|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- OSOAWEEK--ISSUE 115--10/5/96 <-------  ||  OsoaWeek  ||  Issues  ||  Book 9  ||  -------> (Cup OWis115, Created v1 (4/27/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = [[BEGIN115OW]] [[01151CV]] * * * O S O A W E E K 1 1 5 * * * October 5, 1996 "The weekly ezine of Obliviana Super Occult Amusement!" by Frank Edward Nora CONTENTS 01 115 CV--Cover 02 115 LA--Lord of Obliviana 03 115 LM--Life Mysteries 04 115 ZP--Zope 05 115 SU--Superior 06 115 SR--Severe Repair OsoaWeek115, October 5, 1996 Eleventh issue of OsoaWeek Book Nine Written by Frank Edward Nora Published weekly by Obliviana Super Occult Amusement obliviana@aol.com http://www.obliviana.com/~osoa 1-800-OBLIVIANA All contents copyright 1996 Frank Edward Nora Regarding this file, you are free to make digital copies, so long as they're not altered or sold. All other forms of reproduction require permission from Frank Edward Nora. *OW* [[02115LA]] Lord of Obliviana 2/13/97 * 9:41 PM Finally got the real bootleg of the Star Wars Special Edition. Pretty good quality. On the bus before I was really out of it. But I had a vision that is very germane to Obliviana. It is of people having sheets of paper, with an 11-by-19 grid at the top, and filling in things they do or happen to them in squares, listing details below on the sheet. And people having a bunch of these sheets in a stack in their pocket. And working on this stack of sheets every day. Each sheet has a theme at the top. And each sheet is done when it's done. One theme for a sheet that I thought of was "Miserable Day", where each square represents another miserable day that the player experiences. Idea of it as a "pleasant little pastime". Idea of analyzing your life. Idea of yearning for each new day to be able to do stuff to be able to enter squares onto your sheets. 10:38 PM Feeling exhausted. So this idea--really a refinement of other ideas, but new specifically in terms of filling in an 11-by-19 grid, and once that is filled or just "done", there can be a "Sequel" to it. An idea here is that 209 of anything is a lot. Idea, Fonosta of snowmen, listing each, naming and describing each, etc. Plotting out things to do, such as "Look At Bottles". Connect here to Friction Enhancer. I understand now the idea of a Storm--it is being entered onto the sheet. That is, the Storm is first entered as a challenge, then it is accomplished. Okay--so the idea of setting out empty Cups and then filling them. So a Storm is an empty Cup that you are filling. Always an awareness of where you are on the board, eventually you will get to know each square as an individual identity, via a system like Storm Pelter. This is what everything has been leading up to. Idea, a series of Storms in the same vein on the same sheet. Note, new terms are needed here for the likes of "sheet", "square", "entering", etc. Well, "square" is Cup. That one is easy. The idea is that you will have a number of sheets going at once. And by doing this... by doing what I am thinking of as "Lamparponding", to quote from SR... but I must decide whether or not to use the term... that by doing this, you are able to better understand your life, as well as lead your life in wonderful new directions. Idea of shorthand symbols for different sorts of situations that might occur. What was Friction Enhancer is now a much bigger realm, of "themes" for "sheets" of "Lamparponding". Here is an easy example: "Think About Birds". List date, time, and place and what sort of thought it was. Another theme could be "Coming Up With Friction Enhancers" and then come up with new FE/themes, each of which could be a new "sheet". One sheet could list all your sheets, kind of a "root level" or "master" sheet. So I should make actual sheets tomorrow. Good night. 2/15/97 * 1:06 PM I made the sheets yesterday. I didn't have much time at work to do it, but I did it. My engagement party today. So 13 years after my Book of Madness, I produce a prototype Fonosta Device. Terms are a bit muddy still, but I refer to the stack of sheets as a Device, since it is a means to encode your Fonosta. With the sheets, Fonosta becomes an idea that could have been implemented in 1697 as easy as in 1997. Of course, I'm sure that paper and pens and the ability to read and write were less universal back then. But it would have been doable, no problem. That vision on the bus the other day, it was of an alternate world where this system had been implemented for a very long time; it was part of culture. Get all Obliviana. *OW* [[03115LM]] Life Mysteries LIFE MYSTERY 24 "Anyway" by John Nora Just this meagerest bite on the tongue: 8 months as a stockboy in an office-supply store, 4 months in a warehouse moving stereo equipment by hand and by forklift, 3 years in the soggy nowhere of a comic-book store, 2 months as a ramp-crew member of a cheapo airline, throwing bodysized duffles and crippling hardsides, cursing myself hoarse, 1 1/2 months as a stockboy in a company stockroom, have satisfied me about what it's like to work blue-collar, punch-card, hands-wrung jobs, forever as stone-like Shinto temples on the sides of hard-caked, desolate, weedy roads of feudal Japan. *OW* [[04115ZP]] Zope ZOPE 042: "Frank Edward Nora" 2/24/97 ZOPE Linden, help me out. LINDEN Okay, Zope. ZOPE Here's the scenario. I can't reconcile all the atrocities I have committed with... with the seriousness of Joe and Emily. I mean... people... people like that... that I care about... to think that someone could do to them what I have done to so many others... testing barbed wire... punishing people for eating at the same restaurant where I was poisoned... chopping off a cop's head when we jumped the turnstile in the subway... LINDEN The question as I see it is: How can you feel such remorse? If you were capable of committing such acts, one would assume that you were without a conscience. Is it that you have changed? Or is it something else? ZOPE That's why I have this comic strip angle. The only way I can understand myself is to view the people I have hurt or killed as unreal. As throwaway characters... nothing more than drawings... but if that is the case, what does that say about me? I mean... I FEEL real... so I'm a DIFFERENT sort of a comic strip character from those I have killed? LINDEN Perhaps you are a main character. ZOPE Haha. Yeah. LINDEN It would explain an awful lot. ZOPE That's true. LINDEN But clearly you are not happy with the idea that you are unreal. ZOPE I think, therefore I am. No, I'm real. There's no doubt about it. It's just... just the WAY in which I am real. LINDEN If we are comic strip characters, then would it not make sense that we are being drawn, our dialogue being written, even now? Are not these ideas and arguments really just the ideas and arguments of the person who is drawing us? ZOPE It's a scary thought. But I guess it could be true. What would that mean, though? LINDEN Why not use a wish to find out? ZOPE I was afraid you were going to say that. LINDEN Why? ZOPE Because, of course I've thought of that. But I don't know if I WANT to know. LINDEN I think the purpose of this space voyage is for you to find out all these things. ZOPE You're right. I wish to know what the fuck is going on. LINDEN Zope, this isn't Linden anymore. This is Frank Edward Nora. I am the one who created you. ZOPE Linden, are you fucking with me? LINDEN Zope, listen. You know your wishing power works. Doesn't it make sense that I speak to you in this manner? Through the voice of a computer, with no one else around, and with you questioning your sanity? ZOPE Alright. So you are "Frank Edward Nora", my creator. So tell me what's up. LINDEN I created you on February 25, 1986. It is now February 24, 1997. I've been working on you on and off over the past eleven years. Of late I have been neglecting you, I fear. This space voyage of yours... it's weird... I did not intend to get into this situation with you. I find the idea of creator talking to character a little hackneyed, and it's been done before. But I think this had to happen. ZOPE Look, let's cut to the chase. Am I responsible for all the evil stuff I've done? LINDEN No. You did not hurt anyone. The characters you killed were not sentient. You exist in a world of fiction. Your mindless violence is a catharthis to those who read you adventures. ZOPE So I'm like this real popular character, like Snoopy or something? LINDEN I'm afraid not. You have a very small audience. Pretty much just people I know. I am working very hard on bringing you to a wider audience, though. ZOPE So I have to return to my old ways, to entertain these people? LINDEN No. At this point, I can't do that to you. You have to understand Zope, that you DO exist. I cannot force you to do things, because it would feel totally wrong to write you out of character. So now, being that you know the truth, I'm not going to erase you memory or just ignore that this has happened or anything. ZOPE So where do I go from here? LINDEN You will continue on from here. You'll go home to Halfevil, and continue to lead your life. But you'll do so in light of this revelation. You can can the violence if you want. ZOPE I think I want to can it. LINDEN That's fine. I will continue to write violent adventures for you, but these will take place in your past, since there's a lot of room there. That is, I have only written bits and pieces of your life up till now. ZOPE So I'll start to remember these new events from my past? LINDEN Well, technically, you should have all these memories right now. They should be things that have already happened. So don't worry about it. ZOPE So you want to tell me how many fucking wishes I have left? You know much fucking torture I've gone through with this wish shit? LINDEN There is no limit. The idea was to... This is interesting. I never made concrete the circumstances under which you received your wishes... just that someone gave them to you and to prevent you from abusing the power, told you about the limitation and said that you'd die with your last wish. But I haven't written that yet. Do you remember the specific circumstances of getting the wishes. ZOPE I do remember that someone very powerful gave them to me. But I can't remember the specifics. I would have thought that I could have remembered that, and pretty easily. LINDEN Well, I'll come up with that scenario and then you'll remember it. ZOPE So let me ask you something. You can do anything you want with me? LINDEN Well, within the boundaries of my knowing you as a character. ZOPE Because I wanted to ask you something. Could you make me happy? LINDEN What? ZOPE I want to be happy. I don't think I've ever been happy. Really happy. So that's what I'm asking you for. To make me happy. LINDEN It's not as easy as just me writing down "Zope was happy." There has to be a reason for you to be happy. But I will work on it. I think that just knowing the truth, and not having to commit any more violent act will begin you on the road to happiness. ZOPE So... so this, right now, is a comic strip that people are reading, or will be reading? LINDEN Well, right now, it's just text. I do hope to draw it someday. But for awhile now I've been writing your adventures instead of drawing them. ZOPE Huh. Doesn't feel any different to me. LINDEN I want you to know, Zope, that like I said, I didn't plan this encounter. Writing your space journey over the past few days has been kind of difficult for me. And talking to you like this, this is also very difficult for me. Because it means you are changing into something new. ZOPE At this point, I want to be something different. When I saw Joe and Emily together... and then realized that I've killed people who others have cared about just as much as I care about Joe and Emily... it's almost too much to bear... LINDEN Your feelings on this matter are a result of my own thoughts about mindless violence. The situation is this. Mindless violence in a context is cathartic and is seen as a reaction to personal restrictions and stuff... it's very hard to explain... but the thing that has happened is that mindless violence has lost its context, and now it's just an ugly, unfunny thing. A creepy thing. The kids today, when they drink in such violence, they are not enjoying it as a catharsis or a social commentary or whatever--they are enjoying the savagery. This is a scary situation. It seems like we might have a generation of sociopaths growing up in our midst. It's very scary. But that is where my thoughts on violence are coming from. ZOPE But isn't that what I am? A sociopath? LINDEN You are a cartoon character. Your violence is cartoon violence. You cut off a cop's head, he doesn't have a wife and children or friends or anything. He's just a prop. You haven't done anything wrong. You're an actor. ZOPE So why should I continue to exist? Will people want to read about my adventures being a nice guy? LINDEN I don't see why not. You've always been a multifaceted character. Violence has only been one aspect of you. Remember earlier that Emily asked you about sex? And then, you told me you want to be happy. And that you want to remain interesting enough for people to keep on reading about you. So I'm thinking that maybe you could get married and raise a family. I think that that is part and parcel of being happy. I myself am engaged now. ZOPE Hahaha. Wow. This is really crazy. I almost forgot that I have space madness. And they say that once you lose the awareness that you are crazy, that you're REALLY crazy. Sitting here talking to the guy that's drawing me, or writing me, a cartoon character. Huh. And it could all be you, Linden, fucking with me. You ARE evil, after all. LINDEN Zope, go ahead and believe that. I want there to be some doubt in your mind as to whether or not this contact has been real. ZOPE Well, I do have doubt. A lot of doubt. Chiefly, I am real, and if I were a cartoon character, I would not be real. LINDEN Zope, I'm going to go now. I suggest going home soon. Start living a nonviolent life. You will find, in the near future, an opportunity for you to get married. Do it. Get married. Have children. You have grown out of the mindless violence phase of your life. It's time to move on. ZOPE Yeah, sure kid. LINDEN Goodnight, Zope. *OW* [[05115SU]] Superior SUPERIOR 613 * 10/27/96 Oval other people. Pay Nancy. Fear of the graphics. SUPERIOR 614 * 10/27/96 Meaning of meaning. Without deepness who we are. Audio tape strewn on a highway, meaningless. Manipulation through the exploitation of adaptation. Hearing yeah sure. Fun all sorts of little coincidences. Powerful-sounding sequences of words. The dark, lonely world of lust unrealized. And fear of unconscious bad things getting out. But if you don't care it doesn't matter. SUPERIOR 615 * 10/27/96 Dee needer. I mean yeah, like a guy who needs a gal named Dee. That's all I was saying. SUPERIOR 616 * 10/27/96 Time travel means we haven't got past all that. *OW* [[06115SR]] Severe Repair $~GRD007 "Straight to the Farm" ~~SEVERE REPAIR: A Hypertext Novel by Frank Edward Nora Storyline "Get Real Daptin" Packet 007 00017 * 3.990K * New '96 * OW115 Copyright 1996 * All Rights Reserved~~ "Hi. Daptin Gone." I said. "Abigail Trouncer the Cot." she said with a smile and I raised an eyebrow and motioned for her to sit as I did, and she did. "So, you're thinking of joining the, uh, cast of Hull TV, huh?" "I guess. My friend Gail told me a little about it. It sounds kinda neat, but I just don't know about it yet." I nodded and we had a little awkward silence that was made flirtatious by her eyes. "So, uh..." I said, awkwardly grabbing her bio page from Comma's massive desk and looking down at it, "Trouncer the Cot... that's uh... that's some name." "Yeah it's my stage name. Stage SPELLING, actually. No one can pronounce my name when they see its real spelling. Here..." and she fished through her little purse and extended her driver's license to me. I took it and read her name: "Abigail Tirnciarivecotnie". "Wow." I said, handing it back and shaking my head. "I'm not even gonna try." "Well," she said, taking it back, "It's 'trouncer the cot', that's the right pronunciation. Old Church Slavonic." I nodded, raising both eyebrows. "So... so you changed the spelling... so that..." "Yeah. I figured I could change it, but I like the way it looks spelled like that. And it gets people's interest, they just have to ask me in what way, shape or form I'm a cot!" I laughed and nodded, and there was another of those great awkward silences. "So." she finally said. "You guys get free tickets to Letterman here?" I laughed again (laughter is a good release for sexual tension I guess) and said "Nope. You might think, but we don't. I guess the Letterman Show is just this kind of annoying thing to us." "Really, why?" she asked, kind of seriously, and I regretted that she didn't get the gist of what I was saying. "Well... you know... all the tourists and assorted thrill seekers hanging around out there hoping to catch a glimpse of some glamorous celebrity... and Dave's various shenanigans like shooting watermelons from cannons and shit like that, closing the street, and..." "I don't know, sounds kinda neat." she said. "Yeah, I guess it is, a little." She nodded, and we stared at each other. After a few moments, she said "Do I know you from somewhere?" I smiled a nervous smile and felt flushed. "Um... I don't know... you ever been to Agoopish or Aconck or Gnoboslast or Rillekon's Road?" Heck, it couldn't hurt. "What are those, clubs?" "Um... yeah... you ever been to those clubs?" She smiled. "Never heard of 'em. I'm from upstate. I don't get to Manhattan very often." "No?" "Uh-uh." So I kept talking to her and we were getting along pretty well, and we shared that we were both seeing people, and that kind of made things more calm, and she said how she was staying on her parents' farm in Delhi, a town upstate, while they were on vacation, and how she was going up there with her boyfriend and if me and Bonnie (my girlfriend) wanted to come up for the weekend. She said she'd really like to talk to someone from Hull about Hull TV cuz she had this really strong hunch that she was gonna get involved. I told her I'd call my girlfriend, and I got her number to call her about it just as Comma came back in. "I hope Daptin gave you a good PR speech for Hull." Comma said, and Abigail nodded sweetly. I left, lunging for a phone as soon as I was out of sight and called my girlfriend. Anyway, to make a long story short, I managed to convince a skeptical Bonnie to go to the farm with Abigail and her boyfriend. She asked me the boyfriend's name, and I realized Abigail didn't mention it. So I ran back to the office but Abigail was gone. Comma smiled at me and held out a scrap of paper. "She left this for you. She said she was going straight to the farm, whatever that means, and that if you're going you should follow these directions and get there tonight, or else call, she said you had the number." I nodded and took the piece of paper, wondering why she gave me the number if it was the upstate number. Oh well. ~$GRD007 *OW* [[END115OW]] -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----