Reading: "Dead Cities of the Stars" from RITUALS OF THE ANTITHETICAL (A.Glass 2023)
We lost the counter culture
of the Nineteen Sixties, problem was they we’re all looking for
that savior. Same old story when it doesn’t work out, it goes
sour. The Seventies, where you were born into, was not so bad. A
society living on the edge of nuclear annihilation, cities,
particularly this one, falling apart. Yet, the hedonism was rife…”
He turns and looks at Dalens with a smile. “...Everyone was
fucking away their problems like no tomorrow, the era of sexual
liberation right into to the Nineteen Eighties, till a virus hit,
which, unfortunately was spread through sex. But, mainly the gays.
Poor guys. They took the majority of the hit. And it killed a lot
of them. Point is, there ain't no benchmarks out there. Ebbs and
flows. Look what they got now, fifteen minutes of fame on
cyberspace…” He looks at Dalens with a cynical expression.
“...And everybody’s a celebrity.”
“Or a crusader...” Dalens interjects. “...That I sure ain’t, but…” Dalens has a sip from the flask. “...I gotta abide by time. That’s the fucking burden.”
“It shouldn’t be, time is not an illusion at all. It’s the erosion of reality. Consuming itself and everything else…” The elderly man closes his eyes briefly and nods. “...You gotta master it, in one day. Cultivation of time is the discernment of time…” He opens his eyes. “...They, their world are the greatest time wasters in history. It’s almost uncanny how they take it for granted.”
“It’s not looking good,” Dalens replies, as twilight descends.
“No, its not. A saturation of information. Mostly garbage. The ultimate malfunction of the human computer and a nuclear error...” the older man says smiling, whilst holding up his small metallic cup, to which Dalens fills.
Both men laugh.
“...You do what you do, just don’t waste time. You won’t miss anything. They’re the weak, obliterated by chaos. Arvie, you’re the diamond within the chaos. Unaffected. Not angry or bitter.” The elderly man smiles, staring into the twilight.
Dalens just nods listening to the man sitting beside him as the evening begins to fade.
“Or a crusader...” Dalens interjects. “...That I sure ain’t, but…” Dalens has a sip from the flask. “...I gotta abide by time. That’s the fucking burden.”
“It shouldn’t be, time is not an illusion at all. It’s the erosion of reality. Consuming itself and everything else…” The elderly man closes his eyes briefly and nods. “...You gotta master it, in one day. Cultivation of time is the discernment of time…” He opens his eyes. “...They, their world are the greatest time wasters in history. It’s almost uncanny how they take it for granted.”
“It’s not looking good,” Dalens replies, as twilight descends.
“No, its not. A saturation of information. Mostly garbage. The ultimate malfunction of the human computer and a nuclear error...” the older man says smiling, whilst holding up his small metallic cup, to which Dalens fills.
Both men laugh.
“...You do what you do, just don’t waste time. You won’t miss anything. They’re the weak, obliterated by chaos. Arvie, you’re the diamond within the chaos. Unaffected. Not angry or bitter.” The elderly man smiles, staring into the twilight.
Dalens just nods listening to the man sitting beside him as the evening begins to fade.
___
Reading: "Dead Cities of the Stars" from RITUALS OF THE ANTITHETICAL (A.Glass 2023)
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