Scene
1. The Dumbshow
a.
Draw a large map of Europe.
Mark on it with crisp black lines the various political boundaries between internationally
recognised independent states that
have existed, de jure or de facto, through the late lamented Twentieth Century
(and the little runt so far of the whole Third Millennium[1]).
Then mark on it in red the following:
battles & skirmishes resulting in deaths of
combatants (whether between officially sanctioned armies[2]
& their opponents, or armed irregulars of various sorts [terrorists,
partisans, resistance etc]), whether on the ground, in the air, at sea (in the area
of the map), or any combination thereof – use for this a star: *;
killings of unarmed or non-combatant
populations by either legally sanctioned or irregular combatants, whether on
the ground, or from the air or sea etc – use for this an obelisk: †;
sites where prisoners or detainees of state
or irregular forces have been executed[3],
left to die or treated such that death ensued, for reasons of their
“ethnicity”, “religion”, “politics”, “class”, “gender”, ”sexuality”,
“criminality”, “education” etc or the “necessity of war”, “pleasure”,
“operational requirements”, “historical necessity”, “justice”, “god’s will” etc
– use for this a double obelisk: ‡.
b. Stand back and admire.
c. Reread the larger text box of Figure 4 (above).
d. Read out loud in your own voice the text in
the smaller cartoon of Figure 4 (below) – I’ll reproduce it in print if
it’s too difficult for your sight: “‘Why so glum, grandpa?’ reader’s voice.”
Scene
2. Let Us Prepare for the Revolt of the Titans
Take out the box – it is black,
shiny & hopeful. We can call it a
manifold. It is marked by various input & output sockets. Lift up the box
and squint carefully into one of the input sockets. Inside it, you will see
images magically appearing: a quick-cut montage of scenes of cultural &
historical significance. Now look into the output sockets. The first of these
will show a display of values. Please say these words, in a glum voice, “The
power of the technique can readily be seen by detailed examination of the cross-peaks
associated with carbon resonances of between 50 and 55 p.p.m. The chemical shifts
for protons 3 and 9 were noted from the 1H/1H COSY to be
different. This information, when applied to the 1H/1H
COSY spectrum [Fig 4], allows all four carbon resonances to be unambiguously
assigned.”[4]
Now juggle with the manifold,
throwing up & catching it repeatedly. Try spinning it in the air or seeing
how high you can throw it. Do not let it either fall or land in some high
place. When you do so, as eventually you will, please say these words, as
noisily as you can, “We’re all on that long voyage already.”
Now stagger and sway, as you
are shaken by an earthquake. Pick up the manifold – it is, you will find, a
long way away. You must crawl to get it. When you have it, pick it up &
look into output sockets 2 & 3, switching between them several times. You
will notice how the red expands rapidly and then gets swept back into a smaller
area, but glowing brighter, followed by the yellow shifting & ending up by
splitting repeatedly & attacking itself. Please say these words, in tones of
justice, “We shall all die living with cancer.”
Now look into output socket 4,
the final socket of the manifold. The structures visible here are peculiarly
interesting and full of detail: the secrets of the Golden or Gilded Head, the
Chapel of the Opened Book and the Grave of Arthur[5]
are all revealed to you, and also of the Great Hermaphroditic Conjunction (also
known as Species Consciousness). Please say these words, following as dirty a
laugh as you can manage, “I shall now make up stories of happier things, which
could have existed and ought.”
Please, having first placed the
manifold back in its container, do so, if you can. Thank you.
[1]
Had you forgotten?
[2]
Include in this anyone in uniform and on some level employed or sanctioned by
the state – so, police, militia, state or border guards, scouts etc.
[3]
Murdered, that is
[4]
J. Mann, R.S. Davidson, J.B. Hobbs, D.V. Banthorpe and J.B. Harborne, Natural products: Their chemistry and
biological significance (Longman Scientific & Technical, 1994), p 228
[5]
Arthur could be me, as Artognou may be you.
section 2: “black, shiny & hopeful. We can call it a manifold” – this phrasing wasn’t inspired by but is conscious of the excellent ezine Black Box Manifold, edited by Alex Houen and Adam Piette.
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