The White Zone is for Loading and Unloading Only. Get Used To It.

[Doktor Howl]

The interesting thing about my condition is that I am by no means alone.  The whole world is receiving bad signal, and acting accordingly.  We have a financial crisis caused not by production conditions, but because we've lost control of our method of counting production.  Everyone thinks there's some kind of rewind button that can "bring us back to constitutionality".  People think there's a "government" fucking everything up.  Paranoid delusions...Only this, and nothing more.

The whole damn world is crammed in the club car, arguing over who's going to drive the train.  They're fighting in the life boat, and tearing up the planks to use as clubs to show the "other side" who the fucking boss is around here. 

Look around you.  The People labor under the delusion that police are here to protect the public, ignoring completely that the stated mission of every police department in the country is to preserve order.  And the cops are crazier than the general public.  To them, people are to be beaten and arrested for daring to take part in the business of The People.  To them, people are dangerous monkeys who will lash out and kill anyone who tries to keep the peace, given half a chance.  Again, paranoia.

Our entire world civilization is sick.  In Africa, children are soldiers.  Here, they're a political football and the subject of deep distrust.  In China, they're a source of cheap, bone-crushing labor so that fat people on the far side of the planet can have more electronic communications devices with which they will totally ignore any information about the kids in China.  In Russia, children are whores.  In England, they're clay ducks and punching bags for the cops.

So don't tell me about crazy.  I know crazy when I see it.  And we Doktors know a hopeless case when we see one.  The patient is terminal...There is no further good that a Doktor can accomplish, here.  Someone call a fucking priest.

I see all of this.  I see all of this and more, for I have fled to the very edge of the world, here in Tucson.  From here, I can see all the stupid, miserable shit that primates do to themselves and each other, for no other reason than they think they're helping.

So, yeah, you will not be saved by the OWS or the Tea Party or the Libertarians.  You will not be saved by the stimulus plan or the global effort at recovery.  You will not be saved by Eris or "Maybe Logic" or even by the End of Days, which hasn't arrived yet, and doesn't look particularly imminent.

In fact, you won't be saved.

No, you'll live in your condition of "Supermodern Living", in your cities that are designed for vehicles to pass through, rather than for people to live in.  You see all those rock stars houses on "Cribs" on MTV or wherever the hell it was?  They're all painted in beige and white...Airport colors.  Here to go.  There is no place designed for primates to use to relax.  Gotta run, gotta go, gotta chase that Goddamn mechanical rabbit right up to the finish line, which I'm pretty sure is a eight by four by six foot hole in the ground, surrounded by the spectators that got the afternoon off to see you plunked into your grave.

And your headstone can read "Rest At Last".  Until they turf your bones up to make room for the next strip mall or parking lot or shitty McMansion, and the next fucking stooge can take HIS place on the treadmill, to be bombarded by images of shit he doesn't need but absolutely MUST have so he can rack up HIS personal debt to fatback jackasses who run what we laughably call our "banking system".

That's fucking crazy.  It's insane.  It is in fact so Goddamn bonkers that if you wrote a novel about it, nobody would fucking read it, because it would be too unbelievable.  And then we wonder where the Oswalds and the Kaczinskis come from.  We wonder why some primates jabber under bridges or in shelters.  We know they're nuts, but we won't face up to WHY.

Mostly, I think, because most people are just barely hanging on as it is, and nobody wants to look at what happens when you fall screaming all the way down to the Ajo Street bridge.

It's all a fucking trap, a horrible trap that we spend the last 500 years building for ourselves.  Some of us have pointed out the trap, what with the BIP and all...But that's not the same as pulling your foot out of it, is it?  We laugh at the people who say that we should deliberately stick our appendages in, for America™ and FREEDOM™ and for the Free Market™, but what have we done to NOT put our extremities in the meat grinder?  What CAN we do?  Don't ask me, because I don't fucking know.  If I knew, I wouldn't be writing this rambling fucking rant, I'd be off DOING it.

I'm not telling you to go screaming this shit from the rooftops, because that also leads to that bridge.  I'm not telling you to STICK IT TO THE MAN, because any method of doing that has already been identified and tagged and counteracted by The Machine™.  I MIGHT suggest that you take a cheap shot at any cracks you see in The Machine™, silently, without saying a fucking word.  Mis-filings, busted widgets, intentional "mistaken" information given at random, whatever the hell you can get away with, and don't come bragging to me or anyone else.  We aren't here to join the local Trustafarian shitheads who are out to garner prestige for their acts of derring-do, we're here to be a random factor that can't be pinned down, because even WE don't know what the effects of our actions will be.  A pebble might start an avalanche, but remember that the pebble goes down the hill, too, and it gets ground up along the way.  Better to be that "quantum butterfly" bullshit in day to day life.

And fuck spreading the word.  Down that path lies guru-ism.  Lead by example...Nobody has to see you, they just have to see the results, and that it is POSSIBLE to send things a little sideways, and they'll jump right in.  Trust me on this, for I am a crazy person, and we know these things.

Enough said.

Okay for now,
Dok

[LMNO]

I MIGHT suggest that you take a cheap shot at any cracks you see in The Machine™, silently, without saying a fucking word.  Mis-filings, busted widgets, intentional "mistaken" information given at random, whatever the hell you can get away with, and don't come bragging to me or anyone else.  We aren't here to join the local Trustafarian shitheads who are out to garner prestige for their acts of derring-do, we're here to be a random factor that can't be pinned down, because even WE don't know what the effects of our actions will be.  A pebble might start an avalanche, but remember that the pebble goes down the hill, too, and it gets ground up along the way.  Better to be that "quantum butterfly" bullshit in day to day life.

Amen.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

And fuck spreading the word.  Down that path lies guru-ism.  Lead by example...Nobody has to see you, they just have to see the results, and that it is POSSIBLE to send things a little sideways, and they'll jump right in.  Trust me on this, for I am a crazy person, and we know these things.

All of it, but especially this.

And you know, it's OK to risk everything, because they're coming to steamroller it anyway.

[Doktor Howl]

I don't have to tell you things are bad. Everybody knows things are bad. It's a depression. Everybody's out of work or scared of losing their job. The dollar buys a nickel's work, banks are going bust, shopkeepers keep a gun under the counter. Punks are running wild in the street and there's nobody anywhere who seems to know what to do, and there's no end to it. We know the air is unfit to breathe and our food is unfit to eat, and we sit watching our TV's while some local newscaster tells us that today we had fifteen homicides and sixty-three violent crimes, as if that's the way it's supposed to be. We know things are bad - worse than bad. They're crazy. It's like everything everywhere is going crazy, so we don't go out anymore. We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, 'Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my toaster and my TV and my steel-belted radials and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone.' Well, I'm not gonna leave you alone. I want you to get mad! I don't want you to protest. I don't want you to riot - I don't want you to write to your congressman because I wouldn't know what to tell you to write. I don't know what to do about the depression and the inflation and the Russians and the crime in the street. All I know is that first you've got to get mad. You've got to say, 'I'm a HUMAN BEING, Goddamnit! My life has VALUE!' So I want you to get up now. I want all of you to get up out of your chairs. I want you to get up right now and go to the window. Open it, and stick your head out, and yell, 'I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!' I want you to get up right now, sit up, go to your windows, open them and stick your head out and yell - 'I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Things have got to change. But first, you've gotta get mad!... You've got to say, 'I'm as mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this anymore!' Then we'll figure out what to do about the depression and the inflation and the oil crisis. But first get up out of your chairs, open the window, stick your head out, and yell, and say it: "I'M AS MAD AS HELL, AND I'M NOT GOING TO TAKE THIS ANYMORE!"

<flicker>

We sit in the house, and slowly the world we are living in is getting smaller, and all we say is, 'Please, at least leave us alone in our living rooms. Let me have my Ipod and my internet and my American Idol and I won't say anything. Just leave us alone.'

[P3nT4gR4m]

It aint "our" civilisation. It's "theirs". Whoever wants to fix it aint "we" it's "them"

I aint part of this. I aint a citizen, I'm the worst kind of parasite. I'm more than happy to enjoy all the whizzy little electronic gizmos and fancy teevee shows that I can steal but make no mistake. Civilisation won't get any help from me. It's sinking and I got my lifeboat all safely stashed away where I can get to in in a heartbeat. I couldn't give a fuck if it sinks and I sure as hell ain't going to try to stop it. Like you said the pebble goes downhill too. Why should I care enough to try and help? Wasn't my idea to come down out the trees and then completely destroy the planet. Wasn't my idea to form a bunch of imaginary territories all following different imaginary beings. Wasn't my idea to fight over the dumbest shit imaginable or turn 99% of the population into dumb fucking slaves.

I just don't care. About any of it. It's all going to burn, I'm going to try my best to stay out the way while it does. I'm not an hero. I'm a self serving cunt, just like most of the rest of them if they could only admit it to themselves. In a society this sick being a sociopath is the only sensible philosophy. Shuck off your conditioning give up on the whole human race. They're pointless, they're stupid, they're ugly and they're fucking dangerous. Most of them will either die or carry on like mindless zombies. Why should I give the shadow of the ghost of a flying fuck about them? Good riddance.

[Doktor Howl]

It aint "our" civilisation. It's "theirs". Whoever wants to fix it aint "we" it's "them"

If we didn't like it, we wouldn't pay for it.

I aint part of this. I aint a citizen, I'm the worst kind of parasite. I'm more than happy to enjoy all the whizzy little electronic gizmos and fancy teevee shows that I can steal but make no mistake. Civilisation won't get any help from me. It's sinking and I got my lifeboat all safely stashed away where I can get to in in a heartbeat. I couldn't give a fuck if it sinks and I sure as hell ain't going to try to stop it. Like you said the pebble goes downhill too. Why should I care enough to try and help? Wasn't my idea to come down out the trees and then completely destroy the planet. Wasn't my idea to form a bunch of imaginary territories all following different imaginary beings. Wasn't my idea to fight over the dumbest shit imaginable or turn 99% of the population into dumb fucking slaves.

I have no lifeboat.  I want to see it all up-close.  I don't want to miss a thing.

I just don't care. About any of it. It's all going to burn, I'm going to try my best to stay out the way while it does. I'm not an hero. I'm a self serving cunt, just like most of the rest of them if they could only admit it to themselves. In a society this sick being a sociopath is the only sensible philosophy. Shuck off your conditioning give up on the whole human race. They're pointless, they're stupid, they're ugly and they're fucking dangerous. Most of them will either die or carry on like mindless zombies. Why should I give the shadow of the ghost of a flying fuck about them? Good riddance.

They're also the only game in town.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I'm a citizen, and so are my kids. I raised them to be citizens.

I'm mad as hell, but I'm also tired and discouraged. The person who was supposed to be my partner and ally turned out to be a shallow mirage of image and vaguely-stated intentions. The bank won't work with me on my mortgage. I'm two fingers from the brink at all times, and the worst part is that I'm fighting despair in order to be productive; if I wasn't fighting despair, I'd be more effective.

Fuck this.

[Doktor Howl]

I'm a citizen, and so are my kids. I raised them to be citizens.

I'm mad as hell, but I'm also tired and discouraged. The person who was supposed to be my partner and ally turned out to be a shallow mirage of image and vaguely-stated intentions. The bank won't work with me on my mortgage. I'm two fingers from the brink at all times, and the worst part is that I'm fighting despair in order to be productive; if I wasn't fighting despair, I'd be more effective.

Fuck this.

Yeah, but you're also about to have a massive creative binge.

I can tell.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I'm a citizen, and so are my kids. I raised them to be citizens.

I'm mad as hell, but I'm also tired and discouraged. The person who was supposed to be my partner and ally turned out to be a shallow mirage of image and vaguely-stated intentions. The bank won't work with me on my mortgage. I'm two fingers from the brink at all times, and the worst part is that I'm fighting despair in order to be productive; if I wasn't fighting despair, I'd be more effective.

Fuck this.

Yeah, but you're also about to have a massive creative binge.

I can tell.

That would be fan fucking tastic.

[Doktor Howl]

I'm a citizen, and so are my kids. I raised them to be citizens.

I'm mad as hell, but I'm also tired and discouraged. The person who was supposed to be my partner and ally turned out to be a shallow mirage of image and vaguely-stated intentions. The bank won't work with me on my mortgage. I'm two fingers from the brink at all times, and the worst part is that I'm fighting despair in order to be productive; if I wasn't fighting despair, I'd be more effective.

Fuck this.

Yeah, but you're also about to have a massive creative binge.

I can tell.

That would be fan fucking tastic.

Yep.  You always go a little sideways before you blitz.  Like Joe Theisman, only without the busted-ass leg.

[Phox]

As you said, they are the only game in town. So let's play. We can't be saved, but I'm sure as hell going to have a good time going down on the A-bomb, just like Slim Pickens. And fuck being saved anyway. I mean, you can't have a monkey free planet if there's still one monkey, right? So I'm going to enjoy all of this. And continue to laugh and jeer. We are aware of our trap, and we can see the outcome, and still we keep going for it. Why not? There is no out, so might as well make a masochistic ritual out of it, and enjoy the hell out of it, while you do. The good times are still rolling, and I... I'm still laughing.

Doktor Phox,
Okay, for once.

[Doktor Howl]

As you said, they are the only game in town. So let's play. We can't be saved, but I'm sure as hell going to have a good time going down on the A-bomb, just like Slim Pickens. And fuck being saved anyway. I mean, you can't have a monkey free planet if there's still one monkey, right? So I'm going to enjoy all of this. And continue to laugh and jeer. We are aware of our trap, and we can see the outcome, and still we keep going for it. Why not? There is no out, so might as well make a masochistic ritual out of it, and enjoy the hell out of it, while you do. The good times are still rolling, and I... I'm still laughing.

Doktor Phox,
Okay, for once.

Some things I can laugh about.

Some things (child soldiers/prostitutes, etc), I can at best manage a feeble chuckle, because what I really want to do is tear someone's head off.

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

I'm a citizen, and so are my kids. I raised them to be citizens.

I'm mad as hell, but I'm also tired and discouraged. The person who was supposed to be my partner and ally turned out to be a shallow mirage of image and vaguely-stated intentions. The bank won't work with me on my mortgage. I'm two fingers from the brink at all times, and the worst part is that I'm fighting despair in order to be productive; if I wasn't fighting despair, I'd be more effective.

Fuck this.

Yeah, but you're also about to have a massive creative binge.

I can tell.

That would be fan fucking tastic.

Yep.  You always go a little sideways before you blitz.  Like Joe Theisman, only without the busted-ass leg.

I had to look him up. 

I have this vision I haven't been able to get out of my head, of an old man in a white coat standing at an autopsy table. You can tell he's a Doktor by the round glasses. The corpse is split down the front and its abdominal cavity is held open with wires; inside, it's full of clockwork gears, and moth pupae are hatching and flying out of it. Underwing moths, like so:



Coming out by the dozens, just like they used to emerge from the tangled turf of my back yard every fall.

[Doktor Howl]

I'm a citizen, and so are my kids. I raised them to be citizens.

I'm mad as hell, but I'm also tired and discouraged. The person who was supposed to be my partner and ally turned out to be a shallow mirage of image and vaguely-stated intentions. The bank won't work with me on my mortgage. I'm two fingers from the brink at all times, and the worst part is that I'm fighting despair in order to be productive; if I wasn't fighting despair, I'd be more effective.

Fuck this.

Yeah, but you're also about to have a massive creative binge.

I can tell.

That would be fan fucking tastic.

Yep.  You always go a little sideways before you blitz.  Like Joe Theisman, only without the busted-ass leg.

I had to look him up. 

I have this vision I haven't been able to get out of my head, of an old man in a white coat standing at an autopsy table. You can tell he's a Doktor by the round glasses. The corpse is split down the front and its abdominal cavity is held open with wires; inside, it's full of clockwork gears, and moth pupae are hatching and flying out of it. Underwing moths, like so:



Coming out by the dozens, just like they used to emerge from the tangled turf of my back yard every fall.

Pic is busted.

[Phox]

As you said, they are the only game in town. So let's play. We can't be saved, but I'm sure as hell going to have a good time going down on the A-bomb, just like Slim Pickens. And fuck being saved anyway. I mean, you can't have a monkey free planet if there's still one monkey, right? So I'm going to enjoy all of this. And continue to laugh and jeer. We are aware of our trap, and we can see the outcome, and still we keep going for it. Why not? There is no out, so might as well make a masochistic ritual out of it, and enjoy the hell out of it, while you do. The good times are still rolling, and I... I'm still laughing.

Doktor Phox,
Okay, for once.

Some things I can laugh about.

Some things (child soldiers/prostitutes, etc), I can at best manage a feeble chuckle, because what I really want to do is tear someone's head off.

Yes, there's no such thing as a healthy laugh with me anymore. It's all maniacal shrieking that passes as laughter if you're deaf and blind, but nevertheless it's the only thing between me and them these days. It's the Spiders, Dok. The Spiders have been stalking me for awhile now., making everything seem far away and intangible. Just a little too far out for me to care... but I don't like the pills, Dok. So I sometimes only pretend to take them. And then the laughing starts again.

But I can still feel that little bit of web in my hair. Just enough that I notice, and just little enough that I can't quite pin point it to comb it out. And no matter how much I comb it doesn't come out.... And it feels warmer and safer the more my hand passes near it. And I reach for the pills and kick them aside. They make me sleep, and when I sleep I dream. I dream about all of the things that make me want to hide.

I wake up laughing, laughing like Alex from A Clockwork Orange. I feel real horrorshow after that, and generally think that I don't need the pills. Mess with the Gulliver too much, you know.

But then something happens. I hear the ninth and that nauseous feeling returns and makes me beg for the pills again.

I hear the ninth in police sirens, and out of the mouths of tea partiers, and even the mouths of children anymore....

But it's the only song they ever play, and I don't like the pills. So it's laugh or puke, and if I puke, I'm afraid that it won't ever stop. I feel the same about the laughing, but at least when I'm laughing my guts don't feel like they are falling out right along with whatever else is in there.  

Phox,
Still okay.