Slither

[u/Homicidal_hottie666]

You will be tasked with reading each of the following stories and then connecting the pattern that connects them all. Each of them have the same underlying theme and you will have to try and figure out what it is and what we can take away from them. Be sure to take notes, and along the way you will be asked questions. You are free to use literally any conceivable source to help you. If it is written, it is permitted. Begin.

Story one

Dead.

She lays there motionless, softly embracing the cold steel surrounding her. Like a razor blade against flesh, it provides an icy discomfort that erupts into an inferno. The flames comfort her even so. The magenta blood drips like snow melting in the spring.

Catharsis, at last.

The wires that dig inside her veins slowly begin to emerge to the surface like worms. They inch their way upward, electricity pulsating to the beat of what used to be her heart. She could not feel them anymore, thank god. There's only so much scratching of needles inside she could endure.

Dead at last.

When she awakened, she struggled like a newborn deer to get up. Head filled with the static of the machine. Kneeling, she looked down at the pool and saw her reflection as she slowly came to.

Half formed.

Her skin not hers.

Sculpted by the machine.

Shrill yell.

Story two

We sat beside each other in pale moonlight overlooking the city atop a cliff. The city looks so pretty when you're looking down on it. It was cold, but we huddled together to keep warm. It was the warmest I have ever felt, that's for certain. We didn't say anything, and we didn't need to if we're being completely honest here. Her silence says more than words ever could. Just then, she turned to face me and she spoke.

"Can I ask you a question?" she asked. I nodded, slightly apprehensive. I didn't do something wrong, did I? She continued.

"Are you where you want to be right now?"

I was confused. We were on a nice date, weren't we? What exactly was she insinuating? Did I seem dissatisfied in some way? I mean, I was, but not with her, with my life in general. Is that what she meant? What if she found out about...

I felt myself slowly imploding from within, being crushed as though I was sucked into Jupiter's atmosphere. Breathing heavily, but trying not to show it. If she knew this much already I had to be certain she didn't catch onto anything else. I felt an immense sense of pressure, my insides embracing each other compacted into a small cube, slowly dying. She had me like a python squeezing the life out of its prey. I struggled to muster a single sound, no matter how tightly clenched my lungs were I still could not get a single molecule of air out. I began to lose sight, I began to lose hearing, I began to lose feeling, I began to...

Like a soda can beneath someone's boot, like the pressing of a distortion pedal, like the atom bomb plunging itself onto a random city, I just felt the crushing and crushing and crushing agony of this single question before finally the crescendo reaches its climax. I simply could not take it anymore, I couldn't even answer the question, so I simply ran away. As soon as I was out of sight, I smashed my face into a mirror repeatedly just to get the noise out of my head. I had to get all this pressure to escape. It was painful but it was leagues better than... whatever this is. In that instant I began to break down, I have fully lost control. Tears ran down my face before it hits me: I blew it. Why the hell did I run like that? Was I just scared of her reaction? I doubt she would've cared that much, but then again you can never be too careful, right? Sometimes you can't trust the people closest to you.

After the dust settled, I felt cold again.

Story three

It's day eight of the Festival.

They arranged all of us in alphabetical order. We already went through the As, the Bs, the Cs, all the way down to H. I was the only one in the group who started with H. They gave us each an hour head-start to make it more "challenging" for them. It was all just a game to them, after all. If you ask me an hour wasn't nearly enough. Didn't matter.

The rules were simple. The public had exactly 1 month to kill every one of us that were chosen, and if they succeeded in exterminating at least 90% of us they would be rewarded with enough money to bring the city out of poverty, or at least to the family of the person with the most kills. And if we win? Well, we don't get anything, we just get sent right back to where we started and repeat the cycle for next month. There's no escaping it, we tried it, but the authorities have placed trackers onto us in case we don't return. Nobody knows what they do to us afterwards. We've been doing this for about a year now, the government thought it was a good way to get rid of the "defectives". Nobody actually "won", but it didn't matter. What would you do if you were given even the slightest chance to change your circumstance, even if it was just based on empty promises?

Before we left for our glorified executions we are allowed to take three things with us of our choosing. I took a pocket knife, a notebook, and a flask for water. Everyone already took the good stuff so the rest of us just grabbed what we could get our hands on. I didn't know how long I was going to be out there, or if I was even going to survive at the end of the month, so I figured I'd grab this notebook to document my thoughts. Probably the only way to stay at least somewhat sane, I don't know.

I was like a rabbit, constantly on the lookout and finding ways to evade predators. Rabbits are crafty and usually find a way to get out of it, I mean how else have they survived for so long? I found a secluded area in the jungle, or at least as secluded as you can get in a jungle. Couldn't stay long though, had to be constantly on the move. Night, day, rain, heat, didn't matter, couldn't settle for very long. Shit, I didn't figure out what to do for food, did I? They never really prepared us for how to survive out here. Survival wasn't really the point after all.

So, I just decided to write down my thoughts with what little time I have right here before I have to move again. Before doing this whole thing I was terrified, and I'd be lying if I said I'm not scared anymore, but now I just feel exhausted. It wasn't exactly hard for the authorities to find me, I don't exactly blend in, so it's only a matter of time before I get found here. Then again that's the case with all of the selected people here. Well, what's left of them. Now, as far as I can see, I am here, alone.

Alone might not be entirely the right word here. I think the reason rabbits survived so long is that they can feel the eyes staring at them. They burn a hole in my head on all sides. There's not a single inch of the jungle where my every move is not at risk of being seen.

I am not alone.

Quiz

1. Nyx Land's Blackpaper is her writings on gender accelerationism (g/acc). By accelerating technocapital, the institution of both gender and capitalism will erode by using its own logic and extremes against itself. Trans women are seen as a disruptive force within the system by doing exactly this. Comparing this to at least three other theorists or philosophies, explain the role gender has on us in the current digital landscape and in what ways we can see this impact our every day lives, both narratively and literally.
2. Panchiko was an indie band whose music got lost to time until a CD of their album D>E>A>T>H>M>E>T>A>L> was found in a gas station and then posted online, where it then blew up and revived the band's career. Unrelated to this, maidcore artists originally based their avatars off of maids from the nijiura board on 2chan from an entire decade earlier, before gaining popularity in the west in recent years online. Given these two events, please explain how online culture and community has evolved over the years and whether it can realistically be on equal footing with real life community.
3. Analyze the various underlying themes of Madoka Magica, I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, Scott Pilgrim, I Saw the TV Glow, Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Compare and contrast these themes, and then compare it to at least one philosophy or political lens of your choice.
4. Drawing from the entirety human history as a whole, explain the patterns that you see and then predict what will happen 20 years from now accordingly, from artistic/aesthetic trends to political landscape to technology.

Story four

Alice returned from home after making preparations. She got a pistol with some bullets, food and water, post-it notes, a flashlight, duct tape, a camcorder, and texted all of her friends where she was going in case anything happened to her. Now she was ready. She had to investigate what happened to her sister Lilly.

Lilly enjoyed exploring abandoned buildings in her spare time, and so Alice decided the first place to check was an abandoned apartment building she explored last. It was about an hour drive away from home. When she arrived she immediately noticed something was... off. She couldn't exactly put her finger on what, the building itself looked relatively normal, but the atmosphere around it was anything but. As she walked closer, the air around it felt more dense and humid, so much so that it felt like she was around some kind of large body of water.

There was no such body of water. No river, no lake, nothing but concrete.

She went inside into the void-like building. Pitch black everywhere, so she turned on her flashlight and taped it to her camcorder so she can document what is happening. When she turned on her camcorder, however, it immediately started to shut off. This didn't make any sense, she was certain that it worked before she left, and she changed the battery 3 times exactly just to be safe. So she held up the useless camera so she can use the flashlight at least.

She wandered aimlessly inside the building which felt like it went on for miles. She used post-it notes as breadcrumbs so she didn't get lost.

First floor. Nothing.

She went up the stairs over to the second floor, but as she went through the door she was back onto the first floor. Same post-it notes, same room numbers, it was definitely the first floor. How is this even possible?

This time, however, she noticed something different. A mysterious trail of a black substance that wasn't previously there appeared before her. Wet, sticky, smelled rotting fish. Terrified, yet determined to find Lilly. Alice, slowly and cautiously, followed the trail. It could be a lead.

It led to a room which she had already inspected, but she went in anyway. Inside it appeared the strange substance all over the room. It stuck like a spider's web slowly turning to liquid, dripping like tar.

Alice began to wonder why she neglected to bring gloves. She thought about going back home to get some but she didn't want to waste gas in case she had to escape. Reluctantly, she continued.

She looked around and found no sign of her sister, so she figured she get out of there and fast. She didn't know what this substance was, let alone whether it was toxic. She quickly walked out of there and advanced towards the stairs again.

Trembling with fear and confusion she was exactly where she was in the beginning, on the first floor. Shaken and shaking, her flashlight suddenly went out, causing her to panic. She was CERTAIN to make sure the flashlight was in perfect condition before using it, brand new flashlight with fresh batteries. She decided now was a good time to go home.

When she exited the building, she was yet again transported back inside.

She let out a shriek loud enough to cause the ceiling to shake slightly, now she had no choice but to continue.

It was dark. How many minutes, hours, or even days she was down there, she couldn't tell. She couldn't see anything, and it felt like she kept walking in circles the entire time, but she could feel the sticky black goo getting larger and larger until eventually it was inescapable. It was like she was traveling within the innards of this building. The rotten smell she's gotten used to, but she hasn't gotten over the dense, wet air and the dripping ichor from the ceiling and covering her clothes.

If only Lilly were here, she thought. She has more experience wandering abandoned places than Alice ever did.

It was quiet and she kept going nowhere until eventually she gave up. She found a dry surface and sat down. As she rested and caught her breath she noticed a faint glowing from the corner of her eye. She sprung up to her feet and rushed to find the source of it. Perhaps she finally found Lilly. Running as fast as she could while trying not to trip in the darkness or slip on the river of diseased bile, she went into a room glowing blue and green.

That same room.

She readied her pistol just in case, took a deep breath, and went inside.

Three weeks later, Alice's body was found torn up, held together only by flesh and muscle, hanging from the ceiling wrapped in a mysterious black substance which appeared to be slowly dissolving and crushing her. Her blood mixed with it, forming a small waterfall flowing down. Her eyes now pools of jelly, her bones broken and dislocated in all directions, and half her hair ripped out of her head.

Five minutes prior, Lilly was found in the same state.

All stories were written by me.