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VII.

I looked outside toward the station. Some of the robots were making their way through the crowd toward the train. The sound of the shifting carts was like lightning striking, and it shook me awake again as they made their way through the crowd. I have loved machines since I learned of their existence growing up they had always gotten better and smarter with me. Semi-autonomous beings fabricated completely to mimic organic life. Autonomous Minds which were now fine tuned into some of the most terrifying and useful allies the planet has ever seen. They keep balance and even then have changed the world order. Their presence now sensed as they enter on board followed by larger construction models. Some smaller ones crept in as well, all of which are likely being sent to the moon station for further assembly and repair of the nexus. These were Robots while some of the only beings actually able to operate virtually everywhere without major risks, they operate under the control of an AM. They lived and operated these shell bodies which they could swap between whenever necessary.

The machines were larger than the average person and could function physically in ways beyond the natural and biological as well. They had built their own designated areas onboard the train, so that they could connect to the larger network, receive tasks, and easily depart by moving around without disrupting most of the local populis. These machines felt like giants in comparison to me. They towered over most of the city or around buildings in various shapes and sizes, sometimes they wake up, and are then taken away, each looked as if they had a different task separate to that of the nexus.

Sometimes they were bipedal but more often than not the tops of their “bodies” were split down the center as if they housed something in the middle. “User units” some were shells piloted by ghosts somewhere around the city and most of the time you have to have your own hardware to really take control of the unit. Maybe the AMs carried teams together for larger tasks like ants? These all looked different, newer, lights and sensors cover the top sections of them each where any eyes would be a polycarbonate shielding covers their sensors, each facing in a different direction. This one was unique normally they usually only had one appendage on both sides of their torso like human arms, while this one they had two side appendages for lifting and moving objects. This one was a unique red color with grey accents. Someone was inside this one.

VIII.

More days passed. Workers, laborers, and city dwellers began flooding the cabins further and further as shifts were began to end, and the city now about to come alive again with the night. The sun crept on the horizon which meant that once again the moment had arrived to leave. Most of those that live within the city almost always worked for the government, or was contracted by a corporation. Little space in-between for free agents. Corps as entities however strong they were had just enough power to rival the federation and even bully some of the local municipalities if they had really wanted to do something like that (they do). Most of them never worried about revolt or dissatisfaction amongst workers because of how replaceable they had made them, they keep the trapped in little township systems like the ones down south in San Gabriel. The issues were that these days the corporations do not usually do the right thing while some do, others abuse the powers they have been granted, or taken, for further gains squeezing everyone else in the middle. Outside of the government racket the city suffers more because of these decisions, less money flows in and everything isn’t maintained the way it used to be they’re all sending the money somewhere else.

Most of the people working have no skill sets they sell their lives and time and whatever else that they can further leverage tokens to make any sort of capital to begin with. Some of the agents work for those that remember others are left to toil in this matrix. Not to mention how much was siphoned off from living expenses and sometimes vices everyone finds life very comfortable within these walls. Many people like to talk and blame themselves for not doing more to have more capital and wealth, but it sometimes seems like they’re trapped within their own realm too and can’t find a way out either. So I am stuck living and don’t know where to start these days. Living like this seems to be ingraining itself further into my own culture.

I sat a run down bar that I normally go to around the block not too close to my place but just far enough that I can wait around before catching the train out. I found a seat, wore leather and tables rubbed to shine, it felt old but the drinks were always cheap because they didn’t keep up with the place. I ordered some noodles. People hustle with people trying to fix their problems their businesses get into and try to get by through trading parts and pieces for necessities, whatever they can get their hands on and whoever needs things done they connect the people. Just then, Someone sat next to me and then turned their head and looked toward me,

“Hey,” they said.

“Hey,” I said back.

They didn’t open their mouth their eyes glowing slightly when the thoughts moved over. They lived in the same block as me. Their clothes still looked fresh, like they had money and lived comfortably enough metal synthetics and cybernetics that looked chrome and shined from the Light Emitting Diodes.

“Starting the night shift?” They asked. Their eyes scanning me and my body in a trance, waiting for response, I nodded as I locked eyes with them.

Most of my neighbors didn’t know what I did as a source of income, but knew that whatever I did, I did well enough to get paid decently. I am lucky to have learned so much programming and hardware design on my own to just have software that people pay me for to license. These days most of the information is trapped behind fire walls and that thing. I couldn’t imagine what it would be like trying to get through all of the security to access data, and still be able to work. They make the system impossible to navigate moving the goal once you’ve finally reached the finish line.

IX.

Years ago I once told myself, “When I finished my certificates I’ll also be able to apply to colonize the outer-zone, or at least sell years on the Nexus.” I’ve decided that it would be better for me than trying to stay here. I kept thinking this time was lost because the journey is nothing if it isn’t spent with anyone you actually want to spend it with. That feels especially true since you left this place doesn’t feel the same.

Your unit was a few doors down from mine, I see you walking by sometimes, smiling and introducing yourself to me and I couldn’t help but stare into your eyes. My mind went back to a memory of that job, I worked inside the city center too, while I had to do market analysis for a company. They tried to explain the necessity of bringing a product to a consumer had ended, and how now the market helps the economy flourish through increased sales and cultural hegemony through corporate to corporate sales. I nodded and waited for them to finish. It took about fifteen minutes before I could say anything. Certainly the sales person I see, I said. They blushed, It shows I guess.

The time came once again, and the city began to shift changing into night as sun burned away what ever hours were left as it dipped further and further toward the horizon. The gas from the building boiled off the chimney tops, I looked around then grabbed my bag and put it onto my lap. There was a person nearby coming up from section D of the city, they said their name was “Mars,” and their parents had been scholars of the old empires. A great civilization that had grew, stagnated, and collapsed from the weight of indifference and corruption. Mars like Aries was the god of war, but we haven’t seen a war in almost two decades The event pushed us further into the future as a society despite our differences, secret wars. Most if not all disputes were still settled within a court of peers and representatives tribunals. Mars told me it was nice to finally meet you, and then settled back into their holotec with eyes glowing.

The train was large enough that the space had two separate stories for passengers and cargo. The metal lines and fuzzy plush cushions made everything feel fresh still couldn’t imagine what it takes to keep all this clean. But each train had enough room to fit single transport on board without too much of a struggle with the luggage or items. The insides of the machine had seen better days but was well maintained, a master work of engineering, generally everyone showed the space some of the respect material deserved.

Anyone who didn’t follow the social contract was quickly ousted at the next stop shoved off board and left to fend for themselves against the police, and whom ever made them their next target had a problem, if they weren’t registered or couldn’t defend themselves they usually ended up somewhere else. I remember sitting down in that moment lost in thought, watching the cityscape pass with its Tetris like shapes, and then someone began yelling on the floor above, and shouted about city as they walked by an old woman sitting down.

At first, everyone seemed a bit reluctant to help as if they didn’t want to have to intervene and that the situation would somehow manage to fix itself, everyones eyes shifting to one another as if trying move the weight of responsibility with their eyes. That moment caught everyone by surprise the sun was high in the air that day, somewhere in the middle of the day, so bright the light made everyone watching feel awkward.

They didn’t stop yelling, and something within the crowd snapped, and fight broke out between passengers. A fist swung first stopping the man who shouted before he got louder, and the group grabbed the yelling man while another tried to hit him again. There was something obviously wrong with him, he might have been drunk or something… maybe drugs.

But, as he kept on he insisted that he wasn’t the problem, and the problem came from society itself. We had somehow let ourselves become soulless eaten up by the internet and worldly desires, yet he chose a single old woman to her displeasure was the wrong women to impose these beliefs upon. The situation felt absurd, no matter how much support was offered the point he was trying to make felt wrong. The woman wore gold and some of the best cybernetic synthetics money could buy.

The crowd purged him at the cost of stopping the entire train something came over a man standing nearby started more of a commotion I had managed to peak from around the corner. Everyone had to get into a newly assigned train compartments, while the two passengers were left to settle their differences on the concrete. The men seemingly fighting now to no avail, him yelling about, “why they would feel the need to defend people like that?” as a metal fist met his face cracking some bone the sound of fighting as the man became overwhelmed by this unrelenting force before silence.

An air-horn could be heard echoing in the distance bouncing between buildings and frames. The warning that it was entering the next section of the city at a rapid pace, and the single light in the front of the train cut through the dark of the city rolling down the tracks in a steady hustle, the size of the buildings sometimes eclipsing the light of the Sun. The time spent traveling to center of the city was cut down immensely with the introduction of magnetic lift tubes connecting the newer models and older routes.

The ground rumbled to the beat of the tracks shaking, the sheer weight of the machine felt like everything was going to collapse under force of movement and speed. Seeing the machine parts of the city were maintained because of all work that the system maintains, knowing that made me feel safer. Knowing that we collectively could have figured out a way to establish stations, build the trains, plan routes and infrastructure with the help of this machine gave me a little hope that things would start to turn improve for the better not just for some people.

The doors opened and moved my cycle onto an empty rack space and locked it. I followed the crowds coming in toward the seating inside the cabin. Row by row the interior was filled in by a variety of consorts attempting to venture into the inner city limits. I always tried to sit by the window to make sure I could see the city shift and change as we got closer to the center of town. This was still the community no matter how fractured, the regulars and visitors, everyone for the most part tried to make room for each other. If you rode the metro transit long enough you begin to tell who is always on board and who is just passing through. We get a lot of people “just passing through” as they try to get shipped into space.

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Life can make nightmares feel like a dream worth having, and sometimes in those dreams the only thing we find ourselves wanting is to have another chance for us to wake up.

Johann grumbled making noises in bed, before his eyes snapped open, exhaling quickly a breath of air, before trying to pull in air again. He sat up trying to force air into his lungs, to get over the helplessness, he waited for the feeling to be released. He woke up each time the dreams happened. Those moments marked the beginning of an ordeal. Moving around slowly in the dark, he began to dress, piss, shower, take some pills, until finally he was able to sip on black coffee at his desk. He looked at financial documents, scrolling through news, as he monitored the situation that morning.

At first, the crimes just seemed like arson and random violence, the news just reported the fires were from the dry season and climate change. But, something was wrong. These people would appear in the night with a strange look in their eyes. Anyone that saw them would be taken and have been missing ever since. The only videos online showed live streams of people recording them coming out at night to wreak havoc. The people of the streets have almost entirely vanished.

. . .

That day was crisp and fresh. The air bit at your skin and the breeze became frigid which took away any warmth. Johann found himself standing at a bus stop unmoored looking through his phone. The bus pulled up and broke the silence when the breaks hissed. The station now flooded with the rumble of feet atop the floorboard which ached, moaned, and creaked under the pressure. A cadence of people blended in the sounds of San Francisco and the chatter of departed guests. That month was colder than usual. Nothing changed for him except the dreams became more frequent. His fingers kept swiping right, frantically, trying to find the next body to hold onto. Delicate chirps drifted in and out as air carried the sparrows onto and off the power lines outside the window of his apartment building. That sunday the air spirited away anything good left behind. The earth shivered and shook the rooms and buildings. Under pressure the cracks showed in his psyche, how desperately he tried to cope with decisions, and how limited his options were now.

A quick exchange with a woman on the bus demonstrated this to him that afternoon, at first he tried to be friendly and yet nothing. As cold as ice, he tried to be direct, but still dead on arrival. Yet, she responds to friends. These thoughts rattled in his mind as he struggled to come to a conclusion.

. . .

The doorbell rang over and over in triplets that morning. Her fingers crushed the doorbell button as fast as they could, and she pushed it in as far as it could go. She stood at the entrance of the apartment, lost in thought, racing, silently cursing. Her plight received some pity as another resident finally let her into the apartment complex. Summer scorched the earth and the heat of the sun had just begun to burn off the mist of dawn, so the sunlight gave everything a cold, bright, and sterile feeling in San Francisco. The light filled the streets like fluorescent bulbs bleaching the world in a white light. A cadence of footsteps echoed down the hall then filled the empty apartment with a soft click as the lock tumbled open…

“I thought you cared!” She screamed as the door slammed shut.

“What?” He screamed back getting ready to leave.

“Are you stupid or just pretending to not know now like you always do?” She waited.

“I told you, I had a meeting, you couldn’t be here during work… I don’t have time for this anymore. You need to go now. Get out of my apartment” His eyes met her eyes.

“You think you can throw me away like I am trash? Who was that?!” She cried.

He looked away.

She said, “I did what you wanted.”

Then the room got quiet. He looked away too.

“You can’t even look at me, monster!” She erupted.

“I’m going to be late for work.” He grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward the door.

“Don’t touch me.” She pulled herself out of his grasp as he tried to grab her.

She slammed the door on his hand as she ran, knocked a photo off the wall which broke as it hit the floor.

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That night was darker than usual, howls echoed, dogs cried and stampeded through the tiny streets packed with rows of cars. A sound pierced through the chaos, sirens, broadcasts, you could feel whatever it was in your skull, so around 3:41 am everything went to Hell.

He felt like he was being drowned in black tar, boiled slowly, and consumed. Something deep within this particular man was broken, but it only manifested itself in his dreams. These pains which could only be described as if someone had flayed him open from neck to toe, skinning him like a deer, changed him now, wendigo. These dreams, which he saw nothing, were deafened like a silent film. He watched trapped inside himself as that hole got bigger, ripping him open from within. He completely disappeared into this feeling, like slipping between worlds, time was irrelevant now.

. . .

A loud thud came from the floor below. No doorbell, just a ceaseless rhythm. Candy, again? We hadn’t spoken in months. The noise behind the door was getting louder. That couldn’t be Candy. His eyes panicked and searched for any sign of light. Now, the cadence had erupted into a violent pounding. His fingers fumbled in the dark, angrily, he flicked the lamp light switch back and forth to no avail. He raced off the bed, still in pajamas, he scrambled across the floor of the dark room, and frantically searched for a way to defend himself. He found a metal flashlight which had fallen and managed to turn it on.

. . .

The air felt thick, heavy, and wet. A cry broke the silence. He looked out the window and watched the dark until he was stopped and stared at the window pane. She broke through the glass.

. . .

Instantly, debris sprayed everywhere which cut the silence. Blood dripped from his lesions and it was now barely visible to him. She reached her hands inside. Her laugh echoed out as her fingers curled around the broken edges of the window. She dug her nails into the wood as she pulled through the hole.

. . .

She caught his arm before it could even hit, and squeezed his forearm until it broke. His screams sounded like a dying animal. Her nails peeled away his forearm. She snapped, ripped, then pulled some of his arm off the bone effectively removing his appendage and created a sharp stump. He made a wet sound as she dropped him to the floor.

. . .

The stale white light filled the kitchen as a dark liquid spread around the room. What’s left of the man now convulsed on the floor, violently, changing. She towered over him. Her fingers floated until they came across a photo lying face down on the counter top. A substance dripped from her eyes still soaked from bits of meat and blood. She stared before her feet crushed the glass that littered the room. Her bloodied footsteps marked the floor as she pushed through the locked door, which fell in an instant, freeing her.

. . .

His eyes now cracked open. A new vessel to see the world. The pools underneath him now a solid black. He wandered into the bathroom of the apartment and looked at the reflection of a creature he no longer recognized. A black liquid dripped from his eyes as it got under his skin now too, trembling. He lifted the broken arm, and he screamed helplessly as he slammed the stump into the mirror. Blood splattered itself about the painted room as he tried desperately to go back and wake up from this nightmare.

. . .

He struggled to breathe; he choked on the liquid filling his lungs as it splattered everywhere each breath. He tore apart anything in front of him frantically searching. The substance flowed out of his eyes which appeared now as cracks in his face. His eyes now wildly searched for the memories, which began to rapidly fade away and gave way to an excruciating pain that overtook everything.

Finally, his fingers found what they were searching for and wrapped around a bloody photo, which crumbled inside of his fist. Violently trembling, he tried to scream, he was never going to wake up. He dropped the photo of a man with a child on his shoulders and a woman as he lost control. The squelching could be heard from outside the building as he ran into the darkness of the streets below screaming a name

.

I.

As I laid in bed, I could hear the rhythm of rain beating down atop the roof, its tempo crushed, pushed by gravity. The frost soaked the thin panes of glass atop the windows and crept more and more over the only source of nature light from the ceiling. Each day now have been gradually brighter lights and whiter walls and white ceilings. My fingers and toes had a numbness that even triple ply sheets couldn’t warm, an hour had passed as I stared in silence for a while, watching the ceiling get brighter until it is finally the day. A quick thought passes by, “living gets easier to do when you have nothing left to live for,” but at the same time when you’ve lost your place in your own world I try to whisper back as I listened to the rain drops falling on the head of ventilation tubes above my head and nod back to sleep. Their metal witch hats slowly dripping onto the corrugated iron roof. The rusted roof of the building which was a few decades old now held, for now, ice hitting the windows in a greater force than before, my eyes looking at the sliding beads on glass as it melted from the warm inside. My mind wandered from place to place, between memories, my eyes darting amongst the things I was comfortable with inside hell and the glimpses of the life I wanted and the friends I have, and that I just have to start again. What I could see from the small gaps silently slipped between the gaps of memories, and I now dreading the thought of having to pull myself out of these feelings again. Pushed harder, finding motivation when you’re not sure what direction is the right direction to take in life, but there was calling, in some ways I didn’t care if I died anymore but I felt powerless walking alone up a stairwell to heaven or hell.

The bathroom was cold and aged, ceramic and grout filled the cracks that could hold water this place felt as if the life had been slowly sucked out of it over the years. The owners hadn’t bothered to keep up. Forgetting the old world, their parents and how things ‘ought to be. This room felt as if life has moved on from here, yet I am still here, and in that moment I just grabbed myself to try to hug what was there.

Over the years everything around has become different, nicer, ready for the new people buying the parts of the city that were renovated and “fixed” this place is different.That’s life my mother and father would say, but the life I wanted was different, so once again rain on my parade. I’m not trying to get emotional in that way, but things have changed. This is the city. But, this was the culmination of experiences that made me grow up. Here I’ve become an adult, and despite this place becoming colder than ever before from the world and I more weary of it.
As relative as the term “adult” is, I just feel older, I am awake now, I see the patterned and then again the things that I used to do don’t feel the same. I mean I’d like to think I’m still that same kid inside, the same person that’s family is from San Gabriel, but I’ve seen more than I’ve wanted to, and I just don’t think age makes you into an adult.

My eyes met the mirror that housed my reflection each section of my face different now and slimmer, even my face doesn’t feel the same, I tried to smile. My teeth met with a metal grin. My hair blacker now I have changed my stack, switching between what I want to see and what I admire.

It’s my last year in university, and I don’t know what I am going to do now. It doesn’t feel like I have as many options anymore. The War is raging full force. My parents are gone. You’re gone. I’m just supposed to get an actual “job” some “career” I can “live” off of, even though I am making enough doing what I do now. Yet, I can’t but feel incredibly upset about it all, while I hate the use of the word something within me is deeply unsatisfied, yet life has continued.

When people ask me what I’ve got planned I just give them a list of things that I might want to do, but maybe not what I am going to do. Somethings I am definitely going to do that I just won’t say. That’s why I am here, in some sense, things have been changing because of me, and I am beyond adolescence. I know what’s been going on in the world, I have for a long time now yet now I am participating in all of these actors games, and I feel like I just don’t have enough resources to do anything besides watch what happens.

The planet is dying, we have lost all clarity as to what we should be doing for the future, and my favorite show was canceled. Many people are deciding to sign contracts and go off world.I’ve been getting headaches randomly lately, they feel like a punch in the face, but what comes after is usually so much worse. It’s like floored my body tenses up so much that I can barely breathe let alone move.

Things get blurry and I wrapped my fingers around the sides of the sink as my toothbrush sat on the corner. I stared at the synthetic bristles sticking out of the carved bamboo body. I felt my body get limp as I tried to reconnect the neurons and force myself back here. I thought about teeth for a while, and I picked up the brush to wash my own. It was fascinating how many new sets of teeth have manage to find their way to Earth. Different species, mutated organisms, parasites, beings totally alien even by earthling standards have found a new life here. Green tea tooth paste is my favorite, and it makes it easier to repeat the process.

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Part one:

The Echtrae Nerai may be read as a melding of the predominant cultural beliefs of the tribes and peoples roaming the isles in the pre-roman period which during the melding period of monk monasteries and Christendom. The traditions held by the medieval Irish and Gaelic tribes during Samhain began to fuse with the Roman Christian colonizers’ biblical ideology when creating translations of orally held myths, which Echtra Chonlai is.

The period Samhain, economically speaking, represented a shift into the final new quarter of the year; however, the day is also time in which the boundaries that separate the “other” world, or fairy world, from our own physical plane of reality. Whatever aligns occur allow for a weakened barrier between our world and the world that sits on top of the visible light spectrum world. Through the use of portals individuals or entities were allowed easier passage between worlds, one of the most famous being “the cave of the cat”or the portal to hell.

The story takes place during this transitory period and alludes to many of the commonly held beliefs and practices of that time. By closely examining this text, its structure, syntax, and the allusions made within the story help provide a better understanding of the narrative of Echtrae Nerai and its intent. This translation of Echtrae Nerai was made by Kuno Meyer and was used for the interpretation of this text. The text has been transcribed from an orator, to a manuscript, and then translated creating shifts in the linguistic form causing the interpretations of the text to be debated. The arguments are centered around the structure of the narrative versus what it is saying. By examining the narrative structurally, there are two arguments which seek to understand the narrative one in parts and the other as a whole. The first focuses on the structure of the narrative as having distinct episodes separate of each other. The second states that the tale is constructed through use of time paradoxes to explain its narrative, which are pivotal and cannot be omitted. Through examining both aspects of the debate a better understanding of the text’s cohesion and dissonance can be attained in its relation to its medieval audience. The structure is vital to understand the references included within the narrative as it shifts between the cultural festivities of Samhain, Halloween, and the depictions of the otherworld.

The story begins on a Halloween night, or Samhain, and the protagonist Nera agrees to tie a “withe” around the foot of a hanged corpse outside for a reward. However, “demons would appear on that night always,” this depiction reiterates the medieval held beliefs of Samhain as being a time in which boundaries between our worlds are weakened (Meyer p.215,1889). The following lines depict the “captive” speaking to Nera despite being a corpse. The story focuses on the use of the term “demons” to describe what comes out at night during this time, but the audience would still be aware of these beings as part of the other world. The corpse in return for the favor provided to Nera requests a drink with him, Nera accepts, and the story seemingly continues. However, at this point in the story that a scene change occurs as Nera takes the corpse on his back toward nearby homes (Meyer p.217, 1889). The corpse can be interpreted as either a “demon” or death incarnate as described in the story and it is alluded to previously because of time in which this occurs. The next scene highlights certain traditions during Samhain that the audience is potentially aware of as good or bad practices given of how the scene ends. The first house which is described as having, “A lake of fire round that house” denies Nera entry then corpse replies with, “there is no fire without sparing in it ever” (Meyer p.217, 1889). The audience may interpret this as proper housekeeping warding off the dead from entering the home, and as a good practice during Samhain.

The following two houses directly contrast each other both with opposite outcome and practices. The second house has a lake of water around it preventing them from entering the home. The corpse states, “there is never a washing-nor a bathing-tub, nor a slop-pail in it at night after sleeping” (Meyer p.217, 1889). This may have been interpreted by the audience as a good practice because it prevents illness (and bacteria) from spreading because the still water is removed from the home and isn’t reused or tainted stopping death from literally and metaphorically entering the house. The third house is does not follow the practices of the former and they enter. The corpse, “then drinks a draught of either of them and scatters the last sip from his lips at the faces of the people that were in the house, so that they all died” (Meyer, p.217, 1889). From this point it would become clear to the audience that this scene is a cautionary tale highlighting the foreshadowing within the scene. The narrator then reiterates this part of the tale as the origin of these traditions, “henceforth it is not good (to have) either a tub for washing or bathing, or a fire without sparing, or a slop-pail in a house after sleeping” (Meyer, p.217, 1889). The scene ends as Nera puts the corpse back at the gallows and returns to Cruachan.

It is at this point that the structure of narrative is debated by its interpreters, for example, Seán Ó Coileáin in his paper, “Echtrae Nerai and Its Analogues” examine how Echtrae Nerai can be split into separate narrative dialogues and the debate surrounding it. The significance of Nera and the corpse is interpreted as being absent in the aristocratic lifestyle as suggested by Ó Coileáin but, “one feels that this part of the tale first took shape at a more plebeian level; this feeling is supported, although not finally proven, by its barely altered continuation in modern folk narrative and belief” (Ó Coileáin p.432, 1990). This interpretation highlights the distinction between the separate social classes’ relation to the story and the interpretations of a medieval audience, explaining this distinct shift in narrative as it was carried on. Because the differences come from how the monied classes retained a different set of customs and practices because they did not do these housekeeping traditions it appears the narrative had been passed down orally. Ó Coileáin then highlights another aspect of the split in narrative which would come from the orator themselves mixing elements of different narratives together by swapping similar lines and motifs (Ó Coileáin p.433,1990). When these breaks occur, it is because of the difficulty in reproducing oral method and the manuscripts which the stories are transmitted to. This method is not necessarily the most reliable way of retaining a narrative as a cohesive piece, but did serve the audience of that time in a manner that helped unite communities and share culture.

Furthermore, Ó Coileáin suggests that the narrative split of Echtrae Nerai comes not from the story itself but from the narrator seeking to, “regenerate the thematic energy that will carry the narrative through,” or as “compositional breathing space […] where none already exists” (Ó Coileáin p. 438, 1990). This relates directly to the limitations of the period because the audience’s relation to the narrator for these stories, and as consequence they must be not only relatable geographically but entertaining.

So, Echtrae Nerai continues and total shift occurs in the narrative when arriving back home, “the dun was burnt before him, and he beheld a heap of heads of their people (cut off) by the warriors from the dun” (Meyer p. 217, 1889). The next few lines create a rhythmic pattern because of the repetitive nature of the phrase, “a man on the track here!” and “the heavier is the track,” but it also suggests a passphrase when passing into the cave of Cruachan (Meyer p. 217, 1889). The audience is able to directly associate what has occurred with the real location of the cave, but the phrase causes the creatures to enter the other world with Nera. At this point it is the first time Nera appears in the otherworld and he meets the king and is sent to carry wood for a woman. The audience might interpret this as normal house hold duties, but it is during this that Nera witnesses a lame man carry a blind man to search for the king’s crown. It is a parallel to the narrative that the audience is aware of that just occurred in the first section of the story. As previously stated, it is widely debated whether it is a true continuation of the narrative or a split. But as suggested by John Carey in his paper, “Sequence and Causation in Echtra Nerai” simply omitting the parallels, “did not consider ways in which the first episode is echoed later in EN itself” (Carey p.67, 1988). The two men in this scene seem to directly imitate Nera and the corpse’s own search ensuring the crown is still within the well at the very end of the sid. Furthermore, after Nera’s interaction with the corpse he tells the women what he witnessed, “I was going into the sid methought the rath of Cruachan was destroyed,” but she corrects him by saying, “en elfin host came to thee that will come true” (Meyers p. 220-221,1889). Suggesting after Nera’s interaction with the corpse he received a “vision” showing alternative reality from the sid while wandering home that night.

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Carey suggests that the first and second segments share, “the idiosyncratic diction of a single redactor” suggesting that “unskillfully combined parallel accounts’ becomes more problematical” (Carey p.68,1988). This association of diction to narrative structure suggests the opposite of what Ó Coileáin states and highlights Carey’s own structural thesis, a time paradox. Nera struggles with the news of his “vision,” but is told that virtually no time has passed in the outside world despite being in the sid for three days. So, it becomes narratively established that time functions differently within the sid, and the audience would know that given their own relationship with other texts of period. Suggesting that the day Nera had his vision was on Samhain, when the barrier between worlds breaks down, and after interacting with a magical dead creature witnesses, while still in our world, a possible alternative future. Consequently, it would suggest the necessity of the first segment of the story needed to have taken place during Samhain for the story to retain continuity. Nera then asks how he is to prove this to Ailill and Medb. The women states, “take these fruits of summer with thee,” and “he took wild garlic with him and primrose and golden fern” (Meyer p.221, 1889). Suggesting that the otherworld is a different point of time than our world. Additionally, the woman mentions that, “I shall be pregnant by thee […] and bare thee a son,” foretelling future events and what will be told to him later, “thou mayest take thy family and thy cattle from the sid” (Meyer p.221, 1889). From this point it is not mentioned that either of these events have occurred nor does Nera have any cattle. However, the audience would have a direct relation to this reference of cattle given that Samhain is also when spring calves are considered worth more with the passing of the new quarter.

Nera then exits the sid and returns the same night after leaving the corpse “and found them [his people] around the same caldron,” suggesting to the audience that no time has passed. Then confirming what saw he when entering the sid the first time as an alternative reality. The narrator now uses Nera’s yearlong return to tie this story to ulster cycle. Stating that Nera, “staid with his people to the end of a year. That was the very year in which Fergus mac Roich came as an exile from the land of Ulster to Ailill and Medb to Cruachan.” The events the woman foretold come to pass as Ailill tells Nera, “Arise and bring thy cattle from the sid, that we may go to destroy the sid” (Meyer p.221, 1889). The audience would then be able to make a direct connection to what was told to Nera by the woman before he left the Sid the first time. Nera after a yearlong absence for a second time is given a cow after the birth of his son, which was foretold. Nera spends time in the sid since time functions differently here to tend to his land. It is in this that Carey makes the case for the necessity of a time paradox motif to occur within the narrative because, “cause and effect are in fact redundant and disconnected only in this world: in the sid, events unfold in a continuous, tightly connected sequence” (Carey p.68, 1988). It is during this second return that the calf is taken by Morrigan and the calf is bulled by Donn of Cualgne, after the birth of Nera’s son which was foretold in the first visit to the sid. The women would then appear to the medieval audience as having prophetic abilities, while also suggesting that there is not continuity breaks contrary to what Ó Coileáin suggests.

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The manipulation of time is what makes the narrative more cohesive in structure because Nera returns to the sid before the raid. He is sent there to prepare the calf is given to him and stolen within that time frame, and because the sid’s timeline does not function in a linear fashion these events occur prior and on alternative timelines. Carey describes these moments as “Temporal Disparities” which makes the Echtra Nerai unique as a narrative because, “Nera visits different versions of particular moments as his Otherworld experiences shunt him forward and backward through time” (Carey p. 69, 1988). Nera then returns to his home and so does the cow after being taken and the women tells him to prepare for Halloween. Carey notes that, “EN centres upon the night of Samain […] when traffic between worlds is easiest and most frequent” (Carey p.70, 1988). Nera returns to our world and Ailill and Medb ask, “and where hast thou been since thou didst go from us?” (Meyer p. 225, 1889). This line is pivotal in explaining the paradox within the narrative because it would be suggested to the audience because from that moment time has gone backwards, virtually no time has passed, or Nera is now on an alternative timeline in which they conquer the sid. Ailill once again tells Nera to prepare himself again so he does. It is important to note that, “at that same hour Ailill and Fergus were playing drafts, when they heard the calf in the plain” (Meyer p. 225, 1889). They battle the calf to ensure it does not ruin the heard, the audience would understand that it’s directly related to Samhain and cattle pricing, so they invade the sid early because of Donn of Cualgne. Indirectly, trapping Nera inside forever after destroying and pillaging the sid. This close reading would suggest that both Halloween and its relation to Samhain directly influence the Echtrae Nerai because of its structure, motifs, themes, and narrative plot points.

Textual Interpretation: Echtrae Chonlai

As scholars interpret the manuscripts of Echtrae Chonlai various cultural influences impact the meaning, message, and overall rhetorical structure of the text. The story itself is derived from Old Irish and Medieval Irish which affect its cultural interpretations and translations because it switches between the oral and written mediums. The manuscript itself was meticulously assembled and translated within a monastery given the technological limitations of the time. The manuscript and its creation consequently tied to Christian interpretations given the period of time which it is dated is around the 8^th or 9^th century. The methods and translation which produced the text takes hint at many Christian influences. However, the similarities between the text and other texts at the concurrent time also show stories’ roots in a pre-Christian Irish culture.

Furthermore, the links between the who produced the text and how it is interpreted highlight the distinctions within the text both in how the text is structured thematically and narratively. These influences effect whether this manuscript can be interpreted as a historical document or a work of fiction as whole. The text directly links certain pagan influences in Irish society to the advent of Christianity at the time of its production is concurrent with the stories’ origin. Therefore, the manuscript can be interpreted as something caught between multiple cultural transitions within the society at the time creating a, sort of, historical work of fiction.

For example, John Carey writes in “The Rhetoric of Echtrae Chonlai” examining the manuscript “Cín Dormma Snechtai” which “Echtrae Chonlai” is derived there is disagreement as to when the text was written but provides insight to some of the oldest surviving stories and motifs (Carey, 42). There are similarities within the “Echtrae Chonlai” that echo that of other stories like the Welsh tale of the Mabinogi while still containing heavily Christian motifs (Carey, 43-45). Additionally, James Carney in “The Location of the Otherworld in Irish Tradition” link “Echtrae Chonlai” to the similar tale of “Immram Brain” its interpretation of the Otherworld. Both texts containing a “mysterious woman ‘from strange lands’” who invited the protagonist to join her in an Otherworld “paradise” at sea (Carney, 36). These influences cannot be taken as mere conscience given the manner in which ancient manuscripts were assembled and whom they were assembled by. They provide direct connections between interpreted texts as sharing motifs and ideas around similar geological locations. These similarities created a cultural bypass in which the older stories were adapted as the cultures transitioned toward a more Christian base, while retaining its cultural heritage, creating these in between manuscripts.

Additionally, these new Christian influences are reflected within the stories structure and interpretation by both the manuscript writer and the interpreter. To begin the land in which the woman describes herself as hailing from in “Echtrae Chonlai” is described as being a land, “of the living where is neither death nor sin nor transgression” (Echtrae, 207). Already paralleling the biblical interpretations of paradise amongst the “king of kings” as well as contrasting the realm in which Conle the red resides. Later, she continues by saying, “If you follow me, your beauty will not lose its youth or its beauty till the pertaining to visions Day of judgement” (Echtrae, 207). These statements further parallel the beckoning of Christian thought of salvation and eternal life in heaven. Next, comes from the rejection of the druid and his beliefs as, “He will destroy the charms of … druids in the sight of the evil spirit, the black sorcerer” (Echtrae, 207). This can be seen as the Christian faith finding its place within the current cultural climate and it begins to establish itself as a form of salvation not of the body but of the soul. It flips the motif and shapes the world of Conle as a fallen world.

Conle is shown as accepting the woman’s offer through the gift of the “apple” and abandon the world and the people from which he came to follow the woman to the land of eternal life. Carey interprets the woman as, “having escaped the downfall of Adam and Eve–a Christian interpretation of the native Otherworld reflected in other features of her speech” (Carey, 45). This is backed up by his interpretation of the phrase “tír na mbéo” describing it as a “straightforwardly Christian expression” (Carey,46). By showing that Conle becomes totally transfixed by the women and the apple which replenishes itself the text forms a clear distinction between the worlds which Conle and the Women reside. It creates a narrative which overtly favors the “Otherworld” over the present reality of Conle, and, consequently, the desire within the story to abandon all that is tied to it for the pursuit of this “Otherworld.” Kim McCone in Pagan Past and Christian Present in Early Irish Literature targets this specific trend within manuscripts interpretation as “hybrid texts” while in dialogue with Mac Cana. McCone highlights the use of “dualistic view” of the stories incorporating both traditional and Christian cultures (McCone, 79.) These interpretations show that there are heavy cultural influences on both sides of spectrum as an attempt to bridge the cultural gaps within the region at the time.

These cultural gaps become evident from the interpretation of what and specifically where the “otherworld” is. Carey points out that in Echtrae Chonlai that, “there has been no preparation for such a conclusion” it felt as if, “the theme of an Otherworld voyage appears to be secondary and extraneous” (Carey, 39). Reinforcing his belief that the text might not only be fictitious but an attempt to connect these ideas. He continues by stating that these, “texts are so far as I know the only old Irish sources in which the overseas Otherworld appears” (Carey, 39). Furthermore, he continues by providing evidence of alternative interpretations of the “Otherworld” through “fairy mounds” or “hills” which are “plentiful” in Old Irish sources (Carey, 39). The “Otherworld” in Echtrae Chonlai becomes a contrast rather than a part of the physical manifestation of the world that already is. The interpretation frames it as a far-off world completely contrasted to the world in which we live and not a part of it. Carey highlights the specific use of the phrase, “Day of Judgement” as it reorients not only the messaging but the audiences’ interpretation of story. “The woman now appears as a sort of prophetess of the new religion […] condemning paganism […] (as) she denounces them as servants of the devil” (Carey, 59). These specific motifs used create a new framing that assembles pre-Christian thought through a Christian lens highlighting the historical and fictitious elements within the text.

Thus, the interpretation of the text amongst scholars is disputed as being both hybridization of cultures, interpretation, transition, or a fabrication meant to appear historically accurate given the narrative structure, prose, and word choice within the narrative.

Works Cited:

Meyer, Kuno [ed. and tr.], “The adventures of Nera”, Revue Celtique 10 (1889): 212–228, 520. Corrigenda in Revue Celtique 17: 319.

McCone, Kim, Pagan Past and Christian Present in Early Irish Literature (maynooth 1991[1990 1^st ed.]) pp. 79-82,152,157-8.

Carey, John. “Sequence and Causation in Echtra Nerai.” Ériu, vol. 39, 1988, pp. 67–74. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/30024130.

Ó Coileáin, Seán, “Echtrae Nerai and its analogues”, Celtica 21 (1990): 155–176.

Carey, John, ‘The Rhetoric of Echtrae Chonlai.’ Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 30 (Winter 1995), pp. 41-65.

Echtrae Chonlai, ed. and trans. H. P. A Oskamp, Études Celtiques 14 (1974-5), pp. 207-208

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        this.size = Math.random() < 0.05 ? 2 : 1;
    }
    update(speedMod) {
        this.y += this.speed * speedMod;
        if (this.y > CANVAS_HEIGHT) {
            this.y = 0;
            this.x = Math.random() * CANVAS_WIDTH;
        }
    }
    draw() {
        ctx.fillStyle = ‘#555’;
        ctx.fillRect(this.x, this.y, this.size, this.size);
    }
}


class Particle {
    constructor(x, y, speed, life, color=’#fff’) {
        this.x = x; this.y = y;
        const angle = Math.random() * Math.PI * 2;
        this.vx = Math.cos(angle) * speed;
        this.vy = Math.sin(angle) * speed;
        this.life = life;
        this.maxLife = life;
        this.size = Math.random()*3 + 1;
        this.color = color;
    }
    update() {
        this.x += this.vx;
        this.y += this.vy;
        this.life--;
    }
    draw() {
        ctx.globalAlpha = this.life / this.maxLife;
        ctx.fillStyle = this.color;
        ctx.fillRect(this.x, this.y, this.size, this.size);
        ctx.globalAlpha = 1.0;
    }
}


class Entity {
    constructor(x, y, spriteKey) {
        this.x = x;
        this.y = y;
        this.spriteKey = spriteKey;
        this.width = SPRITES[spriteKey][0].length * PIXEL_SCALE;
        this.height = SPRITES[spriteKey].length * PIXEL_SCALE;
        this.markedForDeletion = false;
    }
    
    drawSprite(color = ‘#fff’) {
        const sprite = SPRITES[this.spriteKey];
        for (let r = 0; r < sprite.length; r++) {
            for (let c = 0; c < sprite[r].length; c++) {
                const val = sprite[r][c];
                if (val === 1) {
                    ctx.fillStyle = color;
                    ctx.fillRect(this.x + c*PIXEL_SCALE, this.y + r*PIXEL_SCALE, PIXEL_SCALE, PIXEL_SCALE);
                } else if (val === 2) {
                    ctx.fillStyle = ‘#000’;
                    ctx.fillRect(this.x + c*PIXEL_SCALE, this.y + r*PIXEL_SCALE, PIXEL_SCALE, PIXEL_SCALE);
                }
            }
        }
    }
    getBounds() { return { x: this.x, y: this.y, w: this.width, h: this.height }; }
}


class Player extends Entity {
    constructor() {
        super(CANVAS_WIDTH/2 - 9, CANVAS_HEIGHT - 60, ‘player’);
        this.cooldown = 0;
        this.invulnerable = 120;
        this.speedMod = 1;
        this.fireRateMod = 1;
        this.hasLaser = false;
        this.hasShield = false;
        this.hasBurst = false;
        this.hasMirror = false;
    }
    update() {
        if (this.invulnerable > 0) this.invulnerable--;
        let dx = 0, dy = 0;
        const speed = BASE_PLAYER_SPEED * this.speedMod;


        if (useMouse) {
            this.x += (mouseX - this.width/2 - this.x) * 0.15 * this.speedMod;
            this.y += (mouseY - this.height/2 - this.y) * 0.15 * this.speedMod;
        } else {
            if (keys[’ArrowUp’]) dy = -speed;
            if (keys[’ArrowDown’]) dy = speed;
            if (keys[’ArrowLeft’]) dx = -speed;
            if (keys[’ArrowRight’]) dx = speed;
            this.x += dx;
            this.y += dy;
        }
        this.x = Math.max(0, Math.min(CANVAS_WIDTH - this.width, this.x));
        this.y = Math.max(0, Math.min(CANVAS_HEIGHT - this.height, this.y));


        const isShooting = keys[’ ‘] || clickPending;
        if (isShooting && this.cooldown <= 0) {
            const bType = this.hasLaser ? ‘laser’ : ‘normal’;
            const bx = this.x + this.width/2 - (this.hasLaser ? 1 : 2);
            
            if (this.hasBurst) {
                // Burst Fire: 3 angles
                bullets.push(new Bullet(bx, this.y, false, ‘normal’, 0));
                bullets.push(new Bullet(bx, this.y, false, ‘normal’, -2));
                bullets.push(new Bullet(bx, this.y, false, ‘normal’, 2));
            } else {
                bullets.push(new Bullet(bx, this.y, false, bType));
            }
            playSound(’shoot’);
            this.cooldown = BASE_COOLDOWN * this.fireRateMod;
            clickPending = false;
        }
        if (this.cooldown > 0) this.cooldown--;
    }
    draw() {
        if (this.invulnerable > 0 && Math.floor(frameCount/5)%2===0) return;
        this.drawSprite();
        
        // Shield Visual
        if (this.hasShield) {
            ctx.strokeStyle = ‘#fff’; ctx.lineWidth = 2; ctx.beginPath();
            ctx.arc(this.x + this.width/2, this.y + this.height/2, 22 + Math.sin(frameCount/5)*2, 0, Math.PI*2);
            ctx.stroke();
        }
        // Mirror Visual
        if (this.hasMirror) {
            ctx.strokeStyle = ‘#0ff’; ctx.lineWidth = 2; ctx.beginPath();
            ctx.arc(this.x + this.width/2, this.y + this.height/2, 26 + Math.cos(frameCount/5)*2, 0, Math.PI*2);
            ctx.stroke();
        }
    }
}


class Bullet {
    constructor(x, y, isEnemy, type=’normal’, vx=0) {
        this.x = x;
        this.y = y;
        this.isEnemy = isEnemy;
        this.type = type; 
        this.width = type === ‘laser’ ? 4 : 4;
        this.height = type === ‘laser’ ? 25 : 8;
        this.markedForDeletion = false;
        this.piercing = (type === ‘laser’);
        this.vx = vx;
        this.vyOverride = null; // For reflected bullets
    }
    update(timeScale = 1) {
        let speedY = this.isEnemy ? 3 : (this.type === ‘laser’ ? 12 : 8);
        
        if (this.vyOverride !== null) {
            this.y += this.vyOverride * timeScale;
        } else {
            this.y += (this.isEnemy ? speedY : -speedY) * timeScale;
        }
        
        this.x += this.vx * timeScale;
        
        if (this.y < -50 || this.y > CANVAS_HEIGHT + 50 || this.x < -50 || this.x > CANVAS_WIDTH + 50) {
            this.markedForDeletion = true;
        }
    }
    draw() {
        // Reflected bullets are cyan
        ctx.fillStyle = this.vyOverride !== null ? ‘#0ff’ : (this.isEnemy ? ‘#f88’ : (this.type === ‘laser’ ? ‘#aaf’ : ‘#fff’));
        ctx.fillRect(this.x, this.y, this.width, this.height);
    }
    getBounds() { return {x:this.x, y:this.y, w:this.width, h:this.height}; }
}


class Enemy extends Entity {
    constructor(type, gridX, gridY, delay) {
        super(0, -50, ENEMY_TYPES[type].sprite);
        this.data = ENEMY_TYPES[type];
        this.hp = this.data.hp;
        this.scoreVal = this.data.score;
        this.targetX = 40 + gridX * 40;
        this.targetY = 50 + gridY * 35;
        this.state = ‘entering’; 
        this.tick = -delay; 
        this.pathMode = Math.floor(Math.random()*2); 
        this.startX = this.pathMode === 0 ? (gridX < 5 ? -50 : CANVAS_WIDTH+50) : CANVAS_WIDTH/2;
        this.isBoss = false;
    }


    update(timeScale) {
        this.tick += 1 * timeScale;
        if (this.state === ‘entering’) {
            if (this.tick < 0) return;
            const t = this.tick / 120;
            if (t >= 1) {
                this.state = ‘idle’;
                this.x = this.targetX;
                this.y = this.targetY;
                return;
            }
            if (this.pathMode === 0) {
                this.x = this.startX + (this.targetX - this.startX) * t;
                this.y = 100 + Math.sin(t*Math.PI)*100 + (this.targetY - 100)*t;
            } else {
                this.x = (CANVAS_WIDTH/2) + Math.sin(t * Math.PI * 4) * 100;
                this.y = -50 + t * (this.targetY + 50);
            }
        }
        else if (this.state === ‘idle’) {
            this.x = this.targetX + Math.sin(frameCount/40)*10;
            this.y = this.targetY + Math.cos(frameCount/30)*5;
        }
        else if (this.state === ‘diving’) {
            this.y += this.data.speed * timeScale;
            if (player) {
                const dx = player.x - this.x;
                if (Math.abs(dx) > 2) this.x += Math.sign(dx) * 1 * timeScale;
            }
            if (Math.random() < 0.02 * timeScale) enemyBullets.push(new Bullet(this.x+this.width/2, this.y+this.height, true));
            if (this.y > CANVAS_HEIGHT) { this.y = -50; this.state = ‘returning’; }
        }
        else if (this.state === ‘returning’) {
            const dx = this.targetX - this.x;
            const dy = this.targetY - this.y;
            this.x += dx * 0.04 * timeScale;
            this.y += dy * 0.04 * timeScale;
            if (Math.abs(dx)<2 && Math.abs(dy)<2) this.state = ‘idle’;
        }
    }


    startDive() { if (this.state === ‘idle’) this.state = ‘diving’; }


    takeDamage(amt = 1) {
        this.hp -= amt;
        if (this.hp <= 0) {
            this.die();
        } else {
            createExplosion(this.x + this.width/2, this.y + this.height/2, 2); 
        }
    }


    die() {
        this.markedForDeletion = true;
        playSound(’explosion’);
        createExplosion(this.x + this.width/2, this.y + this.height/2, 8);
        score += this.scoreVal;
        checkExtraLife();
        if (Math.random() < 0.15) {
            let keys = Object.keys(POWERUPS).filter(k => k !== ‘DEATH’); // Death drop logic handled separately
            if ((wave + 1) % 5 === 0) keys = keys.filter(k => k !== ‘BOMB’); // No bomb before boss
            
            const type = keys[Math.floor(Math.random() * keys.length)];
            powerUps.push(new PowerUp(this.x, this.y, type));
        }
    }
}


// --- Boss Classes ---


class TitanBoss extends Enemy {
    constructor(targetXOverride) {
        super(’titan’, 5, 2, 0);
        this.targetX = targetXOverride !== undefined ? targetXOverride : CANVAS_WIDTH/2 - 13*PIXEL_SCALE/2;
        this.targetY = 80;
        this.hp = 60;
        this.shieldUp = false;
        this.isBoss = true;
        this.attackCycle = 0;
    }
    update(timeScale) {
        super.update(timeScale);
        if (this.state === ‘idle’) {
            this.attackCycle++;
            if (this.attackCycle % 300 === 0) this.shieldUp = !this.shieldUp;
            if (this.attackCycle % 120 === 0 && !this.shieldUp) {
                for (let i=-2; i<=2; i++) {
                    let b = new Bullet(this.x + this.width/2, this.y + this.height, true);
                    enemyBullets.push(b);
                    enemyBullets.push(new Bullet(this.x + this.width/2 + i*10, this.y + this.height, true));
                }
            }
        }
    }
    takeDamage(amt) {
        if (this.shieldUp) return; 
        super.takeDamage(amt);
    }
    drawSprite() {
        super.drawSprite(this.shieldUp ? ‘#aaf’ : ‘#f44’);
        if (this.shieldUp) {
            ctx.strokeStyle = ‘#aaf’; ctx.beginPath();
            ctx.arc(this.x+this.width/2, this.y+this.height/2, 30, 0, Math.PI*2); ctx.stroke();
        }
    }
}


class HiveBoss extends Enemy {
    constructor(targetXOverride) {
        super(’hive’, 5, 2, 0);
        this.targetX = targetXOverride !== undefined ? targetXOverride : CANVAS_WIDTH/2 - 20;
        this.targetY = 100;
        this.hp = 50;
        this.isBoss = true;
        this.spawnTimer = 0;
    }
    update(timeScale) {
        super.update(timeScale);
        if (this.state === ‘idle’) {
            this.spawnTimer++;
            const droneCount = enemies.filter(e => e instanceof HiveDrone).length;
            if (this.spawnTimer > 60 && droneCount < 16) {
                this.spawnTimer = 0;
                enemies.push(new HiveDrone(this));
            }
        }
    }
}


class HiveDrone extends Enemy {
    constructor(parent) {
        super(’zako’, 0, 0, 0);
        this.parent = parent;
        this.angle = Math.random() * Math.PI * 2;
        this.orbitDist = 60;
        this.state = ‘orbiting’;
        this.hp = 2;
        this.scoreVal = 50;
        this.x = parent.x; 
        this.y = parent.y;
    }
    update(timeScale) {
        if (this.parent.markedForDeletion) { this.die(); return; }
        if (this.state === ‘orbiting’) {
            this.angle += 0.05 * timeScale;
            this.x = this.parent.x + Math.cos(this.angle) * this.orbitDist;
            this.y = this.parent.y + Math.sin(this.angle) * this.orbitDist;
            if (Math.random() < 0.01) this.state = ‘diving’;
        } else { super.update(timeScale); }
    }
}


class SnakeSegment extends Enemy {
    constructor(type, leader, isHead, centerXOverride) {
        super(type === ‘head’ ? ‘snake’ : ‘zako’, 0, 0, 0); 
        this.spriteKey = type === ‘head’ ? ‘snake_head’ : ‘snake_body’;
        this.leader = leader;
        this.isHead = isHead;
        this.history = [];
        this.hp = isHead ? 20 : 8;
        this.scoreVal = isHead ? 3000 : 200;
        this.width = SPRITES[this.spriteKey][0].length * PIXEL_SCALE;
        this.height = SPRITES[this.spriteKey].length * PIXEL_SCALE;
        this.centerX = centerXOverride !== undefined ? centerXOverride : CANVAS_WIDTH/2;
        this.x = this.centerX; this.y = 100;
        if (isHead) this.t = 0; 
    }
    update(timeScale) {
        this.history.push({x: this.x, y: this.y});
        if (this.history.length > 10) this.history.shift();
        if (this.isHead) {
            this.t += 0.05 * timeScale;
            this.x = this.centerX + Math.sin(this.t) * 100; 
            this.y = 100 + Math.sin(this.t * 2) * 30;
            if (Math.random() < 0.03) enemyBullets.push(new Bullet(this.x+this.width/2, this.y+this.height, true));
        } else {
            if (this.leader && !this.leader.markedForDeletion) {
                if (this.leader.history.length >= 8) {
                    const pos = this.leader.history[this.leader.history.length - 8];
                    this.x = pos.x; this.y = pos.y;
                }
            } else { this.die(); }
        }
    }
    die() {
        super.die();
        if (!this.isHead) {
             let debris = new Enemy(’goei’, 0,0,0);
             debris.x = this.x; debris.y = this.y; debris.state = ‘diving’; enemies.push(debris);
        }
    }
}


class PowerUp extends Entity {
    constructor(x, y, typeKey) {
        super(x, y, ‘box’);
        this.type = typeKey;
        this.label = POWERUPS[typeKey].label;
        this.vy = 1.5;
    }
    draw() {
        const pData = POWERUPS[this.type];
        let boxColor = ‘#fff’;
        if (this.type === ‘DEATH’ || this.type === ‘LIFE’) boxColor = pData.color;
        if (this.type === ‘BURST’ || this.type === ‘MIRROR’) boxColor = pData.color;
        
        this.drawSprite(boxColor);
        ctx.fillStyle = ‘#000’;
        ctx.font = ‘bold 12px monospace’;
        ctx.fillText(this.label, this.x + 4, this.y + 13);
    }
    update() {
        this.y += this.vy;
        if (this.y > CANVAS_HEIGHT) this.markedForDeletion = true;
    }
}


// --- Logic ---


function createExplosion(x, y, count) {
    for (let i=0; i<count; i++) particles.push(new Particle(x, y, Math.random()*2, 30 + Math.random()*20, ‘#fff’));
}


function spawnWave() {
    attackTimer = 150;
    enemies = [];
    
    const isMultiBoss = score >= 100000;
    const bossCount = isMultiBoss ? 2 : 1;


    if (wave % 15 === 5) {
        showBossWarning(isMultiBoss ? “DOUBLE TITAN” : “TITAN APPROACHING”);
        for(let i=0; i<bossCount; i++) {
            const tx = (CANVAS_WIDTH * (i+1)/(bossCount+1)) - (26/2); 
            enemies.push(new TitanBoss(tx));
        }
    } else if (wave % 15 === 10) {
        showBossWarning(isMultiBoss ? “HIVE SWARM” : “HIVE DETECTED”);
        for(let i=0; i<bossCount; i++) {
            const tx = (CANVAS_WIDTH * (i+1)/(bossCount+1)) - 20; 
            enemies.push(new HiveBoss(tx));
        }
    } else if (wave % 15 === 0) {
        showBossWarning(isMultiBoss ? “TWIN SERPENTS” : “SERPENT INBOUND”);
        for(let i=0; i<bossCount; i++) {
            const cx = (CANVAS_WIDTH * (i+1)/(bossCount+1));
            const head = new SnakeSegment(’head’, null, true, cx);
            enemies.push(head);
            let prev = head;
            for(let j=0; j<6; j++) {
                let seg = new SnakeSegment(’body’, prev, false, cx);
                enemies.push(seg);
                prev = seg;
            }
        }
    } else {
        const rows = 5;
        const cols = 8;
        let count = 0;
        for (let r=0; r<rows; r++) {
            for (let c=0; c<cols; c++) {
                if (r===0 && (c<2 || c>5)) continue;
                const type = r===0 ? ‘boss’ : (r===1 ? ‘goei’ : ‘zako’);
                enemies.push(new Enemy(type, c + 1, r, count*5));
                count++;
            }
        }
    }
}


function showBossWarning(text) {
    const el = document.getElementById(’boss-warning’);
    el.textContent = text;
    el.style.display = ‘block’;
    playSound(’alert’);
    setTimeout(() => { el.style.display = ‘none’; }, 3000);
}


function activatePowerUp(type) {
    if (type === ‘DEATH’) { die(); return; }


    const p = POWERUPS[type];
    playSound(’shoot’); 
    
    if (p.duration > 0) {
        const existing = activeEffects.find(e => e.type === type);
        if (existing) existing.timer = p.duration;
        else {
            activeEffects.push({ type: type, timer: p.duration });
            applyEffect(type, true);
        }
    } else {
        if (type === ‘SHIELD’) player.hasShield = true;
        if (type === ‘LIFE’) lives++;
        if (type === ‘BOMB’) {
            playSound(’explosion’); 
            ctx.fillStyle = ‘#fff’; ctx.fillRect(0,0,CANVAS_WIDTH, CANVAS_HEIGHT);
            enemies.forEach(e => { e.hp = 0; e.takeDamage(100); });
            enemyBullets = [];
        }
    }
    updatePowerUpUI();
}


function applyEffect(type, active) {
    if (!player) return;
    if (type === ‘SPEED’) player.speedMod = active ? 1.6 : 1;
    if (type === ‘RAPID’) player.fireRateMod = active ? 0.25 : 1;
    if (type === ‘LASER’) player.hasLaser = active;
    if (type === ‘BURST’) player.hasBurst = active;
    if (type === ‘MIRROR’) player.hasMirror = active;
}


function updatePowerUpUI() {
    const display = document.getElementById(’powerup-display’);
    const actives = activeEffects.map(e => POWERUPS[e.type].label).join(’ ‘);
    const shield = player && player.hasShield ? ‘[SHIELD]’ : ‘’;
    display.textContent = `${actives} ${shield}`;
}


function checkExtraLife() {
    if (nextLifeThresholdIndex < EXTRA_LIFE_SCORES.length && score >= EXTRA_LIFE_SCORES[nextLifeThresholdIndex]) {
        lives++;
        playSound(’shoot’);
        nextLifeThresholdIndex++;
    }
}


function rectIntersect(r1, r2) {
    return !(r2.x > r1.x + r1.w || r2.x + r2.w < r1.x || r2.y > r1.y + r1.h || r2.y + r2.h < r1.y);
}


// --- Main Loop ---


function die() {
    playSound(’explosion’);
    lives--;
    for(let i=0; i<40; i++) particles.push(new Particle(player.x+player.width/2, player.y+player.height/2, 6, 60, ‘#fff’));
    gameState = ‘death_anim’;
    let deathTimer = 100;
    const animLoop = () => {
        if (gameState !== ‘death_anim’) return;
        ctx.fillStyle = ‘#000’; ctx.fillRect(0,0,CANVAS_WIDTH, CANVAS_HEIGHT);
        particles = particles.filter(p => p.life > 0);
        particles.forEach(p => { p.update(); p.draw(); });
        deathTimer--;
        if (deathTimer <= 0) {
            if (lives > 0) { resetPlayer(); gameState = ‘playing’; loop(); }
            else showGameOver();
        } else requestAnimationFrame(animLoop);
    };
    animLoop();
}


function resetPlayer() {
    player = new Player();
    activeEffects = [];
    bullets = [];
    enemyBullets = [];
}


function resetGame() {
    score = 0; lives = 1; wave = 1;
    nextLifeThresholdIndex = 0;
    enemies = []; activeEffects = [];
    randomDropTimer = 1200;
    
    highscore = parseInt(localStorage.getItem(’galagaOmniHigh’)) || 0;


    resetPlayer();
    spawnWave();
    gameState = ‘playing’;
    document.getElementById(’start-screen’).classList.add(’hidden’);
    document.getElementById(’game-over-screen’).classList.add(’hidden’);
    document.getElementById(’game-container’).style.cursor = ‘none’;
    loop();
}


function showGameOver() {
    gameState = ‘gameover’;
    document.getElementById(’game-container’).style.cursor = ‘default’;
    
    if (score > highscore) {
        highscore = score;
        localStorage.setItem(’galagaOmniHigh’, highscore);
    }
    document.getElementById(’highscore-display’).textContent = `HI-SCORE ${highscore}`;
    document.getElementById(’final-score’).textContent = `SCORE: ${score}`;
    document.getElementById(’game-over-screen’).classList.remove(’hidden’);
}


function loop() {
    if (gameState !== ‘playing’) return;
    frameCount++;
    ctx.fillStyle = ‘#000’; ctx.fillRect(0,0,CANVAS_WIDTH, CANVAS_HEIGHT);


    const slowEffect = activeEffects.find(e => e.type === ‘SLOW’);
    const timeScale = slowEffect ? 0.3 : 1.0;


    // Random PowerUp Drops
    randomDropTimer--;
    if (randomDropTimer <= 0) {
        // Drop any powerup (except Death usually, unless you want chaos)
        let keys = Object.keys(POWERUPS).filter(k => k !== ‘DEATH’);
        if ((wave + 1) % 5 === 0) keys = keys.filter(k => k !== ‘BOMB’); 
        const type = keys[Math.floor(Math.random() * keys.length)];
        // Also add a small chance for DEATH box to drop randomly!
        if (Math.random() < 0.05) powerUps.push(new PowerUp(Math.random()*(CANVAS_WIDTH-20), -20, ‘DEATH’));
        else powerUps.push(new PowerUp(Math.random()*(CANVAS_WIDTH-20), -20, type));
        
        randomDropTimer = 1200 + Math.random() * 600; // Reset timer (20-30s)
    }


    if (stars.length < 50) stars.push(new Star());
    stars.forEach(s => { s.update(player.speedMod > 1 ? 2 : 1); s.draw(); });


    player.update();


    activeEffects = activeEffects.filter(e => {
        e.timer--;
        if (e.timer <= 0) { applyEffect(e.type, false); updatePowerUpUI(); return false; }
        return true;
    });


    bullets = bullets.filter(b => !b.markedForDeletion);
    bullets.forEach(b => b.update());
    
    enemyBullets = enemyBullets.filter(b => !b.markedForDeletion);
    enemyBullets.forEach(b => b.update(timeScale));


    enemies = enemies.filter(e => !e.markedForDeletion);
    enemies.forEach(e => e.update(timeScale));
    
    if (enemies.length === 0) { wave++; spawnWave(); }


    const isBossLevel = (wave % 5 === 0);
    if (!isBossLevel && !enemies.some(e => e.state === ‘entering’)) {
        attackTimer -= timeScale;
        if (attackTimer <= 0) {
            const idle = enemies.filter(e => e.state === ‘idle’);
            if (idle.length > 0) idle[Math.floor(Math.random()*idle.length)].startDive();
            attackTimer = Math.max(20, 120 - wave*5);
        }
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nothing new today

a ring of teeth

an open mouth

hung

This could be the end of me

another pointless game we play

something biting

so hard

doing what you want for the last time

the truth is I got mine

all the things you never said

careless chances cannot end

let’s hear the truth, that we end up dead

everything you said,

“Goodbye”

Trying for so long to make you believe me; “I am not your enemy.”

All these things we’ve taken for granted for the last time

all I wanted is to be what you needed

imagine enemies

lost in your head again

I am

Trying for so long to be imaginary

I forgot what I needed

Now it just doesn’t feel right

sinking into my new animus

my body tells my mind

all the things you should’ve done right

scratched all the hope away

I know there’s nothing I could write

that could make you want me

I couldn’t save the baby

yet there’s no place I'd rather be

I won’t be angry if you leave

I just won’t believe you

and that’s enough to leave you

I know that each one

of these moments is gonna cost us

But this is where

I threw all the love away.

Don’t say sorry

I won’t believe you anyway

Cry now and let it bleed

“you know me”

I’ve got some regrets

but nothing the next moment can’t fix,

never.

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bite the forbidden fruit,

Have the consciousness of their mind split

separation from the divine.

At our greatest; still trapped,

Just Victims of mortality,

This world does not exist for us.

Simply brought to our knees by time.

Tick…tock…

tick…tock…

tick…tock

beasts born of blood

left only with a glimmer…

A chance to dabble in consciousness, a glance

rabble of this species’ brood

modern civilization

Blood of man

seeping through stone steps of temples and helmets.

Born

of Fear,

of darkness,

of light,

and all that we cannot escape the wrath of …

nor conquer.

Seeking The Grace of the divine,

in all of its righteousness; and

beauty order in an indifferent world.

Seeking rejecting the beast’s blood

within, sparks humanity

those accidental observers of time

Birthed a world of mad men crying,

“where is god?”

they said,

“God is dead”

They shout,

“Must not we ourselves become god?”

our chance has come Seize the crown… that throne is empty.

Bound to this earth, in this mortal shell.

now given the choice of a god,

the Duality of consciousness…

choice…

freedom…

What “good” and what “evil”?

What Is your choice?

Is it A(n) (A)moral world?

face a world In the land East of Eden,

a world of nod, just wanderers.

So, Shall we choose to reject you too, oh god?

Or, with this knowledge of good and evil

may we enact through you, oh god?

Oh, but We are creatures of our nature, less we forget...

deep within ourselves, in Our minds, in Our desires.

With the dark of void, its cold, dead, and gripping emptiness

What is left?

Once grace is lost

We emulate and Create order through Chaos

That of the highest order, divinity

So we may join that of the blood and body and soul

A Sacrament, so that we may be reborn,

And become akin to you, god.

Amen.

*Cough*

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Alas, even our greatest gestures are but a pittance,

no matter what are actions taken

they are but evanescent to the abyss.

And, try as we might but we are just ants too

Babbling about our mounds and towers, attempting to

ascertain the indifference of the universe,

bound to this floating rock.

Like Sisyphus

left to ride the Hearse.

Rolling, and if we were to ever touch the sky,

Babble, babble, our towers will fall

the eldritch horrors in their truest form, resetting us all

Either it is divine or dreaded

Indifferent to us all

These greatest truths are not meant for these eyes,

time warping space, and that thin layer of reality that we see,

and then everything else we don’t

the unfathomable.

Because we are not gods just caught in-between.

SO! THEN WHAT!

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It alls begins to take shape,

slowly these players come to .

leaving us in the dust

these facilities are facsimiles

all constructed to spy on us

The fly wheel corporation buy bits of everyone

under who?

No more rights, no more ownership,

This is red, blue, and green

all under a single fly wheel

infinite recursion bouncing beyond

not for what we need warp speed

but for something beyond our needs

who needs this?

what kind of open air prison?

They sit and say this is what we are using it for,

but we adore and abhor what it is really used for.

The use of these artificial war minds

to warp and bend reality through the use of

organizational

neural matrices

They manufacture consent, control narratives and suppress dissonance

The machine needs to run consistently, continuously, constantly.

This beast optimized to optimize anything that doesn’t work and fit to further optimization it is the goal as if all of civilization were preprogrammed to make this great machine only for it to be wiped away once again by ra, the sun.

This company now imbedding itself further into all of our major manufacturers, into the digital infrastructure, into everyone’s mind.

trading money for shares cutting deals and splitting funding across a variety of owners, the pie cut thick for the new military tech class.

Every explicit second,

each fragment of time,

every memory,

its placement in our minds pushes us differently swaying our subconscious.

Love, respect, duty, honor, each aspect is reflected in our choices.

With each instance a small chance,

a break if your willing to let go of who you where and give in to what people want you to be,

fragmenting a moment further fracturing our lives in adjacent directions.

A single drop of rain may topple the roof of an aging farm house; something similar occurring in me.

Ripped in half by a single choice, what do I choose?

What is the jelly to my peanut butter? Do I turn to peach preserves, do I choose to invoke a deep southern comfort of both false pleasantries and memories of home?

Or, do I look further west? Do I Indulge in a sweet, sweet, grape or strawberry jam?

I stand here staring, between the aisles with a fist full of quarters, and then she comes.

Walking down the aisle, a quick-sure stride, past me and my creeping anxieties to a mason jar filled with yellow fruit, pineapple huh?

I stare a bit longer than I should have, and as she drops the object into her hand basket she walks away.

She turns to look at me for an instant, we lock eyes.

I scramble for that final yellow filled jar, narrowly escaping the clutches of an elderly woman and her fondness of yellow fruit.

Clutching the yellow, I peak around corners the lines of the aisles slowly blur and I only see her.

A subtle beauty composed of gentle lines and curves, pursed lips and dark eye-brows. She walks out of sight once more, I pursue.

Finally, the moment comes, I meet her at the end of the aisle as she turns to face me.

She blinks and as she opens her eyes again a deep black seeps in, consuming all tenderness, and the void stares back.

I step back and the air is a tarnished yellow,

I drop the jar,

looking down now toward my feet I feel a deep black consuming me too.

I look back up now and she stares at me gently.

A haunting darkness,

shadows creeping out from their insides,

pulling,

tearing everything away.

Where am I? What is this? Where is the world?

Panic follows, but now even my lungs begin filling with a black soot,

a suffocating feeling eating me.

Like rats in the flood, I too, struggling to swim inside something inescapable, I reach out into the nothingness.

Grasping and Gasping; a hand pulls me, and I wake up.

Most of the nation states at this point were creating larger super computers to process cyber attacks and degenerate nuclear grids to help destabilize their network structures.

RED, GREEN, BLUE all designated manufactures on the global scale as each grew in complexity and size so did market capitalization; however, BLUE lost the short game as its designs were stolen by RED.

These conflicts created a larger gap in the GPU market which allowed GREEN to consolidate solely on this and dominate the market essentially as a duopoly with RED. slowly consolidating their powers against BLUE.

One day BLUE decides to create something similar to the chips that GREEN gets from the island far away in the pacific, but they still struggle to complete master the technique only creating shabby copies of something so perfect.

BLUE BEGINS TO LOSE HOPE. GREEN CONSOLIDATES FURTHER. RED TAKES WHAT BLUE OWNED.

The president of the united states now has outright banned the sale of advanced artificial intelligence chips to adversarial state bodies. of course that only created the black markets which dominate most of the foreign industries.

these markets are all held by GREEN which has now been eyed by the state for a split. Meanwhile BLUE is becoming nationalized and the domestic producer of all chips, removing the need of labor from the lonely island in the pacific.

THE QUESTION BECOMES DOES THE ISLAND FALL AND WHERE DO THE CHIPS LAND IF RED AND GREEN RELY ON THE LAND IN THE FAR EAST WHILE BLUE LIES IN THE WEST?

The governing bodies state subsidies revive what the market deemed doomed. Defensive production on a nation scale.

Wafers cut by Ultra Violet.

THE GREEN cuts a piece of BLUE.

A piece of insurance for later, a game of corporate espionage.

they are now setting up infrastructure to directly compete with TSCM chips and new supply lines for manufacturing to get around the bottle neck infrastructure they had seen around the pandemic UV printing newer chips that are built to scale while simultaneously...eating away at AMD's market share and GPU/CPU market since both companies have seen them rise like a phoenix from the pits RED becomes a buy as you essentially see a duopoly beginning to form slowly as GREEN and BLUE form an alliance, but for how long?

IV

I know for a fact that everyone woke up feeling the heat, the air had that thick feeling of humidity without airflow, the cabin was so hot without AC, and I hadn’t felt this in a long time. Everyone was already moving about before I even got up, and they worked super hard to try to get a feel of the space. I was trying to remember everything we needed to do today and this is one thing I wanted to make sure actually happened by the time we left vibe camp, but capturing what was important was another thing entirely.

How do you explain something that seeks to be open to interpretation? What causes a bunch of random people from the internet to suddenly decide that meeting that person is worth traveling from every corner of the world for; just leaving, or taking whatever, and spend some time over there. Or, it just felt like where ever they are coming from to get here for just a weekend made it feel special, a physical kind of unique.

Before we get started Let me preface with an apology. This was the only day that I got absolutely plastered, like white paint on asphalt hammered, just totally smeared. That being said my memory was a little hazy at certain points around the beginning and near the end here and there, but let’s begin.

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The rain poured down hard that day and it felt like the heat broke away for a moment. Today was the day to do some preparations as we missed grabbing some items and our party had not yet arrived. We tried to figure a solution out for what was to going to happen with filming and made sure to find who wanted to be filmed, and how to process everything, we needed software to make sure their faces were blurred and their privacy respected.

I got to drive into town. The crew needed an asortment of times: fans, bathroom supplies, bed sheets, a variety of objects and bobbles that we had to get from the store. So we made sure to pack the car with everything and everyone. Everything went smoothly for the most part a few human errors here and there, but, overall, just a quick trip. We only had a small list of items, truly, but we had to get going before more people showed up to camp, and we needed to make sure that we were back there before everything began.

The first place we ended up at was the giant blue building that doesn’t even use their smile logo anymore. Everything in this place felt like it was still somewhere in the 2000’s like inside this store most of life hadn’t reached yet. Akin to stepping back in time, everyone was so lovely, nice and helpful. I got a different set of clothes so I could feel a little cleaner given the amount of time we were about to spend in a wooden box. I am definitely more of a Bevo kind of guy but Testudo, I am in your country now.

We made our way outside the store to sit in the Wagoneer, and wait for the rest of the campers to their collect their belonging, and gather items that they needed departing once again as we do not step foot outside of camp for days after this! A quick detour for more things and Baja Blasts from Taco Bell. This time they had a special frozen flavor with dragon fruit and for some reason it felt like summer. Another quick turn around for something to smoke and some gasoline and we were finally back in the country.

On the road back to “Vibe Camp” as they say everything felt happy and green like the downpours just soaked everything enough to wake it back up and then gone clear skies. It appears that the campers have begun their arrival. New vehicles lined the mud lain field patches of grass mixed with small tire pits covered the field. Trees dumping pollen and fresh puddles dotting the ground. We tried to pull everything out in groups fans, sheets, pillows, everything to make the quality of life go way up. I had some time so I made new friends and checked the place out. Everyone here seemingly knew something about this place and it was odd not understanding anything beyond this was a summer camp for individuals. A “vibe camp” it almost felt like a horror story, something akin to a parody like Scary Movie but when I got to talking with more people I was so pleasantly surprised.

This is where it all came together. The camp itself: the white house, the barn, flattop, gazebo, cabins, the teahouse, pool, stage, campsite fires, ponds (frogs included), a literal text book trebuchet, and the flat top where we had to meet for the welcome announcement since it was officially the first day! The most important thing was understanding what the story was here, and what made this place so special to so many people, and what creating the space meant; but also trying very hard to not put any labels on anything because of the extensive thought put into creating a space for individuals out of utopia, or no where. Carrying all that shit down the hill basically soaked me in sweat and that was the hottest experience I had up north beyond being in New York City during that insane heat wave, that I had ever felt, and I am from the south I know the expression, “it’s not the heat! its the humidity!” When we finished setting up the fans created a sort of wind tunnel in rooms which made a lot of the experience significantly more bearable. They do make a racket though.

I want to preface this as the day began to shift into night, and we a coordinated separately. Normally these things are planned, there’s a bunch of stuff that goes into pre-production, and there’s a huge thing that you have to do. Most of the time it is also create as bureaucratic studio nonsense that people use to make filming a hassle. We cut all the red tape this time just to see what we could create with willing participants. That is the question we are trying to answer betwixt all of these endeavors. Who knows what will happen? Until then we are trying our best to not muck things up.

It seemed like everyone was filming different things. No idea what to expect here and overall it has seemed really friendly but tonight was the first night. I met up with everyone later that evening. I wandered around the area a bit and debated where to set up my hammock and I eventually settled on some trees by the pool they were close enough it made sleeping in the breeze easy. But I felt really nervous about leaving it anywhere so I just waited.

“Make sure you’re at the big top tonight and try to get your badge!” rung in my mind.

So I wandered around more before, finding where everything was and what I needed to do and where I needed to go. “Texas!” someone shouts at me as I am wearing a UT themed shirt, “You can all go to hell, and I’ll go to Texas.” I got my badge business sorted out make sure everything was put away, and I was clean for the day. I do all of this before finding out I had to go back to the place that they moved all the badges. I was so late sometimes.

We had to make sure we met up at the the top of the hill in the building with the wooden floors, but it had been raining so a lot of the ground was filling with water. I tried to avoid the puddles. I got my badge a while earlier, Arcanejuice is said, my moniker and what I used before I went offline. The room was enormous and filled with people I was surprised as to the sheer number of participants it felt small at first but everyone seemed to find their own spots within the camp.

Three rules of practicing social engagement within the community:

• A Request

• A Denial

• A Goodbye

A “high trust” for individuals to understand that the space was there for them to interact and create community outside of the liminal in-betweens. Everyone practiced their lines with one another and we listened as they introduced themselves and inducted everyone into the Vibe Camp ‘25, the fourth iteration. The beginning of the organizational structure as now events would take place from then on and a variety of people would just do things and anyone that wished to participate could.

I sat and listened to the other crew discuss their documentary and why and thoughts about things that I wasn’t familiar with yet.

This is where the painting starts to smear folks, as the night drew to a close there were a few things that still needed to be done but everyone was excited, more filming, more confusion, some logistical issues that could have been worked out. I met new people practicing new skills they wanted to share or just sharing what they like, people from other parts of the world, and people who where right here with me in Texas. This was interesting. I had met someone who spent a lot of time curating a space for discussion and offered plenty of free drinks. The conversations were immaculate, in some instances, which made it curious you really don’t know who you’re talking to here sometimes you do. The encampment was set up like a canopy of interlocking tents and chairs; a bar on the side switching between French press by day and liquor by night. Extremely imaginative and peaceful purpose created by the pond.

I let myself get a bit carried away, that night was lucid, sorry, too much absinthe will do that to you. Forgetting we are in the woods. Strange talks with new people under the warm light of lamps, fireflies, and camping chairs.

V

The morning came around too quickly. I had set up a hammock in-between the trees. I tried to find everyone, I didn’t have access to the schedule, so I was operating entirely on vibes. I found myself rushing around between places the days mixed up. It was actually glorious I slept in the hammock for hours. Evidentially, no one could find me as they were asking where I was all morning. Oops.

Saturday was a whirl wind of interviews and running around between sets, trying to catch up with everyone while simultaneously nursing one of the worst hangovers I have ever had. I had not yet tried the horse electrolytes. This was supposed to be a blended day where we would have certain recordings made of people who wished to commemorate their event for documentary purposes.

What do you care to admit? what are you vibe camp confessionals? We had a variety of people take the seat. A small room in the cabin, lightly dusted with the dirt of the great outdoors. I found someone at the camp to let me borrow their artwork as they apparently had been painting for years and left them inside the mess hall. A grand tropical display of leaves and flowers. Everyone sat in the foldable chair with bright white lights illuminating everything in crisp 4K.

It got so complicated trying to organize and properly time everyone especially when everyone was vibing. Intermitted creation betwixt vibes. A lot of enlightening views mainly trying to find the place Vibe Camps has within everyone’s lives. Many people spoke of the opportunities to connect with others they had only heard of online, an attempt to create genuine bonds within community, so this space was for people to be themselves. I found myself in conversations with people from all over the world.

The desire to create something that is an institution with enough cultural weight that people find it interesting enough to try to attend something unlike yet akin to what Burning Man is while not being it. I have never been to Burning Man, but my Gen-X and Boomer colleagues seem to think it is all the rage. But to me, Vibe Camp was it.

Most of my day was spent talking to a variety of people who had attended prior Vibe Events. That was very fun I got some ideas of who enjoys coming to these events and some exposure to a part of twitter I had not yet known. We were going to try to complete some more sets but most of the filming that day focused on interviewing people before the Summer Solstice.

Most my morning was spent attempting to remain conscious or by the pool freezing from my blood not performing the necessary duties. I sat in the pool. The gathering had been planned prior I had wandered away to lay down in the hammock for a bit. I ended up falling asleep for a few hours, and woke up right before the show.

On the tree hung a wind charm, you could tie little shells with mantras written in permanent markers there. I grabbed one and sat down. The crew was down at the bottom getting ready for the event setting up, preparing cameras, laying wire, and framing their shots. I watched as they all set up, and the evening approached.

The band was ragtime style crew of cowboy chord playing bohemian types. MY kind of people. I’ll keep on dancing. The set was gorgeous timed toward sending away the summer as the sun shifts slowly in position in the prime meridian. Everyone singing along to the campfire sets, mandolins humming in the background from other events, the blend of all these different groups coming together to form this community. There was something magical about how the summer felt that night. The sunset that evening to songs set around bringing people together even if it were for just a moment.

We made our way around the back as we had a few more things to record but we were stopped, because the crowd decided that it was time to shut the camera off and close the lenses. The moment to live was now and we were here and alive, which meant disconnecting to connect with the people present.

Everyone met at the mini-base camp by the top of the hill, placed right under Ursa Major, convenient. The party begins, everyone cheers, drink me. The night wobbles more than ever. We drop one of the largest bombs on Iran, yet everything kept spinning. A strange night. More things shifting around like sand on dunes. The feeling was a bit euphoric, I found myself wandering from group to group listening to stories of people and their tragedies. Everyone seeking connections and the fulfillment of a promise.

I wandered to the shore to listen to a man speak to other men about how to get the those feelings out without totally self emulsifying. It seems like this struggle faced by men in modernity lack the intimacy and experiences necessary to pass those skills to younger generations and we find ourselves now around a fire trying to assess the damages. We found solace in seeking connection, I am glad to have met you and if we never speak again, please write me something in this small black book, and I can read later for me to remember you by.

It was a nice spot to smoke at. The sun setting more as fireflies dot the pond and the frogs begin to speak of their day. I decided to wander more around the camp, visit the tea house, and take a moment to gather my constitution. My feet took me all around, my eyes just trying to catch everything to remember, and I found myself checking on my friend. Laying face first in the pillows of the tea house he seemed to finally find some peace, he looked like he was finally able to actually sleep after some years, you know when you can never really rest after all the places your body has been? This moment felt like a hard reboot on the personal terminal. I got some hot tea, I was trying hard to not grind my teeth or let the anxiety bleed out.

My hands stopped shaking and I found something there that I think we have a hard time creating outside in the real world. Grounding in a third space. The energy brought me back and I felt reconnected to all of the emotions and thoughts running through my head. This had all been more than I could really handle. Even ending up here at Vibe Camp sometimes felt like I didn’t belong but every moment ended up welcoming in new people that did find a create space for me which felt good, really good.

I got up eventually after binging some tea, my mouth got so dry. I walked by the pool at night and crawled into my hammock to try to get through Frank Herbert’s introduction to Dune. Butlerian Jihad today! Have you read Nueromancer? The first book was my favorite. The movie adaptation of Messiah will be biblical. Underneath everything here and all the fun conversations there was something else, a deep darkness. I watched the sky that night and you could see comets streaking across the sky, it was dark enough to see the milky way without a telescope, and at this point I couldn’t sleep. I found my self reading with my red-light in the hammock for hours.

The sun started to rise and it held a light halo in the horizon for a few hours before finally breaking through. I rolled out the hammock and left all my stuff I had gathered inside, apples and oranges, just some fruit I had squirreled away for a snack later… my shoes. I found myself by the water again as they began their morning brew, the set up was mesmerizing it felt like it never stopped as it shifted between barista and bar services. I helped grab some water and drank a hot cup of Joe.

We all sat around for a bit to talk and see what’s up and how everyone else’s night went as we have reached the final day. More interviews.

What, what do I say? Do I even respond? How should I respond? This is causing more trouble than it’s worth...UGH, I just need to get out of here. Where do I go? coffee. I need to wake up. I need to focus. Oh, but wait no, I don’t want to go alone I’ll look weird. Maybe Ben might wanna go. MAYBE he might be able to help. 12:00AM. so I’m just going to wake him up. I’m thinking too much, Time to go.

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“It’s a little rainy.” I muttered to myself, with a tinge of contempt and began walking down to my car. Ah little hero you terrible old machine. How long is Ben going to take? He’s probably going to be late. It was a bit weird as I was walking down, I swear at a glance there was someone watching me. My “Hero” the one and only, not really, my very own black ‘69 Volkswagen Beetle, it was a fairly modest car nothing special other than it managing to outlasting its time. Rust around the fenders, a few “dings” here and there, it’s funny because in a way I respect the old. All that is left over the stuff that managed to survive this long, it’s sad really. To go this long and have so much to do, and be at a point where you can do pretty much nothing. Where was I? oh yeah. After struggling with the blasted door lock, and then fiddling with about three more on the inside I manage to finally get going. Maybe I’m the one is going to be frickin’ late. Eventually with the road in my rear view mirror... who is that? I’m probably seeing things. I need to get it together this is getting out of hand. aw jesus. Forget about it. The roads were nice, dimly lit, kind of like that deep luminescent glow from a fire nestled in the mountains. It was of course nothing like that but it was calming in a sense, a peculiar warmth. I miss home. The roads here are torn down, the infrastructure here is shaky at best, I’m actually kind of surprised that on this little trek I haven’t collapsed into a flooded pothole destroyed poor hero. This rain is getting worse. Why did I do this now? Although the coffee shop...It burned like the end of cigarette in dark, scorching through most of the rain, salvation at last. Maybe I can start fixing some of this. How could I mess it up that bad? Pulling up the rain was finally in downpour, and ben’s car wasn’t anywhere in sight. I ended up looking around for a bit, I haven’t been to this side of town in a while but ben insisted that we visited this dumb coffee shop. I guess that had something to do with it being open in the middle of the night. “Coffee” right off Martin Luther King Boulevard, funny little place the only thing lit up was its emblem. A phoenix laid inside souring out only to be encased in light.

Despite this complete dread for the rain, it was that bad. I’m lying to you it was THAT BAD. However, I could care less at this point. I have more contempt for myself than the world around me.

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You will need to be informed that you’ve been lied to. We as children are protected from life because it is comfortable, and we change the stories too mystical and outrageous. Seal the lips telling them and hide the fates of the men and women behind mystery to protect the mind and the general public. These tales stay cloaked in mythic so many can die and live with sense of safety, and so the creatures of the night may stay in nightmare. It’s such tales that sometimes find themselves in memoirs like this where myth meets reality and the veil rips. The dust is settling and the veil is torn, you’re just lucky enough to get a glimpse into something that will never see the light of day past this very moment.

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10/ 6/ 1849, Outskirts of Baltimore: “We find ourselves far from our homes in search of creature that comes in the night, Swiftly taking victims leaving no trace. Wilhelm and I haven’t seen anything like it, It’s completely unlike the lycanthrope of Germany. It’s smarter. Much smarter, I fear we’ve stumbled onto something we are very unprepared to face.” End of entry.

The forest lay silent cloaked in snow and the light of the moon, pale and blue, we begin to focus in and the world slowly closes in. Focus now on a man crouching, dark brown coat with a shotgun by his feet, he rummaging through his pack in search of his kit.

“Despicable, I thought these creatures would have some decency leave something other than the blasted hood. It would certainly make hunting the damned thing much easier.” Jacob sighed, standing over the torn remains of a blood red hood. There was a rustling of the bushes and a quick and swift entrance of Wilhelm Grimm, shorter, lighter haired, black coat and rucksack on his back. “ I can’t seem to find any signs of the girl and there hasn’t been any other signs of struggle, what do you think it could be?”

“There’s only one thing it can be, if it were a Lycan we would have at least had something more to work with. No, this is something different smarter.” Jacob stood up examining the cloak.

“Jacob, I think we need to head back into the city, we have no idea what we are trying to kill and we do not need it killing us before hand.” Wilhelm, generally didn’t venture too far into much of the unknown as his brother did. After being hexed by a witch burdened him with a severe illness that left him weakened his entire life, he tended to stick with inventions than the detective work his brother performed. Him found himself here because they were good at hunting as a team and riding whatever hellish evil found it’s way too far into the day. Waiting for a response Wilhelm couldn’t shake the most acute feeling. “fine.” Jacob broke his focus and gestured to gather the limited equipment.

The Silence broke with each step the brothers made back to safety, anxiety and uncertainty spiked the duo didn’t know where to begin. As the reach the cobblestone paved streets of Baltimore the inn peaked into view, Braziers lit with the fire roaring faintly they entered. A man, who appeared drunk, laid sleeping in the corner by the fire, Wilhelm stared at the man for a brief moment and continued, the innkeeper was no where in sight, the room doors shut, and the bar closed. They continued to their room and a deafening silence followed the door closing, the man whom laid sleeping rose blood splatters covered his cloak, he stumbles to his feet and stuffs a little book into his pocket.

The brothers lay wake, a single candle illuminating the hard wood room. Beds paralleling each other covered in simple white patterned covered sheets, and wall paneled with a single window facing the outskirts of town and the forest to follow. In the middle stood a desk and chair with the candle atop, Jacob sat writing in a small book, While Wilhelm laid looking up counting the wood knots.

Finally Jacob whispered, “I’m not sure what to expect, hell, I’m not even sure we’ll be able to find it or even survive.”

“You shouldn’t talk like that, besides you’ve got me.” Wilhelm, spoke in a slightly dishearten tone.

“Well I know that but still it was stupid to come so soon.”

“Bah, you’ve said before ‘a good friend doesn’t let you do stupid things alone’, and I’m your brother so quit, I may not be much help but I’m here”

“I just hope we can find it and kill it fast enough before it can take another.” Jacob sat back, In that very moment a large thud echoed through the inn. Wilhelm sat up immediately and they stared at each other.

“Do you think it found us?” Wilhelm spoke in a hushed voice.

“Maybe, did you notice anything on the way back?” Jacob sat unmoving.

“That man.”

“What?”

“There was a man laying in the corner near the fire.”

“Oh, He wasn’t moving when we got in but I assumed he was just passed out drunk.”

“Why would the innkeeper allow him to stay? Also, The innkeeper was no where to be found, and despite the fire this place has been giving off generally creepy vibes.”

“Well you could have said something sooner!” Jacob exclaimed as he quietly mouthed the statement as best as he could. His gestures filling the air.

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Jacob predominantly stayed focused on a single topic intensely and ignored much of everything else until he found a solution or conclusion. His brother had to be eyes and ears at these points in a moments notice, because Jacob tended to drift and Wilhelm had picked when it happens. At this point in time, a tremendous slam hit the door and the room shook, another followed and the door began to crack.

“It found us.” Wilhelm began to panic.

“Quick! Grab the weapons!” Jacob dove for the packs under the beds, tossing Wilhelm’s inventions up the revolving shotgun and hidden “pistol blades”. These curious inventions are supplied by no other than Wilhelm Grimm, because he tended to nothing else but tinker with what he already knew, weapons. After being crippled by the hex and bedridden for four years, Wilhelm had plenty of time to perfect his killing concepts and weapon effectiveness. Jacob managed the find and hunt the witch with Wilhelm’s inventions, and promptly slay her. That, however, is a story for another time. After a third blow the hull of the door cracked, and the creature shoved and arm through clawing at the brothers.

“Hah!” Wilhelm quickly slashed at its arm, it shrieked.

“Well at least we know silver can still hurt the thing.” Jacob quickly exhaled and broke the door into the second floor hallway. It was bleak and short dark, dried, sunken wood panels and oil lanterns on both sides. It stood at the end of the stairs staring, Jacob flung up the gun and shot, It reacted faster and darted down the stairs. Jacob and Wilhelm followed in earnest.

“At least we aren’t dead yet, and We’ve found it. maybe.” Wilhelm panted trying to catch his breath.

“Focus on killing it, we can talk later” Jacob quickly began searching what now seemed like a dungeon, the fire was dying and a strange cold filled the room. They searched and this time they knew they were being watched, patiently staring the brothers stood waiting.

Another shriek and it burst through the inn keeper’s room door and sprang at them, startling Wilhelm pushing him into the wall disorienting him, and ripped the shotgun from Jacob breaking his arm then swiftly throwing it and him over the bar. Then It began its pursuit of Wilhelm.

Confused with vision blurred, Wilhelm found it hard to make out the noises around him, he could barely make out where he was at the moment as well. A blurred figure slowly began stumbling toward him shoving whatever obstruction and toppled furniture out of the way. Jacob began yelling to gain a grasp on his brother attention and force him back into consciousness. Wilhelm shook his vision clear but he was too late. It finally reached it’s target.

He struggled but the thing was much stronger than he, although he looked human not beast nor serpent. It lifted him up pushing him upward against the wall trapped.

“what are you?” Wilhelm asked.

“there are some secrets that do not permit themselves to be told.” It spoke back.

“Ah, A poet I see, I’d ’ve never had thought there would come a day I would see

this.” Wilhelm spat out.

“The day has yet to come and the light is dying, our time will soon be upon the likes of man once more.”

Those words echoed in Wilhelm’s mind and he became paralyzed with fear, as the creature continued to speak, Jacob caught his eye. Moving slowly into position Jacob began to align a shot, and it alarmed Wilhelm further and he began preparing pistols. The trick they had performed before on the more intelligent half-human creatures, this thing they may have never seen before but it bled, and if it could bleed it could die. Jacob and Wilhelm swapped positions but the plan was still the same, divert attention and rip it’s heart out. As the creature began to finish and tighten its grip around his neck slowly killing him, a shot was fired and it dodged quickly turning to Jacob.

“You’re dead.” Jacob said staring down the creature. The creature lunged and quickly Wilhelm shot every round he had into it’s back. It stood motionless staring at Jacob, he stared back and shot it through the heart. It collapsed and a book fell out with the name “Edgar” written on the inside of the front cover.

I wanted to get out of that f*cking house because I could not stand it anymore. My head burned and I didn’t know where else to go that night but you know what they say! F*ck it. I walked faster and the shoes I wore scraped loudly against the asphalt that the community would call “roads.” I looked down and felt my pockets for my lighter and I lit one up. The trees around me shifted with the smoke. I want…

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All great in former glories 

the tales whom stories 

of horror and spite persist


met with others more Grimm 

that leave hearts dim

and eyes whiter than cyst.



Through twists of fate or folly 

Death knocks, twice, and follows

but sometimes those twists and follies 

have yet to be told in a time be jolly




torching texts temperature peaking: 451 then done;

burning books like yours and poems like this one.



these demons left to prey,

breeding imagination,

feeding revolution,

a Grimm sight

darkest night

brighter.

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“Torture destroys the soul of the torturer even as it destroys the body of its victim. The boundary between humane treatment of prisoners and torture is perhaps the clearest boundary on existence between civilization and barbarism”

• Jonathan Schell 1.

Gaining national coverage as the story broke, the shock and awe that surrounded the photographs that emerged from Abu Ghraib only scratched the surface of what would be done in the name of safety. The only real glimpses of what occurred within that facility came paired with smiling faces in the foreground. Many of those people who were appalled by the nature of these sadistic actions conducted by fellow American’s on other human beings almost seemed like fiction. The very photographs embodying events that occurred in a far off land with nameless faces distanced us from them, and what was happening in those rooms; however, in this instance those faces wore a uniform…a U.S. military uniform. Although, it is difficult to resist the use of tortu…

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“YOU’LL SEE IT FIRST AT HOME! DIRECT ORDER NOW!”

The voice echoed through the streets from the television display inside the glass atrium. M walked the same street within the market district, every day to go to work, same signs different day. But, this time M’s eyes were quickly drawn to the brightly colored figures dancing on the screen denoting something new on the horizon. Their eyes shifting back and forth trying to not forget the moment. Then turning away to continue the trek to their work.

Months go by.

M finally gets the payout they needed the stocks went up and the dividends are finally working. M shuffles around some funds, dumping some assets, they quit. Shifting between freelance and agent work. Stuck at home, trying to figure out what to do next how to get out. The Truman effect. Stuck in your head and working the same type of job.

New employment, new problems, same city. San Gabriel, a conglomeration of collectives, and boroughs, and entirely different cities all sprawled together into one giant piece in the southwest.

Weeks go by.

As they walked down the street with their back to the sun the day felt different. M’s savings has gotten to highest. Enough now to make moves. The time to buy a place to live, and decide where to go. Find a spot plant roots because nothing it seems has bore fruit here.

Again the noise fills the streets, this time the display different, technology newer,

“STARTING AT PAYMENTS OF $249.99 FOR 78 MONTHS”

The voice got louder inside their head as it continued, echoing throughout the street catching new passerby’s curious with inclinations peaking them enough to check out the looped display. Looming in the distance, M continued on their commute to work as they made their way through the metroplex, past 5th street, and 5th avenue. The rumbling carts blended into the music of their headphones.

Most of the warehouse district was emptier these days as they switched systems over, and now they manage a network of independently-autonomous-agents remotely. Making sure they could still connect correctly, or fix logistical issues, or any “critical failures.” Most of what M’s daily activities were comprised of was this. They were after all more mechanically inclined than technical.

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The next weeks went by quickly.

Online was filled with chatter of different people using the robots in different ways. And, how NEURAL ETHER TETHER, or N.NET, which was built on top of the NET or, Network Exchange Technologies infrastructure since the technology was open sourced had become significantly easier to access. Everything was getting easier, is easier, with all the extra time, and how they’ve simplified most of labor because for some reason they get better every day, or how life can never truly go back to being the way it was. The only way out was through.

The store now stocked full on of these models. All of different shapes, capacities and sizes. This day, however, was special. A special new humanoid type, Kyros. These models had TwinSouls technology prominently featured on the box’s advertisements, and it sat massively on the display inside the glass atrium. Integration of the Koinonia Protocols, computer vision, and full POV from your portal-able-node or (P.A.N).

“NOW ONLY $10,000!”

M couldn’t believe their eyes how could it have gotten so cheap so quickly? Most of the money saved would have gone to trying to find secure housing outside the city, or leaving finally south, and heading out to the country. Bio-organics were all the rage these days, and finding a decent spot out there and getting to connected to the Net-Structure- Array, or N.S.A for short, made it simple and easy to remove capital from the bosses and viceroys of the state.

The door chimes as their feet gently pass through the threshold. M bristly grabbing the attention of the clerk, and having them open the plexiglass containers holding the unit. Watching them as they shuffle around with the keys all the while M looking gainfully into all the security cameras to make sure they caught their good side.

“How’s your day going?” M asks.

“Cash or Charge?” the clerk responds.

“Cash,” they say.

The street was scolding hot, and everything that day felt like it was melting, and M struggled to lift the damn thing up off the ground. It was very heavy. Cursing for a cart, they summoned a vehicle to pick up them up and take them back to their condominium building.

The box stood in the center of the room.

M’s roommate H walks into the room,

“What the fuck is that,” they say, “are you totally mad?”

M response, “no.”

They both proceed to unpack the box.

Inside a figure sat curled up in fetal position. Surprisingly smooth, no real defining features beyond the low dim glow of a light in the center of the chest cavity. It sat inert absent of any real human features beyond mass and shape. They stood for a moment and looked.

Was this was really $10,000?

They looked at each other, and as if they shared the same thought, frantically, they began searching for a way to figure out how this thing worked first.

It comes to life.

As if breathing for moment, for the first time, and then pausing. Everyone Screams.

“What the hell was that?” H yells,

“Why did you just turn it on?” M shouts back,

“What do you mean YOU brought me HERE!” K says,

“Yea but aren’t I person that decides when that happens?” M wonders aloud to both of them.

“It’s when you opened the box” K says, then K gets up from the floor after collecting the necessary data from the area to figure out how to stand, and in an instant uses their arms to push up from the ground balancing on their legs, totally bipedal. H continues to stare for moment awe-struck by how quickly and fluid everything was.

Unblinking, “There is no way this real,” H murmurs to themselves before walking off probably to smoke a cigarette somewhere.

M ignoring that comment, continued to focus on what was right in front of them. Something that was the key to the future and survival. Time was not on their side, and many things were against them. The lease was up here soon, and the lords had signaled their intent, they were tearing the building down to build a new skyscraper. They already started having fires last week so holding out isn’t going to be an option any more.

M met H on the subway a few springs back. Watched them try to stop a fight between two rival gangs, and took the shot to keep the peace. Knocked ‘em clean out, woulda probably kill ‘em too if M hadn’t broken their fall. M was so pissed from the interactions they knocked out everyone with NET move. M designed a system targeting optical retinal-matrixes, or S.T.O.R.M, and it helped get them back to the an impact center, so they could stop the bleeding, or that might have been it.

“You want to save those head injuries for when they count most, I always say…that and when you go for the shot aim with your forehead then lean into it, right by the hair line so you aren’t totally cooked by the end of it.” M said laughing as they pressed their palm into H’s side.

The next morning, they both wake up to the sound of running water and the clanking dishes. There is a song playing from H’s record collection. The two open their eyes look at each other from across their barrack style living quarters. A subtle sense of terror and joy came over both of their faces as they began to laugh from the gut until it hurt, and M fell from bed.

Getting dressed now, and playing music of a different tune in the bathroom, everything was clearer now with the help of K. It seemed like they were working all night to make sure that the unit was absolutely spotless in the morning, tasks written on the refrigerator, and circled twice, but never gotten back to completed like clockwork.

But, that’s not really why K is here. We all know that.

The digital windows shined with propaganda as the glasses replaced what was visible in front of M.

The world now filled with different instructions, texts, images, and advertisements. Paying for these glasses, at first,was worth every thing now. With the help of K actualizing this dream they are now just few steps closer to manifesting it into reality.

“NEW RELEASE ON THE NET TWINSOULS UPDATE SCHEDULED: JULIO”

Totally forgot to log in yesterday! M’s hands meet their face as they groan in exhaustion about forgetting. We were both so hung up on K that plugging in never happened. Their hand tracing their hair back behind their ears, caressing a scar on the back of their neck.

“TOTAL SYSTEM RESET” Flashes away in an instant.

M goes to work today feeling different, a little happier even, a subtle break in the loop. Everything moves quickly today, mind is set on other things, flashing through forums, and checking out posts about the new release for Twinsouls. We shouldn’t have to worry as much about the water and electricity tokens now. Now, we can focus on mining within the N-NET space.

Rent is due at the end of every week, or else they lock us out of the unit until it is paid, and the number doesn’t go down, it just turns into a storage with your name on the contract until it is paid, and the bill tagged under you on the N-NET. So to get around all of that everyone usually has to pay the entire year at once, or build a space.

The metro was filled today with a variety of people. A group gets on in tactical gear. Private security. Everyone in the train shifts to one side, a single individual walks onto the platform with a Unit-K following behind, this one looked different though.

Eye contact, briefly, just for moment, before the gentleperson seemingly turned away noticing anything beyond their sphere. M became rigid, trying hard to not move, or tremble, or wait to long, or not move at all and seem suspicious.

You can’t take the glasses off you only look away from moment.

M tumbles into the unit, physically drained, K brings food and water to them as if they knew the nourishment was needed.

“The night will be spent on N-NET and the plan is not to log until we hit our quota for today, and everyone is going to be online, so the guild needs to rush the areas. That is the main prerogative we find hottest areas, crowd the resources to try to push deeper into the new environment hopefully we can map it before anyone else, and… PK if you have to but only out of necessity.”

Player Killing is a taboo practice these days, M plugged in to the chair and pulled the AGRs Goggles over their head. Augmented Generative Reality systems logo appearing in front as if it were in the room with them shifting everything quickly into a liminal space.

I

I’ll be honest, I had no idea what to expect when coming out here for summer camp. I’d been living in Austin for almost a decade now. So, I’d like to preface with that, and provide a little background about where I am coming from. Mentally, where I am right now because I’ve been a little bit on the fringes of society as of late, punk shows, that sort of thing.

So where do I begin? Let’s start with some context, I had only been up to the north-east a handful of times in the past; However, most of that time was spent either in middle of nowhere on the “Pemigewasset Loop,” or inside a box which just happened to be in Brooklyn, New York.

After the “Covid-19 Pandemic,” I had spent most of my time locked inside of a variety of boxes just ticking away at time. I had lost most of the my structure, most of my life crumbled away, and undergrad had finished with me in lockdown, and I was online once again.

Naturally, during this point in my li…

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Remembering something in the Digital Age:

Short story time… I can think of only one thing now as I write this and it’s when I was younger I would spend hours on Youtube watching “Runescape 2” videos. (now referred to as old-school Runescape) OSRS for short and I think about how I would watch my favorite youtuber try and “max” online. Until one day his family posted on his channel that he had passed away. Of the few things their child had left behind one was that digital marker, and as technology changes some of these things are lost to the dunes of time. But as the sand shifts we are in this moment now, together. Not that what I say isn’t valuable, but I just want to be able to capture the moment before it is gone, lost too, in a sea of code.

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