Apologies for commenting before I finished the article, but I had to pause for a moment and get this out:
I think you're right, they do seem afraid this time. Not offended, not feigning outrage, *terrified*.
But I don't think it's violence or exposure they're afraid of. They know how to deal with violence. They've been doing that for ages. Identifying, infiltrating, dismantling, or redirecting it to their own ends. And they know how to deal with exposure: squirt a cloud of ink, flash some bright lights and loud sounds in the periphery, and scurry away in the confusion. The 15-minute average attention span of domesticated consumers and near non-existent long term memory guarantees a critical mass of people will always be ready to accept the new narrative once it coalesces.
It's laughter they're afraid of. I know it's a cliche in the meme wars, but I've been thinking about it a lot lately and like a lot of memes, it has a kernel of truth. It's not that some of us will now know what they were up to. For all intents and purposes we already did. We just have the receipts now, and as mentioned, the receipts don't matter.
It's that we can see how *tawdry*, how *incompetent*, how obvious and pathetic and pointless and stupid it all is. We see that they're not the masters of the universe, that they're not brilliant Machiavellian schemers, that there's no big elaborate plan. We see that they're just idiots and losers and petty grifters. They were succeeding merely because nobody lifted a finger to stop them, because everyone who could have was just as debased and stupid as they were. And we're *laughing* at them for it, and they *hate* that.
Because the greatest sin of this particular brand of demon is pride. They hang their pride on the walls in the form of shiny certificates and endless titles. They parade it around at prestigious events, access to which is proof of their superiority. They swell with it when they get away with crimes that the rest of us would be imprisoned for. It drips from every condescending word they speak. And now we're laughing.
Monsters fear artists because we hold a mirror to them and show them what they are, and because we help others see them for what they are. But these monsters aren't terrifying horrors from the cosmic abyss. They're diseased, disfigured, degenerate, pathetic, disgusting, sub-human, the worst and lowest of us. They're Dorian Gray as seen in portrait, and we're *laughing at them*. We're taking their pride away.
By the tens and hundreds and thousands they're being humiliated and scattered to the winds, and the ones that haven't been sent off to the unemployment lines are afraid that they're next, and they know they have nothing whatsoever of any use to offer now that their grifts are over and their sinecures are rescinded. They're going to be pumping our gas and picking our strawberries and learning to smile and say "would you like fries with that," or else they're going to starve.
That's what they fear. And it feels great to see the fear in their eyes.
Alright, finished now. And as always, a banger. I think I might have some idea of where you're going with this, but I'll hold thoughts on it until you get the rest out.
Oh and something I should add to my other comment: to be clear, I don't think the imps we're seeing right now are the end of it. I've just seen them for what they were for a long time. Pride is a sin I'm very personally familiar with and it's easy to spot it in others. Takes one to know one.
But imps are administrative servants, not masters, by design. And I don't think we're going to find the ultimate master embodied in some Klaus Shwab / George Soros style villain. Those are just more imps, of the same general variety. You've already done a lot to highlight several of the other varieties. It's not over until we find the thing that makes them and destroy it, and I don't think we get to do that here in "Dimension X."
Honor and glory are fleeting machinations of the human mind mostly created so that one can feel good about murdering other humans in the name of war. Honor portends that a human is somehow special and to be revered. Glory is for fools who have to sanctify their arrogance.
Apologies for commenting before I finished the article, but I had to pause for a moment and get this out:
I think you're right, they do seem afraid this time. Not offended, not feigning outrage, *terrified*.
But I don't think it's violence or exposure they're afraid of. They know how to deal with violence. They've been doing that for ages. Identifying, infiltrating, dismantling, or redirecting it to their own ends. And they know how to deal with exposure: squirt a cloud of ink, flash some bright lights and loud sounds in the periphery, and scurry away in the confusion. The 15-minute average attention span of domesticated consumers and near non-existent long term memory guarantees a critical mass of people will always be ready to accept the new narrative once it coalesces.
It's laughter they're afraid of. I know it's a cliche in the meme wars, but I've been thinking about it a lot lately and like a lot of memes, it has a kernel of truth. It's not that some of us will now know what they were up to. For all intents and purposes we already did. We just have the receipts now, and as mentioned, the receipts don't matter.
It's that we can see how *tawdry*, how *incompetent*, how obvious and pathetic and pointless and stupid it all is. We see that they're not the masters of the universe, that they're not brilliant Machiavellian schemers, that there's no big elaborate plan. We see that they're just idiots and losers and petty grifters. They were succeeding merely because nobody lifted a finger to stop them, because everyone who could have was just as debased and stupid as they were. And we're *laughing* at them for it, and they *hate* that.
Because the greatest sin of this particular brand of demon is pride. They hang their pride on the walls in the form of shiny certificates and endless titles. They parade it around at prestigious events, access to which is proof of their superiority. They swell with it when they get away with crimes that the rest of us would be imprisoned for. It drips from every condescending word they speak. And now we're laughing.
Monsters fear artists because we hold a mirror to them and show them what they are, and because we help others see them for what they are. But these monsters aren't terrifying horrors from the cosmic abyss. They're diseased, disfigured, degenerate, pathetic, disgusting, sub-human, the worst and lowest of us. They're Dorian Gray as seen in portrait, and we're *laughing at them*. We're taking their pride away.
By the tens and hundreds and thousands they're being humiliated and scattered to the winds, and the ones that haven't been sent off to the unemployment lines are afraid that they're next, and they know they have nothing whatsoever of any use to offer now that their grifts are over and their sinecures are rescinded. They're going to be pumping our gas and picking our strawberries and learning to smile and say "would you like fries with that," or else they're going to starve.
That's what they fear. And it feels great to see the fear in their eyes.
Glad to see you back! I'm slowly savouring... :)
Just stopped for a moment to say that this:
"George Orwell also undelivered on his curriculum, issuing only the monster’s warning without the hero’s answer."
...is the best one sentence summary of the plot of 1984 that I have seen.
** goes back to read **
Really great post! The pen truly is mightier than the sword when it's wielded by a real artist like you! Looking forward to this series!
Excellent essay. That was worth the wait.
I don't have a comment at the moment. But Eugene Terekhen's latest seems on point.
https://open.substack.com/pub/eugeneterekhin/p/elves-evil-and-enframing-tolkien?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android&r=1mko6
It does lead me to ask: where will love fit in to your story? Will it relate to the Glory in the title?
Sorry, brother. I can't give any spoilers.
Shoot. And i didn't even ask about [redacted].
This is a journey of mind expansion. Thank you for this rare gift you have given us.
Thought provoking post as always. Thanks.
Alright, finished now. And as always, a banger. I think I might have some idea of where you're going with this, but I'll hold thoughts on it until you get the rest out.
Oh and something I should add to my other comment: to be clear, I don't think the imps we're seeing right now are the end of it. I've just seen them for what they were for a long time. Pride is a sin I'm very personally familiar with and it's easy to spot it in others. Takes one to know one.
But imps are administrative servants, not masters, by design. And I don't think we're going to find the ultimate master embodied in some Klaus Shwab / George Soros style villain. Those are just more imps, of the same general variety. You've already done a lot to highlight several of the other varieties. It's not over until we find the thing that makes them and destroy it, and I don't think we get to do that here in "Dimension X."
Wow, this was a rush! Brilliant work, proper scholarly thinking and writing.
Honor and glory are fleeting machinations of the human mind mostly created so that one can feel good about murdering other humans in the name of war. Honor portends that a human is somehow special and to be revered. Glory is for fools who have to sanctify their arrogance.
"Horror" not "Honor."