 Living in such a state 	 taTestaTesTaTe 	 etats a hcus ni gniviL
 of mind in which time	       sTATEsTAtEsTaTeStA	  emit hcihw ni dnim of
 does not pass, space	      STateSTaTeSTaTeStAtE	   ecaps ,ssap ton seod
 does not exist, and	     sTATeSt	    oFOfOfo	    dna ,tsixe ton seod
 idea is not there.	    STatEst	     ofoFOFo	     .ereht ton si aedi
 Stuck in a place	   staTEsT	      OfOFofo	       ecalp a ni kcutS
 where movements	   TATeSTa	      foFofoF		stnemevom erehw
 are impossible 			     fOFoFOf		 elbissopmi era
 in all forms,				   UsOFofO		  ,smrof lla ni
 physical and				 nbEifof		   dna lacisyhp
 or mental -			       uNBeInO			    - latnem ro
 your mind is			      UNbeinG			   si dnim rouy
 focusing on a			     unBEING			  a no gnisucof
 lone thing, or 		     NBeINgu			 ro ,gniht enol
 a lone nothing.		     bEinGUn			.gnihton enol a
 You are numb and		     EiNguNB		       dna bmun era ouY
 unaware to events					      stneve ot erawanu
 taking place - not		     -iSSuE-		     ton - ecalp gnikat
 knowing how or what		   THiRTY-FiVE		    tahw ro woh gniwonk
 to think. You are in		     03/28/97		   ni era uoY .kniht ot
 a state of unbeing.... 				 ....gniebnu fo etats a

--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--

			    CONTENTS OF THiS iSSUE
			   =----------------------=

EDiTORiAL							  Kilgore Trout

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

STAFF LiSTiNGS


			       [=- ARTiCLES -=]


STALKiNG NONi MOON				     I Wish My Name Were Nathan

PAGE FROM A DiARY						    Crux Ansata

WORDS i CANNOT SAY...						       Pyromage

CONFESSiONS OF AN ACCUSED PAEDOPHiLE				  Kilgore Trout

LETTER, ON FREEDOM						    Crux Ansata


			      [=- POETASTRiE -=]


THE WALK								  Nomad


			       [=- FiCTiON -=]


NiNE GOATS "DiSCUSS" RACiSM AT THE GOAT CONVENTiONS
HELD iN UNiTED ARAB EMiRATES						 Adidas

TRANSFUSiON							       Morrigan

OFF i GO							   Water Damage

THE CONFESSiONS 					Frater Nemo est Sanctus

--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--

     EDiTORiAL
     by Kilgore Trout

     Welcome, ye faithful zine readers, to the Good Friday issue of State of
unBeing.  Yup, that's right.  On this very day, almost 2000 years ago, some
wacky guy got killed by the Romans for trying to become the King of the Jews.
I'd consider that to be a pretty crappy way to spend the Easter holiday,
myself.  I guess they crucified people instead of hunting for Easter eggs.
Now there's a story you can tell your kids to keep them in line.  "Johnny, if
you don't behave, we're gonna crucify you on the lawn."

     Like I mention elsewhere in the zine, I'm already damned.  And somehow I
think putting this zine out isn't helping my chances too much.  At least I get
to take a lot of people with me.  So, in accordance with Good Friday and
thanking Jesus for what he did for us on the cross, we declare that the theme
of this issue is paedophilia.

     Yeah.  Having sex with small children.  You read it right.

     We really didn't intend for this to happen.  Honestly.  And even if you
do point out that there are only a few pieces that deal directly with the
subject, that's a lot closer to a themed issue than we've ever come.  Besides,
it kinda fits in with the holiday, and with Jesus in general.  I mean, didn't
we all sing the song "Jesus Loves the Little Children" in Sunday School?  And
let's not forget Matthew 27:51, when Jesus was crucified and "the curtain of
the temple was torn in two from top to bottom," signifying a loss of
innocence and separation from God, which you must admit, is a result of
paedophilia.

     At the very least, maybe I'll get some nice email from some groups who
feel that I need to be saved.  Then we can beef up the really small letters
section.

				   --SoB--

     I guess I should comment on the Heaven's Gate group that committed
suicide in San Deigo county.  It's about damn time, I say.  Mass suicides
reduce the population AND make people think they're getting out of their
bodies so the great recycling can take place, or even off to the planet Sirius
(as was the case with the Order of the Solar Temple.)	The thing that pissed
me off was that on the news, everyone was calling this a tragedy, when it
seemed quite obvious to me that these people really wanted to do this, and if
it made them happy, it makes me happy.	Naturally, most of the Waco news
stations were trying to distance the UFO cult from our good friend David
Koresh.  Even though our Heaven's Gate friends could draw a mean web page, I
bet they couldn't rattle off guitar licks like ole Cyrus.  And that's a damn
shame.

				   --SoB--

     March issues are always hedgy in my mind.	I'm always dreading spring
break and what that is going to do to my writers, since I know what it does to
me.  It makes me extremely lazy.  Especially since I didn't go out of state
this year.  But, lucky for both you and me, this issue is nice, big, and
juicy.	In addition to the aforementioned paedophilia theme, there are more of
the usual "unusual" SoB fare.  Sometimes I think we should take a camera down
the halls of the hallowed Apocalypse Culture offices and show you, the reader,
exactly what goes into putting together a zine like this.  Naturally, there's
a coffee machine in every room.  For some reason, a few offices have a lot of
blood stained in the carpet, but that's only because our steam cleaning
service says we're about three months behind on our payments.  I figure he
could cut us some slack since we employed him just about every other day. Most
of the writers use computers to compose.  Luckily, being the editor, I get to
choose the music that is pumped through our state-of-the-art sound system that
goes to every office, and when people slack off, I like to unleash the Spice
Girls.	That definitely gets people working again.

     We may start arranging tours for those of you who are near the area.  If
you'd like to visit, e-mail me.  Of course, you'll have to be killed after the
tour since seeing too much of the ACP offices isn't good for your health, but
it'll be worth it.

     Trust me.

				   --SoB--

     I need to address a couple of minor technical points before I let you go.
It seems that I actually have some sort of life at college now, amazingly
enough, so if you haven't received a response to email that you have sent me,
well, don't feel like you're the only one.  Keep bugging me, and I'll get
around to it, but I'm doing good to get the zine out right now.

     Also, we are in the process of updating the SoB FAQ for the first time
since Spring of 1995.  For those of you with bio's in the FAQ, we'd like to
ask that you update yours if need be.  For those of you without bio's in the
FAQ, well, if you have written for the zine in the past and have pieces in at
least four issues, we'd like you to send in a bio.  Check out the old FAQ for
the format and style we use.  For those of you without bio's in the FAQ who
haven't written anything for the zine, tough luck.  I'll be sending out
individual emails to people, but who knows when the hell that'll get done. And
seeing as how this is going on a CD-ROM compilation of e-zines, well, don't
disappoint me. ;)  See you folks next month.

				   --SoB--

     Uh, Clockwork, if you get this, I need to know where the hell you are.

--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--

     LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

[only two letters this month makes this section look rather pathetic.  shame
 on you people.]

From: Steve Donnelly
To: kilgore@sage.net
Subject: communica

KOMRADE KILGORE TROUT

does this address work?
	confused,
     profoundly befuddled

[yes, komrade steve.  this address works.  and i also know where lenin's real
 body is being stored.]

				   --SoB--

From: "Gregory D. Greicius"
To: kilgore@sage.net

hey,
please put me on the mailing list for your zine, as i truly enjoy
the illuminating and baggage free articles by hagbard et al.

greg

[you have been added.  i find it quite funny that you talk about the articles
 written by "hagbard et al.," seeing as how hagbard hasn't written anything in
 about, oh, fourteen issues.  heh.  and he even promised me something after
 one of his improv comedy shows, too.  oh well.  maybe if he finds out he has
 some fans, he'll start writing again.]

--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--


				STAFF LiSTiNG

				    EDiTOR
				Kilgore Trout

				 CONTRiBUTORS
				    Adidas
				 Crux Ansata
			  I Wish My Name Were Nathan
				   Morrigan
				    Nomad
				   Pyromage
				 Water Damage

				GUESSED STARS
                             Gregory D. Greicius
                                Komrade Steve

--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--


			       [=- ARTiCLES -=]


--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--

     STALKiNG NONi MOON
     by I Wish My Name Were Nathan, with Crux Ansata and Noni Moon

     "Sssssh, be quiet!" I whispered at Ansat as he peeked out from behind
the tree, his army fatigues rustling against the bark.

     "She can't hear that," he replied.  I looked carefully over his
shoulder, straining my eyes in the dark to make out the figure walking on the
sidewalk ahead.  The moon was full, but the trees were plenty.	Shadows lay
everywhere.  I kept on losing my concentration, catching the reflection of
the ambient light off Ansat's eyeglasses.

     I thought I heard something odd, and it turned out to be him, calling
out, "Nooooooni..." in a haunting falsetto.  Several yards ahead, Noni Moon
stopped dead in her tracks and looked back.  "She might hear that, though."

     "You bastard!" I cried, jerking Ansat to the ground out of sight.  "At
least make some effort!"

     "It's no fun if she doesn't get frightened," Ansat replied with a grin.

     "Hush up, and wait until she starts walking again."

     We both craned out our necks from behind the tree, trying to discern
Noni's figure in the darkness.  I finally caught her running across the
street at a distance.  I pushed Ansat forward and we followed.

     It was an art to run so silently on the concrete where scores of leaves
still lay from the winter.  Only occasional light scuffing sounds were
audible, resembling those of a wayward squirrel, or maybe a larger leaf being
blown across the pavement by a light breeze.  The effort involved in our
stealthiness reaffirmed the seriousness of our hunt.

     We continued to follow Noni down the left side of the street.  The
moonlight wasn't shining on this side due to the tall buildings hulking over
the sidewalk.  Ansat and I, wearing dark clothes, were nearly invisible in
the shadows.  Noni also wore dark clothes, though, so we had to watch
carefully to gauge the subtle light differential between her body and the
sidewalk ahead.

     "These streets with no lights rock," he whispered.

     I experienced a sick sort of fascination with following Noni.  It wasn't
as if we didn't know where she lived, what her phone number was, or where she
kept that secret flagon of Kentucky vodka.  The mere thrill of the hunt
enthralled us, an excitement that isn't gained through words or ideas, but
only through the act itself.  The source of such fascination was beyond
intellection.

     Where Noni turned left behind a building, we waited and peered around
the corner at her retreating figure, now exposed in the gaudy orange
streetlights.  We couldn't follow her down this path without escaping
detection.  But we had planned it this way.  From earlier observations, we
knew she was getting close to her car.

     "Okay, nice and easy," Ansat said, as we ambled casually across the
street to his car.  "You think she recognized it?" I asked.  "'Course not,"
he said confidently.  Frankly, *I* didn't even recognize it.  We got into his
car and pulled out slowly, in time to trail Noni.

     "Gotta stay about ten yards behind her," I said.  "You never know if
she'll look back."

     "Doesn't matter," Ansat replied.  "I doubt she can see through all that
blood smeared on her rear windshield."

     "What?!" I cried, peering ahead.  "What the hell?!"

     "Like I said, it's no fun if she's not frightened."

     And with that, Ansat jammed down on the accelerator and in a screeching
of tires zeroed the intervening distance.  Noni's car jerked forward in
sudden acceleration as well.  Apparently she had noticed the blood, because
in her fright she'd taken off without her headlights.  Ansat blinked his
lights at her, and her lights came on.	She also sped up.

     "Oh damn, she's getting away," Ansat said.  "Hope she doesn't head for
any stoplights, because her brakes don't work."

     "Jesus Christ, what did you do?!"

     "I cut her brakelines or something."

     "We're supposed to be stalking her, not killing her!"

     "It's no fun if it doesn't end in death," Ansat said matter-of-factly,
still with that mischevious grin.

     "Oh man... good lord... oh god!" I moaned.  "You know, you sure seem a
lot different in e-mail."

     "And I didn't know you'd be such a wuss.  But we already discussed
that.  I need to concentrate here."

     I watched in horror as we tailed Noni down the road.  She tried her
brakes a few times.  The brake lights lit up, but her car didn't slow.  I
writhed in agony, anticipating the stoplight ahead.  What would happen to
her?

     I craned out my neck, watching for the traffic on the cross street.
Luckily, there was none.  Noni could safely coast right through the light,
and... but suddenly, a mad idiot came accelerating from the left, seeing his
light turn yellow!

     "Oh, shit!" I screamed, watching in sheer horror.  Noni's brakelights
came on, flashed a few times as she prayed pointlessly for something to
happen, and... she stopped.  Ansat came to a stop behind her.  We waited for
the light to turn green.  And we drove on.

     "Huh?"

     "You really believed that joke about the brakes?"

     "Well, yes, dammit!" I yelled.  My whole body was cold and numb.

     "Jeez, Nathan, you've taken too many drugs."

     "Listen here, you don't know anything about my drug use.  I've only...."

     "Shut up.  Noni's almost home."

     I leaned back in the seat, drained.  I'd had a few good ones pulled on
me before, but....  In clarity of vision, I realized that there was no blood
on Noni's back windshield, either.  It was a thin veneer of mud.  She'd
probably driven through a puddle or two.  I didn't say a word.

     We parked in an empty spot several yards down the street.	We watched
Noni get out of her car and head up the stairs to her apartment.  She didn't
appear agitated at all.  "I can't believe none of that fazed her."

     "She didn't notice any of it," Ansat explained.  "It's the ancient
Catholic art of being invisible.  I acted earnestly like an anonymous driver
who just happened to be behind her all the way home.  You just got upset
because I was playing with your mind."

     "Isn't being invisible an ancient Taoist art?"

     "Shuddup, nature-boy, you know I don't believe in that stuff."

     We got out of the car and wandered up and down the sidewalk while we
made plans.  We knew Noni had a habit of forgetting she was walking around
naked in her apartment, so we decided to climb up a tree and drop down into
her balcony where we could peek into the window.  "Isn't it easier to just
walk up those convenient stairs?" I asked him.  "No fun," he replied.

     It must have been about three in the morning when we crouched down in
the balcony and peered in between the blinds in Noni's window.  We could see
that she was sprawled out on her couch watching CNN, making sarcastic
comments at Larry King about his interviewing style.  It was humorous to
watch, but unfortunately she didn't get naked and didn't notice our
silhouettes in the window.  Neither of us had mastered the ancient Catholic
art of staying awake, either, and we fell asleep.

     When we woke up, it was daylight and Noni was gone.  I looked around
and there was no sign that she had noticed us or defaced our bodies in any
way.  "You know, we're really bad stalkers," I said.

     "I assure you, she didn't even notice us.  C'mon, let's go find her."

     We took the stairs down.

				  * * * * *

     "Let's hunt down that blue-haired biatch," Ansat said, and we again
boarded into his car and drove off.  I didn't know where we'd find her, but
I kept quiet as we headed into downtown.  It must have been around eleven
A.M. that Saturday when Ansat pulled into an empty parking space along the
Drag.

     "I'm hungry," he said, heading into Metro.  I watched in bemusement as
he bought a hammerhead, a large double-espresso coffee.  I ordered a lemonade
and a croissant.

     We walked upstairs and beheld Noni sitting at a table reading a book.
About one other person was there.  Some quiet Suzanne Vega music was playing.
Ansat walked right up to Noni's table and set down his coffee.

     "Hey, Ansat and Nathan," she said amiably, smoking a Kamel Red.  "Was my
porch comfortable?"

     "No?" I said, confused.

     "Why didn't you ring the doorbell?"

     "Your doorbell is broken," Ansat said.

     "Oh.  Why didn't you knock?"

     "I dunno.  We, like, didn't even try the doorbell," he replied,
lighting up.

     "Were you expecting us?" I asked.

     "Uh-huh," Noni said.  "Ansat called and said you two were going to
interview me."

     "We are?"

     "Didn't you get the memo?" Ansat asked.

     "*What* memo?" I asked.

     "The interoffice memo dated March 17."

     "Sheesh!  You know I don't have an office yet!"

     "I *told* Captain Moonlight you could have his."

     "Oh!  Well, damn!  I'm sorry, I guess I wasn't listening," I admitted.
"Say, it's Noni Moon!  Hi, Noni!"

     "Hi, Nathan.  I read your article last month.  I didn't know those
long-ass stories of yours were generated by a computer."

     "Yup, yup....  I'm currently working on a female character generator
for the program."

     "How would you do that?"

     "Right now, I'm thinking of just copying the male character generator
and adding features like self-consciousness, awkwardness, and self-pity," I
joked.

     "All your *male* characters are like that," Ansat pointed out.

     "Oh!  Oh yeah.  Well, that just saved me a lot of work."

     "Ansat, your 'Pages from a diary' are really fascinating.  You really
keep a diary?" Noni asked.

     "I used to, until Kilgore stole it from me and started publishing parts
to jack up the issue size.  I'm gonna kick his ass."

     "I didn't know he did that!" Noni said.  "Why didn't you stop him before
last month?"

     "I like the compliments."

     "Oh."

     "C'mon, Noni, time to get interviewed," he said.  "Spread 'em."

     "This is really strange, you know.  I really don't have much of anything
interesting to say," she admitted, putting her book away.

     "We'll make up something interesting if it doesn't pan out," I said.

     "Oh."

     "Um, do you have any paper?" Ansat asked her.

     "No, but I have my tape recorder."

     "Can we steal it from you?"

     "Um, no!"

     "Aww, damn.  That means we'll have to be sneaky," Ansat said to me.  "Go
ahead," he said to Noni, "turn it on."

     "Alright.  So, why are you interviewing me?" Noni asked.

     "Hey, *we* get to ask the probing questions," I interjected.

     "Alright, sorry about that."

     "So, Noni, why are we interviewing you?" I asked.

     "*Ahem,*  I don't know."

     Ansat and I looked at each other.	"You know, we always gave nice, long,
thought-out answers to your questions.	Try harder.  Here's a different
question.  Who are you?"

     "My name for SoB is Noni Moon, and you both know that already.  I was
born in --"

     "Boor-ing!" I cried.  "Who are you *really*?"

     "Huh?"

     "Unlike with us, you haven't written anything personal yet.  No one
knows what kind of a person you are.  Tell us that."

     "Oh, I see," she said, fidgeting in the metal chair.  She stubbed out
her cigarette and lit another one, took a long drag and started speaking.
"I guess I like asking questions, you know, finding out about people.
That's sort of obvious.  People fascinate me, especially writers."

     "Heh," Ansat said, stroking his knife.

     "That's why I wanted to do all those interviews.  I could never write
about myself."

     "Does being one of the very few female writers put you in a strange
position?" I asked.

     "If getting kidnapped is a strange position, then yes," she chuckled,
with a nod to Ansat.  "I tend to notice something about State of unBeing,"
she remarked.  "Too phallocentric.  Revolution, existential angst, romantic
murder, Dr. Graves, all that."

     "Foul!  Dr. Graves is long dong -- er, gone -- okay?" I emphasized.

     "Sure, sure, whatever.  I saw him prancing around the SoB offices last
June."

     "Yeah, he's still with us, Nathan."

     "Sheesh!  Like I'd know!" I pouted.

     "He's been asking about you," Ansat said.

     "Wow, really?"

     "Ahem!" Noni interrupted.  "The zine is very dark, too.  I think you all
have very dark minds."

     "You trippin', dog!" I protested.  "We only write that way.  In person,
all the writers I know are very humorous and sociable... after dark.  Hmmm."

     "And sometimes in the mornings, eh?"

     "When we're awake, yes," Ansat said, swirling coffee around in his
glass.	"Our minds aren't exactly dark.  It's more like, an unexplored and
scary abyss, or something."

     "So I've heard.  Why is there the big difference in the writer and
the written?"

     "When you interviewed us, it was because we got to talk about
ourselves," Ansat chuckled.  "The rest of the time, we like to sit in dark
corners and weep.  Either that or cruise local BBSes and start debates that
end in the opponent's self-immolation."

     "I bet pretty soon more females will come across SoB and start
submitting," I suggested.

     "I hope so.  Maybe if we advertised SoB on Usenet in some other
newsgroup besides alt.bill-bixby.dead.dead.dead."

     "I sorta thought this was my interview," Noni said, agitated.

     "Okay, go ahead, sorry."

     "Back to the original question, something like being in the enviable
position of being a female writer for SoB.  I don't even consider myself a
writer.  I just copy down things people say."

     "Stop belittling yourself!" I cried out.  "People love you!  You've got
spunk!	You've got charisma!  You've got *blue hair*!"

     "I'm thinking of changing it a different color."

     "Noni, DON'T DYE!"

     Ansat and I looked at each other and just laughed.  Ansat lit up another
cigarette.

     "'Informative articles, literary trash, AND bad puns!'" Noni suggested.

     "Oooh, we can work that into Kilgore's new header."

     "Ah yes, the ubiquitous new header.  Is he ever going to come out with
another format?"

     "No, that's just a passing fancy.  He's uncomfortable with stasis."

     Noni waited in silence, and finally said, "Oh!  No joke?"

     "I guess not."

     "Go on, ask me more questions."

     "You go to UT, right?" I asked.

     "Yup.  I'm deciding whether to major in journalism."

     "Ah-hah, journalism!  See, you have something to do with what you
write."

     "I'm also itching towards English or computer science or philosophy."

     "And you have something to do with what you read."

     "Noni, I think it'd be cheaper if you quit college and learned from
reading SoB," Ansat suggested.  "It's a hassle to switch majors."

     "By the way, speaking of switching, this interview bothers me.  It
seems so final.  I mean, I've practically interviewed all the Texas writers.
I told Kilgore I was leaving, but I don't want to stay away forever.  But I
feel like if I stick with SoB, I'd have to branch out in new directions.
What else could I do?"

     "Literary criticism.  It's fun, it makes people think, and you can make
it all up."

     "'This piece just explodes with itchy comedy, sewing together a pastiche
of blurry boundary-busting genres into a postmodernist collage,'" I expounded.
"'If only I knew who was speaking.'"

     "Hey -- maybe you could do parodies."

     "Hmmm, maybe.  Is Kilgore gonna keep on threatening libel if I make fun
of him?"

     "He's a college student.  He doesn't have enough money to sue you
anymore."

     "That's a relief," Noni said, finishing off her coffee.  I noticed
Ansat's was all gone.  I was halfway through my lemonade.  She stood up and
hoisted her empty glass in the air.  "Anyone want refills or anything?"

     "Yeah, could you get me another hammerhead?" Ansat asked, fishing money
from his pockets.  "Tell them to make it strong this time."

     "Um, nothing for me," I said.  She headed downstairs.

     "That biatch ain't letting loose," he said, scooting over into her
chair.

     "She's prolly nervous.  Clockwork, Hagbard, and Dark Crystal Sphere
dot-dot-dot said that she was biting her fingers throughout their interviews.
Kilgore and I never noticed that."

     "Are you in some way trying to blame that on me?"

     "Yes."

     "I showed her a good time, that's all.  Heh."

     "Speaking of that, did I see you drop something in her coffee?"

     "I hope not."

     Noni came back upstairs with two coffees.	"Here," she said, handing
Ansat the darker brew, from which he chugged a mouthful.  "I didn't put any
sugar in it," she added.

     "That's fine," he said, grimacing.  "Too much sugar gets me hyperactive
anyway."

     "Why'd you take my seat?"

     "You gave it up."

     "Oh."

     We sat in silence for a few minutes and I watched them smoke and
finished my croissant.	I raised my finger to make a point when the speakers
started blaring with Sunny Day Real Estate.  I shot up from my chair and
headed downstairs to go to the bathroom.  Entirely coincidentally, I'm sure.

     The bathroom was remarkably cool for the beginning of spring, probably
having something to do with not being exposed to the sun.  It was a theory.
Preening myself in the mirror, I noticed I had a twig in my hair, probably
from the porch we slept on.  I felt silly and realized why Noni's eyes kept
on flitting from my face to my hair.

     I tossed the bathroom key back on the counter and headed upstairs to
relate my anecdote.  I reached the table and nobody was there.	Noni's
cigarette was burning in the ashtray, and her coffee, my half-empty
lemonade, and Ansat's empty coffee glass looked abandoned.  I fruitlessly
looked downstairs and upstairs and sighed.

     The tape recorder was still there, I realized dumbly, and was still
running, too.  I rewound it a little and replayed it.  In the midst of the
silence, the Sunny Day music appears.  Then you can hear my chair moving,
and my leaving.  Then Ansat speaks up.

     "Do you have a younger sister?"

     "Yeah, why?"

     "Oh, no reason."

     After some silence, Ansat speaks up again, in a whisper barely audible
above the wavering moan of Sunny Day's singer.

     "Did you read Clockwork's letter?" he asks.

     Noni replies, "Yes!  What was it --"  And then she falls silent.

     A break in the recorded music told me that someone had turned off the
tape recorder.	After the break, I hear footsteps and a strange sound like
sobbing or laughing receding from the microphone.  And that's all.

     I put down the tape recorder and played with the lemonade cap's plastic
doohickey and sipped my drink.	I was furious.	I would have never imagined
that Ansat would kidnap Noni again.  Especially when we were both supposed
to be handling the interview!  And I didn't have a ride home now.  Damn!

     The angle of the light through the windows told me it was about noon
now.  In seven (or eight?) short hours, Hagbard would arrive with his mostly
effective comedy troupe, and then later on, Kilgore and Jujube might visit.
It was a nice day, I could wait.

     I sat there for about five minutes, finishing up my drink.  I realized
suddenly, that unlike the suave drunk pouring the Samuel Adams while the
pursesnatcher is running away, I really had no clue where to flick that
bottlecap.  My intuition was telling me that Ansat might not have kidnapped
Noni after all.  Who knows who turned off the tape recorder?  I jerked my
head towards the other side of Metro.  The person who was sitting there had
left.  Maybe he took them!

     I groaned and beat my fists on the metal table, causing the glasses and
plate to bounce.  I knew for certain that there was no God.  I knew this
because I'd prayed to Him every day for twenty years not to let me become a
detective.  And here I was, forced to find out things I didn't want to think
about.

				  * * * * *

     I put the tape recorder in my pocket and put away the glasses and the
trash.	I tried to remember the features of the person sitting on the other
side of the building.  It was a fun guessing game, since I couldn't make out
any faces, much less genders, at that distance.

     I approached the counter.	"Hey, hi there --" I started.

     "Whaddaya want, Bucky?" the employee asked.

     "Uh, nothing to drink.  I was wondering if you saw my friends leave."

     "I wonder myself.  Who are your friends?" he asked sarcastically.

     "Well, there were only three people upstairs.  Did you see them leave?"

     "I saw four people leave.  One guy was by himself."

     "Aaaaaaah..." I pondered.  "Well, thanks."

     "Aren't you gonna buy something?"

     "No... hey, wait!  Who came in last?"

     "This beefy black dude.  He didn't buy anything either."

     "Oh, wow," I exclaimed.  "Well, I'm gonna go find them," I said
pointlessly.

     "Thanks for telling me, ya fucking weirdo," he muttered.

     I ran outside, hoping to see something.  No such luck.  Hundreds of
people were swarming along the sidewalks.  What with all the time I'd
wasted, God knows where they'd headed.  I noticed Ansat's car was right where
he left it.  No clues inside.

     My judgment of the situation and the variables involved led me to
deduce that my best option was to go inside the Le Fun video arcade and play
a game of Cruising World.  I thought it'd be apt to drive recklessly
through Germany.  Maybe I'd see a digitized Clockwork somewhere get
clobbered by a Lamborghini.

     After my fifth game, I got bored and left the arcade, only to run into
Ansat!	"Ansat!"

     "You sure expended a lot of effort to look for me, didn't you?" he
snapped.  His hair looked scruffier than usual, and his hands were damp
with blood.  I looked twice to make sure it wasn't mud.

     "You're bleeding!"

     "Don't worry, it's not mine," he said with a chuckle.  "Glad I finally
found you though.  Something's come up.  We have to find some information on
a guy named Trapdoor Johnson."

     "'Trapdoor'?"

     "He took Noni with him, something having to do with Clockwork.  C'mon,
we can't hang out here any longer," he explained, gesturing toward his car.

				  * * * * *

[ Shortly afterwards, I passed out, only to wake up in my room at home.
Apparently Ansat had slipped something into my lemonade.  I don't want to
wonder why.

Having Noni's tape recorder, I decided to go ahead and write about
interviewing her.  After I wrote this, Ansat read it, chuckled, and said,
'Oh, is that how you remember it?'

As for Noni and Clockwork and Trapdoor Johnson (???), no one will tell me
what's going on.  As usual. ]

--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--


     "If God is all, how can I be evil?"
							       --Charlie Manson


--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--

     PAGE FROM A DiARY
     by Crux Ansata

0038 111996

     Yesterday was wonderful.  I took a nap after church, as usual these days.
After I got up, I went for a walk and a smoke.	As I was walking along
Deercreek, leaving the subdivision so no one would see me smoking, I heard
someone call my name.  I froze, and then looked around, but didn't see
anything, and was about to decide I had hallucinated the whole thing.  Then I
heard it again, and looked more carefully, and there was S., sitting alone in
a clubhouse built by some of the kids of the neighborhood.

     I walked over there.  She no longer lives in the neighborhood.
Fortunately for me, she had gotten into a physical fight with her mother on
Friday.  Her mother told her to leave, and then told her she couldn't go
anywhere.  S. tried to leave, and her mother hit her, and S. started to
throttle her, realized what she was doing, and left.  She had been sleeping at
Br.'s house, and then hiding out at B.'s, but had run out of places to run to.
She also had some nail polish she hated.  During the day, we burned it -- and
almost us -- along with the bottle, and the nail polish remover, and the
bottle to the nail polish remover, and some plastic.  Just about everything we
could lay hands on.

     Anyway, after she told me about the nail polish, and we smoked, I invited
her to my house to use my black nail polish.  She painted her nails, and then
mine, and we used some of the black lipstick on each other, making quite a
mess out of ourselves.	We listened to music, and we talked.  She has a
background in magick -- apparently mostly voodoo -- and was familiar with both
Lovecraft and the Decadents.  I loaned her my The Satanic Rituals and my The
Angels of Perversity.  Then we went out to look for B.

     Somewhere along the line, I invited her to spend that night at my place.
It got down to forty six degrees last night, and she would have frozen out
there, alone, with nothing but a sweater.  So we hung out with the kids of the
neighborhood for some time.  I met a number I knew from talking to in the
street but had never been introduced to.  By the time Dad went to bed, all the
kids had gone in except O. and R., and one other fellow whose name I forget,
but who promised to come get me when he got his pot but never did.  I'll have
to track him down tomorrow and ask him what's up.

     We came back home, and listened to more music, and talked more.  She read
some of my stories -- "Greece", the fragments of my love tragedy, and
"Graveyard".  She seemed to actually understand them.  That's the cool thing
about God.  My emotions are important things, and I'm pretty stupid, so
fortunately He tells me who I should be interested in, even when there is no
apparent reason.  About twenty two, as per Mom's request, she and I went out,
and M. went for his shower and bed.  We smoked some more, and I bought her a
small meal at Taco Bell.  It is not right for a kid to only have a bowl of
cereal and one piece of really bad French toast for a whole day, but
incredibly the small meal I bought her filled her up so much when she woke up
the next morning she wasn't hungry.

     After dinner we came back.  M. was in bed, and so we were essentially
alone.	We shared a beer, and played with the make up again.  My fingernails
are black, but I cleaned off all the lipstick and most of the eyeliner.  She
put a lot on, because we both agreed that a lot of eyeliner looks good.  She
said I look even better in make up.  She lay beside me, and I stroked her
hair, and she fell asleep.  She started awake once, but then slept soundly for
a couple of hours.  She seemed flattered when I told her I had laid there and
watched her for most of two hours.

     I woke her up at four.  Mom was getting up at four forty five, and I had
to have S. gone before my parents caught me sleeping with a fifteen year old
runaway in my bed.  When she woke up, I asked her if she wanted anything.  I
offered her water or milk, and she asked for a kiss.  And so we kissed.  I
remember the dream, and how I dreamt I misinterpreted her signals.  I hope it
was what she wanted, and I hope she wasn't disappointed.  She didn't seem to
be.  After we lay in each other's arms for about fifteen minutes, we headed
outside.

     It was still inhumanly cold.  I pretty much forced my jacket on her,
because she was shivering even in B.'s sweater.  I forgot to mention:  the
night before, we were wrestling.  Punching at each other and the like.	At one
point, I grabbed her, and we held each other.  It was strange.	I felt like I
was spinning.  I let go first, but we held each other for longer than could
possibly be an accident.

     I left her sitting on the curb at four thirty.  I have heard nothing from
her since, but she assured me that she would come by again, that she wanted to
come by again.	She emphasized that she wanted to.

     I am so confused, but I have also been happy all day, like people
describe a woman's post-orgasmic glow, or something.  I don't know what I
want, other than to hold her again.

     But where does A. fit in?	I don't know.  I have already confessed to her
in a letter she ought to receive Friday.  I don't know what she will think
about it.  I certainly spun it as best I could.  I gave her the information I
felt she deserved to have, and none of the details I would have sparred to get
out of her, if something like this happened.  I told her we kissed, and that
she spent the night, and that I will see her again.  That is really all she
needs to know, but I will have to select my words carefully next time we
speak.

     It is terribly amusing.  I have spun so few details in so many ways.  I
spun the "she asked me to kiss her" angle for A.  I spun the "no kid deserves
to be cast out on the street; I just wanted to keep her warm" angle for Mom,
and did it so well apparently not even M. realized it was a delicate spin.
(It had to be delicate.  She has not been reported a runaway, but Dad might
still have to report me if I told him anything, so I had to be careful what
hearsay he would get from Mom.)  I spun it in two other ways for Kilgore and
the folks on the boards.  And now I have spun it again, here.  Facts mean
nothing; the theory in which we set the facts means everything.

     And, now what?  I have to see her again.  The books, I could forget.  The
jacket....  "Give to those who cannot repay you."  "When were you hungry and I
didn't give you to eat?  When were you thirsty and I didn't give you to drink?
When were you naked and I didn't clothe you?"  And how much of a reward can I
expect, when she has repaid me so much already, listening to me, and, much
more importantly, speaking to me.  Really speaking to me.  It made her
uncomfortable that I spent most of the time listening to her, but that is what
I like.  I learn from people that way.	I live vicariously, I suppose.	She
did more for me by talking than by listening.  She did a lot by seriously
reading my writing, too.  She told me she is going to hang "Greece" up on her
wall, and her copy is even missing the half paragraph I wrote today.

     Two pages.  I have to talk about something else.  I could go on about it
all day.  I practically have.

     I finished "Greece" today, and sent it to Kilgore.  He confirmed receipt
of the political essay, but thought the girl I referred to as being over last
night was A.  In the note accompanying "Greece", I told him he was wrong.

      Is this love?  Lust?  Infatuation?  She fits the archetype C. fit.  She
is the intelligent girl who has fallen through the cracks.  But let us look at
this as cynically as possible.	Is this a martyr syndrome?  Am I trying to
suffer through her?  Or do I see myself as some kind of savior?  Both would be
bad, and these are things I am going to have to work through before I see her
again, although I'm sure I won't have them resolved by then.  As rightly I
should not.  I have to talk to her about last night before I can have enough
information to build my model.	I have to make sure the kiss was what she
wanted.  I have to make sure I am not misreading her, like I did in my dream.
At least I can expect a fair answer from her, and I can misdirect with the
dream comments.  She would take the dream seriously, and would confirm or
deny.

     And, worst, she could have kissed me because she felt obligated.  That
possibility tears me up inside.  I keep it suppressed, but it keeps bubbling
up.

     But I said I was going to leave this topic.  It is hard to do so.	She
has been in my thoughts all day, and there is no one, no one, to whom I can
tell everything.  Not even here.  It is less that I can't trust people, or
that there isn't anyone to talk to -- there isn't, but that is not the
problem.  The problem is I don't have everything worked out myself, yet.

     But it grows late, and I have to get to bed.  I have classes tomorrow,
and since I spent the last two days in ecstasy, I have neglected my work.
Fortunately, I don't have a lot.  I read the essay I needed to read for
Literary Criticism Friday, and I have read most of the chapter for
Linguistics.  I still have to finish the work for that, and tomorrow at noon I
meet J. to prepare for the French oral exam.  (S. had me teach her some
profanity in French.  "Tu est merde."  She dreamt she was being told that by
the neighbor's dog.)

     I slept for much of today.  From about six to about fifteen.  I still
have the black fingernail coloring, and the eyeliner is still tracely visible.
And then today I mostly spent around the boards, as well as writing the letter
to A. and the rest of "Greece".  I ran into one of the guys around the
neighborhood -- I still can't remember his name -- and one of the girls,
possibly named Sa.  But I have gone over this already.

     So I suppose I'll stop here.  I want to talk more, but what is there to
say?  And who cares, but me?

     (Damn.  It's that kind of talk that makes me get that sinking feeling in
my stomach that comes from part of me thinking there is love involved.	As I
lay there with her I was so tempted to tell her I loved her.  I felt it with
my whole body!	But it is too soon, and I'm not sure of her feelings, and the
last thing I want to do is make her feel uncomfortable because she feels
pressured.  It is better to have her as a friend than alienate her by trying
to be a lover.	But that is not nearly so hard as the questions this raises
with A.  While she has been away, my feelings for her have changed.  This was
inevitable.  I think we may still need each other.  That is the story I tell
so many times in "Greece".  And yet, and yet.  And yet I don't know.  I don't
know anything.	I think...  And I feel...  But what?  I don't know.  I wish
she was here now.  I wish I could sit her beside me and ask her all these
questions that are burning my soul.  But I cannot.  Even if she were here, I
doubt I could even begin to ask.  And, believe it or not, this was a twelve
line diversion.  What I set out to say is when someone or something is
constantly on one's lips, when one is bursting to tell everyone what one has
found, that may be the truest definition of love I have ever found.

     (And yet I don't know.  And I worry.  And, most of all, I fear.)

0120 111996

--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--


     "Now I'm serving time in disillusionment.  I don't believe you anymore.
      I don't believe you.  I don't believe you anymore.  I don't believe
      you."
			       --Dead Can Dance, "The Ubiquitous Mr. Lovegrove"


--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--

     WORDS i CANNOT SAY...
     by Pyromage

     Why can't I tell you how I really feel?  Why can't I bring myself to say
the words whenever you're around?  They're right there, right at the bottom of
my throat, waiting to emerge, but I can't bring myself to say them.  It's as
if there were some unseen force, stuffing them back down into me, much as a
bottled up emotion from some forgotten event.  I've spent uncountable hours
envisioning what telling you would be like, how it would feel, and what your
reaction would be.  I've spent mornings telling myself, "I'll tell her today,
I'll tell her today..."  But when the moment comes, the words aren't there and
I ask you for a pen instead, even though I have an entire pocket full of them.
Fear is not what keeps me from telling you, for fear in the proper amounts can
be a great ally.  It's more like a brick wall, covered with barbed wire and
shards of broken glass.  I know I can get over, but the climb is quite
painful, and there are often many falls.  I also wonder if you feel the same
way about me.  Does the same thing that keeps me from telling you, keep you
from telling me?  Perhaps it's some type of demon, whose only demise is the
miracle that erupts when two people come together in love.  If so, why did
this demon have to choose my shoulder to sit on?  On top of all the other
shit, a demon is the last thing I need, especially of this type.  It's not a
regular type, one that can be beaten with fists, those are easy to defeat.
This one is a thousand times worse, because it knows that very few people have
the strength to fight it and win.  I know I have the strength, I just have to
find a way to surface it, to bring it up amongst everything else.  I've always
been the type of person that has to, and will win, and I know I can beat this,
just like anything else.  One of the universe's many virtues, is that the
darkness of night, always brings the light of day.  In the light of tomorrow,
I know I will see you again.  With me, will be the demon, strong as ever, but
as I lie here I feel an edge, an edge that didn't exist fifteen minutes ago.
Will tomorrow be the day?  Will I defeat this demon once and for all?  Well,
even I know that there's no way to see that without the passing of time.  But,
as the hours approach, as the sky grows pinker, the words echo in my mind over
and over, "I'll tell her today..."

--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--


     "You know... for kids!"
					--Tim Robbins in _The Hudsucker Proxy_


--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--

     CONFESSiONS OF AN ACCUSED PAEDOPHiLE
     by Kilgore Trout

     If there's one thing that my friends and I do well, it's taking a really
lame joke and beating it into the ground.  The first few times, the humor is
actually present, but after awhile the only pleasure derived is from seeing
the tortured faces of those groaning in agony at the staleness of the joke.

     There was the infamous cat named Bob who was run over who lived on for
years in our taunts directed towards Doorway.  It was a nice cat, really, but
it was more fun to ask him where his favorite cat was, and then say, "Oh,
that's right -- it's dead!"  Walrus incurred many threats of bodily harm with
his old one-liner, "Did I tell you that I had a dream that I could fly at
Wal*Mart?"  And, naturally, those of you who read the zine regularly are sure
to have spotted quite a few examples as well.

     I myself have been the target of quite a few of these recurring jokes,
all of which, strangely enough, have involved females as the theme.  There was
the girl whose initials were M.M. and the accompanying line, "Hey, I bet she
melts in his mouth, not in his hands" during my freshman year in high school.
My senior year they turned a girl's name into the monster truck call "Sunday,
Sunday, Sunday!" and made various quips about monster truck racing.

     But the longest running, and possibly most infamous, has to be the
accusations that I am a paedophile.  Let me state right now that I am
absolutely, one hundred percent *not* guilty of that charge.  If I was, do you
think I'd admit it?  Hell, no.  This article is an attempt to show the
evolutionary turns and mutations that such a long-running gag can have.  It's
also a lot of damn good fun if you are one of the perpetrators and not the one
being accused.

     Especially in well-lit, crowded areas.

     Of all the places for something to start like this, the local Dairy Queen
somehow gained that distinct honor.  This was in August of 1994, a month
before I was about to start college.  Griphon, Phadrous, IWMNWN, and myself
were seated in one of the back booths, and a fifteen year-old worker came over
to the table.

     "You look familiar," she said.  "Have we met?"

     "No, I don't think so," I replied.

     She then asked me if I knew a guy named Patrick from her hometown, which
was about 15 minutes away, and I said I did.  It turned out by some strange
coincidence that she had actually written two poems for the zine under the
handle Five Fingered Body Count.

     For the purposes of this article, we'll call her Consuela.  She's not
even Spanish, but dammit, I've been wanting to use that name for a long time.

     I only saw Consuela once or twice at Dairy Queen before she quit. There
was only friendly banter, a "hi" here and a "hello" there.  My friends, all
with degrees in Reading Between the Lines, sensed some prime material for
their pleasure.  It started off slowly, with harmless lines like, "She's a bit
young for you, isn't she?" or, "Robbing the cradle there, huh?"

     And then, one night, Griphon and Phadrous drove to my house on a
weeknight at midnight, got me out of bed even though I had to go to work at
6:30am the next morning, and took me to Whataburger.  They then let loose
their flurry of one-liners.  A sample of that conversation is included here
for your viewing pleasure.

[date:	sometime in august   time:  around 12:40am]

 KiLGORE:  Guys, why the hell did you drag me out of bed to take me to
	   Whataburger?

 GRiPHON:  To make fun of you.

PHADROUS:  And Consuela.

 GRiPHON:  Yeah, I've been meaning to ask you.  Has her mom taken off the
	   training wheels of her bike yet?

PHADROUS:  Hmmm.  Maybe you could set me up with her kindergarten teacher.

 GRiPHON:  Just think.	In a few more years, she'll have her driver's
	   permit and it'll almost feel like a real date.

 KiLGORE:  Shut up.

 GRiPHON:  No, really.	I mean, either of you can drive, and she'll
	   finally have a bedtime that's AFTER dark.  You'll actually be
	   able to stay out late.

PHADROUS:  Although you will lose the kiddie discount at the movies.

 GRiPHON:  And at restaurants, too.  Of course, then you can go to a
	   theme park cause she'll be tall enough to ride those rides.

 KiLGORE:  I can't believe I got out of bed to listen to this.

 GRiPHON:  [laughs maniacally]

PHADROUS:  [laughs maniacally]

     And on it went.  Looking back, it seems fairly tame, but at the time and
the prospect of getting up in a few hours, I was not a happy man. Usually
something like this went on for a couple of weeks until everybody ran out of
material and/or got bored with the joke.  Then, like jungle cats ready to prey
on a midday safari snack, we all waited for someone to do something stupid to
fuel yet another fire.

     Unfortunately, that impetus wasn't provided by any of us.  Griphon and I
were walking down the Drag in Austin and came across some DragRats (the local
name for the teenage homeless kids who basically live there). One of them said
he'd tell us three gross jokes for fifty cents.  Money exchanged hands, and he
told us the jokes.  Ironically, the three jokes all centered around sex with
small children and babies, and the ragging began once again, this time with a
more morbid direction.	(The jokes the DragRats gave us are included in the
joke listing at the bottom of this article.)

     Naturally, I got tired of this.  After all, who wants to be called a
paedophile and a child molester all the time?  Sure, it's some weird form of
notoriety, but after awhile it just gets really old.  I decided that the only
way to get it to stop was to turn the tables and start making my own quips
about paedophilia and up the ante a bit.  I somehow found a few more tasteless
jokes, and I was on my way to churning my friends' stomachs a bit.

     Now everything has pretty much settled down.  We find the paedophilia
jokes a great way to test someone's humor level.  They're also great at
parties, and the looks on people's faces when you're the only one laughing at
your own, sick joke is simply priceless.

     Of course, when something truly inspirational comes along, my friends
just cannot pass it up, and I can't say I blame them.  I wouldn't either.
Last Saturday, we were all walking out of Cronenberg's _Crash_ when Clockwork
turned to me and gave me a small piece of folded-up paper.

     "Don't open it yet," he ordered.

     "What's this?" I asked.

     "It's from a Chinese fortune cookie from lunch, and I thought you should
have it.  Remember to add the 'in bed' part after you read it."

     I slowly unfolded the paper and started laughing.

     It read, "A great man never ignores the simplicity of a child."

				  * * * * *

		   KiLGORE TROUT'S PAEDOPHiLiA JOKE LiSTiNG

     The first three jokes were given to us by the nameless guy on the Drag.
The rest were culled from various sources.  Use at your own discretion, and
read at your own risk.	Parents seem especially offended at these jokes.
Sometimes that's all the more reason to tell them.  We like babies and
children as much as the next e-zine; we just don't consider them sacred cows
that can't be lampooned.  And don't worry -- I damned myself a long time ago.

Q.  What's the worst thing about eating bald pussy?
A.  Putting the diaper back on.

Q.  What's the worst thing about having sex with a six year-old?
A.  Wiping the blood off of the clown suit.

Q.  What do you get when you stab a baby?
A.  An erection.

Q.  What's the best thing about a six year-old girl?
A.  Turning her over and pretending she's a six year-old boy.

Q.  What's the best thing about getting a handjob from a six-year old girl?
A.  It makes your dick look really big.

Q.  What's the best thing about titfucking a six-year old girl?
A.  Breaking her sternum.

Q.  What's a bad thing to say in a Victoria's Secret store?
A.  Do you have these in kid sizes?

Q.  What's the worst thing about having sex with small children?
A.  There are only so many places to hide a body.

Q.  What's the best thing about having sex with small children?
A.  Smaller bodies are easier to hide.

--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--


     "We will not go quietly into the night,
      we will not vanish without a fight."
					     --Bill Pullman, _Independence Day_

     "Would you like in a house?
      Would you like them with a mouse?"
					      --Dr. Seuss, _Green Eggs and Ham_


--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--

     LETTER, ON FREEDOM
     Crux Ansata

	  [The	following letter was written in an  emotional  time.
	  For that reason, the biographical data cannot be  trusted.
	  The meditations on freedom, though, that make up the	bulk
	  of the text, retain their interest.]

							      16:33
							      27 December 1996

Dear Harlequin,

     Did I ever tell you where I met Bobbi Sands?  I expect I did, but I
expect it was a long time ago, and you've forgotten.  I'll tell you again.
I'm sure I can't say I found her in any one place.  She was a part of myself,
and she was a universal archetype, and she was a role-playing game character,
but she was also Alison Kelly.	That was her real name.  Bobbi Sands was as
fake for her as it was for me -- and as real.

     I had lifted her, too, from a book:  The Magus, by John Fowles.  You
should read it.  It is an excellent novel, even if Fowles thinks it his worst.
I had only read the first part when I started writing about Bobbi, and that is
where she mostly is.  Fowles describes her in ways like this:

	  She  had candid grey eyes, the only innocent things  in  a
	  corrupt face, as if circumstances, not nature, had  forced
	  her to be hard.  To fend for herself, yet to seem to	need
	  defending. ...  She was bizarre, a kind of human oxymoron.

     (I think Bobbi's eyes were blue; I don't remember.  Doesn't matter,
though.  Facts are meaningless.  Mere data points.  What matters is the
pattern, the formula.)	Or:

	  Alison  was  always  feminine; she  never,  like  so	many
	  English girls, betrayed her gender.  She wasn't beautiful,
	  she  very  often  wasn't  even  pretty.   But  she  had  a
	  fashionably  thin  boyish figure, she had  a	contemporary
	  dress  sense, she had a conscious way of walking, and  her
	  sum was extraordinarily more than her parts.	I would  sit
	  in  the car and watch her walking down the street  towards
	  me, pause, cross the road; and she looked wonderful.	 But
	  then when she was close, beside me, there so often  seemed
	  to be something rather shallow, something spoilt-child, in
	  her  appearance.   Even close to her, I was  always  being
	  wrong-footed.  She would be ugly one moment, and then some
	  movement,  expression,  angle of her face,  made  ugliness
	  impossible.

	       When  she  went	out  she  used	to  wear  a  lot  of
	  eye-shadow, which married with the sulky way she sometimes
	  held her mouth to give her a characteristic bruised  look;
	  a look that subtly made one want to bruise her more.	 Men
	  were	always aware of her, in the street, in	restaurants,
	  in  pubs; and she knew it.  I used to watch  them  sliding
	  their  eyes  at her as she passed.  She was one  of  those
	  rare, even among already pretty, women that are born	with
	  a  natural  aura of sexuality:  always in their  lives  it
	  will	be  the relationships with men, it will be  how  men
	  react, that matters.	And even the tamest sense it.

     These were elements of Bobbi Sands, and passages that I kept in mind
writing my own descriptions of her.  This Alison was the one I fell in love
with.  She was the kind of a girl I would have wanted when I was the child I
was then.  She is not the kind of girl I would want as the child I am now.  I
fell out of love with her, and she died.

     They are more, though, than just how she looked.  Much more, Fowles
describes how she felt; how she was.  That dual nature, that vulnerable side.
Or, again, like this:

	  There was a simpler Alison, when the mascara was off.  She
	  had not been typical of herself, those first twelve hours;
	  but  still always a little unpredictable, ambiguous.	 One
	  never  knew  when  the  more	sophisticated,	bruised-hard
	  persona would reappear.  She would give herself violently;
	  then yawn at the wrongest moment.  She would spend all day
	  clearing up the flat, cooking, ironing, then pass the next
	  three  or  four bohemianly on the floor in  front  of  the
	  fire, reading Lear, women's magazines, a detective  story,
	  Hemingway -- not all at the same time, but bits of all  in
	  the same afternoon.  She liked doing things, and only then
	  finding a reason for doing them.

     I especially like the way he joins being bruised and being sophisticated.
Pain is growth, and that may be why I have come to hate change, whether one
calls it "progress" or "decay".

     I hope it won't give anything away if you read the book, but at a later
point Alison dies.  That was quite a shock; more of a shock than it should be
when a character dies.	It was a shock because I recognize Bobbi -- and a part
of myself -- in Alison, but also because it came after Bobbi herself had died.
And both Alisons Kelly died the same way.  (Again, facts don't matter.  They
died of the same thing.)

     Both Alison and Bobbi had reached the point where they ran out of
options, because they were slaves.  In trying to be free, they had enslaved
themselves again.  That had killed them.

     To want to die is slavery.  To want to live is slavery.  To want is
slavery.  This is why Catholicism says martyrdom is the ultimate proof of
human freedom, and why Christ said do not fear those who can only destroy the
body.  To conquer death you only have to die.  Only by allowing oneself to be
destroyed -- without caring one way or the other -- can someone prove
themselves free.  Not free to choose, but free to choose not to choose when
one has the choice.  To prove that even the freedom to choose is a slavery.

     Tertullian said we have to believe Christ crucified, because it is
ridiculous.  Unbelievable.  Most people laugh when they first hear that.  I
imagine I did.	When I meditated on it, though, I realized its wisdom, and why
it is still quoted today.  There is no virtue, no freedom, in believing
something that has been proven to you.	Indeed, you have no choice.  It is
"proven".  (It also betrays one's slavery to the prejudices of one's chosen
kind of proof, since no proof can be had by humans.)  To believe something
unbelievable, though, is a free act.  Surrealism, Romanticism, religion, these
are human.  Realism, Naturalism, materialism, these are animal.

     You said that A.'s and my relationship was self- and mutually destructive
because it was co-dependent.  I no longer believe that.  There may be some
co-dependence on my part.  That is betrayed by the fact that I always forgive
her.  But this co-dependence is by choice.  The night I met her I chose to
have a long term relationship with her, and the difficulties only prove that
my choice is irrational -- and therefore free.	Logic threatens to make slaves
of us all.  No, the main reason it is destructive -- to me, at least, is that
she has the childish capacity for unthinking cruelty.  ("This shows that, if
babies are innocent, it is not for lack of will to do harm, but for lack of
strength."  Saint Augustine, The Confessions, i.7.)

     All through our relationship, one of the things that has caused the
biggest fights is her refusal to take responsibility.  Her refusal to confess
her choices.  She flings around words and phrases like "have to", "can't", "no
choice".  That is always a lie.  I can take easier a calculated slap in the
face, an "I choose to hurt you", than I can an unthinking shirking of
responsibility, an "I have no choice but to hurt you".  She used to get very
angry at me for not making decisions, as she felt it was.  She never realized
that I made decisions, and frequently these decisions were to allow decisions
to be made.  Freedom from choice.  All the time, she was truly hiding her
decisions, acting as if she never made them, but that they were made for her.
She has never had -- in the time I have known her -- the innocence or the
openness of a child.  She will swear up and down otherwise, but she will be
deceiving herself.  She has not yet even begun to lose the childish lack of
empathy, though, and her total self-centeredness.  She will never, for all her
claims, begin to grow up until she learns the meaning of the word "us".

     For a marriage, it is better to have a woman.  A comrade in arms.	For an
affair, though, if one wants to be happy, it is far better to have a child.  A
real child.  I am much happier laying around with my fifteen year old female
friends, watching them put on make-up or play with the cat or conspire against
their lovers, than talking with A.  But then, that is the essence of our
relationship.  We have the love thing down pat, but we have never either of us
figured out the like thing.  We have never liked each other very much.	Love
is a need, and a pain.	One eats sweets because one likes the taste.  Guilty
pleasure, like taking a child.	One eats food because one is hungry, a need,
an emptiness, a pain.  That pain is the love I feel for A.  We neither of us
have a choice -- but there I go again.	Of course I, at least, have a choice.
The desire for pleasure is the most animal slavery of all, but one:  the
desire to be comfortable.  Pain does not make us human, but freely choosing to
suffer does.  No animal would do that.	Setting a value on it, selecting an
ideal, struggling for "freedom" or "power" or "pleasure" or to get someone
into bed, these are all excuses, and they dehumanize us.  They are not pure
choice; they are a pathetic attempt at a barter agreement.

     I was brought up with an all but religious reverence for freedom, but we
don't have freedom unless we can freely give it up, and until even the desire
for freedom ceases to be.  And the desire to be able to give up freedom.  All
desire.

     But I am going on about myself again.  I don't know why you let me do
that.  I imagine you simply skip to the end of the letter -- where I say, "I
hope you'll write soon" -- and wisely ignore the rest.  So I won't bother
writing it.  Without further ado:  "I hope you'll write soon", and, in the
meantime, continue guarding the country.

					Sincerely,
					    Crux Ansata

--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--


			       [=- POETASTRiE -=]

"The poets?  They stink.  They write badly.  They're idiots you see, because
 the strong people don't write poetry....  They become hitmen for the Mafia.
 The good people do the serious jobs."
							     --Charles Bukowski


--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--

     THE WALK
     by Nomad

     The road has been long my friend,
     and we have come to it's end,
     I must sleep, these old bones creak.
     They drag me down to the earth to lay,
     go my friend, because to day is my day.
     We've done all the things we could
     but there were things we didn't, that we should.
     It seems as though I have fought so many battles
     and my soul weighs heavy for their costs.
     Please don't cry for me, I don't want you in misery.
     Believe when I say to thee
     that my soul will indeed be free.
     Because I have done one thing true in my life,
     the one thing that has been my tithe.
     My love for you shall get me into heaven,
     my love for you and my fellow man.
     Now don't say those words that I would say
     don't ask me to stay.
     You know it's not possible
     my lovely disciple.
     I ask you, for me shed no tears,
     but to believe I will always be near.

--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--


			       [=- FiCTiON -=]


--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--

     NiNE GOATS "DiSCUSS" RACiSM AT THE GOAT CONVENTiONS
     HELD iN UNiTED ARAB EMiRATES
     by Adidas

     Wild goats, such as the Ibex, prefer to live in mountainous and rocky
areas, although they can survive in all types of environments.	There are five
species of wild goats.	Those involved in the discussion are Ibex, Daghestan
tur, and Markhor.  The rest of the goats involved are Domestic goats such as
the Saanen goat, Toggenburg goat, Nubian Goat, Angora Goat, Indian Jamnapari
Goat, and Pakistani Goat.  Domestic goats produce 1 3/4 gallons of milk
yearly.  Domestic goats provide other products, too, such as meat, fertilizer,
leather, and wool.

	For these reasons, it can be suspected that wild goats and domestic
goats do not get along very well.  This is a short play about racism amongst
goats.


			      9 Goats Involved
			      ----------------
			PD - Pakistani Dwarf Goat (DOMESTIC)
			I  - Ibex (WILD)
			IJ - Indian Jamnapari Goat (DOMESTIC)
			DT - Daghestan tur (WILD)
			M  - Markhor (WILD)
			SG - Saanen Goat (DOMESTIC)
			TG - Toggenburg Goat (DOMESTIC)
			AG - Angora Goat (DOMESTIC)
			NG - Nubian Goat (DOMESTIC)

SCENE 1
-------

A fairly sizable conference room in which a Nubian Goat, an Indian Jamnapari
Goat, a Saanen Goat, an Angora Goat, and a Pakistani Dwarf Goat are sitting,
sipping Cow Milk and comfortably discussing how they have been since the last
Goat Convention.

NG:  There's nothing better than this, eh boys?

IJ:  Nope.  The Annual Goat Conventions.  A time when we can all gather to
     celebrate in our goatliness.

NG:  I think we all remember each other from last year.  How have all you
     been?

SG:  Fine.

AG:  Alright.

PD:  Good, I guess.  I'm not too excited about this whole meeting though.  I'm
     not too sure about the Society these days.  I mean, the International
     Goat Society?  It's outdated.

[Enter Markhor]

NG:  Hold on a minute, Markhor.  This is a Domestic Goat only discussion.

M :  Watch it, prejudiced bastard.  This is the Goat Conventions and I, being
     a goat, can do what I please.  You're so smug because you're a domestic
     goat.  Well, let me tell you something...

[Saanen Goat pulls Angora Goat aside and whispers]

SG:  Who let the Markhor in here?

AG:  Wild goats think they're gods.  I'll tell you what.  There's gonna be
     some fights if that Bezoar doesn't get the hell out of here.

[Saanen and Angora rejoin conversation]

[Enter Daghestan tur and Ibex]

DT:  Hey, is this the open discussion room?

M :  I thought so, but apparently us wild goats aren't allowed.

I :  What?  The International Goat Society is against Domestic Goat - Wild
     Goat prejudices!  This is a violation of International Goat law!

DT:  This is an open discussion and no idiot domestic goat is going to tell me
     what rooms I can or can't enter.

NG:  Wait up, let's just all get along for one day.  It's the Goat
     Conventions, time for us to all be friends, not up in arms!

IJ:  He's right.  Sorry, Markhor, you all can join our conversation.

DT:  "You all"?  As if we're different?  As if we're not good enough?  As if I
     need your permission to join a conversation?

IJ:  I didn't mean it like that.  You all know what I meant.

I :  Oh, "we all" do?  You domestic bastards think you're all that because you
     produce milk and live on farms, do you?  Pampered sons of bitches.

AG:  Hey, my life isn't all that pampered!

M :  Have you ever even seen a mountain?

AG:  Well... no.

M :  And you call yourself a goat.

I :  Let's get out of here.  I don't want to even be involved with these guys.

[Exit Markhor, Ibex, and Daghestan tur]


SCENE 2
-------

The main convention center in the International Goat Society sponsored Goat
Conventions.  A Toggenburg Goat (Domestic) bumps into Daghestan tur, on his
way out from the conference room.  The Ibex and Markhor are not far behind the
Daghestan tur.

DT:  Watch where you're going!

TG:  Excuse me.  I was merely looking for the open discussion room, might you
     know it's location.

DT:  Yeah, it's the room we just came from.

TG:  Thank you very much.

I :  I wouldn't go in there though, if I were you.

TG:  Why not?

M :  Racists.  A bunch of prissy domestic goats in there.

TG:  Well, I'm domestic.

M :  You're a domestic goat?

TG:  Yes.

I :  I thought you were just a young Bezoar.

TG:  No, I'm Toggenburg.

M :  Why were you so nice with us then?  Most domestics would just push right
     through us without even apologizing.

TG:  Well, we're all goats, aren't we?

[With this Toggenburg enters the Open Discussion Room and the wild goats,
after meeting with this sympathizer, decide to reenter themselves]


SCENE 3
-------

Back inside the conference room, all nine goats now are in a conversation.

TG:  So I says to Margaret, you can't tell me what to do, I've already done
     it!

[All goats laugh]

NG:  I've got one, here goes.  Three domestic goats and one wild goat are
     sitting at a bus stop.  They're all waiting for the same bus.  It's a
     really windy day, and when their bus pulls up the domestics get in but
     the wild goat doesn't because his mane flew up in front of his eyes!

[The Domestic Goats chuckle, except the Toggenburg.  The wild goats look
unhappy and the Markhor, known for his mane stares at the Nubian Goat]

M :  I've got a great joke.  Four humans are sitting around and thinking about
     what to have for dinner, then they all decide on domestic goat meat!

[The wild goats BURST out laughing while all the domestic goats gasp and growl
at the crude comment]

IJ:  I hope you catch pneumonia and die, Markhor.

M :  Oh yeah, well, I wish parasites on you.

TG:  Don't you see what's going on here?  We're only separating ourselves
     further!  For goat kind, we must unite!  Let us all recite the Goat
     Pledge of Allegiance.

TG:  I pledge allegiance, to the goats, of the International Goat Society, and
     to the animals, for which it stands, one society, under Goat,
     indivisible, with liberty, and justice, for all goats (Domestic and
     Wild).

PD:  Your just spreading the International Goat Society propaganda.  You're a
     fucking sympathizer.  You're just as bad as the wild goats.  Get the hell
     out of here.

IJ:  Dwarf's right.  The International Goat Society has had it's reign.  It's
     time for some reconstruction.  First thing out is the Wild Goats.

DT:  You talking about us, bitch?

[Riots and fights break out in the conference room]

TG:  Can't we all just goat along?

DT:  I've goaten enough of these horrible goat jokes!

TG:  It's only negoatiable as to whether or not there will be more.

PD:  That's it!

[The Pakistani Dwarf Goat retrieves his rifle and proceeds to blow his own
brains out.  Only then did the goats realize the error in their ways.]

	It takes horrible tragedies to make a society understand.
		     This will never be forgoatten.

--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--


     "76. Flexibility

      A newborn is soft and tender,
      A crone, hard and stiff.
      Plants and animals, in life, are supple and juicy;
      In death, brittle and dry.
      So softness and tenderness are attributes of life,
      And hardness and stiffness, attributes of death.

      Just as a sapless tree will split and decay
      So an inflexible force will meet defeat;
      The hard and mighty lie beneath the ground
      While the tender and weak dance on the breeze above."
								 --Tao te Ching


--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--

     TRANSFUSiON
     by Morrigan, with help from Tori Amos's "Little Earthquakes"

     "give me life."

     walking down the street, her eyes slide to the side to spy on her body.
she walks with head held up and spine straight to the sky.  she strides past
everyone on legs longer than they could be.  against perfection sways floor
length green velvet meant for dancing.	for protection from the cold her upper
half is coated in satin.  at a look from an awe struck man, she tosses her
head and revels in the long silky tresses the color of ripe wheat.

     vague insistence pulls her into the limo that has stopped for her.  with
smoothness born of natural flawlessness she slips into its plush interior, at
home in the splendor.  unconcernedly, she sips the champagne in front of her,
superiorly gazing out the window at the passing trees.	once the car slows to
a halt, she accepts the offered hand.

     she is the center of attention.  she is beautiful and an ideal
conversationalist.  she says the right things at the best time.  her laugh is
comfortable and unable to offend.

     she is alive.  she is society.

     "give me pain."

      her laugh is interrupted by the searing fire in her back.  the millionth
perfect party is splattered with red, leaking through the sequins.  the knife
clatters to the floor in absolute synchronization with her body.  jealousy
flees and is replaced with numbness:  in the hand that unleashed her blood and
the legs that let her waltz.

     the scab itches beyond enduring and even though she'll never dance, her
feet burn as if from days on end of the forbidden freedom.  her hand is tired
of explanations, her hearts aches with longing, she's half a world away,
because that's as far as she can get.

     she is alive.  she is torment.

     "give me myself again."

     silence is all that greets her.  freed from the world all around, her
smirk hides behind itself.  having been among them, she is now unshackled in
her derision.  refusing to condemn them without knowledge, she can now rest
peacefully in knowing her contempt is beyond justification.  so she watches.

     and she buys a new knife.

     she is alive.  she is invisible.

--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--


     "It will be a great day when education gets all the money it needs, and
      the Air Force has to hold a bake sale to build a bomber."
							       --bumper sticker


--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--

     OFF i GO
     by Water Damage

     I go off to war tomorrow.

     The draft was banned.  The body bags keep coming back.  Yet, I go off to
war tomorrow.  Why?  You don't know how many times I asked myself that.
Always, the answer comes down to pressure.  I'm not talking about
seventh-grade peer pressure, when all the football players discovered pot, and
they wanted you to, too.  I could deal with that.  This is a more subtle
pressure, a more sinister pressure, and one that's infinitely more dangerous.

     You see the posters and commercials everywhere.  "Be all you can be."
Hollywood produces an abundance of war movies, about the young hero who has to
brave the dangers of combat, but even though his buddies die left and right,
he remains alive.  War is glorified everywhere.  The Chinese are made out to
be evil people.  KKK membership and overall racism are at an all time high.
There has even been talk of concentration camps...

     It's not that the adverts have a hypnotizing effect, or anything.  At
first, I just ignored them, easy.  There were only a few, on only a few street
corners, or only on TV a few times a day.  The type of posters that I had seen
in history books all through high school.  Then, all of a sudden, there were
so many!

     I can't help but think of the movies, the posters.  They're everywhere,
and all my attempts to evade them fail miserably.  It's like trying to swim
while ignoring the water.  You just can't do it.

     Everyday, images of Johnny Soldier marching victoriously through a ruined
Chinese village, images of burning crosses as national symbols, all rush
through my head.  How can I possibly resist pressure like that?

     I don't HAVE to go.  I'm not required to by law.  Ever since the
corporations got enough support in congress (by that, I mean bribing the
senators), the draft was eliminated completely (the draft equals lots of young
people at war; lots of young people at war equals no workforce).  However,
that hasn't stopped military enthusiasts from applying every type of societal
pressure there is to me.

     Almost every guy in my graduating class signed up as soon as commencement
was over, as girls still hadn't quite got accustomed to this military thing,
not to mention all the scandals.  I remember images of the boys I grew up with
roaring downtown to the recruitment office.  That night, they had a big party.
A real gala affair, lots of drinking, lots of "I may die tomorrow, so sleep
with me tonight" talk.  Lots of lonely girls after that night.  Me, I stood
back from all that.  I was laughed at and all that rot, but I didn't care.  I
wasn't going to fight.

     But, why?	Why wasn't I going to go across the Pacific along with every
other eighteen year old in the U.S.?  Why wasn't I going to be all I could be?
Pro-war fever was high and I had to admit that I was starting to catch it.
However, I was scared.	I didn't want to have to kill.  I wasn't sure that my
nation's ideals were ones I believed in, let alone ones I would die for.  I
thought the war was wrong.  Whenever I tried to explain this to any of my
teachers, or my family, all I got was worried looks.  I was hoping they could
shed some light on the situation, but all they said was, "You are misinformed.
Your sources are bad."

     What about their sources? CNN was more or less Uncle Sam's right hand,
and a healthy dose of our defense budget was poured into propaganda of all
kinds.	I've heard about bills in Congress that would imprison people that
spoke out against the government, much like the Alien and Sedition Acts.
Everyone, everywhere, was calling for national unity.  People thought this was
a golden age for America,  with everyone unified for a common cause.  Everyone
except the Chinese-Americans, anyway.

     I was scared of dying.

     I said earlier that the body bags were coming back.  I don't know for
sure what the death toll is up to, but I've heard reports that it's almost as
great as World War II already.	No one is phased, even though more than half
the boys from my town are dead.  Despite this, everyone in my town and in my
nation is still adamant about the war, they all hate China, now.  Uncle Sam's
war machine rolls on.

     Have you ever noticed how the name Uncle Sam sounds like Big Brother?
Talk like that could get me in trouble, though...

     My family is especially strong about the war.  My sister repeatedly says,
"If I were old enough, I would go and fight."  All the while, my dad just
glares at me.  I always end up excusing myself from the dinner table when it
gets to this point, and I go into my room to get away from it all.  One night,
I listened to the radio even though there was some war special going on.  All
night, I heard interviews with General this-or-that, telling everyone left
that there was still time to sign up now.  They sounded grave and serious,
which they should be, fighting a war and all, but the words they used made it
sound like an adventure, not a nightmare. Uncle Sam needs YOU...

     The next morning, my dad left a note on the kitchen table for me before
he went to work.  It said that he was going to make me sign up if I hadn't by
the time I turned nineteen.  It left me so hurt all day, that I decided not to
go to work.  I just sat in my room and cried.  I was devastated.  Everything I
had planned for went out the window.  I was going to actually have to fight.
Putting my trust in the propaganda, I tried to convince myself that it wasn't
that bad.  That it would be an adventure, I wanted so desperately to believe
that.

     Even my girlfriend is in war hysteria!  She tells me to go every time I
see her!  This one really shouldn't matter to me, though.  I'm dating the prom
queen right now, and the only reason is that there really is no one else
available.  I'm the last available guy on Earth, it feels like.

     It's been almost a year now, and another wave of children will turn
eighteen and graduate, the pressure is about to be amplified.  I wonder, is
there informal pressure like this in China, now?  No, of course not. I heard
on the news last night that they were completely totalitarian. They FORCED
people into the army, what kind of awful, uncivilized country would do that?
Everyone there has to subscribe to the national religion. It's an awful
country, and we are doing them a favor by...

     I don't laugh at things like that.  There have been numerous occasions
where I actually BELIEVED words like those, maybe I still do.

     I don't know what I'm going to do!  My head feels like it's going to
burst apart from all this!  One day, a few days before I turned nineteen, I
was sitting in my room, and I was on the verge of actually getting up to go
down to the registration center.  I was actually going to do this, put an end
to everyone harassing me day and night, and I'd serve my country to boot.
Pro-war propaganda was all over my room now, the army had been mailing me
stuff for a year.  I didn't feel like I wanted to resist anymore.  That is,
until I stepped outside.  Everything seemed so quiet, so dead and sterile, and
I just stood there, staring down the street.  That's when I saw him.  My best
friend who lived down the street until he went off to China, was limping up
the street to my house!  His face was partially bandaged, and he was missing
half his right leg, using crutches to support himself.	Slowly, he made his
way up the street and to me.

     He told me of the war and what it had done to him, not just his body, but
his spirit, too.  He told me of the people he killed, of how false those
messages of glory are.	He told me how right I was not to have signed up, and
he cried when he said that.  I told him of my problems with my dad, and he
listened.  He told me that his wounds were bad, with indications of infection
on his face.  He said that he might die, and then he gave me two books.

     The first was his diary.  I paged through it quickly right there in front
of him, looking at the dirt smudged pages filled with his trademark messy
handwriting for maybe ten minutes before I remembered the other book.  It was
a copy of Kurt Vonnegut's _Slaughterhouse Five_ torn up and dirty, but all the
pages seemed to be there.

     Then he left, to go to the hospital.  It was the last time I ever saw
him.

     I went back home and read the diary.  It took me forever to decipher, but
it was still legible enough.  It told me graphic descriptions of what I had
been afraid to ask about.  It told me of the horrible things he was called
upon to do to the Chinese towns they had come across.  It told me of dead
comrades, and it told me of apathy.  The writing was so objective, not an
ounce of feeling in any of it.	It made my head spin, reeling from the
feeling.  It was an awful, black, cancerous feeling that started deep within
my stomach, and crawled from there into my brain, where my urge to go war was,
and the two had their own little battle.  I shut myself away from the rest of
the pro-war world while I absorbed the knowledge from the diary.  My head was
a in a constant stalemate, until I read the other book.

     It took me a few days to read.  It took me some more to think about what
Vonnegut was really getting at.  I never got a chance to finish my analysis of
his message, because I turned nineteen.  At the small celebration, my dad made
the announcement to everyone present:  I was going to sign up for the army the
very next day.	 I was showered with praise from everyone I knew for deciding
to join the army, and after awhile, I started to believe it all.  Everything I
had heard about the war, the posters, the commercials, the movies, the radio
shows, my family, my girl, filled my head.  I believed it all, and I was
actually ENJOYING it.  What I was doing was right.  How could it be wrong at
all?  There was no one there to tell me what a horrible mistake I was making,
no one to give me a book, no one to translate Vonnegut for me.	The entire
world was a blur.  It's like when you're five years old, and your mom tells
you she made a doctor's appointment for you to get your shots.  You cared up
until your appointment, but when you're actually in the car, going to the
clinic, every thought is suddenly erased.  Instead, your head is just kind of
light and airy as you ride along...

     It was like that.	That night, sitting in my room, I wondered what it
would actually be like, was my friend right?  Or just delusional?  I heard the
doorbell ring from across the house, and as my parents were somewhere else, I
had to answer the door.  I almost didn't, because I wanted to sulk, but
something drove me on.

     My girlfriend was there, looking as radiant as ever.  One of her friends
had driven her here, and that was kind of odd since she usually drives me.  We
left, almost wordlessly, and went to a movie.  Her behavior was different
tonight, kind of detached, like she was just going through the motions, and
not really enjoying herself.  After the movie, we went to the lake.  It was
kind of her idea, because I really wanted to go back home and sulk.  But she
said it with such ferocity and, almost anger, that I really had no choice.  I
was far too confused.  She looked me directly in the eyes, and said "I want to
go to the lake."   She had an attitude like...

     My dad was all set to drive me in the morning, but I didn't show up.  I
was still at the lake, but not the part of the lake that my girl and I had
been at the night before.  I guess I might as well tell the story, because I'm
not ashamed of what happened.  The whole time we were at the lake, she was
drawing closer and closer to me, and it got to a point, and then she came to a
halt, and looked at me expectantly.  She was all over me, then she just kind
of stopped.  I looked at her for maybe a minute, and then everything came
together in my head.  It explains her whole mood that night, she was expecting
me to say "I go off to war tomorrow, so sleep with me tonight."  She acted
just like those girls had a year ago, with my classmates.  I knew that if I
did, I would have sealed my doom, it would have been like telling myself
"You're going, tomorrow."  Instead, I left.  I didn't know at first why,
something just seemed horribly wrong.  I told her I was going to go piss, and
then I ran to my car.  I grabbed the Vonnegut novel from the back seat, and
turned to a page near the end, and ripped it out.  I threw the novel and the
keys in the front seat, and ran off into the woods.  This particular page of
the novel had been in my mind all night, and printed on it was a picture of a
locket a character in the novel wore, and printed on the locket were the
words, "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can, and wisdom always to tell the difference."

     I ran and ran, around the lake to the other side, to the spot where my
best childhood friend and I had always gone when we were little.  It had been
maybe five years since I've come here, and it was dark out, but I still found
it.  A small little patch of dirt by a very large fallen tree, the same as
always.  There I sat until morning.

     What changed my mind about the war?  The page I held in my hand did, or
rather, it was the whole book.	I figured it out, finally.  I knew what
Vonnegut was getting at.  I knew why war was so bad.  I knew why I wasn't
going to go.  I had always thought that going to war was one of the things I
couldn't change, that it was as inevitable as sunrise.  That morning I
realized it wasn't, that I really didn't have to go.  My dad may kick me out
of the house, everything else may get royally screwed up, but I didn't really
have to go.

     I stayed out there for as long as I could, before the police found me. Of
course, they had been looking for me for days, and now that they found me,
they delivered me into the custody of my parents.  Needless to say, I was
thrown into the car, for a trip to the recruitment center.

     All the way there, I remembered the propaganda I had seen talking about
how the horrible Chinese were, because they actually FORCED people into the
military...

     I was signed up, and taken home.  Tomorrow I was to report to city hall,
to be transported to the nearest training base.  I was locked in my room.  I
had thoughts of suicide that night, but they were trivial at best compared to
the other feelings in me.  Feelings not unlike the black, deathly one from the
diary, or the wrenching one when I figured out what my girl was trying to do.
I'm at peace, though, because I don't have to deal with any of this ever
again.	The doctor will give me my shots (pun intended).

     I'm going off to war tomorrow.


--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--


     "Against the haystack a girl stands laughing at me,
	  Cherries hung round her ears.
     Offers me her scarlet fruit:  I will see
	  If she has any tears."
					     -- D.H. Lawrence, "Cherry Robbers"


--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--

			       _The Confessions_
		    Excerpts from the Early Magickal Diarys
			  of Frater Nemo est Sanctus

		"Do not tell lies, and do not do what you hate,
	       for all things are plain in the sight of Heaven.
		 For nothing hidden will not become manifest,
	   and nothing covered will remain without being uncovered."
						 Christ, Thom. 6

			     The _Tommy_ Fragment

		[Continued from State of unBeing #5, May 1994]

     Afterward, ansat never could remember just when she had fallen asleep.
She was almost there when they started, though she was awake enough to snuggle
into his arms; but less than five minutes into the half hour drive, she was
asleep in his embrace, he feeling the gentle caress of her warm young body at
every breath, pressed against him at regular intervals, and withdrawn slowly,
tantalizingly.

     He removed her shoes and socks, sliding her socks into her shoes and her
shoes into his pockets.  He toyed with her feet as he pulled her onto his lap,
feeling her snuggle deeply into his shoulder.  Finally, he could enjoy her
press with none to see and suspect.

     Arriving home, he cradled her in his arms precariously as he opened the
door, and he gently laid her on the couch.  Sitting with her a moment to make
sure she was really asleep, he got up and headed for the kitchen, stopping
along the way to pull a couple of pill bottles from a drawer.

     He pulled a glass from the cupboard, and, filling it with milk, put it
into a saucepan of water and set it to a low heat.

     Waiting for the milk to warm, ansat pulled out a paper towel and, opening
four capsules, poured the green powder onto the paper.	Idly, he mixed the two
shades with a long pinkie finger nail.	Two ginseng, for energy and sexual
excitement, and two valerian, a direct nerve agent to dull the brain.  The
milk would relax her, too, especially warm, ansat thought, tipping the powder
into the gently steaming glass, but the idea was to overpower the milk with
ginseng, and to keep sedation with the valerian.  East Indian graveyard dust;
ansat toyed with the old name for the deeper green powder.  Turn you into
zombei.  He turned down the heat and stirred the powder into the liquid.  Warm
milk dissolves powders well, and it is always gratefully accepted by sleepy
children.

     He popped two ginsengs himself, and tested the milk.  Not too hot.

     He had a radiator in the doorway between his room and the living room,
which was on the way from the kitchen.	It was a happy little radiator, and
kept his room nice and warm when it was on.  Walking back to the living room,
he passed it in his doorway, and tried to decide whether or not to put it on.
Heat, in his opinion, enhanced sensitivity, but decreased performance.	Harder
to keep erect; easier to keep aroused.	Most important, though, is that it is
also a subtle trigger on the girl, and would make her, if awake, more aroused.
With the tip of his boot he kicked the switch, and the happy little radiator
radiated happy heat in its own form of arousal.  By the time he was ready for
the bedroom, the bedroom would be ready for him.

     When he appeared back in the living room, the girl was just beginning to
stir.  He cuddled her shoulders from his position kneeling on the floor, and
set the glass on the coffee table.

     "You slept through the ice cream," he said, gently.  "Your mother said to
take you here.	She'll be by to pick you up in twenty minutes or so."  Almost
as an afterthought, he offered the glass to her.  "Here.  Want something to
drink?"

     Gratefully, she took it.  She wrinkled her little nose.  "Smells funny."

     He simpered.  "Sorry.  Left the bottle open in the fridge.  You know how
milk absorbs smells...."  Thus placated, she drank.

     He hoped the twenty minutes story would buy him enough time to avoid
arousing her suspicions.  He had read the pills took about thirty minutes to
reach the nervous system.  Dissolved, he had noticed they took effect faster,
but he had been too impressed with his ingenuity with the milk and only
belatedly realized milk would also coat her stomach.  He hoped the pills would
reach the stomach lining simultaneously with the milk.	He suppressed an
indecent ectodermic metaphor, and tried to find an inconspicuous way to kill a
half an hour.

     Needless to say, his nerves were tight, and though he knew the ginseng
would calm them, he would have to wait for that.  He began to wish he'd let
the pills dissolve in his mouth, but no point in regrets.

     He became aware she was watching him, bleary eyed, on the couch.  The
clarity of her gaze disturbed him.  Unsettled him.  He could tell she was
tired, but she seemed nonetheless alert.  Desperately, he tried to convince
himself it was his guilty imagination, and looked for a way out, as if he were
the prisoner.

     He was shocked to find himself backing away from her, remembered an old
stalking standby, and fished a packet of cigarettes out of his pocket.
Wordlessly, he held them up  -- as if for her approval -- and walked down the
hall to the front door.

     The cold air hit him like a slap, but he did not want to go back for his
jacket, crumpled in a graceless heap on the kitchen floor.  He pulled the door
almost closed and lit up.

     He forced himself to breathe deeply and watch the burn of his cigarette.
He slowed himself so completely he almost jumped out of his skin when the door
opened and she stepped out, shivering under a blanket clutched around her
shoulders.  Wordlessly, guilelessly, she snuggled against him; he could feel
her nodding off.  He put his arm around her shoulder and ran his other thumb
over her lips.	Her eyes slid shut, and this time she did not force them open.
He rested his lips against her forehead, deeply breathed her hair, his
cigarette forgotten in his flowerpot cum ashtray.  No point in regrets.  He
ran his fingers along her naked legs, the faint, translucent hairs glimmering
in the streetlight, and the only response was her tremor against him, and her
knees pressed, shivering, against his side.  He ran his hand under her knees
and lifted her once more; carried her over to the bed.

     The blanket discarded, he held her in an awkward sitting position, pinned
between him and the overstuffed pillows.  The skirt of her dress opened in a
circle around her body like the bell of a giant flower, revealing the ends of
a split stem, spread slightly, though not in an unladylike fashion -- had she
been old enough to truly be called a "lady."

     The dress had an uncomfortable stiffness around it, he thought, now that
he was this close.  As if it had stiffened in preservation, a rigor mortis of
sorts, preserved since such an archaic outfit was standard.  He liked the way
the burgundy of the satin played against the flush of her cheeks in the heated
room.  He also enjoyed the hook get-up fastened down her back, retaining a
slight indentation where she had been laying in his arms and the hooks had
pressed into her otherwise bare flesh.	He found himself idly rubbing the warm
surface of her back, erasing these impressions, leaving her back as unmarked
as he could manage after what his arms had effected.  As he slid the bodice
down her slender arms, the convoluted, Byzantine design running across the
outfit gave way, revealing a maze of veins, guiding blood to her just
developing breasts.

     For a moment, I forgot to breathe, swept up in the ecstasy of losing
myself entirely in the contemplation of a beauty I knew was too far above me
to even be dreamt of until, with a heart stopping shock, it was bared to my
eyes; with the same reverent ecstasy of a Russian monk studying, touching,
kissing an icon of the Theotokos.

     Or he.  I don't mean I -- do I?  The shock, even in memory, made me
forget who I was supposed to be, the character I was affecting.  There are
times when words, however rehearsed, burn away like mist, like trust.
Undressed, she has no more secrets; neither shall I.  I am ansat, or he is
Nemo, or something of the sort.  One of us does not exist, and I am telling my
own memoir.  (And, while we are rending veils, despite my earlier show of
machismo, this was my first rape.  Phenomenally, at least.  I had lived
through it before.  I had felt a girl's hands pressing me, with varying
degrees of violence, their bodies in varying states of tension, and their
minds in varying degrees of resistance.  I had looked into the face of terror,
and had looked with terror myself.  In the ivory tower where I had spent most
of my life thus far I had been victim and victimizer, and had lived it so many
times I thought it was nothing, and that there was nothing I had not yet lived
through, except to live through it in the flesh -- and, more importantly, in
the flesh of another.)

     The gown lifted off effortlessly, and with a sleepy moan she put her arms
around one of the pillows, unintentionally hiding her lack-of-breasts from me.
She half cooperated as I slid the last of her clothing down her legs and off
her tiny feet.	Undressed, she seemed more naked than humanly possible; so
small, leaning away from me, shivering slightly in my bed.

     The sheets were pulled down, and I did the same to her.  I laid her on
her back.  I sat beside her, and watched sleep raise and lower her chest.  Her
lips were close together, one clutched between her teeth.  She glowed ghostly
in the pale light from the streetlight, still shining in around the curtains,
emphasizing to me that nothing is every truly hidden.  I ran my fingers
against her face, tracing her eyes, parting her lips, stroking her throat,
less with the conquering, deserved feeling of a warrior with his plunder than
with the amazing shock of an undeserved grace.	A theophany; surprised by joy.

     As I became aware of myself again, the anamnesis fading, I heard the
doubts, the voices in my head:	Do I want her to like this, or do I want her
to hate it, and hate me for it, and justify my hating myself through her
hatred?  Or do I simply want her to forget it, to not even realize the great
evil I have done to her.

     But I silenced them.  The why was not what I wanted to contemplate now.
I wanted to be swept away in the who.  Having convinced myself she was asleep,
I disrobed and lay alongside her, close enough to feel her radiating heat, but
far enough away as not to yet touch.  My nerves needed a moment more.

     I must have overestimated the strength of the powders, I'm afraid,
because when I pressed my tongue gently into her mouth, expecting to taste her
sleeping saliva and yielding breath, her eyes shot open in a kind of distant,
vacant terror.	But I knew it was more surprise than fear, because one cannot
truly fear what one cannot even begin to understand.  I held her, I gently
brushed her hair away from her face, and I didn't stop kissing her until her
eyes got a little less wide, her body a little less rigid, and she slid a
little further into the lethargy of the pills and the delicious exhaustion
only a guiltless child can experience.

     Her eyes slid shut, which I took for a return to sleep.  Her body
trembled, which I took for the natural movements of sleep and unconscious
reactions to my caresses.  If I could be there again, if it would not kill my
soul to be so, I would look carefully at her eyelids.  I suspect the eyes
beneath were unmoving, staring rigidly at the ceiling behind the delicate
sheath of flesh.

     I do not beg your compassion.  Quite the opposite:  I beg your honesty.
I have no fear of condemnation from anyone who observes how raptly he reads
this rape.  Does the reader think he is merely voyeur (as if that would prove
merit; as if that would justify)?  This may be more his memoir than he is
anxious to admit.  The reader is participant; co-author.  The reader is
participant; co-rapist.

     When I came, salty fluid poured from my eyes.  Stupidly, I was afraid my
sobs would disturb her, when my caresses had even stopped doing so, but one
can be compassionate to something one cannot understand no more than one can
fear it.

     My own sleep was less guiltless than her's, and my exhaustion less
physical than moral.  For both of us, this sleep was an escape.

			      TO BE CONTiNUED...

--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--

State  of  unBeing  is	copyrighted (c) 1997 by Kilgore  Trout	and
Apocalypse Culture Publications.   All rights are reserved to cover,  format,
editorials, and all incidental material.   All individual items are
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in  the  public domain may be freely used  so  long  as  due recognition is
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Submissions may also be sent to Kilgore Trout at <kilgore@sage.net>.  The SoB
distribution list may also be joined by sending email to Kilgore Trout.

--SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB-SoB--

