Children

Children, our children,
we failed to teach
dying for ideas
reading under candels
helping without interest,
going for it, clueless

Children, our children,
learned on our example
that Lie is too big

Children, our children,
witness all around
that if you do not take
you do not have.

Ph.K.Dick, Our friends from Frolix 8

Backlog of my writing here shows that I was educating myself regarding PKD since years. My wish to go through VALIS trilogy was the reason for my revisiting PKD, and as usual, I do things thoroughly. The most recent entry, which I report here, I found in the 2nd-hand book store Vibes and Scribes in Cork, Ireland, where I went for the annual European Astronomical Meeting. It is a good, well equipped store, actually two stores in adjacent buildings, one with new, and other with used books, a very good concept, see pic, the two entrances marked with the same name plate. This text is a less known work of PKD, but I think it should be more widely known.

It was first published in 1970, so in his pre-revelation (March 1974) phase, but I find all the signs of VALIS there. The world is in complete turmoil, here because the ruling castes, New Men and Unusuals, who are Huxleyan Alphas and Betas, fail to prevent the uprise of the under-caste group, the Old Men. Intellectual supremacy is not the requisite ensuring ability to prevail in ruling position. It is, still, dependent on subordinates to work effectively.

PKD ingeniously follows the rebel fraction and shows the ultimate failure of such a system, and its succumbing, when challenged, to Alien supremacy. Aliens are presented by a slimy (literally) intelligence, which burns the New Men's brains, effectively leaving them in a post-lobotomic, childish state before their ultimate demise.

In the description of society before those events, PKD follows Huxley and Orwell and, in addition, delineates the deception, which he later formulated more in detail in VALIS. The deception of freedom is here just alluded to-the ultimate motivation of the Alien being is left uncovered. It could be really positive, but equally well it could be that it is just tricking the Humanity for its alien purpose.

I think this novel shows that the birth of his "vision" was much in advance to tooth extraction episode. It is his brain, not a conspicous mixture of medication, which brings him to "Revelation". I find it hillarious that in "Our friends..." he describes the drug bars, in a world where alcochole is stricly forbidden as harmful substance. Very prophetic, I think!

Weird, out of its time story, even for a PKD. Strongly suggested, not so much for its literary value, as for its...prophetic charge. Life in the Universe might be much, much more intricate and dangerous than we can fathom.

After I wrote the above text, I read the Wikipedia entry on the novel and it says that yes, it is not the best but rather the worst of his works from that period, and that the themes were already started in some of his earlier novels. This only strenghtens my feeling that what became the VALIS later was already in his head.

Howling Wolf

Ruins of time

For so long
we are not,
That when underground gods
grind the continents together,
our names do not figure
in the lists of missing.

We are missing
in the ruins of time.

Sky, memory

Memory of a sky,
other planet's sky
with flowers and rivers
impurity included,
chases me.

A memory of sky,
pure and clear
with stars shining, twinkling,
planets stalking them,
haunts me.

A sky of memory,
blue and vivid
with clouds dancing
and birds balancing,
kills me.
*

Bern runs

Bern is an essential Swiss city: expensive not only for Eastern Europeans, kind of polished, kind of not boring, kind of full of relaxed locals, svimming in the fast white-green waters of Aare river.

Bern turns out to be a kind of depressive city for me, still have to understand why. Both times I visited it, it made this impression. And it should not, so many young people, students, around, so lively and lovely, no irony. Must be just so different from my Eastern Europe experience that it is unfathomable?

To add some novelty and try to break the depressive air, this time I gave myself experience of running along the river, between two pedestrian bridges, from one side of the city to the other. Highly recommendable!

It gives you an excellent view to the city. The red one was 12 km of pure pleasure, the blue one a bit shorter, 10km. Make certain you find the exit to the river and just enjoy! The path is good and you can divert to the city at many interesting places, if you feel so.

Walking the streets and seeing the views later, with them already in your legs, gives another perspective.

Digital arf

***
Ah my dear
analog doggie,

you are the last
I am walking alive.
The next longtail
will be digital.

Says St. Greta
of Dirty Air
you are really bad
to the world balance,
gassing out of
front and behind!

One day,
my digital I
will walk
analog dog
to keep the balance
of air and metal.
***