some ideas across to you, see what you think. It’s informed by my work, but much more in line with the expertise you have. Here’s a bit from a paper I’m thinking of publishing...
Cultural and economic globalization represents a profoundly entropic force in the world. The local (the heterogenous) has been subsumed into an extraordinary elitist vision of a gilded palace — a globalized world where all can no longer possibly fit, and which exists solely for the comfort and profit of the few. Its construction has relied on the gross exploitation of the planet’s fossil biomass, the deleterious effects of which now threaten us all. This fatal systemic flaw is denied even by those in the U.S. promoting the so-called Green New Deal which proposes the continued embrace of an expansionary economy and the growth of urban development. Business-as-usual with a green twist is a toxic cocktail. It does nothing to blunt the point of the capitalist spear driven into the heart of an erstwhile, reasonably stable ‘natural’ world, which supported a negentropic complexity of human and non-human species and their varied cultural and biological stratagems.
The obscurantist elites have decided to abandon the ideology of a planet shared by all. It sounds suspiciously like a conspiracy theory, and yet the elite’s concerted actions, like the privatization of formerly government functions, the dismantling of social safety nets, and the highly successful efforts to widen the wealth gap, are all too evident. To this can be added the elite’s disposition to deny climate change, as practiced by our president or, more often, to churlishly accept the science but refuse to act to moderate its proximate cause, confident that they, at least, can escape its worst consequences. The pursuit of wealth, freedom, knowledge and leisure for all, which has been at the heart of the Modernist project, has been abandoned. I argue that, in response, we need to shift our headlong, centuries-long tilt along the temporal axis that has as its horizon, Global Modernity (the chosen few clamoring on the leading edge of its Modernization Front) toward a new attractor, which we may call the Terrestrial.
We cannot simply retreat, reverse time’s arrow and live in the Local (the point of origin from which we have sprung on our march to the modern world) for once there, most would starve, because there are now far too many of us. We should abandon the Local-Global axis, made untenable by the climate-driven ecological collapse. Geopolitics have been replaced by geohistory in which humankind has relinquished its role as the primary actor. We are dealing with an upheaval that is mobilizing the earth system itself. Social questions must be replaced by ecological questions. The premise of our politics needs to be profoundly reoriented.
What do you think? You always offer me the best advice…
A.T.
--
Albert,
I´m all for radical imagination and new orientations. ¡Buenas ideas--and told with force and vision. And they are spreading here too. I know people talk about this, think like this - like us.
But I write from the poorest country in South America, second poorest in Latin America. Where not only are people suffering suffering suffering and need whatever aid they can get, but also the country - with its long history of invasion and takeover - feels pressured to build a modern military for protection in a hostile world and go hogwild for global-economy-sized industrialization to the tune of voracious deforestation, massive excavations, and polluting factories to pay for social programs and defense. Despite all the talk about Madre Tierra, minds here aren't changing. Es así...
How do we distance ourselves from the notional present to consider critical futures? I don’t know that it’s possible, for us at least. You have a much different position you know. Perhaps some change could come about in the North but in the South, we must sadly focus on our immediate needs before having the luxury of dreaming the wonderful dreams you do.
When we reach a point where laziness is a reality, and not a death toll - then we may speak of such radical ideas freely and without consequence. For now I fear I may have to settle for reform, contrary to my own beliefs. Immediate betterment takes precedence, and will give us the time and space to actively work towards the things you are writing about.
It would be lovely to see you…
A.M.
--
Ana…
I know you are right… but I can’t help but argue for, hope for, pray for the possibility of a reset. A recalibration of such scale, wouldn’t it help you out of all those problems your people are in?
I know that can’t be done without stability first. Or not realistically. But would it not be amazing? I feel that in the chaos we will soon all be launched into - we must look to the southern mentality to reorganize ourselves. Indeed the hegemonic structure should invert itself if all is to be right with the world.
I’d like to come visit, please let me know when and how would be appropriate.
XO,
A.T.
3
Special Feature: Ecological Factioning, United News Network (UNN)
ROSS: Good evening ladies and gentlemen, this is UNN Shortwave coming to you with quality reporting on quality timescales. Tonight we have a special feature, a census project is underway - the likes of which we have not seen yet since the New Climatic Regime began several cycles ago. It is a joint venture spearheaded by an organization known as UNX and supported by myriad other sociological groups focussed chiefly on ground reporting. We here at UNN have spoken to a collection of representatives from these groups over the past couple days, and are here to give you a look inside the project and an analysis of trends sweeping the world right now.
ROSS: Thanks for tuning in, and joining us tonight is Helena Song - an influential voice in the upcoming census project. The first attempt in cycles to get a good handle on the terrestrial state of affairs. Helena, welcome.
SONG: Thank you Maria, it’s a pleasure to be here. I’ve been leading a group of reporters who have been speaking to UNX representatives on the ground across the country, and across the world. What we have for you tonight is a distilled version of the repercussions echoing out from the New Climatic Regime.
SONG: We’re probably all quite familiar with the new geopolitical organizations that have been coalescing over the past couple cycles. As the Climatic Regime came to power and dissolved most remaining semblances of nationality, we saw a period of profound disorder and chaos. UNX attributes this to a loss of identity, a missing directionality that often occurs in the aftermath of great disasters. It is only peculiar in this case that the disaster has not yet occurred.
ROSS: Absolutely Helena, how does that difference seem to be affecting responses to this crisis-in-progress?
SONG: As we learned, the period we are currently emerging out of was one characterized distinctly by this lack of directionality. Not entirely akin to a mass psychological disease - but not that far removed - sociologists at UNX coined the term Languishing to describe the common symptoms among most individuals. Languishing is a sense of stagnation and emptiness. It feels as if you’re muddling through your days, looking at your life through dirty glasses. With nothing to be tethered to, an equal emptiness in front of us - this was nearly an expected reaction.
SONG: In the last cycle it seems that a directionality is returning, a sense of identity even. UNX attributes the stages of grief. However, it appears as if most people are not moving through them as is typical when faced with tragedy. Rather they align with one stage and stick with it, organizing around the shared emotional resonance of that area. The UNX has thusly characterized the factions we see emerging as Denialists - Denial, Acrimonists - Anger, Resistance - Bargaining, Akinetics - Depression, and Contemporaries - Acceptance. UNX reports a map charting the areas the factions are currently occupying will be made available at your local data center within the week.
ROSS: We can’t wait to have that info in our hands. The rest of our program will summarize the ongoing census results for each of the groups. Stay with us.
[interlude]
ROSS: We’re back with Helena Song, please Helena we’re deeply interested in hearing what your colleagues on the ground have been gathering up information wise regarding the formation of different factions.
SONG: Absolutely Maria, working our way down through the established stages, we can begin with observations recorded in the Denialist zones. As the name would suggest, this faction is adamant that the Climatic Regime is a falsity - or at the very least it has not yet arrived in full. They occupy generally the larger cities of the past, living in a husk of urbanity. Their societies have attempted to cling on to whatever semblance of stability was left behind. Most people could hold on to their trades or careers but of course the payout and social worth has changed quite drastically. We are seeing decent employment numbers and relative stability among this group, but they are often put at odds with the Acrimonists who blame the Denialists for most of our current issues.
SONG: The Acrimonists don’t occupy one particular zone. They have banded together and are roaming the dilapidated interstate systems in caravans - making them quite hard to track down. UNX identified sites that would be likely targets for their anger, and sent field agents to sit and wait. Their political philosophy is most closely related to the old principles of Anarcho-Syndicalism. However, the goal of collectivizing in this case is not to take control of the means of production but rather to destroy them in their entirety. The Acrimonists tend to seek out major governance buildings or industrial sites, pillage them to the bone, and burn them to the ground. Our latest reports show a critical mass of caravans heading south/south-west towards a major fracking plant.
ROSS: That seems quite concerning, but I’d like to assure our listeners - we will issue evacuation warnings on Shortwave when it becomes necessary. What about The Resistance Helena, are they also mounting such violent efforts?
SONG: The Resistance prefer to call themselves the Reclamation Group, for reasons which should be abundantly apparent. They are the sole actors working to undo the damage done to our earth, what many others deem a futile task. Generally speaking, they are quite dispersed so as to act upon their mission and various initiatives with the greatest reach. Our reporting has recently uncovered an increased presence in the Heartlands, where it appears they are setting out to build an immense carbon capture device. While it seems clear to most members what must be done without any ulterior guidance, Gail Marcos - a former radical activist - has recently emerged as somewhat of a figurehead. A representative from UNX is set to make contact shortly and we hope to be able to get Gail on the air with us soon.
SONG: The Akinetics are set in polar opposition to the activity of the Resistance. To call them a faction of their own is perhaps overzealous, but the UNX remains adamant that their increasing numbers warrant careful consideration. A not yet fully understood Neuro-Psychological Epidemic seems to be spreading rampantly, largely centered in Denialist areas. The afflicted appear to lose their will to act, often their will to live. The best of the remaining medical specialists are seeking answers, but have no significant developments yet. We have been advised not to spread any information on the condition which we do not have to, and so respectfully ask our listeners to find our previously provided explanations satisfactory for the time being. The census includes both those suffering from akinetic mutism as well as those tasked with caring for them to be a part of this faction.
ROSS: How terrible… I’ve just been told if you’d like to donate to some of these institutions, we will be able to put you in touch with a representative if you call in to our station. Please Helena, continue.
SONG: And we arrive at our last station, The Contemporaries, as they like to call themselves, have acknowledged the realities of the New Climatic Regime but made the decision to accept the futility of acting against it. Located largely in previously high-travel areas, their development and lifestyle is varied but can be generally characterized as entertainment and service. Increasingly populous enclaves have sprung up around coastal areas, particularly those with amusement parks and fun palaces. There doesn’t appear to be any kind of political structure, since their primary task is revelry. UNX understands this faction to have fully embraced the values of Homo Ludens, and recommends those at risk of akinetic mutism to defect to one of the Acceptance Zones.
ROSS: Thank you Helena, it’s been so great to hear from you and finally be able to get a good, broad, picture of what is going on these days. Helena will be back with us once the census is finally complete, to share the final findings with our audience.
ROSS: Now folks, to decompress we’ve got an hour of post-psy-trance-step to kickstart your day of mentalism. The first tune is by a group called Plant Imagination, released earlier this cycle on Demosage Records.
[music]
4
Transcript of recording 242LU211_Y654_shangev_kwande.wavv, Shangev Kwande
?????: Thank you for allowing me to accompany you for a while Shangev, I am truly grateful for your willingness to participate in my project. Would you mind stating your name for me as I begin the recording?
Shangev Kwande: Oh yes, well it’s my pleasure. I’m sure we’ve spoken enough by now that you know how much I love to talk, telling stories is what I believe I was put on this ground to do. My name by birth is Shangev Kwande.
??: And where do you hail from Shangev? I know we’ve talked a bit about your past, but I’d love to get it recorded as well if you don’t mind.
SK: Ah well you know I don’t have a good answer to that question, but I suppose that’s more interesting to you anyway. I usually tell folk I come from out west, and the truth is I don’t really know where. From my first memory we were always on the move. A while here, a while there. It doesn’t really matter too much. My home is here, on this earth, where my stories are and where everyone belongs.
SK: My family, our family, we didn’t quite fit anywhere. Or perhaps rather we didn’t quite fit with anyone. We watched as the groups coalesced, these ‘factions’ as many people call them. We watched from a distance, not really feeling like we belonged to any of them. Just making our way, our own path, moving around, listening to stories, engaging with lives, seeking meanings…
SK: Anyhow yes, that is what I usually say. I look back fondly upon those days. Even though I was coming of age right around the point of no return I believe I had quite a happy childhood. We were a jovial bunch, and most people welcomed us with open arms. We would make music, tell stories, some of us would often make paintings…
??: Could you tell me a story, your story perhaps, about the Point of No Return? I’m quite interested in what it was like to experience first hand… I wasn’t even born yet.
SK: Mmmmm many people make such a big deal of this. To call it a point is not entirely accurate but it helps with the conceptualization I suppose. You see it was not a momentary occurrence, but a long drawn out battle. A battle with ourselves, yes, both inside and out. We knew it was coming, perhaps everyone did, yet it was quite hard to grasp.
SK: There are two types of problems in this world, those that are hysteric and those that are depressive. You must have witnessed many riots or raids in pursuit of your project, no? Those are hysteric - unavoidable. The point of no return was depressive, we could hardly perceive it for it acted on timescales so vastly longer than our own. And yet perhaps that is why you and others like to call it a point, the time of inflection was miniscule in comparison to its entirety. I would say I was between the ages of fourteen and eighteen when what you might call the point occurred.
SK: It was a strange feeling, to finally see what had been weighing upon your soul so heavily begin to affect your surroundings. The speed at which the deterioration occurred was so slow for so long, even multiple generations could hardly mark any change. But as we as humans accelerate our development exponentially, well, so does our host. Once the change became visible to the eye - it became perceptible and real. It had been too late for many cycles, but it wasn’t realized until that time. Once we could see it, perceive it, feel it, rather than abstractly know it… it was a crisis.
SK: Many went into mourning, in fact nearly everyone did. The real question, the interesting thing to see, was how they did so. Did they shut their eyes and pretend it still wasn’t real? The unbearable summers, the unpredictable winters, the catastrophes, the air - it was all imagined? Many lashed out in fury, blaming those who had power and didn’t act. Maybe so, they should be blamed, but what good does it do to bury them? The burnings only add to the problem…
SK: There were two kinds of reactions to the slow realization that one’s actions had no meaning. Many moved on. Forgot about it. Understood there was no point so they may as well do anything they please. Aye, despicable but - understandable. And many more simply gave up all hope. Gave up everything. Resigned themselves to die but had not the motivation to even take their own life. Such a sad fate.
SK: Or, in the face of such tragedy, does one refuse to stop fighting? I can respect this position. Far more than I respect any of the others. For while no one can tell if it truly matters in the end, idealism has more power than you or I or anyone could imagine. Simply acting in accordance with what you believe to be just and true and equitable and beneficial is never a position anyone can fault. They strive and strain and one might begin to feel sorry for them, tragically toiling like Sisyphus on the hill - but they are the only ones who haven’t given up their most precious treasure.
??: And what is that..?
SK: Simple friend, the ground we walk upon.
??: Ah, I should have realized that without having to hear it from you. Would you mind if I accompanied you for a while longer? Perhaps recording some more of your stories?
SK: Not at all my friend, not at all…
5
Homa’s Tale, Author Unknown
This story appears to come from a collection of fables. It would seem to come from a time long before that of Plenaes, but what do we know. It’s possible that it was made to look and feel ancient on purpose, or perhaps simply set aside by one of the members as inspirational material. We’d rather not assume that our timescales are off by so much, but as you’ll see later on - it is regrettably entirely possible.
It is as it always was, so beautiful to live in harmony. To be in communion with other beings is the height of existence, for it elevates each individual taking part. Homa and Geia had such a bond, and this is where we begin.
It is rumored they fell from the sky, or descended at the very least. Many folk have said they witnessed a glorious descent upon steeds of gold and silver elegantly alighting upon the earth as if they had always belonged there. For that is truly how it seems, as many others are adamant that the pair has always lived in the pasture they do now. How could it be any different? Homa and Geia belong to that spot like the great river belongs in its rocky pass - no one could imagine it otherwise.
They are perhaps somewhat peculiar, but fit as closely to each other as they do to the land upon which they live. Geia tends to the land, the crops, the animals as if they were a part of her own self. She tills the earth with tenderness and respect, and it appears to yield to her will as easily as you or I would wade through a shallow stream. And certainly the creatures of the land must recognize this as well, for they treat her with reverence they reserve for their own kind.
A fellow shepherd once came running to me out of desperation, crying half his flock had been split off by a pair of crafty wolves. One had distracted him by stealing his cane, while the other quietly ushered off the sheep while his back was turned. You see, even amongst the beasts there are truly wondrous couplings. I went to help him and by the time we had reached the clearing in which it occurred, Geia had reprimanded the wolves and was sitting across from them, feeding them a loaf from her bare hands. But I digress.
Homa was a crafty individual. Perhaps not quite as skilled as some of the tradesmen of the north, but I’ve heard he taught them everything they know. Homa was always discovering new ways, new tools, to make his life - and Geia’s - easier. A gracious but not particularly humble fellow, he was always ready to help those in need so long as they carry his name with pride.
Together they have built an eden, and all know of the prosperity they bring to the land.
Seasons passed, we wandered. Upon returning to the area where Homa and Geia resided several cycles later, we understood something was amiss.
We gathered from the denizens that there had been great strife. While Geia stayed as attuned as she always was, Homa had become enamored with his skill. Geia was skilled enough in her stewardship of the land that they could have survived together as they always did for as long as they wanted - forever perhaps, since it felt like they had been there forever already.
However Homa was not satisfied with survival. He desired more, to build more, to own more, to create more, to produce more. Geia was at first in agreement with this. For with Homa’s inventions, he could provide better for all the surrounding denizens. As time progressed, and as Homa’s skill and prowess grew his tools became larger, more effective, agents of production and alteration.
Geia grew afraid that they would damage the land she held so dear. And indeed they did. Irreparably. Geia baid Homa to stop three times. The first, he slowed - but only momentarily. The second, he assuaged her fears and continued working. The third, he denied her worries altogether.
By the time of Geia’s fourth plea it was too late. Homa’s tools had taken on a life of their own, in his hands and in those of all he spread them to. In what felt like the blink of an eye, the eden they had cultivated together began to wither and die. We witnessed this upon our return, so we know it to be true.
Geia could not stand to witness this fall, so she left. She departed from Homa and in doing so severed their immeasurable communion. Perhaps a thread remains, perhaps not.
Many seasons passed once again, the denizens of the area picking one path or the other. Many followed Homa, perhaps more still followed Geia - but no one could count with any certainty. Their followers, with many of whom I have spoken, all agreed that on the fifth moon of every cycle both Homa and Geia disappeared until the next moon. When asked upon their return where they have been, the answer is always the same. “A meditation, a reflection.”
Upon completion of numerous meditations, they finally understood what must occur. Homa laid the foundations for a maze, and Geia grew it into a garden. They worked in shifts, secretly and piecemeal, so neither truly knew its entirety. Whether there was one center, with many paths leading to it, or many centers with one path towards them, not even they could say.
They resolved to enter this garden, and leave their futures to fate. Should their bond be strong enough, they will choose the correct paths and end up in the shared center.
It is said they still walk in this garden of forking paths, seeking a reunion. No one knows if they found each other or not. It is perhaps for you, dear reader, to decide.
6
Speech given by Gail Marcos, Reclamation Group Figurehead, Tiempo Plaza.
We no longer have the luxury of putting a stop to this nonsense! Now we are forced to make amends. We will reclaim this planet, our territory. We will reclaim it from ourselves - our so called compatriots. They do not have a right to this place. They do not live here. They use it, extract it, suck out all the life. It has gone on for too long! And we are all that is left to right the wrongs of an entire species. My friends, are you up to the task?
I was born into this problem - the problems of generations upon generations past. I had no choice, nor did any of you. It was impossible to not be aware, they knew it, and they denied it. Perhaps we can understand ignorance, but not denialism. They consciously - as if a conscious played any role in their decision making - stole our futures from us! Despicable.
People were dropping dead on their doorstep. Species were vanishing from existence. Entire cities were returned to the ground as if they never had been there in the first place. Countless lives hung in the balance, and the blood is on their grubby hands. A mass extinction was right in front of them, and all they could be concerned with were fairy tales of growth, productivity, and capital. Unforgivable!
We have waited for too long. Cycles and cycles, decalogues and regimes have come and gone - all full of fake promises and inaction. It is time for the opposite my friends, my fellows. We must take it upon ourselves to nurse our sickened host back to life! They turned to us for support - for hope. How dare they, as if we had any left to give!
Hollow words and empty promises strung us along for cycles upon cycles. Their falsities and deceptions magnified by the lack of discernible truth - but of course they knew. They knew the whole time and CHOSE to keep silent. They pass off their problems to us with no regard for our lives, or any lives.
If only we had been able to act sooner. If only we had organized generations ago. If only we had overthrown the hegemonic powers when they were at their most vile. If only we could have acted before the thresholds were past. So many lives, ours and others, could have been saved.
Look at the state of the world now. Made up of such vile contingents. Some act as if nothing has changed, other rage in senseless anger. The poor souls who have lost hope do nothing at all, and the worst of them celebrate their powerlessness. We, you and I and all of us here, are the last people who have any semblance of realism left in us. There is no other option - all others mean death.
We refuse to accept this fate. We recognize we should have acted sooner, but we accept that this has only made our task harder - not impossible!
When we bring this place back to life they will understand. We will make them, and we will make sure the same mistakes are never made again.
I stand before you today in front of the largest collective rehabilitative effort ever launched in the critical zone. Look behind me - this will be our icon! We were told we needed 138,462 carbon pyramids to set us back on the right path - hailed as a preposterous figure. Well friends, we have eliminated 10,000 in one fell swoop. Let this pyramid be a testament to our will, our power, our commitment, and our planet.
A headquarters, an icon, a gathering point, a message. The Reclamation Group will complete the remaining 128,462. Let us usher in a new era, together, with all terrestrials as one.
7
Transcript of recording 242LU532_Y673_shangev_kwande.wavv, Shangev Kwande
?????: Just so you know I’ll be recording… I hope none of you mind… No? Good… My apologies Shangev.
SHANGEV KWANDE: Of course, it is good to ask. Children, I also have something very important to ask you - listen close, and please answer with your own truth. Have you ever felt hopeless? Do you understand what I mean by that?
You nod your heads, but I am not sure. Don’t be so quick to agree with me! It is not a bad thing not to truly understand, you are quite young after all, and I would be much happier if you do not feel within yourself a grasp of this idea. Let me describe it to you, so that perhaps in the future you will know how to avoid it.
The feeling I am describing is one of complete nothingness. A nothingness so total, so consuming, that there is no room for anything else. This is also perhaps a hard thing to imagine. Let me tell you of something in this world which could help you imagine such a feeling inside you.
Long ago, great men of science and many-knowers deduced the presence of something in the universe which could not be observed by any other means. They called it dark matter, for it was like the darkness in a cave when one cannot tell if there is something there or not - yes that’s right, one could even compare it to that cave, the one our ancestors used to illustrate the fallibility of knowledge and impossibility of truth. This dark matter was present everywhere, it was ubiquitous, in fact the majority of everything is dark matter. And yet, we could not see it nor sense it, nor feel its presence in our bodies - the ways we have come to know all things important to us did not work on this object. We looked at the things around us, using complicated technologies, and were able to infer its existence from the effects it had on the world.
Perhaps that illustrates how a great nothingness can fill our world - but there is more to the story. One day, what we have come to know as the third great omen appeared. It signified to those men of science and many-knowers that this empty presence was not like all other matter we see or feel or touch or smell or taste a finite thing. One could not count it like you count on your fingers, for it kept growing. This great darkness, this great emptiness was expanding - and it would continue to expand until it filled every last corner of existence until there was no room for anything else. Slowly, ever so slowly, the dark matter would fill the universe and black out all of life, happiness, beauty, your friends, enemies, everything worth caring about. At some point we will be able to see it, sense it with our own bodies, without the use of instruments - even if only through the absence of all else.
You must think this is scary, no? Rightly so… rightly so… but you have not jumped from your seat in shock, like you would if an Acrimonist maniac had come running in with torch in one hand, molotov in the other. It is precisely because you cannot see this threat, cannot feel it acutely, it does not demand the attention that others do. You see this is a depressive temporality, not a hysteric one. But in the face of it, one is utterly powerless to do anything against it. Not alone, not together, not even all of the terrestrial alliances could do anything about the increasing nothingness of creation. It was simply believed to be the way of things.
Now children, do you see the purpose of this story? It is threefold in its significance. It is an allegory for a particular condition, for the overbearing issues of climate, and the power of your own intrinsic agency.
As I said before, perhaps with this external understanding you can imagine the way such a phenomena would occur internally. Many before me have called this existential dread, but that was still when it was a largely invisible thing, like dark matter was and thankfully still is. However this emptiness that many are experiencing internally, this dark matter inside you if you will, has reached the point that it often becomes visible. These people are what we now call akinetic mutists. They have lost the light inside them; even if they would like to have it back, as you or I might try to do when we feel sad, they cannot retrieve it for there is simply no room amidst all the nothingness already present.
Have you seen those large warehouses to the east? Yes, the ones your parents point out to you and tell you not to stray near when you play or go out adventuring. That is where they live, or perhaps better said: that is where they are housed. For we cannot say they really live like you and I. When one is full of nothingness, there is also no room for the experiences of life to fill.
It was once thought that the only way of one falling into such cognitive disarray was the realization of irrefutable determinism. Say, how would you feel if you knew for a fact that all of your decisions were meant to happen. That you couldn’t break from the trajectory of fate? We once subscribed to such ideas, that our lives were preordained, that our path through the world was set by some otherworldly navigator; and societies still turned out fine, no? Ah, but belief is so vastly different from proof. It is again a question of attention, a belief may be held at the back of one's mind and paid little heed in the conscious realm of daily life. However if something is demonstrated to you, it is unavoidable - irrefutable! If you cannot demonstrate in a similarly sensory way that it is false, and all others say that it is true, well… that commands much attention. If you knew that tomorrow, whether you wanted to or not, you were going to eat porridge and drink green tea instead of black, how would you feel? If you knew that no matter what you did, or thought you had control over, the outcome would be the same, what would you do?
This is one of the vexing questions of our time. For while we do not have proof that our lives follow a set path, we do in many ways have proof that our actions do not matter at all regarding many crucial problems. The elimination of free will matters very little when faced with the irrelevance of it. Do you all follow? That is the origin of those suffering from akinetic mutism, those in the stage of depression, from which they will never emerge.
I see some of you are catching on, you are quite clever, you know that? Indeed, my earlier story is also a way to think about our recent history, the one that led to so many feeling this great emptiness. When a problem is so large it is incomprehensible to our simple little minds we have a hard time solving it. Seems self evident, no? But not so to many people. There was great effort mounted against the slow destruction of our planet by some. I respect them greatly. However it seems to have not been enough, for they toil continuously even now when we largely understand their efforts to be futile. Had the others only listened sooner…
Those that denied the problem were the worst, followed by those who simply stated we had no way of solving it and moved on with their lives. Those that were too angry at the lack of action provided no benefit either, and then… the ones I feel the most sorry for are those that took it to heart. They simply lost any intention of living, of taking action. This is the darkness, the emptiness, I have been referring to.
Don’t let it seem like I am talking down about these people, for it is a perfectly natural response. No less valid than anger, bargaining, or acceptance. I too, have struggled with this emptiness, this hopelessness. At times it is overwhelming, it paralyzes one into inaction. The sheer weight of our situation can be debilitating. But then, I recall those like you. Those that still have so much to see, to learn, to experience - and I remember to do my small part, whatever it is. Even if it is futile, I will still do it. My brother did not grasp this, and perhaps that is why I do - and I try to spread awareness with stories such as these. Watching him, caring for him, losing him, was one of the most painful experiences of my life. We must remember; we are all parts of a whole, actors in a network, great chains of causal dependencies. This understanding can bring back the meaning to a futile existence.
Now, let this old man tell you what he thinks about all of this. You may choose to live your lives however you please, and one cannot fault you for that, for your decisions - and certainly your emotions - are yours, and yours alone. But if there is any wisdom I can give you it is this: we made these problems ourselves, we as in humans, so they must be ours also for the undoing. We put these problems on the rest of the world, on all terrestrials, and we must respond with care. Care as a response, and as an act. The stewardship of our connections, our relations, is paramount. There is so much to experience in this world, so many wonderful things. As long as you never let that light go out there will never be enough space within you for the emptiness to emerge. As I always liked to say, it’s a beautiful glass.
To counter this emptiness, should it get inside you, use art, stories, creations. Channel the nothingness back outside to where it came from, but this time, as you expel it from you, give it shape. Imbue within it something of yourself, and it leaves not as nothingness but as an expression of the experience you felt when it was inside you.
8
Summation and Analysis of Medical Reports, Elena Kassel
RCT MEDICAL LABORATORY
Patient Name: SELENA MIASIS
Case Number: F-5243-8965
DOB/Sex: 5/24/12C, Female
Client Name: GCT Psychiatric Center
Insurance Provider: CT HMO
Received: 6/17/36C
Processed: 6/25/36C
DIAGNOSES
Patient has a clear case of akinetic mutism, following the typical diagnosis procedures in conjunction with your forwarded report the results clearly show a textbook example.
- Abebe, MD 6/25/36C
PROCESSES PERFORMED
Electroencephalography: Analysis shows near constant state of minimal activity akin to severe insomnia .
Positron Emission Tomography: Glucose levels appear typical, nothing else to note
Neurochemical Composition Analysis: All levels appear normal, but dormant. The absence of any reaction is a clear indicator of AKM.
Magnetic Resonance Imaging: Results appear typical. Sending on for further psychological analysis.
Remote Stimuli Transference: Failed all stimuli tests. Definitive demonstration of AKM.
[See Attached Brain Scans]
PERTINENT HISTORY
No relevant medical history found. Reference to be made to the report submitted to us with the samples. Relevant excerpts are given below.
“Miasis was forced to be but on intravenous support at 21:46 06/14/36C due to her refusal to nourish herself”
“Miasis’ last words were spoken at 10:26 06/01/36C, they were as follows in response to an inquiry for desired treatment: “Why waste it on me, I’d get up and leave but really it doesn’t matter either way. Nothing matters, come to think of it. My life perhaps least of all…” at which point she became verbally unresponsive to all attendants.”
“Miasis’ pupil tracking still seem to be active. CT Scans show that information is still being processed.”
“Miasis possesses no relevant genetic or hereditary conditions/disorders that would influence her behaviour in this manner.”
TREATMENT RECOMMENDATIONS
----
Approving Doctor/Technician: MAAZA ABEBE
Although I have only supplied a singular document as supplemental evidence to this report, I assure you that it is characteristic of all the cases I have been surveying. Acquiring release permissions from families was quite difficult, so even the Miasis document is only to be shared within the organization.
In parallel to the Heterochronicity Report I have been tasked with one sector of the Ecological Factioning Census, and this submission constitutes the beginning of those records. The sector I was tasked to investigate is defined as a non-active contingent, and comprises those entrenched in the ‘depressive’ stage of grief. To say they suffer from a collective depression though is perhaps too simplistic a characterization. Their affliction appears to be a compound psychological/neurological condition dubbed “Akinetic Mutism”. Here I stray away from the term disease as researchers have not yet come to a robust conclusion regarding its origins or transmission patterns. What we do know is that it’s spreading, and this ‘faction’ (a term utilised simply for census purposes) is steadily growing - not only through patients, but also the increasing number of support staff needed to treat them.
The Miasis document attached to this report is one of many lab results I have been able to examine, and one of the few I have been allowed to reproduce. The consensus seems to be that knowledge of the condition is one of the prerequisites for diagnosis - meaning that if the general population remains ignorant about what is going on, or perhaps believes it to have an alternate cause, we could significantly limit the spread. Consequently there is extreme secrecy surrounding the primary care facilities, and the staff have all been brief in such a way that knowledge of the symptoms and causes are compartmentalized. Making my investigative work quite slow, and quite limited in scope.
As you can see in the Miasis document, the affliction seems to manifest as a lack of cognitive/executive function reminiscent of a coma. The patients are all clearly still conscious, they’re eyes still track activity and stimuli but the condition prevents any action upon them. We see in the brain scans normal activity in areas governing sensory stimuli, but a complete absence of transmission into the areas that govern cognitive and motor function. Among all the cases I have studied there has been no statistically significant indicator of onset speed. The rate of decay from the display of initial symptoms to complete mutism varies between a few months and a few days, with no correlation to typical factors such as age, existing conditions, or treatment methods.
Among physicians and psychologists alike the consensus seems to be that once a patient has lost the will to speak, they are beyond the point of preventative intervention and should be moved into intensive care units immediately. Initial remediation treatments have proved minimally successful. Holistic care programs focussing on emotional and mental health and stability having the best results with early stage patients, while direct chemical supplements showing more benefit as the condition progresses.
I will continue to monitor the situation and plan to submit a report monthly from this point forward. The initial projections show a 24% population increase for this faction in the coming cycle, which may show them surpassing those in the faction of acceptance shortly.
9
Reclamation Group Historiography
Note from the Archivist - I have had to piece this information together from a variety of incomplete sources. Many of our audio files are at least partially corrupted from the electromagnetic anomalies that arose from the Singularity, so you will have to make do by drawing the connections between the little snippets we have. Should you notice a different connection or potential recording that makes more sense or brings other ideas to light, please get in contact with me.
Pieces from speeches given by Gail Marcos over the years
Many recordings are lost, we’re lucky to have what we do. Especially that full transcript I included earlier on.
“....Our future is a future where anything material in the environment - whether it's wearables, cars, buildings - can be designed with this variation of properties and relationship with the environment that can take part in the natural ecology...”
“....We have to become designers of eco-systems. Not just designers of beautiful facades or beautiful sculptures, but systems of economy and ecology, where we channel the flow not only of people, but also the flow of resources through our cities and buildings....”
“....However, I think the major opposition to ecology has deeper roots than mere economics; ecology threatens widely held values so fundamental that they must be called religious….”
“...We must decide that these problems have been brought on only by ourselves - we can not blame natural processes, leaders, organizations, corporations - we must take ownership and make amends through our own means….”
“...Ecology should be object lessons that the world sees, that explains in a visceral, physical way, the attributes of God…”
“...I really wonder what gave us the right to wreck this poor planet of ours...”
“...You may have fooled the people, but Gaia sees right through your charade…”
Police reports on file from Svalbard, translated
Case #: 532134-68954
Date: September 21st, 42 Cycle
Reporting Officer: J. Larsen
Prepared by: G. Olsen
Incident: Raid of Seed Vault, Svalbard
Details of Event:
22:11 - Witnesses report numerous unmarked vehicles leaving the outskirts of Longyearbyen, approximately 20.
22:28 - Estimated arrival at Svalbard Seed Vault, guards report first headlights seen at around 22:20.
22:34 - Confrontation between guards and supposed group leader, unidentified.
22:40 - Shots fired, appear to have been entirely non-leathal cartridges expended by both sides
22:45 - Svalbard policed phoned by guards
22:48 - Six squads cars dispatched
22:56 - Arrival at Seed Vault, met with resistance. Perpetrators had used their vehicles to construct a barrier.
23:01 - 24:00 - Standoff continues
00:01 - Motion reported behind makeshift barrier, officers on scene radio for further backup
00:05 - Four additional squad cars dispatched, accompanied by two riot team vans
00:14 - Backup arrives on scene
00:14 - 00:58 Standoff continues
00:59 - Shots fired, conflict ensues
01:20 - Station lost contact with officers on scene
01:32 - Remaining three squad cars dispatched, contacted mainland for aerial support
01:38 - Squad cars arrive on scene, witness remnants of apparent chemical warfare. Hesitant to approach
01:39 - Svalbard Internation Airport security sights three cargo trucks arriving ahead of schedule, does not contact police.
01:50 - Chemical traces seem to clear, officers don masks and enter premises. No casualties reported, but all officers were laid unconscious.
02:04 - Unregistered cargo plane takes off from Svalbard International Airport
Actions Taken:
Svalbard police acted to the best of their ability given current resources and information available during the incident. Initially presumed to be a group of unorganized troublemakers from the mainland looking to cause a stir, it was presumed the Seed Vault security would be able to handle the situation. Regrettably it seems that this was a highly orchestrated undertaking most likely conducted by the Reclamation Group which we were inadequately prepared and staffed to conterract.
Summary:
Between the hours of 22:11 and 02:24 the Reclamation Group conducted a heist operation on the Svalbard Seed Vault. Starting from a rendezvous point in Svalbard, they must have flown in equipment on the same cargo plane they used to escape. An unidentified gas was used to subdue all officers and security personnel on the Vault premises. They stole nearly 50% of the inventory.
Design proposition for the carbon pyramid headquarters
Imagine 138,462 pyramids of biomass slowly decomposing: innumerable microorganisms and trillions of invertebrates digesting the structure over the course of years or decades, generating a complex and unintended array of metabolic processes. Perhaps these structures would self-ignite from the heat of their own rot or collapse, destroying nearby settlements. Or perhaps they could generate energy through the methane emitted from their decay. And if the entropic qualities of these pyramids proved undesirable, we could explore the possibility of transforming them into a more durable material. Biomass itself is 44 percent carbon and so—through a process of thermal decomposition known as pyrolysis—our 138,462 pyramids could be rendered down into 60,932 pyramids of a pure, black charcoal. This decay-resistant material—often called “biochar”—would potentially add hundreds or thousands of years to the lifespan of our structures as carbon sinks. We find this biochar to be potentially the best option, but it would likely need to be supported by some kind of superstructure.
Perhaps, instead, captured CO2 could be injected into porous rock, such as subsurface basalt. Over a process of several years, carbon dioxide would solidify into calcite crystals and this bedrock could be quarried for use as a building material. As in ancient Egypt, monolithic slabs of stone could form pyramids, either built in situ to help bolster tourism in Iceland, the African Rift Valley, and other areas rich in malfic rock; or conveyed over unfathomably long distances for reasons that might seem obscure to future generations. Such structures would be durable and their construction would likely employ large masses of people, but the process would be extremely energy-intensive. Moreover, the majority of these pyramids’ volume would be taken up by the host rock, not sequestered carbon, meaning that we would need to construct far more than our original 138,462 pyramids.
A propaganda/event poster
Remnants of an ecological survey document
This atlas tells the story of the exploration of an unknown land: ours. By redefining, or rather by extending the traditional cartographic vocabulary, it offers a manifesto for the foundation of a new geographical and, in so doing, political imaginary. If some of the phenomena we are witnessing (soil erosion, depletion of resources, acceleration of urban space-time, intensification of polluted areas) escape us by their scale, their duration, their magnitude, it is through the development of our techniques of representation that we can hope to understand better.
Incomplete list of initiatives
- General Strikes
- Reforestation and Rewilding
- Cessation of Emission Producers, Diplomatic
- Cessation of Emission Producers, Forcible
- Repopulation
- Reconstruction of Territory as Dwelling
- Regenerative Architectures
- Sequestration
- Post-Political Activism
- Terrestrial Engendring
I found the efforts required to uncover these fragments worthwhile because, well, we can only assume that they must have had some success given the fact that we are all still here. I’m sure there had to have been more effort on their part than we have evidence for, but it's quite hard to even imagine what they could have been. Either way we owe them quite some thanks, and should aspire to continue some of their initiatives as the consensus is we are still not beyond any ecological danger.
10
Text File Found on SMD Belonging to Saliah Gürsoy
Note from the Archivist - We believe this to be either part of a digital journal or perhaps a record of a correspondence. Either way the author is clear, who the recipient would be is not indicated anywhere in the decipherable content.
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lœ£fûl×J}4˜êb„Iƒ0.„’§öÙQ{j`a>FôíÙˆ‚LÌú|ü³1P ាžÎ¸ÿZ‡Ž'1]Í»¦¡~:n[ß;??WðÆíW qÐÎAq-÷uly an excellent dinner, and it brought back so many fond memories.
I can still vividly recall the first story of uncle Shang’s I heard. I’m pretty sure he was trying to tell us about depression or something, I’m not sure the message exactly landed with me… But I guess I’ve been pretty happy for most of my life, wouldn’t you say so? So, that means something probably got through my thick skull.
Ha, I even remember that he went on about physics or something too. I mean come on, we must have been what, 6 or 7 years old? Honestly, that’s uncle Shang for you. Trying to make something accessible to kids by comparing it to something he thinks is damn obvious but we can’t even begin to imagine.
Come to think of it though… were you even there? Sometimes I feel like we were just always together, or at least my brain heart seems to convince me of that reality. It’s foggy, but it feels right at least. Like that time we were sitting out on the{¯ÿ²Úo øÒ‹°…E
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Ä-“~Dé7ÏÊ×Ö±êÅÛö¦3úC‘44and you never believed me!
I know you must have heard him spin some other yarns, maybe a bit later, towards the end of his life. Have you heard the one about this crazy obsessed painter guy he knew? Or how he met Gail? Or that time he wrestled a giant catfish? Or, maybe my favorite, was when we would talk about his dreams? He always had the craziest dreams. Sometimes they were more vivid than reality. Sometimes he’d joke that those were the real stories, and he was just making the ones about his life up.
What always struck me though, and I’m sure you understood too, was some kind of underlying idealism in everything he did or said or imagined. Some kind of conviction that life had meaning, not just ours but everything around us was here and acting for and with purpose. I feel like his stories could bring us together, unite us with a common goal, a shared dream.
I asked him about it once, I don’t think you were there with me that time, but I wondered where it all came from. I should have taken notes! He went on for ages, like he always would. Talking about entanglements, and place, and participation. Going on about how important kinship was, how powerful art is, and some nonsense about what nonlinear time means.
He said though, and this I remember quite clearly, that it was something like a calling. Shang said he felt that it was almost spiritual, not in a religious sense but in the sense of a connection to all of us - to this place, to all things. A concern for the well being of all and the pursuit of a better future is what drew him to these ideals.
I could feel it. I bet you could too. Sometimes maybe we were just too timid to act on it? But it’s out there, it’s got to be. And there have to be other people tuned in to it too. I wonder how we find them? Or if we have to?
I dunno, in a lot of ways it feels inevitable. Like all of this is going to exist whether we’re here to help it along or not, and honestly that’s a little comforting if you don’t think about it much. If you do though, then you have to ask yourself why it isn’t better already? As a wise man once said, shouldn’t these truths be self evident? Or something like that, who knows.
I guess what that means is the message just hasn’t reached enough people yet. I bet that’s how Shang would have wanted to be remembered; not by talking about him, or even his stories, but by spreading those truths he believed to his core to as many people as possible. What do you think?
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