|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- OFFICE COMPLEX--CUP 7--"CONFOUNDER" <-------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  Office Complex  ||  -------> (Cup SRoc007, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = Somehow, he felt refreshed and generally well. He thought: "Who am I? Who is Dolthethmen? I walk among these people, but am I truly one of them? Who am I? Who am I? "I muse, say I have an exciting life, but I erase all memories and occurrences, as a yardsman trimming a hedge. So I can be pure and bereft of the foul excresions of indulgence. Yea, I do wonder who I am, but though I am vaguely in discontent, I do not abhor my life as so many others seem to abhor theirs. Do they abhor their own lives or my own? I would think, were I so important that others might abhor my life, I would revel in it and love my life. "But what about sex? Sex seems to come in from the woodwork, to work and wreak havoc upon my sheltered soul. Life other than sex is hard enough, but with sex it becomes a real thunderstorm, I'd say. But such is life! Such is lust and living! "Indeed, let me think where to go. The arcade. To play videogames and pinball and confounders and maybe there'll be a few hot girls in the arcade too. The arcade. Let me go to the arcade. Play some pinball, some confounders. Aye, confounders. I wonder what the world would be like without confounders? As in, just videogames and pinball. It seems to me that confounders complete a triangle, that in videogame, pinball, and confounder, some stability is formed. For who would say that in the pantheons of today there isn't a god or goddess for such amusements? I would hope a goddess, as that's potentially erotic. How I'd like to be a designer of confounders and please that goddess in my work. "How might I explain a confounder to one on a world without confounders? Twould be tough, sure, but I can do it. Confounders are amusement machines, and to be found with and generally compared with videogames and pinball machines. They are based on the idea of actual physical happenings, as in pinball, but are quite varied, like videogames. Most pinball machines concern themselves with the motion of a small metal ball on a playfield, whereas confounders use a variety of objects, controls, and concepts. "In cosmic terms, is human sexuality an okay corruption? Can there not be much worse corruption out there, that would corrupt one beyond human capacity just to understand or consider? If I think of a weird word, like 'therC', am I in trouble with cosmic densities? How dense is the cosmos, and man included? This line of reasoning makes my feet tingle. "Ah! The wonder of the arcade! Ah the wonder, and glad am I that I'm not one who profits from such an endeavor, but rather, one who benefits! For I do benefit for I do enjoy it! Ah! "But hence and hey--do I recognize someone here? That girl Emily Tare from that job I had a few years ago? There she is, over at the 'Arc of Hypnosis' videogame, with another girl, who seems to be her friend!" So Dolthethmen strode over to the 'Arc of Hypnosis' machine, and watched as Emily's friend played, and hoped that Emily would notice him. But she didn't immediately, so he looked over at her, and stared at her for several moments and caught her attention. "Hey!" Emily said, "I know you! What the hell are you doing here, Dole?" At that moment Dolthethmen thought: "I pray to all the gods in existence please let me wind up in bed with this girl tonight." Then he said: "Just, y'know, Emily, walking around, eh." "Well, we just got out of work so we came here for a few games. Do you know Am?" said Emily. The other girl, Am, just got killed in the game. "Damn it." Am said. Emily took over control of the game, it being her turn, and continued to speak. "Am, this is Dolthethmen. Dolthethmen, this is Am. I used to work with him over at Mason Diode." "How ya doin'?" Am said. "Okay, how 'bout you? 'Am'--that's short for Ambivale?" Dolthethmen said. "Yup... say, weren't you, uh, weren't you out in the mall before, like, asleep on the ground?" Apparently at least Am, and possibly both Am and Emily, had seen him lying on the ground. "Yeah, I was lying on the ground--but I wasn't asleep--I'd just momentarily lost all enthusiasm to exist, that's all." "Highly abnormal--but I like it!" Am said. "Dole's a bit out there, Am." Emily said. -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----