It’s tempting, then to view Facebook’s world picture as expressing the mindset of a sociopath–or even a con man.

The driving force of both is that their world is the only one that matters. Their own personal joy lies in dragging everyone else into their vortex and watching as everyone stares rapt in an excitement they can’t quite define. There’s a lot of fun in that.

Is there some ultimate meaning and spiritual uplift in the proceedings? Not so much. Rather, it’s the power of the game and the protagonist’s power in the game that matter.

The gullible–that would be us–play along because the game seems to offer something that we will enjoy: success or approbation, perhaps.

But, in the end, it’s rather hard to believe that every move Facebook makes is the move of a benevolent association or a social revolutionary, instead of a move by an advertising company.

Who might suspect, in their private hearts, that privacy is not something that enjoys too much philosophical debate at Facebook HQ? Rather, it’s simply something that stands in the way of selling more adverts. It’s an inconvenience that gets in the way of economic progress.

Because economic progress is far more important than any individual’s right to keep herself to herself. That’s not Facebook’s fault, some might say. That’s just the world we live in. We’ve all come to believe that economic progress matters more than anything.

 

It’s tempting, then to view Facebook’s world picture as expressing the mindset of a sociopath–or even a con man.

The driving force of both is that their world is the only one that matters. Their own personal joy lies in dragging everyone else into their vortex and watching as everyone stares rapt in an excitement they can’t quite define. There’s a lot of fun in that.

Is there some ultimate meaning and spiritual uplift in the proceedings? Not so much. Rather, it’s the power of the game and the protagonist’s power in the game that matter.

The gullible–that would be us–play along because the game seems to offer something that we will enjoy: success or approbation, perhaps.

But, in the end, it’s rather hard to believe that every move Facebook makes is the move of a benevolent association or a social revolutionary, instead of a move by an advertising company.

Who might suspect, in their private hearts, that privacy is not something that enjoys too much philosophical debate at Facebook HQ? Rather, it’s simply something that stands in the way of selling more adverts. It’s an inconvenience that gets in the way of economic progress.

Because economic progress is far more important than any individual’s right to keep herself to herself. That’s not Facebook’s fault, some might say. That’s just the world we live in. We’ve all come to believe that economic progress matters more than anything.

an unconscious person believes ads and news reports, thinks what everybody knows must be true, gets caught up in their emotions and becomes intensely egotistic (panic about the overwhelming urgency of my needs in this moment).

a conscious person avoids histrionics and strong emotions because they cloud the mind, sees the twist involved in understanding the background truth, the boy and girl are more conscious now; calmer and more insightful, more rational. but in a quantum way, because we’re not talking about regular newtonian rationality.

these are my first thoughts.  what does it say on the internet?

all sorts of things.  and of course the first thing that came up after a simple search on ‘consciousness’ was a ted talk on quantum consciousness. so, great.

The unconscious is driven by guttural and primitive needs and can be unpredictable. The unconscious is extremely smart. It is also keenly perceptive even if the conscious person is not. It uses various hooks to let you know there are problems. If the problems are small, the behaviors are not usually serious. If they are more pronounced, it usually means there are more serious issues. The unconscious isn’t bad. It just makes life unpleasant when you shove issues on it. Or, when someone else triggers issues. When you are in balance with your needs and internal issues, the unconscious is a very powerful ally to your mental and physical health. You can actually get in touch with your unconscious and “read” it so you know when things aren’t right so you can do something about it. Most “normal” people have a balance between their unconscious and conscious self. When the conscious and unconscious are both aware of the issues, threats and conflicts, there is a kind of balance. The unconscious doesn’t need to raise flags by arresting conscious behavior. The truth is we are all a little imbalanced so even normal people can suddenly exhibit unconscious behavior. Understanding this behavior can give the salesperson remarkable insight into a person’s motivation.

The unconscious person is immensely and clearly perceptive and can be more so than the conscious person. People who are unperceptive as a conscious person can be razor sharp in their clarity of unconscious perception. No matter how unperceptive you think someone is, you can bet their unconscious is reading everything with crystal clarity. I am convinced, based on what I have observed, that no matter how imperceptive a conscious person is, their unconscious is still razor sharp. This means that your unconscious will “see through” almost anything but the conscious self may not. Because of the separation between the two, the conscious you may never perceive something your unconscious sees. For example, if someone is trying to manipulate you or fool you, your unconscious will clearly see the strategy. If the person who is trying to manipulate you is very good at it, you may not consciously be aware of it. Your unconscious will be. If you are in touch with your unconscious, you will feel uncomfortable about what is happening and realize something is wrong. Your gut is a good unconscious indicator. If you are out of touch with your unconscious, you won’t be able to connect the warning signals that something is wrong. People who aren’t in touch with their unconscious go through life unaware about some of their conscious behavior. If the problems are severe enough, their quality of life can be very poor.

Your feelings are a good indication of what your unconscious is telling you. Have you ever been sad or had feelings you couldn’t understand why you experienced them? If you are more connected with your unconscious, you know why you feel a certain way. If you aren’t, you can feel a certain way but not understand why you do. Also, you may be aware of feelings you have but not aware of how you are behaving. This disconnection between the conscious and unconscious can be small or large. It all depends on how many deep issues a person has. These “issues” can be unresolved problems such as being really mad at your parents (unconsciously – so you aren’t aware of being mad), for something they never did for you.

Don’t think only the unintelligent can be out of touch with their unconscious. Very smart people can be out of touch. This is because smart people can be very good at denial. In fact, the smarter you get, the more sophisticated you become at denial. They can be so good at it that they can make most any bad feeling go away. This is why some really smart people seem to do very dumb things. The dumb things are usually unconscious issues surfacing. This is how conflict with the unconscious begins to escalate and manifest itself with behavior the person is unaware of. What is funny is that other people observing a person in denial can read them very clearly. A person in denial can have serious issues and may behave in detrimental ways and not be aware of it. This is important to know when you are dealing with someone with these issues. They simply can’t see them.

The unconscious can be an unfair judge of people and their motivations. It has its own way of interpreting the world and it’s out of a person’s conscious control. An unconscious person can be vengeful and full of rage. Problems in childhood can shape how the adult unconscious person interprets the world around them. When the unconscious person is out of balance with the conscious person there are personality issues. A troubled, unconscious person can be a problem. When you couple this type of unconscious personality to its ability to clearly perceive the outside world’s intentions, you get a paranoid thinking that can be extremely suspicious and judgmental.

The best way is to work around unconscious behavior is to avoid direct confrontation. If you confront a person about what is their unconscious behavior, you will cause the person to become defensive (not good) and you may run the risk of becoming a target of their unconscious. So a good rule to follow is; if you are going to address someone about a particular behavior, make sure you know whether it’s conscious or unconscious.

but many people have a gut feel that something isn’t right with this person. Managers usually understand this behavior when a subordinate is doing it and may use indirect methods to contain them if they get too much out of line. If you are in the crosshairs of an unconscious attack, you cannot deal with it directly. You need to have other people (your peers or manager) be aware of this behavior so you don’t get screwed. The rule is avoid it as much as possible, but if you have to deal with it, you need to build a consensus that this person is a problem. You don’t discuss your problem directly with people, but you make sure there is an audience when this behavior occurs. Even if the unconscious behavior is subtle, most people will see it. If this person is attacking you, they are probably attacking others.

If you are convinced someone is unconsciously trying to attack you there may be little you can do. Understanding the root of their problem will help you deal with it. If a peer is behaving this way with you, this may be their way of competing. Withholding information is another way of exerting power when the person is unconsciously insecure. If your manager is doing unconscious things to you they may not like something about you. Usually it is a way of keeping more power for themselves when they are insecure. You may be a type of person they have trouble dealing with. You may want to try to understand that more and find out what their issue is. In some cases, you can do something about it. You can’t deal directly with their unconscious but you might try to gain more trust from them. If your manager has a problem with your personality, you might want to adjust to make it easier to deal with you. Don’t expect people with unconscious behavior to articulate what they’re doing or cooperate. Because the behavior is unconscious they are unaware of it. You have to deal with it indirectly. If your boss is having problems with you, it is you who have to develop a plan to (1) identify the root of the behavior problem and (2) do something that will make them feel easier about you. Depending on how deeply rooted and problematic the issue is, you may or may not be able to do anything about it.

Don’t forget that you might be the person with the unconscious behavior and are blaming everybody else for your problems. You may have similar unconscious issues with a person who is doing something to you, (see Transference And Counter-Transference ). If you are very much in touch with your behavior, you might be able to discover your unconscious issues. This is very hard to do. People who have good self-analytic skills can do this. Consult with friends or therapists, mentors, anybody you can trust can help give you feedback. Just tell them the story about your manager or peer. If they throw something back in your face that you do that stuff too, you may be guilty or even the initiator. (You may unconsciously choose to ignore sage advice which may be a problem with you – see The Personality Disorder & The Neurotic ). Unfortunately, people understand so little about unconscious behavior many don’t even know it when it’s right under their nose.

if you can get in touch with your unconscious, it can help you read people very well. Most salespeople who are good at their job already have some sensitivity to their unconscious. Unknowingly, they are using their unconscious that has the ability to instantly read people. They are able to ‘read’ it’s subtle messaging and see through to someone else’s unconscious. This is a very powerful tool to help you understand and read people. If you can refine it, your ability to read people and understand their motivations will be greatly enhanced. I guess the next question is how do you do this? Well, it has to do with how well you are connected to your unconscious. For starters, if you understand how to read your feelings and can guess the root of why you have those feelings, you are doing pretty well. For those who can’t yet articulate why you have certain feelings, or maybe can’t recognize you are having feelings, need to get in touch more with your unconscious. To do this, you need to first be able to know when you are having subtle feelings communicated to you. This takes some real perceptive reasoning. You need to know that one thing may mean another. Also note these feelings can be at a very low level. You need to train yourself to recognize they’re there then try to figure out what they mean.

more from this guy

Challenging a belief structure is like shaking the foundation of how we interpret reality. As a salesperson you may inadvertently discover a flaw in someone else’s belief structure. Be careful as to how you move forward. Presenting them with the ‘truth’ may cause them a lot of anxiety. If they can handle it, you may choose to expose them to the truth. If you think they may not handle it well, you might back off. If you really care about the person, then you should help them understand it. You should be with them through the ordeal of relearning all they thought was the way of the world.

Some people exploit destroying people’s belief structures. These people are insecure and are smart enough to have sophisticated perceptions about other people and sense when they are vulnerable. More than likely, these people have a personality disorder because they are insecure and it makes them feel superior to hurt people. People that do this are cruel and have no idea what they do to others. If the opportunity presents itself, you may want to intervene if someone is trying to destroy someone’s belief structure. It all depends on the situation.

and here’s a great definition from him that i can use to fill out my characters

there are two types of people, the personality disorder and the neurotic. The neurotic says “it’s my fault.” The personality disorder says “it’s your fault.” One takes responsibility for their behavior and the other doesn’t. The neurotic will take responsibility for a problem and can try to fix it. The personality disorder will unconsciously or consciously blame others for their predicaments and wish the world would stop screwing them. In business, the neurotic will work with you, admit mistakes and may try to fix problems. The personality disorder will blame others in their organization for their misfortunes and can hold grudges.

and this is completely different, from a dictionary of philosophy.  apparently consciousness is THE hot topic today.  this is a very thorough study i should read.  hell, i should study them all, but i don’t have time to become more than a tyro.

The two broad, traditional and competing theories of mind are dualism and materialism (or physicalism). While there are many versions of each, the former generally holds that the conscious mind or a conscious mental state is non-physical in some sense, whereas the latter holds that, to put it crudely, the mind is the brain, or is caused by neural activity. It is against this general backdrop that many answers to the above questions are formulated and developed. There are also many familiar objections to both materialism and dualism. For example, it is often said that materialism cannot truly explain just how or why some brain states are conscious, and that there is an important “explanatory gap” between mind and matter. On the other hand, dualism faces the problem of explaining how a non-physical substance or mental state can causally interact with the physical body.

Some philosophers attempt to explain consciousness directly in neurophysiological or physical terms, while others offer cognitive theories of consciousness whereby conscious mental states are reduced to some kind of representational relation between mental states and the world. There are a number of such representational theories of consciousness currently on the market, including higher-order theories which hold that what makes a mental state conscious is that the subject is aware of it in some sense. The relationship between consciousness and science is also central in much current theorizing on this topic: How does the brain “bind together” various sensory inputs to produce a unified subjective experience? What are the neural correlates of consciousness? What can be learned from abnormal psychology which might help us to understand normal consciousness? To what extent are animal minds different from human minds? Could an appropriately programmed machine be conscious?

anyway.

in the isles ring of the antarctica game, the religion or philosophy is animism, where even the rocks and wind have souls and intelligence.  the boy is talented, but no gardener.

in the mountains, the goddess rules.  the boy tires of this and runs off to be a pirate with other lost boys.

in the lowlands, it’s like early christianity, only it’s quantumanity, and snake is an apostle with a growing church.  the boy transitions from pirate to governor, when snake tries to make a deal with him – you join my church, and i’ll make you emperator with my fanatical minions. we’ll conquer the world.

into the wilderness, the boy runs from snake’s offer, and wanders alone, like the buddha, an ascetic recluse monk.  he rediscovers quantum consciousness and remembers his mission.  he gathers the wandering tribes for an assault on the citystates of the hinterlands, to spread the new way.

in the hinterlands, he spreads quantum consciousness like a prophet, performing many miracles and making many converts.  snake’s church, now the state religion, finds him upsetting to the status quo, because the church controls the quantum things.  as a great military leader he organizes all the citystates, which takes more control from the church, who benefited from mediating between the quarreling citystates.

in hell, snake is the pope, and uses the inquisition to persecute snake for his so-called miracles.  he’s on trial for heresy, but the rulers of hell make a deal – help stamp out quantum insurgency and we’ll make you ceo.

in the gamburtsevs, he walks away from the bargain and faces the consequences of his actions.

sword and feather. book 1, volume 1 (tale)

cover

front matter

page I (3 panels)

1. longshot of atlanta at night, centered on a dragoncon hotel roof with 2 small figures lounging on top…

2. medium shot of boy and girl admiring view. dragoncon. atlanta is overrun by fans…anything is possible. the late-night revelry of 10,000 partiers 45 floors below can be felt and heard on the roof, but a couple of stars are visible, the wind is cool, and the boy and girl are alone, relaxing and talking casually before the large quantities of various recreational substances they ingest kick in…

3. closeup on boy and girl as they slump into a vision together:

II (7)

4. medium shot: the couple asleep on the rooftop. a wireframe hand with fairy wings (monty python joke) comes out of a tiny cloud and sprinkles the boy and girl with fairy dust (peter pan joke).

5. medium shot: groggy but not surprised, they wake as the hand (khalil gibran joke) points them toward the second star on the right (peter pan joke). “straight on till antarctica.”

6. closeup: boy and girl look at each other, appalled by the joke references.

7. medium shot: boy and girl discover they can fly…

8. medium shot: stumble once…

9. longshot: and flutter feebly into the sky..

10. longshot: monochrome image riffing off john and michael combined with ET over the moon.
III (7)

11. medium shot: flying thru space approaching star.

12. longshot: star resolves into a ball with a fractal-looking outline on it, resembling a logo.

13. longshot: closer still, it becomes a white planet with colored stripes, the details obscured by clouds.

14. longshot: even closer, and they can see islands and a small continent. the colored stripes suggest the figure of a person.

15. medium shot: they land on a cloud.

16. longshot above the garden of eden/antarctica, the boy and girl looking in awe, a fiery angel (with a wireframe hand) descending to the cloud

17. medium shot: the angel gives them powers just like his, powers of an expanded will.
IV (6)

18. closeup: they don’t feel any different.

19: longshot: lounging in the garden of eden. the angel watches in dismay as multiple versions of the boy and girl spend all their time playing games with multiple universes they have created.

20. medium shot: the angel turns off their games and multiples,

21. tells them that they’ve got better things to do with their powers,

22. and promises they can have the key to the garden

23. if they can answer a simple question…

V (8)

24. closeup on the angel. “what is the essence of the game?”…

25. medium shot: they look at him and say, “huh?” and offer a shallow response….

26. closeup: “to win,” says the boy… to learn practical strategies

27. closeup: “to learn,” says the girl… to practice being human, to share, to communicate

28. medium shot: the angel clarifies, “what is behind that curtain?” they look at each other this time. “what?”…

29. closeup: the angel tries to be more specific. “answer yes or no.” they are baffled. “huh?”

30. extreme closeup: the angel loses his temper …

31. medium shot: and kicks them out of the garden with his fiery sword.

VI (5)

32. medium shot: at the gates of the garden of eden. the boy looks back to see the angel quenching the fiery sword in a rock,

33. closeup: the girl notices a feather dropping from the angel’s wings

34. medium shot: they steal back to get them.

35. medium shot: they leave thru the gates together, out of a lush sunny garden…

36. longshot: into a barren wasteland full of gray rocks, under an angry sky.

this next section has a different style and looks different than the previous section.

VII (9)

37. longshot: neolithic: among barren rocks

38. medium shot: they are like babies and have to coax the environment to help them.

39. closeup: they interact with winds

40. medium shot: and water

41. closeup: and seeds

42. extreme closeup: and finally with great effort

43. medium shot: establish contact with animals

44. longshot: who help them and feed them

45. closeup: until they can grow weak bodies.

VIII (7)

46. longshot: viking: in harsh mountain forests

47. longshot: and on cold deep seas

48. medium shot: they compensate for their childish weakness

49. closeup: with psychokinetic muscles,

50. medium shot: concentrating energy to build ships

51. long shot: and buildings

52. closeup: and make fires.
IX (8)

53. longshot: medieval: in pastoral villages

54. longshot: and small port towns

55. medium shot: they attain their full strength and opacity,

56. closeup: and develop the ability to manifest,

57. longshot: as other players appear

58. medium shot: to fill out the other roles.

59. medium shot: they find themselves entraining other players,

60. closeup: hampering their gameplay with interactions.
X (6)

61. longshot: golden horde: over vast areas of uninhabited piedmont

62. longshot: and estuary

63. medium shot: they avoid the growing crowds for a time,

64. longshot: developing a sense of where all the players are.

65. extreme longshot: they become aware of everything in the game world.

66. closeup: their powers enhance their appearance and confidence, exaggerating their strength.
XI (8)

67. longshot: hinterland: in rich and productive lands

68. medium shot: being steadily encroached upon

69. extreme longshot: by the big city,

70. medium shot: they organize the adoring crowds

71. medium shot: and teach them how to harness their wills as best they can.

72. closeup: but the crowds are mesmerized by them

73. longshot: and can only be controlled imperfectly.

74. closeup: their appearance hardens and lumps up, shrinking slightly as they tire from the effort.
XII (6)

75. longshot: hell city: in dark, dirty and crowded city

76. closeup: of extremes

77. mediumshot: they and all the droids they command

78. longshot: are no match for the powers that be,

79. medium shot and they resist

80. medium s hot: as best they can,
XIII (7)

81. closeup: within the system

82. closeup: and against it.

83. medium shot: they continue to spread techniques for self-mastery / quantum powers,

84. long shot: even tho tptb are winning.

85. closeup: their appearance ages and weakens

86. medium shot: as their powers are exhausted by fighting tptb

87. longshot: and watching their people suffer.
XIV (6)

88. longshot: gamburtsevs:  in an electronic mountain range

89. medium shot: they stand alone to fight the boss enemy.

90. closeup: their appearance is old and weak,

91. closeup: but they are at the peak of their powers.

92. medium shot: they are surprised by the identity of their enemy

93. closeup: they face themselves as they were in the garden of eden – young, spoiled, innocent, stupid.
XV (6)

94. closeup: then they are those younger selves, facing caricatures of their old selves in ridiculous ill-fitting fantasy getup.

95. medium shot: both versions ready to fight to the death.

96. closeup on both as they

97. closeup: decide this is a silly idea,

98. medium shot: and put the weapons down,

99. medium shot: and embrace.
XVI (8)

100. closeup: the embrace makes them all explode,

101. medium shot: and they see that they are all one,

102. long shot: and there is no time or space,

103. extreme longshot: and they create the entire universe

104. extreme closeup: in their own minds.

105. medium shot: the angel appears to ask the meaning of what they’ve just been thru

106. long shot: and they answer with a koan-type answer that embraces the quantum universe.

107. extreme longshot: or not. fade to black.

back cover

the boy is a military nut, and is in the sca because he likes medieval brawlers, but dragoncon doesn’t have an sca track, so he is into space opera military things.  he lives in midtown.

fairy works as a massage therapist and is into bdsm and altered states.  very middle class background, or hippies.  lives in little 5 points, of course.

snake is from real money; his parents live in country club of the south or better, and he’s got an apartment in buckhead and drives a bmw because he’s slumming.  ga tech and he works at emory in their computer department, but he’s more of a manager than a programmer.

and the girl?  he says her name is mary elizabeth, or beth.  i laughed, i’m afraid.  still, it’s better than eve…she comes from a church background, with her mom as a musical director and the dad as the holy preacher. she lives by herself in an apartment inman park, motorcycles or marta in motorcycle leathers, works in computer graphics in a corporation.

kurt: doesn’t matter where he lives.  maybe farm people for his parents.  was a dotcom millionaire and invested it.  works on side projects he’s interested in, but mainly works on his quantum computer, in his van, parked in a public lot on a monthly pass.

jim had a lot to say, but i interrupted him a bunch, so i forget most of these details.  but they’re not the point, and i can fill them in later. (which i did)

i’m going to have to redo the first chapter – the vision – because what happens in their vision is not a miniature of what they develop into a game, but what they’re supposed to do with the game, how they’re supposed to change the world with it.

when they go to translate their vision into a videogame they get sidetracked into making the midway and carneytown levels – they think they need to give remedial physics lessons to the players, and so they delay getting around to teaching quantum skills – and mainly this is because they don’t know anything about teaching quantum skills when they design the game.  they only get put back on track when the boy and girl land on antarctica and find all the other players arriving at the same time.

the game they design never gets built or played.  it’s all there on paper, but shit happens while they’re waiting to make the game.

how are they sidetracked?  could it be that they are already in their midst, sabotaging their every move?  in the case of abandoning classical mechanics for quantum mechanics, the saboteurs are already there inside even the most gung-ho revolutionary – even the people it’s happening to will deny and reject it once they’re back to their ordinary minds.  every one of them will edge away from the implications of a quantum daily life.  what happens in an altered state can’t, and shouldn’t, cross over into waking reality.  that’s what dreams and fantasies are for.  they’re not real.  if they became real, there’d be hell to pay.  so nobody really wants the things that happen in dreams to start happening in real life.  and so there’s no sabotage needed, no agents provocateur, no them.

the way it happens, the midway turns into a gambling parlor where lots of people make lots of realworld money and people learn all the rules of physics that can help them cheat, and all the skills get put to the wrong uses.  carneytown becomes a place of violence, a dark shootemup with stolen car races and group shootouts where players learn cooperation but also mob mentality and wartime morals.

this is how the real players see it once it goes live.  the beta testers only reported gameplay bugs, and started using the lessons to win games, the alpha testers didn’t really get the point of the lessons, and the bug reports were shallow, the boy and girl just ran thru making sure the lessons were in place.

but once they’re in the quantum kernel’s realm, which a real and persistent altered state, they can do anything they desire, literally.  the strength, force, and discipline of your desire is what causes things to happen in the game.  in quantum reality.  and when players get used to that, they naturally start using it in the realworld, and they pick up on it immediately.  but it has to be something small.

they’re doing open testing at the second dragoncon.  testers start popping up in two places at once.  on security cameras.  because…the hub of the midway is modeled on the atrium lobby level of the marriott hotel, yeah, one of the hubs of dragoncon.  right.  and when people are in the hub on the midway, they appear in the atrium of the marriott, in their avatars.  maybe as ghostly shapes, maybe as solid objects.  maybe practicing wacky things with gravity or acceleration.  when the boy and girl go to test the cloud level that night at dragoncon, they find open testers all over, building shit in the clouds.  okay, that’s good.  just popped out, just like spitting out another baby.

that’s not small, however.

jim said something when i asked this question earlier.  when the boy and girl are telling people about their experience and their quantum powers the next day, and they’re asked to demonstrate, they can’t.  no, that’s not it.  when they’re asked to demonstrate, they immediately do something spectacular, but very fast.  a lot of people miss it.  and they try again, and nothing.  it seems the more they try, the harder it is to do.  it’s not something that can be ordered, or that the left brain can make happen.  it’s spontaneous, linked to genuine emotions, flow.  you can’t cause flow with your rational mind, you can only relax into it and allow it.

so they realize they have to teach how to allow it, so they mash up magic and yoga and the force and the bene gesserit teachings and lots of newage stuff, and start teaching it as philosophy and martial arts and healthcare, as well as selling it as a comic book and a game.

so what really happens in the vision?  the garden of eden sequence is fine.  but once they go out into antarctica to make their game, that’s all different.  all my current version is doing is prefiguring the action to come, so i can just split it up and redistribute it.  but what they see in their vision is how the game is supposed to make people accept the reality of the quantum universe and take their places in it.

they go thru the lessons themselves, the 7 levels of physics/philosophy/reality from animism to god consciousness, the 7 quantum skills from mind-reading to manifestation, the 7 levels of civilization from the isles to the gamburtsevs.  then they can answer the question (what is the meaning of the game).

but how to tell this as a fairy tale?  in the first level they learn the first skill and the first mindset?  a long complicated fairy tale?

maybe their bodies don’t work, or go right thru things. they have to learn to make the grass grow and talk to animals so they can eat (consciousness, energy building ring 1 isles animism) then build shelter and make fire (levitation, concentrating energy ring 2 mountains goddess).  they become more real (manifestation ring 3 lowlands xian) with every lesson learned.  they look outward for something else to interact with (entanglement ring 4 wilderness classical).  they master their environment (action at a distance ring 5 hinterlands relativity).  they learn their limitations (self consciousness ring 6 hell quantum).  they accept themselves (god consciousness ring 7 gamburtsevs god consciousness).

this can be worked into a coherent little story.  but it was awful to present to jim just now.

so how does it go as a story? at each ring they ask themselves if they have the answer, and it’s a different answer each time.  they don’t split up in their vision.  they don’t fight.  there’s no violence, no cheating, no resistance to the message.  if they get distracted the flow fails and things get sick.  the colors gray out as the story goes on, with stark black and white in hell and wireframe in the gamburtsevs.

neolithic: among barren rocks they are like babies and have to coax the environment to help them.  they interact with winds and water and seeds and finally with great effort establish contact with animals who help them and feed them until they can form weak bodies.

viking: in harsh mountain forests and on cold deep seas they compensate for their childish weakness with psychokinetic muscles, concentrating energy to build ships and buildings and make fires.

medieval: in pastoral villages and small port towns they attain their full strength and opacity, and develop the ability to manifest, as other players appear to fill out the other roles.  they find themselves entraining other players, hampering their gameplay with interactions.

golden horde: over vast areas of uninhabited piedmont and estuary they avoid the growing crowds for a time, developing a sense of where all the players are.  they become aware of everything in the game world.  their powers enhance their appearance and confidence, exaggerating their strength.

hinterland: in rich and productive lands being steadily encroached upon by the big city, they organize the following crows and teach them how to harness their wills as best they can.  but the crowds are mesmerized by them and can only be controlled weakly.  their appearance hardens and lumps up, shrinking slightly as they tire from the effort.

hell city: in dark, dirty and crowded city of extremes they and all the droids they command are no match for the powers that be, and they resist as best they can, within the system and against it.  they continue to spread techniques for self-mastery / quantum powers, even tho tptb are winning.  their appearance ages and weakens as their powers are exhausted by fighting tptb and watching their people suffer.

gamburtsevs:  in an electronic mountain range they stand alone to fight the boss enemy.  they face themselves as they were in the garden of eden – young, spoiled, innocent, stupid.  then they are those younger selves, facing caricatures of their old selves in ridiculous ill-fitting fantasy getup. ready to fight to the death.  they decide this is a silly idea, and put the weapons down, and embrace.

the embrace makes them all explode, and they see that they are all one, and there is no time or space, and they create the entire universe in their own minds.  the angel appears to ask the meaning of what they’ve just been thru and they answer.

how’s that?

***

i’m working it all out on the blog today.  and then i’ll transfer the main chunks to my document where i usually do it the other way around.  i just started here today and never made it back to the outline, because i need to split it up again and amn’t really ready to tackle that.  plus these ideas came up this morning.

and then i’ll do some work on it, and come back here with it all chopped up into panels and pages for illustrating.

i’m struck at how much this is dealt with in popular culture.  the force.  bene gesserit powers.  merlin.  harry potter.  etc.

supernatural powers that some people possess is a very deep theme running thru human history.  according to most of the tales, everyone is capable of these powers, but various conditions have to occur to distill these capabilities so that they can be used in practical ways in the real world.  the sorcerer’s apprentice.

in the paranormal-friendly ’70s there were spontaneous demonstrations of mass paranormal powers (crowds of children bending spoons).  the force was with us.  newagers were everywhere insisting on the doctrine of mind over matter.  all you need is love.

now, at the end of the world in 2012, we live in fear, and hardly anybody loves themselves anymore, never mind the world.  we’ve turned into a world of conservatives trying to get it all before someone takes it from them.

and this is the point of the game.  turning it back to love.

the point of this work i’m involved in is to get people to start thinking and living in a quantum world, where we’re all one, and the consequences of fear and self-hatred is the death of all.  and i find this message everywhere i look.  all the occult teachings point to this.  so all i have to do is tap these traditions and i have my quantum teachings laid out for me.

watching the sorcerer’s apprentice the other night, they went thru a crash course in magic, which was hooked in to the protagonist’s studies in theoretical physics.  what happens when you condense things?  they heat up.  what happens when you release them?  they explode.  and out of this you get how to make a plasma ball.  and the process is to clear your head, envision it clearly, put yourself into it, and create it.

the boy and girl come back from their vision knowing quantum skills, being able to fly, to manifest like a wizard, to travel thru time and stop the inevitable.  can they prove it?  are they actually superheros because of a drug-induced vision?  no, not in the realworld, not yet.  but with critical mass we’ll bring harry potter to the muggles.  if you believe, like tinker bell.  then all the newage mumbo jumbo will become real.  is that what i’m trying to say.

because i’m getting overwhelmed, a little.  with all i have to do, and the subjects i have to master, and the sheer effrontery of trying to write a video game and a comic book when i’ve hardly ever played one and wasn’t allowed to read them when i was a kid.

“oob Techniques have been developed in an effort to induce OBEs:
Attempting to fall asleep without losing wakefulness. Deliberately teetering between the awake and asleep states is known to cause spontaneous trance episodes at the onset of sleep which are ultimately helpful when attempting to induce an out-of-body experience.
Deep trance and visualisation. The types of visualizations vary; some common imageries used include climbing a rope to “pull out” of one’s body, floating out of one’s body, getting shot out of a cannon, and other similar approaches. hard to use for people who cannot properly relax. Common sensations can arise such as deep vibrations, impressions of very high heart rate (when it actually is in a relaxed state) and such sensations are likely to cause anxieties. A good example of such a technique consists of the popular “Golden Dawn Body of Light Technique”.
Audio/visual stimulation intended to bring the subject into the appropriate state. binaural beats to induce theta brain wave frequencies . sinusoidal wave pulses to achieve similar results. The beta/theta simultaneous brainwave patterns were also observed as effective, apparently easing the lighter sleep condition. The theta frequency is observed monitoring brains of dreaming patients, notably in Rapid Eye Movement (REM) sleep, while the beta frequency range is that of normal, relaxed awakened individuals. It is believed that one of the unsuspected powers of the drumming of the American natives during religious ceremonies caused the brain to shift among frequencies to become more receptive to the “other worlds” using similar means.
Chemically induced experiences. there are several types of drugs that can initiate an OBE, primarily the dissociative hallucinogens. Salvia divinorum has been known to produce symptoms in which the user is said to be able to leave their bodies and travel to many places at once. Many users also claim that they feel as if their “soul” falls out of their body. Other drugs such as Methamphetamine have also been known to cause OBEs but do not in themselves cause the effect which appears to happen through the resultant lack of sleep.
Magnetic stimulation of the brain, as with the helmet developed by Michael Persinger.
Electrical stimulation of the brain, particularly the temporoparietal junction (see below).
Sensory deprivation or sensory overload. intense disorientation of the subject by making him lose his space and time references. The brain tends to fill in the gaps when there has been nothing getting into the senses for some time.
Some people who practice BDSM desire to be placed in extreme bondage because it may allow them to have an out-of-body experience and has been reported as such. This is very akin to being placed in a sensory deprivation tank, and the OBE may be induced by the resulting sensory deprivation. Sensory overload does just the opposite, where the subject can for instance be rocked for a long time in a specially designed cradle, or submit to light forms of torture, causing the brain to shut itself off from all sensory input. Both conditions tend to cause confusion and it is this disorientation which often permits the subject to experience vivid, ethereal out-of-body experiences.
Extreme physical effort. running in a marathon could overwork themselves and feel “extraordinarily weightless” and actually see themselves from above. On many occasions this has been put down to dehydration.
Near Death Experience (INDEE or NDE). The phenomenology of an NDE usually includes physiological, psychological and transcendental factors such as impressions of being outside the physical body (an out-of-body experience), visions of deceased relatives and religious figures, transcendence of ego and spatiotemporal boundaries and other transcendental experiences . Typically the experience follows a distinct progression, starting with the sensation of floating above one’s body and seeing the surrounding area, followed by the sensation of passing through a tunnel, meeting deceased relatives, and concluding with encountering a being of light .”

body of light – When the Cosmic created the universe, humanity, or the ‘human seed’, that aspect of consciousness which was to grow into realization of godhood, descended from primal unity. This unity is symbolized by the Divine World of Atzilooth, and the Holy Upper Trinity in the Tree of Life.
When consciousness experiences increasing levels of density as matter is created, duality forms and continues to the material world. This first descent from unity to duality is the so-called “Fall” and to prevent a premature return to Unity, that is before all of creation could be encountered, a barrier was placed called in qabalistic literature, the Abyss. This is the “First Day of Creation” or appearance of time/space.
As the descent continued, the human seed experienced progressive levels of sexual polarization as well as being further removed from its memory of Divine consciousness. After the level of Divine Harmony in creation, or Tiphareth, the center of humanities sense of self, an additional barrier was created, the Veil, or Paroketh. This is the appearance of individuality free of the Divine spark.
Finally, a third barrier of Veil is encountered, and that is what separates material creation from the psychic and spiritual worlds. Here, humanity has no memory of its Divine origin, and has complete free will to seek what it desires.
The small ‘child of light’ is often compared to a fetus in the astral womb of the practitioner’s aura and temple. It must be matured, fed, educated, and grown to proper strength so that is can be a help to the magician and not a hindrance, or even potential danger. However, like in all occult activity, dangers come more often from rushing through preliminary work instead of allowing it to proceed in a healthy and natural pace, than from the exercises themselves actually being psychically dangerous.
When we attempt esoteric exercises and a return to Primal Unity, we must pierce the first Viel, or that of the Gate of Life and Death. So called, because few people pierce it except during near-death-experiences (NDE’s), Out-of-Body experiences (OOBE’s), or physical death itself.
The astral body has access to three levels of consciousness, and then must be shed, or encounter the ‘Second Death” in order to penetrate the Veil, or Paroketh, to the next three levels. However, precautions must be undertaken to avoid the destruction of the astral body if the Second Death is to be avoided. If this is not done, then it must be reconstructed with a new birth.
Above the Solar World, the Resurrection Body is established, and it is the ‘body’ or expression of consciousness used for Reintergration to Unity.[2]
While the Christian doctrine of the resurrection of the flesh was hotly contested during its developmental stages, with the ‘flesh lovers as they were called, winning out over those believing in a purely spiritual resurrection. Mead points out that the belief in physical resurrection was not universally accepted by the Jews of Jesus’ day, yet, there was a strong Biblical and midrashic tradition of increasing in grades of purity of the individual allowing for ascension and resurrection to take place.
The descriptions of these accounts, Elijah and Jesus, suggest that the bodies they inhabited were the same, and yet not the same. They were tangible, yet could overcome material limitations, such s Jesus’ passing through the locked door.
These ‘bodies’ in fact, are not really separate bodies, but increasingly purified expressions of the personality, the individual and unique expression of God we all carry within us. As one ‘body’ or expression is purified and ‘dies’ another takes its place. What makes the resurrection body different is that while it can and does exist within the material world, it is free from material constraints. This perfect body was, or is, essentially a quintessence.
“With the constant implanting of consciousness, even the tiny amount used here, the cowan [Body of Light] will eventually gain a half conscious mind of its own. You will in fact have partially ensouled it. At this point, it will almost certainly make a bid for freedom. Something you cannot allow for it has no protection against the darker forces who will take it over and use it against you and even against those with whom you are involved. They will think it is you and trust the appearance. Therefor the moment it feels as if the cowan is getting above itself, give it a good psychic shake, and in no uncertain terms remind it who is boss.”
She then suggests withdrawing all contact with the cowan for a lunar month, and to feel no sympathy for this self-created and projected aspect of ourselves. To do otherwise, she warns, is to court disaster. This would in fact, be tantamount to “the Fall” in our own personal microcosm.
These four directives: going slow, performing in a sacred space or enclosure, preventing it from wondering, and reminding the BOL who is boss, are common to Eastern and Western methods of creating the BOL.
What is missing in the modern accounts, but clearly stated in the Oriental ones, is that the BOL is a superior being to physical world, and can be directed to have effects on the physical body, if they are desired. It is these effects which allow for the etherialization of the physical body, increased health, longevity, and possibly even a kind of ‘psychic mutation’ that allows for increased psychic activity along family lines.
For those who do not belong to any formal course of study, it is generally suggested that the first year of activity be spent learning Elemental and Pentagram work. The second year doing planetary work; with the third year being spent integrating the two. The fourth year often focuses on zodiacal magic and the completion of any Pathworking. Pathworking can be started anywhere from the first year on and requires about 1 1/2 years to fully do all of the 32 Paths of the Tree of Life. Since each Path is often done more than once, it is best to allow two to three years for this additional aspect of magical training. Pathworking, particularly Paths 32 through 24 are critical for psychological health and should be done two or three times before doing the second set of Paths, or 23 through 19.[5] Of course, the speed at which one works is not important. It is better to go slowly and diligently and make real progress, than to rush through and simply do the work haphazardly.

“Dark side feeds off anger, jealousy, fear, and hate. telekinesis, telepathy, levitation, deep hypnosis, enhanced empathy, reflexes, precognition, and enhanced speed, strength and accuracy. mind trick. Sith Force Lightning in combat or as an instrument of excruciating torture. enhanced skills in lightsaber combat. the ability to heal or drain the life-force of others, increased resistance to attack, ability to warp space and to dissipate energy attacks.
“Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother
Other Memory: the combined ego and memories of all her female ancestors, distinct identity within the Reverend Mother’s mind, minutiae of observation hyperawareness. Slight differences in air currents or the design of a room detect hidden portals and spyholes; minute variations in a person’s vocal inflection and body language understand a person’s emotional state, and manipulate it. Truthsayers are able to determine whether someone is lying by analyzing their speech, body language, and physical signs like pulse and heart rate. simulflow, literally the simultaneous flow of several threads of consciousness at any given time; mental multitasking. full control over each muscle in her body through training known as prana-bindu. This allows her to bend the last joint in her little toe while remaining otherwise motionless, bend and contort her body in ways that most would consider impossible, or put a remarkable amount of force behind a physical blow. The mental part of prana-bindu, or prana-nervature (prana stands for breath, bindu stands for musculature) is the precise control of the totality of nerves in the human body.
martial art called the weirding way, which incorporates the prana-bindu methods of optimized muscle control, which enable one to deliver powerful blows and to move with extreme precision and speed. The basic principle behind the weirding way is that, “My mind affects my reality.” A user of the weirding way has to know that the action he or she “wants” to perform has already been performed.
Just as the prana-bindu allows the Bene Gesserit to precisely control each muscle and nerve, they also have complete conscious control over the functions of their internal organs and body chemistry.
immune to poisons, change the chemical makeup of any harmful substance in their body and render it harmless. slow her aging process dramatically, controlling every aspect of her metabolism. “

physical description of the main characters

the girl – lisbeth salander meets anjelica huston

she’s 23. little: 5’3” with big black eyes and dark hair cut pixie short and flyaway (anime-like without being too much so). she weighs nothing and looks bird-frail, but she’s lithe rather than fragile, graceful but quick. when she’s tired she gets dark rings around her eyes. she is endlessly patient and gives generously of her time and energy, but when she hits her limit she snaps at people and be’s a bitch. she tries to hold in her observations, but her enthusiasm gets the better of her and she blurts things out. so she is tactless especially under stress. she thinks quickly but is never sure of her conclusions, and she often finds out what she thinks on a topic when she hears it come out of her mouth. she likes the boy for his warmth and his supportive qualities, and she appreciates the comfort and the things he does for her. but she’s not the helpless thing he likes to think, and finds some of his attention cloying and restrictive. plus he’s not as smart or quick as she is, and this annoys her.

the boy – donald sutherland meets gandalf

he’s 27. tall: 6’3” and dark and handsome-ugly. he’s gangly and his movements are awkward and exaggerated. he hides this with languid, slow-moving graceful gestures and long pauses. he used to have a stutter. he likes to be the man, to be looked up to. he has a sense of honor and tribal loyalty that extends to his woman and his friends. he likes the girl because she’s small and vulnerable and needs him, but he wishes she weren’t so stubborn and just a teeny bit nicer.

kurt – greggie meets brando

he’s 45. medium: 5’9” and his long ratty ponytail is graying on the top. his face is pudgy, he wears granny glasses, he shaves fitfully and incompletely, resulting in long gray stubble and strange bare patches. he smokes cigarettes, and there are many long burn marks on the carpet around his chair from his nodding off and dropping lit cigarettes. everyone urges him to switch to e-cigarettes, but they’re idiots. he looks apologetic, but he acts arrogant and dismissive. his health is atrocious – 50 lbs overweight, high blood pressure, diabetic, with early congestive heart trouble. he makes noises when he breathes. he snores loudly enough to shake his van. he sweats easily and his hair becomes lanky and falls in his eyes, but the graceful toss of the head is a gesture unavailable to him, and he swipes his hair out of his eyes like a tangled mop with his pudgy hand. when he smokes, he starts coughing and can’t stop, getting red and swollen, and drooling as his tongue protrudes and his eyes pop. he only eats junkfood but usually just has an energy drink, and then looks fevered and acts distracted. when he’s not actively engaged in something, he stares into the distance and his mouth hangs open, his lower lip pouching out.

snake – davie meets randall (steve buscemi) / minio

he’s 33. medium: 5’11” thin and bony, with short nondescript hair and a pinched face, older than his years, tense and nervous, quick moving and darting. he mumbles a lot and rambles on, but answers with a question so he has time to think. he’s always ready with a believable story, and seems to tell people everything, but nobody knows much about him or what he’s doing with his time. he is shifty looking and has a good salesman’s patter, and people check their wallets after he passes. he is addicted to coke or meth, and is fidgety and always scratching himself.

fairy – miss piggy meets lorie / mom

she’s 37. short: 5’3” and blowsy, with long red frizzy hair, as round as she is tall, with a shelf of an ass and a tiny little waist. and she’s sweet. overbearingly so. the southern kind of sweet that stabs you in the back with the smile still on her face. she likes pink frilly things that make her look like gift wrapping, and has the fashion sense of a burlesque queen, so she looks like a fat hooker and acts like mae west. she’s very angry under this sweet exterior, and gives evil looks and says vicious things behind peoples’ backs. she wants everyone to do things her way, and is hypercritical of others while blameless in her own behavior, even tho a lot of things go wrong because she loses and forgets things. she’s making up for some long ago abuse by being nice, but still wants to get back at anyone who offends her.

and i’ve got a provisional name, too.

Teh Gema AntarctiQ

part 1

chapter 1, the fairy tale
places: realworld, at dragoncon, on the roof, in a vision of a videogame of the garden of eden in antarctica, in the stairwell.

note: this chapter should be entirely graphic, with as little narration and dialog as possible.

location: longshot of atlanta at night, centered on a dragoncon hotel roof with 2 small figures lounging on top…the late-night revelry of 10,000 partiers 45 floors below can be felt and heard on the roof, but a couple of stars are visible, the wind is cool, and the boy and girl are alone, relaxing and talking casually before the large quantities of various recreational substances they’ve ingested kick in…they slump into a vision together:

box – dragoncon…atlanta is overrun by fans…anything is possible.

sfx – noises of partying and commotion from below shake the building.

location: flying above the game of antarctica…a wireframe hand with fairy wings comes out of a tiny cloud and sprinkles the boy and girl with pixie dust…the hand (khalil gibran) sends them flying off toward the second star on the right. (monochrome image riffing off john and michael combined with ET over the moon)

box: second star on the right…straight on till antarctica.

location: in space approaching star. the star resolves into a ball with a fractal-looking outline on it, resembling a logo. closer still, it becomes a white planet with colored stripes, the details obscured by clouds. even closer, and they can see islands and a small continent. the colored stripes suggest the figure of a person. they land on a cloud.

location: longshot above the garden of eden, a fiery angel (with a wireframe hand) joins them on the cloud and gives them powers just like his, powers of an expanded will.

location: longshot above antarctica. the angel shows them game antarctica, a videogame played by the whole world, with infinite things to do and unlimited roles to play. the angel tells them all the hacks and cheat codes.
the angel shows them 7 levels of reality (animism, goddess, xian, newtonian, relativistic, quantum, god consciousness),
the angel shows them 7 quantum skills (movement, knowledge of all things past present and future, knowledge of thoughts and intentions of others, teleportation and time travel, action at a distance, manifestation of thoughtforms, consciousness),
the angel points out 7 rings that make up antarctica, each colored differently, where they will learn different ways to create, and name, and nurture, and guide, and share, and preserve, and pass on the essence.

boxes: where necessary

location: the garden of eden. the angel watches in dismay as they spend all their time playing games with universes they have created. the angel turns off their games, tells them that they’ve got better things to do with their powers, and promises they can have the key to the garden when they can answer a simple question:

bubbles:“what is the essence of the game?” they look at him and say, “huh?” and offer a shallow response. “to win,” says the boy, and “to learn,” says the girl. the angel clarifies, “what is behind that curtain?” they look at each other this time. “what?” the angel tries to be more specific. “answer yes or no.” they are baffled. “huh?”

location: at the gates of the garden of eden. the angel loses his temper and kicks them out of the garden. the boy looks back to see the angel quenching the fiery sword in a rock, and the girl notices a feather dropping from the angel’s wings, and they steal back to get them.

location: outside the gates in antarctica. they set out to wander antarctica and do what they like with it, and halfheartedly create a few superficial things, but the angel doesn’t notice, so they lose interest and forget their quest to figure out what the game is really about. the boy goes off to find the meaning thru striving (asserting his inner authority); the girl searches for understanding but goes off on tangents (accepting outer authority).

location: extreme longshot of the game as a big map of antarctica, with miniature figures. they boy fights everyone he meets, and wins because of his magical sword. he grows rich and powerful and becomes the king of the game. in time, because he takes everything for himself, his lands become despoiled and his people sickly. the girl helps everyone she meets with her magical feather, and grows beloved and respected as mother of all. tho she has nothing and gives of herself to everything, her lands and people grow rich, but because she is obsessed with her quest, her people become bloated and idle. the boy is detested behind his back and the girl’s endless search for meaning is belittled by her people. the boy begins making demands and conquering the girl’s lands and people. the girl gives him what he seeks and continues searching for meaning, ignoring him. he gets angry.

location: a windswept grassland border area in the game. he masses his armies on her borders, imposing and bellicose. finally taking notice, she grows frightened for her safety, but goes to face him alone. they talk; they disagree. they fight. he attacks her; she waves her feather, and his weapons grow heavy, bend, and root into the ground. his soldiers disappear among the branches. the boy and girl fly away, screaming at each other. the sky grows dark.

location: on top of a stormy mountaintop in the game. the boy and girl stand alone against each other in the howling wind and rain. they are old and tired. they feel ridiculous in their fairytale getup. they see beneath the masks to the young lovers they used to be and their hearts soften. they have missed each other. he is sorry for all the fuss. she’s sorry for not taking better care of him. they embrace, and energy builds up between them until their synapses overload and they explode in bliss.

sfx: explosions of bliss and synapses.

location: in the clouds above the game. they see the duality of all things, and the oneness of all things…in the light, as the feeling fades, the fiery angel appears and asks them the answer to the question…but during his wanderings, the boy did not find the answer to the question about the game’s essence. he concentrated on what he understood to be the essence of any game – winning…the girl did not find the answer either. she looked for the game’s meaning in symbols and analysis, and thought that the essence of a game must be the gameplay.

bubbles: after the bliss, he understands the essence as experiencing, not competing “(the essence is self mastery (I…))”, and her understanding comes from communion with others “(the essence is cooperation (…can’t do it without YOU))”. they answer, “binary/qunary/yes.” the angel asks, “what does it mean?” they answer that “they are really one person.” that “everything is one, or else it’s nothing.” and “love is all you need.” “everything/nothing/me/god/yes.”

sfx: they give voice to all possible meanings at once, and the answers combine to create light, which whites everything out in bliss.

location: the bottom of a stairwell at their dragoncon hotel. when they awake, it’s the next morning and they’re lying in a stairwell looking all the way up thru the railings, feeling sick…they find a feather. the girl goes to pick it up but the boy criticizes her because it’s from a filthy pigeon and is probably diseased. she pockets it when his back is turned. they get a text message from the angel:

box: “cre8 teh gema antarctiQ. t’ch hte Sns 3*7. fthr/sord”

location: a computer-filled basement in the realworld, lit by multiple monitors, a tech reviews a clip of security footage, showing the boy and girl materializing into a stairwell. he passes it on to his superiors.

when the boy and girl are in a receptive state, ex-kurt’s wireframe hand comes out of a tiny cloud and sprinkles them with pixie dust, shows them how to fly, and sends them off to the first star on the right.

the image is of michael and john, done just the same way as ET flying over the moon.

just thought i’d share it.

i don’t mind incorporating references into this.  i’m hoping to make a lot of references.  after all, it’ll be like dragoncon, with 50,000 different science fiction and fantasy and other fans all doing their own thing their own way.  so there’s lots of room for really wild characters and really obvious references.  if only i read more…