I Wrote About a Pandemic, Before the Pandemic...
Writing The 8 Life Path
Elsreth Salixar is a doctor on a distant world called Pax. Her race faces an existential threat from a virus that is not very well known. All the hospital beds are occupied. There are not enough body bags for the deceased. Sound familiar?
The Executive (Part 1 of 10)
“We cannot change anything unless we accept it”
-Carl Jung
The way children cling to the most tattered objects always puzzled me. Of course, it doesn’t start out tattered and used. It only gets that way from being dragged around relentlessly. It almost seems as though the more worn out and tattered it was, the greater their attachment. With promise to get a new toy, the child protests, even though its condition diminishes. To them, the object holds some sort of sentiment. Seemingly, the inherent value increases with the amount of time it’s owned, a sort of invisible interest applied with the duration of its juvenile ownership. I don’t know what mechanism is behind this behavior, but the thought lingers in the recesses of my mind when brought to my attention.
Between 2017 and 2019, I wrote about a Pandemic on a world wrought with clandestine interests, power struggles, and a religion of materialism. I wrapped it up, started the next lifetime, and then COVID19 happened.
If you read this lifetime, you know why I questioned publishing it and the reason why it was a cause for concern for me.
Before publishing The Executive, which is currently safe behind a paywall, I announced that I would eventually take the time to discuss it due to its controversial nature and the potential backlash that could come of it. However, because there is still not a lot known about the details of COVID19, and because censorship is at an all-time high regarding the subject, I dragged my feet releasing this video with the concern of my channel getting a strike, or worse. Thankfully, Substack seems to be less stringent on the matter thanks to its commitment to journalism (whatever is left of it at least), but my apprehension remains.
So, last Saturday I decided to take the plunge. Following the theme of the 8 Life Path, which in numerology is about mastering this physical world, I donned a luxurious robe (similar to that of Elsreth’s) indulged in a cup of earl gray with bergamot, and started talking about this strange experience, juxtaposed to the chaos and corruption of our world.
I chose to make a video discussing this, as it is much easier to conceal spoilers in this format (I can’t ask you to un-see words when you scroll down).
You can watch it here:
I know the feeling of being scared to share writing, especially on Substack. My project for NaNo this year is something that I'll be scared to share parts of, it's toned down in controversy a bit from prior forms, but only to prevent distraction.
Having type 1 diabetes makes me feel the bit about disease as a money maker. Companies do what they can to purposefully keep up the price of insulin, the thing I need to live. And I believe that if the medical bureaucracy was actively trying to kill me through denial of supplies but still wanted to look competent, it would be easier for me to get supplies than it is now with all the incompetents who seem unaware that these supplies are fundamental for life. To me, the incompetence of many medical institutions has no meaningful distinction from malice.
Side note, a James Bond movie had the plot point of a bioweapon that could target specific demographics. Even with my limited knowledge of James Bond, I don't think any other scene can match the unintentional comedy of the spy leader sitting down seriously and sadly going 'project bioweapon that murders people based on genetics was only supposed to kill bad people, how could other people use it to kill other people.'
Creepy