More Spooky Stuff Amid the Rubble
Well.
COVID19, huh?
And, Defund the Police.
And, wow, that economic thing…
“The ensuing chaos will make
Venezuela’s troubles seem insignificant by comparison.”
So – are we living in a
constantly-changing parallel dimensional flux, or is everything just going
crazy for no reason at all?
_____
Speculative fiction tends to wander around
a bit, kissing fantasy on the cheek, and occasionally giving romance a hug, and
even once in a while, rubbing against mystery or thrillers. At its core, spec-fic, and by extension,
sci-fi, are cautionary tales, or morality plays or some manner of warning
against human hubris or ego. From “Frankenstein” to “Oedipus Rex,”[1]
from “When World’s Collide” to “Elysium,” the warnings are writ large, in
flaming letters ten miles high.
“THOU SHALT NOT…”
Or else.
And, if we mere mortals DO dare to spit in
the face of the gods, if we try to reach for the stars, to climb Mount Olympus,
or to have relations with our relatives, then the consequences come into play
and Mankind is duly smited.[2]
No, the gods don’t like to be challenged,
nor ignored. We do so at our own peril. Indeed, one might say that it is risky
to NOT be religious.[3]
So, when mankind pulls some kind of
collective boner, we are punished, as whole, by some form of Act of God.™
Now, recently, this has been taking the
form of tsunamis, wildfires, locust swarms, cicada uprisings, solar flares and plague.
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are, even if they are not jumping into
their saddles as of yet, are at least taking off the feedbags from their mounts
in anticipation of a rousing gallop toward oblivion, with utter devastation and
confusion the order of the day.
As you are painfully aware, I have been
known to poke fun at global warming and other apocalyptic scenarios, using
science, and I see no reason to stop now.
So, let’s take a long, sharp stick,
just recently removed from a roaring fire, and shove it into the face of
adversity!
_____
PLAGUE
So. Coronavirus. COVID.
What did this wonderful event teach us so
far?
From whence did it spring? Is it really
just another version of the 1918 Spanish Flu? Was it cooked up in a lab in
Wuhan, China? Why does it seem ‘selective,’ to the degree it does? How come the
entire planet isn’t rife with it? Did Stephen King have an inside track on this
when he wrote “The Stand?” What about “Contagion?” Was it somehow a warning
about Event 201?[4]
Did it inspire certain science fiction
authors to write some appropriate stories about post-apocalyptic worlds?[5]
COMING
SOON TO AMAZON!
I find that the timing of this particular
viral event seems a mite suspicious to me.
If one were appropriately paranoid (or if
one’s tinfoil fedora has slipped a bit), they might ascribe this to some Deep
State Psy-Op to discredit the current resident of the Oval Office.
I mean, heck, the economy was doing SO
well, and everything was becoming SO orderly, what with North Korea ceasing its
nuclear missile programs, and the oil war between China and Russia calming
down, and gas prices were at their lowest in years, not to mention unemployment
rates, and Wall Street, and…
What’s that? Yes, you in the back, waving that
burning American flag.
You think my analysis is too ‘rosy?’ That
I am, perhaps, a jingoistic patriot of the scoundrel kind, a closet racist, gender-biased
TERF[6]
and gunrunner, not to mention probably alcoholic?
May I respectfully observe that I did not
personally cause any virus outbreak, racial disharmony, or cessation of polyamoratic
celebrations of which I am aware.[7]
Nor am I any kind of proponent of
violence. I actually have a controversial stance wherein I feel that the police
departments of our country should be DISARMED of ALL lethal weapons.
I find it problematic that the ability to
dispense death is so readily available, and executed.[8]
Surely, in our advanced civilization that has regained the ability to launch
astronauts into orbit from Florida once more, there are some clever millennials
who can create methods of disabling stupid people who won’t follow
orders from uniformed thugs. All without physically harming anyone, right?
Why should anyone fear being stopped while
going on their merry way, if a bit enthusiastically, velocity-wise, down the
common thoroughfares of which their very own tax offerings have been made
possible? And, if prohibited from legally transiting the God-given highways of
‘Murica because their conveyance sports a decorative symbol from a long-ago civil
conflict, should they then be summarily placed under arrest and then
exterminated for non-compliance?
These are vexing questions indeed. Better
science fiction authors than I have attempted to make some sense of them. Some
have even succeeded in providing entertaining scenarios.[9]
I will say that I find it amusing and
terrifying, the ease with which otherwise rational people caved to the
hysterical demand for wearing masks and ‘social distancing.’[10]
That the federal government was able to so rapidly shut down the economy of the
entire country, and convince other countries to follow our lead was
astonishing. I thought everyone hated America?
Seriously, how did this come to pass with
so little discourse. It was as if we all went to bed one night and woke the
next morning as the aliens were attacking. And, Trump is certainly no Bill
Pullman!
FAMINE
Hot on the trail of the economic shutdown
came the Notorious Toilet Paper crisis.[11]
This may not exactly map to famine, seeing as, in order to utilize TP for one’s
bunghole, it is necessary to eat, and eating is the antithesis of famine.
However, as a good aficionado of all things
speculative fiction, I must point out that the cost of food and other goods has
been irrevocably changed by this pandemic.
Those who tend to preparational activities
smirked knowingly, restocked some specific supplies, and cleaned our various
personal – ‘security devices.’ They watched as the nation embraced their
‘paranoid fantasy’ world wholeheartedly, and began to discover the kind of
things with which they have had to contend for some time.
Sales of emergency rations have
skyrocketed, guns are literally flying off the shelves of all sporting goods
stores, and ammunition is pricey and scarce. It hasn’t been like this since
2009! [12]Or
2012![13]
Or 2016[14],
for that matter!
Hmmm. One must ask if this is by design -
to sell guns, germs and steel, or food, or what? If nothing else, it must be
good for the economy. Someone has to pay for all of those 40,000,000 recently
furloughed ‘funployees.’[15]
WAR
India and China seem hell-bent on starting
something, don’t they?
Oh, wait. You thought I was going to
elucidate you on Boogaloo terminology, right?
The NEXT CIVIL WAR IN AMERICA.
The BATTLE BETWEEN THE PRIVILEGED AND
EVERYONE ELSE.
The BLM vs ANTIFA vs ACLU vs SCOTUS vs
POLICE vs The Undertaker.
Google it yourself. I told you I am out of
‘F’s.
DEATH
Well, we’ve slouched 'round at last to the
Big D. It is no surprise that we are all heading towards this final
destination, right?
It’s a morbid subject, and the numbers of
the dead being attributed to COVID keep climbing.
It’s the Circle of Life, but almost no one
wants to take that step.
Still, it is inevitable. And it is
ever-present.
We find some value in recognizing it when
it brushes against it. It comforts us to know it is a universal experience.
Yet, we create intricate ways to spread it around.
A paradox.
Still, in Death, there is Hope. Hope for a
better place. Hope to dream of worlds only touched upon by our minds, as we
weave tales of other worlds and situations.
And, it always gets personal…
So, I would like to point this out in a
more personal manner, if you would kindly entertain a loony old bird.
_____
A good friend of mine, and the artist who
created the covers for “Terminal Reset” and “Rocket Surgeon” passed away on
March 22, of this year.
I met Steve Polyanchek when I was a
teenaged Star Trek fan, and we were screening films for an amateur science
fiction contest at a Star Trek Fans of Florida[16]
convention way back in like 1973. This was prior to ‘Star Wars.’
Steve’s entry was “Terror by Daylight.” It
was judged by none other than George Takei, and a few other notables. He
received Honorable Mention.
That group of people, including Rick Coy,
John Ellis, Howard Goldberg, Ken Mitchroney, Larry McHugh, Don Phillips and I
became involved in building an active community of creatives. Our talents took
us many strange places.
Some of them, including Don, Ken and John,
went on to minor greatness in Hollywood.[17]
Steve and I managed to stay in the area
the longest, and therefore, had a longer interaction. Over the years, Steve
made videos, graphics and websites with me, and we always had each other’s
back.
Around 2006, I had some grave personal
issues and Steve was there for me. If it weren’t for him, and many other
friends such as he, you would not be reading this.
Steve also was a devout and spiritual
person, and also an excellent musician.
He had a Facebook following, and many of
his fans wrote heartfelt reviews and sent their gratitude to him for his
insights and advice.
Steve
is going to be missed.
But I know in my heart he is doing the
work of the Universe, assuring that Peace and Tranquility are being manifested
in whatever dimensions he now dwells.
Fair
winds and good sailing, my friend.
See you on the
other side.
A.E. Williams
High Springs, Florida
June 17, 2020
[1] Oh, and you think that Pornhub’s recent escalation of incest porn
is a ‘happy accident?’ Or maybe you want to argue that this classic is NOT
fictional? Nor speculative? I’ll wait…
[2] ‘Smitten’ is definitely not the correct word, here. Nor is ‘smote.’
And, FUTA, while ostensibly correct, is vulgar. Especially in the absence of
cloaca lubricant.
[3] Which religion to follow is not in my wheelhouse…
[5] Could be!
[6] I identify as a ‘Real Man®’ for one
thing…
[7] Okay, so you’ve got me on the gunrunning, and I do like my bourbon.
Say, how would you like to go target shooting? Yeah? Great! Hang on a second…
oh, here they are! Put on these rabbit ears, and go about a hundred yards
yonder and make rabbit noises. What’s that? Oh, we are definitely going to be
doing some wabbit hunt… I mean, ‘target shooting,’ you betcha! Go on, now! Git
on outta here while I light my cheroot and load my AR.
[8] Sorry, bad pun.
[9] I speak here of Ayn Rand, Robert Heinlein and Philip K Dick, not
Margaret Atwood. A slight digression, and pardon my long-winded opinion of “The
Handmaid’s Tale” here… I read the book, and saw the movie with Faye Dunaway and
Robert Duvall. While it didn’t exactly light my fire regarding feminism,
(having daughters did that), it was passable entertainment. UNTIL the
miniseries or whatever it is called now. There’s been a tendency recently to
mix political correctness and gender and race shaming rhetoric into a lot of
recent media. (“Space Force” so far has resisted it mightily, but I think it is
just waiting until Season Two to drop the hammer.) One of the things that spec
fic has going for it is the unregulated and willing suspension of belief. We
hand-wave Faster-Than-Light spaceships, time travel and a myriad of other
impossible things, because it moves the story along. But here comes some PC
diatribe that’s only merit is to upset the status-quo applecart by pissing off
as many of the audience as it can afford. Seriously, “Atlas Shrugged,” the
book, was a masterwork, regardless of your political affiliation, insofar as it
constructed a believable world. Rand’s personal failings notwithstanding, I
challenge anyone to write something as polarizing or prophetic in today’s
insult-averse climate. Even the filmed versions at least try to adhere to the
spirit of the book. Contrast it with “The Fountainhead,” for example. But,
Atwood’s grim vision of a world where sterilization has occurred, and pregnancy
is orchestrated as an award for being ‘elite,’ was cynical in its first
incarnation, and almost laughable as placed onscreen today. Of course, that’s
just my opinion, man…
[10] Astute readers of this blog recognize I have been practicing
‘social distancing’ for quite a while.
[11] Still ongoing as I write this!
[12] Obama is coming for your guns craze…
[13] Mayan Calendar End of Days craze…
[14] Hillary is coming for your guns craze… do I sense a pattern here?
Do you?
[15] My sympathy if you have lost a job, or know someone who has. I did,
and also managed to land a decent gig. Simultaneously. Don’t ask… the worst
part is knowing I probably would be making more money on UI…except this is
Florida, and they have the absolute dregs of the bottom of the barrel in social
services of any kind, and the insurance premiums here are astronomical. The
good thing is a) I live on a farm and b) I don’t have any more you-know-what’s
to give.
[16] This became the Star Trek Fans of Florida, or STFU! It didn’t mean what it means today, honest!
[17] Don Phillips was awarded a degree in Cinematography from Columbia
University, and went on to be a cameraman and production director for one of
Los Angeles premier television stations. John Ellis formed a company that
provided practical and digital special effects for many films, including “Sky
Captain and the World of Tomorrow” and “The Matrix.” And, Ken does THIS.
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