Death is Eternal #329
Sunday. January 1, 2023. 1,782 words.
https://linktr.ee/giovanicesconetto
This Death is Eternal will bring some changes. Yes, I know it seems this has been happening a lot lately—mainly because it has—but rest assured, every change has a reason behind it. I’m not just changing the newsletter because I want to change it. I’m changing because I feel I need to do it. Anyway, stay tuned for the changes.
Contents
Introduction
Project MKULtra: my hiStory
Substack
Last Week (from December 26, 2022, to January 1, 2023)
This Week (from January 2 to 8, 2023)
Twitter Thread
Death is Eternal Review #165: Planetary/Batman: Night on Earth by Warren Ellis, John Cassaday, David Baron, and Comicraft
Death is Eternal Review #166: Harry & Meghan
The End
Introduction
I love history, and I love to write. And since historical fiction exists, I always thought, “Why not give it a try?” And I did! Project MKULtra fascinated me since the first time I learned about it. And how can you not be fascinated by the government drugging people with LSD without their consent? Anyway, as with all the short stories I’ve been publishing lately, this is the first draft. So don’t be harsh! Try to pay more attention to the idea than the execution itself. I bet you’ll have a better experience this way.
Also, this is the first of a series I did a couple of years ago called “my hiStory.” The capitalized S is to give the impression of being both history and story. Like, a fictionalized historical fact… Anyway, I thought I was being very clever at the time, but I don’t know. Do you think I was clever? Be as it may, I hope you enjoy “Project MKULtra: my hiStory.”
Project MKULtra: my hiStory
How can I always be running late? Every day I leave home a little earlier, and every single day I’m late. How is that even possible?
Less thinking, more running.
And that’s what he does. He closes down his mind and focuses on his legs. He needs to get to the subway on time; otherwise, he’ll lose his job.
He pushes people on the street and stairs—he’s sure one of these days he’ll make someone fall off, but he can’t afford to be careful—and jump over the ticket gate to not lose any second.
He enters the train the moment the doors are closing. If this were a movie, he would almost lose his hand to get his hat that had fallen off. But this isn’t a movie, so he keeps his hat in his backpack; he hates the hat, but he has to use it while working.
He looks around; he knows it’s useless, but he looks around nevertheless. As expected, there isn’t a single seat empty.
Every fucking day!
He curses while breathing heavily.
The run made him tired; life exhausted him.
He breathed heavily for a couple of minutes. Not because he was out of breath but because he needed to relax. Commuting, he always fought against tears.
Every day was the same. Leave early, run for being late, heavily breathing to stop the tears, work, go back home, repeat.
Every day.
Repeat.
Every day.
Repeat.
Every day was a repetition, except this one—of course.
Today, his heavy breathing would not stop the tears. It would liberate them.
It started slow and small.
Fuck, do I need glasses or vacations?
He asked himself while rubbing his eyes. Everything was blurry, especially the other people’s faces.
Glasses. Definitely, glasses.
But he asked if that was the answer when the lights started to left trails on the air, like the missiles he saw cruising the sky on television.
Or was it in the movies?
He couldn’t know. Fiction and reality were the same at that time. There were wars in movies and on television; the world was ending in fiction and reality. The lights left trails over there and in here. He started to laugh.
It was a nervous, anxious and desperate laugh—a laugh that hides something, a laugh that reveals a truth.
The blurring faces soon become melting ones. The subway was not a train anymore, it was a Salvador Dali painting, and everybody was a clock.
The Persistence of Memory, I remember that. Why do I remember that?
Of course, he didn’t note the irony. He was too desperate to note.
It didn’t take long for the first scream. Like a dam breaking, after the first, others followed.
He could see the air flowing from everybody’s throats. The air trembled with the screams. From the mouths, melting AAAAAAAH flew and flooded the wagon.
He felt like floating. The top of his head soon hit the train’s ceiling; he took a deep breath, and knowing that was inevitable, he dived into the melting screams.
If I’m going to die, at least I’ll choose how and when.
He opened his mouth, not to scream but to suck the other’s screams. He wanted to die from the misery and despair of others. Not his own.
He didn’t die. No one did.
Death wasn’t the objective.
The End
Substack
I’m still learning how to deal with Substack. So much so That I was sure free subscribers would receive Death is Eternal #328 on Friday (Dec. 30, 2022) with the paywall. The first part happened, but the second didn’t. And that’s problematic.
As I explained in Death is Eternal #327, the promise of receiving the newsletter before others it’s not enough to make subscribers pay for a subscription, so my idea is to limit what non-paying subscribers receive. So, starting right now, only the first Death is Eternal of the month will be available to everyone. All the others will have paywalls. This way, free subscribers can read an entire newsletter and decide if it’s worth paying for a subscription, while I can make sure only paying subscribers have access to the bulk of what I write.
So, yeah. This newsletter will be available in its entirety for everyone. The next four (Jan. 8, 15, 22, and 29, 2023) will have a paywall. Think of me as a drug dealer, and the once-a-month free Death is Eternal is a 100%-pure free sample of cocaine; you can taste and pay to have more or be reminded weekly of what you’re losing while waiting for the next month and the next free sample. It may not be my greatest metaphor, but I think it’s fair game, do you agree? Please, tell me what you think about this change.
One last change, I’ll close down my Patreon. I’ll focus on Substack, and hopefully, I won’t regret the decision. Fingers crossed!
Last Week (from December 26, 2022, to January 1, 2023)
Nothing happened… I mean, yes, some things happened. But not much. Basically, I used the break to read. I managed to read three books and a graphic novel—reviews soon to come—and that was pretty much it. Aside from that, yesterday (Dec. 31, 2022), Jessica, Trufa and I went to Stanley Park for a walk, and it was great.
Oh, I almost forgot. Remember I said Jessica’s Christmas gifts weren’t here on time for Christmas because Vancouver doesn’t know how to deal with snow? Well, they arrived after Dec. 25, so my reading list is even bigger. But I’m really, really looking forward to reading every single one of the books. I don’t know where I’ll start, but I’m looking forward to beginning.
So, yeah, an uneventful week. Just like I love.
This Week (from January 2 to 8, 2023)
This week won’t be as uneventful as the previous one because the break will end, so I’ll return to work. I know how that sounds, and I wish it didn’t sound like that. Like, I do love my work. For real, I do love my job! But I loved doing nothing more. But, let’s be honest, isn’t that true for everybody?
Additionally, The Writer’s Studio (TWS) classes will also return this week. So, you know, the break is really over, and the year will finally truly begin. Well, hopefully, it’ll be a great year!
It tends to be a chill week, just not as chill as the one before. Well, this is life, I guess…
Twitter Thread
Death is Eternal Review #165
Planetary/Batman: Night on Earth by Warren Ellis, John Cassaday, David Baron, and Comicraft
Planetary/Batman: Night on Earth by Ellis, Cassaday, Baron, and Comicraft it’s superb!
I read Planetary years and years ago, but for some reason, I forgot to read this crossover. And it was a good thing I forgot because that meant I could read a Planetary story for the first time. And that’s awesome!
What makes this specific crossover so good is how the story is both a Planetary and a Batman story. Ellis manages to mix what makes the team and the character work to create a remarkable tale of investigation, action, and sci-fi. On top of that, Cassaday’s art is brilliant, and you could lose hours and hours analyzing his pages.
Planetary/Batman: Night on Earth by Ellis, Cassaday, Baron, and Comicraft it’s superbly superb!
Death is Eternal Review #166
Harry & Meghan
Harry & Meghan makes me uncomfortable.
The problem with the documentary is that it exists. At all points, they’re criticizing the attention, the media, the lack of privacy, and every other aspect of being royals. But if they don’t want attention, if they want peace, why keep remembering everyone they exist by doing interviews, publishing books, releasing documentaries, and other stuff like that?
And that’s really sad because it diminished what they went through, what they lived. I wanted to be at their side and support them, but it’s hard to do that when they’re criticizing the media while using the same media to get attention. You either want attention, or you don’t. That’s a situation where a half-measure doesn’t work.
Harry & Meghan makes me uncomfortable because I want to support them, but I simply can’t.
The End
Well, I thought I could finish this Death is Eternal in under an hour. I was wrong. I was very wrong. Well, what can I do? Again, please tell me what you think about the changes. I know people who don’t want to pay will say it’s a bad one, but please, please try to understand where I’m coming from. Anyway… See you next week, bye!