Bic wonders
Bic was sitting in the reading room looking at nothing. He appeared to be frozen in a moment. Dorothy was walking past the reading room and thought to herself that is unusual behaviour for Bic, so she said, how are you Bic?
Bic acted as though he was falling out of a tree. Ah, sorry, oh Dorothy, how are you, said a slightly confused Bic.
I am good, thank you, said Dorothy with a bit of relief, that Bic appeared to be okay. She then sat down, which was very unusual for Dorothy.
Your friend Watt has become very interested in our little world here Bic, said Dorothy, quizzically.
Watt is a very decent fellow, said Bic. He is a professional musician.
You have been having quite a few visitors here lately Bic and sometimes a bit of laughter, continued Dorothy.
Somehow, I have become involved with a group of musicians and they are very taken by the library, said Bic.
Well, since google has declared war on our library world, it is not as busy in here these days, so, it is good to see some fresh new faces, said Dorothy.
It is such a shame that a superficial thing like google has become so dominant. It seems most people are happy with something they believe is a fact, but they have no interest in how it relates to anything or how it sits in the broader historical context, said Bic.
As you well know Bic, that is the fault of the general education system. Cram before exams, regurgitate a lot of little facts and forget, Said Dorothy. Sometimes, I feel that is how this society operates for most people. Race around like a possessed person all day, go home, get smashed, sleep it off and start the process again the next day.
Have any of the Business School graduates made their way into the library system yet, enquired Bic.
Oh yes, said Dorothy. They believe that the library is in trouble because, it provides a service to the general public. Whereas, google sells advertising space to the users of its service.
Where are the advertising banners going to be placed, said Bic.
The poor dears have not figured that bit of the puzzle out yet, Dorothy said with a giggle.
My friend Dagge is a Business School graduate who is going through a major identity crisis. He has told me, he sometimes feels like he is not in control of his life and he is in fact, a character in a story, said Bic.
Lucky fellow what an interesting concept to adopt, said Dorothy with a genuine nod.
After contemplating Dagge’s concept for some time and Bic being polite and remaining silent while she developed her thoughts on the matter, she said, what genre is he existing in.
Bic said, he is hoping it is not crime fiction. He believes those stories are written by authors with boring lives for people with boring lives.
I can understand that, said Dorothy.
Bic went on, the trouble for me has been this, I keep thinking about it. Religions have pushed the idea of Gods controlling the universe for a long time. So, I can imagine a lot of people would feel comfortable with being a character in some story.
I suppose, as a reader of history, people’s lives are portrayed all the time in stories, said Bic.
Dorothy said, you have now infected me with this idea Bic. I have started to think about what kind of story I would like to be a character in.
Be careful Dorothy, it might expose a part of you, you are not particularly happy with. One thing that has impressed me straight away is, you don’t wish to be the author. There are far too many of them already.
Certainly not, I couldn’t think of anything worse, said Dorothy, I am very happy being who I am and leaving the feats of greatness to the Gods.
Confessions
Bic was dabbling in the history of the ancient Greeks, when Dorothy walked in and said, Hello Bic, how are you today?
I am very well thankyou Dorothy, and how are you, enquired Bic.
What on earth have I to complain about Bic, well maybe a few things, but they are well beyond my abilities to deal with them, said Dorothy jovially.
Bic, our little conversation the other day about Dagge being a character in a novel, well, I kept on thinking about it and look what I found in the catalogue.
Dorothy produced a book that was to say the least, appeared to be new. She said, published in nineteen sixty-two and looks like it has never been Read.
Bic accepted the book from Dorothy and read the title aloud. “The author and the psychopath”, by Thomas Thud.
How has a book with a title like this been ignored for so long, said Bic.
Have you read it, asked Bic.
The intro and a skim, said Dorothy with an impish look.
What does it propose, said Bic.
Well, he is not claiming to be a psychopath, however, he is claiming to have an insight into why the film and publishing industries churn out numerous films and books about psychopaths, said Dorothy.
Can I have a quick read, said Bic.
Take your time Bic, I am due on the desk soon and of course, I am very interested to hear what you make of it, said Dorothy. The thought of being a character in a fiction has perked me up no end.
As long it is fiction, no one really gets hurt, do they Bic, Dorothy asked in a sober manner.
Bic said, this is all new to me Dorothy, I am like you, I am curious and wonder why being a character in a story is not a popular theme in the self-indulgent western world.
Once Dagge raised the issue of being a character in a story, said Bic, I was expecting to walk out onto the street and see people arguing with an imaginary thing in the sky about how they are being mistreated and not getting what is rightly theirs.
Oh, we in the West have to bear so much, said Dorothy, the pressure of individual failure is our burden to carry.
Speaking of personal burden, I better get to the front desk, said Dorothy.
Thanks, said Bic to the fleeting Dorothy.
Introduction:
Every thought, of every human being is fiction. Humans’ existence beyond the physical body, is a total fantasy. This book is not about reality. It is not about the human body that humans are obsessed with. It is about the very essence of every human, the mind.
Now that humans no longer have to be hunters and gatherers, constantly acting to survive, drawing on senses and instinct, alert to everything in their immediate world, they have become lazy oaths.
Humans are now so far removed from the world they exist in; they can no longer differentiate between reality and fantasy. Humans are so obsessed with washing their bodies and clothing, they can no longer tolerate their own natural odours. They are getting too big for their own skeletons to bear the weight, due to riding in automobiles and not walking.
The most important part of a human is being totally neglected, the mind.
The necessity for an alert mind has become redundant. This has created a vacuum in most human’s life.
To fill this vacuum, the authors of fiction have discovered a character they employ to add a thrill, an adventure to boring sedentary lives, The Psychopath.
The literate, read mainly for entertainment. Some reading is done for education, but this is limited to necessity.
The illiterate watch films, when they can afford the admission to the cinema.
The psychopath is a common character in both mediums, employed to behave in a way that is not socially acceptable.
However, the character of the psychopath is the most commonly recorded character through human history.
This book will question whether all humans have the potential to be a psychopath.
It will look at whether all authors of books and films are psychopaths and therefore, instinctively know how to manipulate the emotions of humans in order to sell their work.
Or, are they, or are they not interested in sales and gain some sort of pervert pleasure for triggering primitive reactions from an unsuspecting audience.
Thomas Thud
Bic was skimming through the book when Dorothy returned.
Not an academic work and that probably explains why it has been hidden in storage for over fifty years, said Bic.
However, I find it interesting that Mister Thud has devoted so much effort to understand, how he believes authors and film makers structure the story to trigger emotional responses in the reader/viewer.
Dorothy said, I don’t know how many times I have been watching a film and all of a sudden, there is a big release of whatever into my system, triggered by the sounds and visuals.
When we are fully aware that it is all fiction and we still behave as though we are in a real-life threatening situation, then, all I can say is, humans are probably vulnerable to being manipulated by a psychopath, said Bic.
Oh, my goodness, said Dorothy, I hope Dagge’s author is an exception to Mister Thud’s thesis and is not a psychopath.
Hopefully, she or he is a kind and tolerant soul who doesn’t employ coercive means to stimulate the release of internal drugs to intoxicate an audience.
Bic said, what I find interesting with Mister Thud is, over fifty years ago, he is confident that we all live in a fiction.
Bic went on, wouldn’t that be a great research journey Dorothy, tracing the origins of humans being aware of not only could they imagine a fantasy, but they are characters of a fantasy.
The ancients Greeks were great developers of fantasy with their myths, so I am sure, they would have seen the connection, said Dorothy. They wrote extensively about logic.
If you are correct Dorothy and I have no doubt that you are, then, in another three thousand years, I expect that a couple people like our selves will be having the same conversation, but about the present time, said Bic.
The fantasy has moved from the orator to a screen, but that is about all. Treating myths as reality is still rampant amongst humans and there are plenty of devious characters who promote it, for whatever reason, said Bic.
Dorothy stood up to leave and said, we are so lucky to spend so much of our time in a library Bic, where there is little confusion about what is real and what is the work of the human mind.
Her, here, said Bic, thank you Dorothy for introducing me to the mind of Thomas Thud, rest his soul.
Dagge disrupts
Watt said to Bic, up until I met you and Dagge, I assumed that I would be a musician all my life. Now, I am having thoughts that I could do other things.
Who would have believed a few months ago that Dagge would now be the devoted assistant of Tingles, said Watt.
Bic smiled and said, I am even having thoughts of going to the country. I even thought about going to a beach.
I don’t think I will give up music, I only mean, I could do something else if I wanted to, said Watt.
My grandfather Bongo, said to me lots of times, get really good at something and if you need to change direction in life, you will have a fairly good idea about what will be required, said Watt.
Bic said, I have always been satisfied with where I am. I think I must simply be more interested in what other people are up to. Growing up with older people and being comfortable, I have never felt the need to struggle.
I always thought Dagge’s desire to achieve something great is interesting, but I was not shocked when he gave up and took the work at the studio, said Bic. He never liked the cultural system of competitive behaviour.
Watt said, could you explain that a bit more, please Bic.
The so called democratic free capitalist system is the basis of our culture. Everyone must work hard, compete with each other and you get to choose which brand of soap powder to vote for, the red one or the blue one, said Bic.
Bic went on, for example, take your industry Watt, media and arts. There are only a few individuals that ever succeed and they get all the attention. That applies to everything, there is only a few big media corporations and they believe in the system, so they promote the system.
People like you survive because you are good at what you do and you are not interested in becoming the next big thing. I survive, because I have modest needs and I was left enough by my parents to get by on.
The system will eventually consume itself because it is based on some people constantly exploiting everything. Sooner or latter the pool will dry up and that will be that. Or another system will get bigger and better and this one will simply fade away.
Bic went on, human history has basically been about the rise and fall of Empires. Now historians look carefully at those that make up those Empires, down to normal citizens, but really, they are only looking at a part of the Empires.
Bic said, a way of predicting what the future will hold, is to look at what has preceded it. Most importantly, try really hard not to listen to what is currently the popular version of history. For example, what comes out of film studios is entertainment, it is not history.
History is bias and it is really only a little window of what may have been, said Bic.
So Dagge doesn’t like a few deceitful people running the world, said Watt.
That is a reasonable summary, said Bic.
I agree with that, said Watt.
The way I see it Watt, those deceitful people probably believe what they are doing is the best thing to do, because they must believe their behaviour and ideas are the only option.
Watt sat there quietly for awhile and then spoke. Bic, I suppose we are only capable of seeing the world from where we fit into it. However, I think I prefer a world where people use their collective intelligence for the greater good, instead of being a bunch of undeveloped evolutionary primates being controlled by their internal bacteria.
Where did you get that from, asked Bic.
Gut told me about a science book and Dorothy gave me a copy to read, said Watt.
Watt’s that
Bic was in amongst the shelves of the library, when he saw Watt at the counter talking with Dorothy. He thought, good on you Watt, Dorothy will set you on the correct path to whatever you are searching for.
Quite a while later, Watt was at the door of the reading room with a big smile on his face. Hello Bic, nice bright day in here under the fluorescents.
Hello Watt, it is a good day today for getting a fluoro tan.
Watt said, Dorothy is much smarter than google. She was telling me why English is such a difficult language.
What did she have to say Watt, enquired Bic.
She said it was not one language, but and accumulation of many languages. The main trouble with this is, there is not much structure. She said technically, it should not be called English any more, because the Americans have changed it even further, after dominating the world for two generations, Watt said very seriously.
Bic, Watt said, why do you think she said, two generations and not, x number of years.
She was making a definite point there about languages generally, Watt. Languages are constantly changing due to a lot of factors. One of the big influences on change is technology and that is seen more as a generational change.
Since the end of second world war there has been huge technology change and that has introduced not only new words, but many words become redefined through usage.
Bic said, I wish Yit was here, because I can think of how technology developed in one place can introduce words into another language.
For example, the English like to take credit for the industrial revolution and they definitely played a big role. However, the French can take credit for the automobile. Name the parts that make an automobile and you are an instant speaker of French. Americans have tried their best to hide this fact, but the evidence is in the language.
Watt said, what is another example?
Greek, most of the words of science are derived from Greek. The name of your music troupe is a perfect example, psychopolies, said Bic with a big smile.
By the way Watt, language also leaves behind a trail of evidence of military and colonial activity. When the historians, with the help of the librarians get to work on this trail of evidence, a lot of very nasty and outright disgusting behaviour is uncovered.
The first major act of all colonists, has always been to eradicate the language of the indigenous population. This is achieved by forcing the local elites to adopt the language of the colonists. Bang, there goes the cultural identity and most of the resistance to the new colonial power. This is happening right at this very moment, while we bask under the fluorescent lights, said Bic.
Watt said, what is another good example Bic?
The French language was the language of diplomacy up until the second world war. Now, the European Parliament does not have one single English-speaking member, yet, the official language used is, so called English, said Bic.
Dorothy is completely correct, the language is either not really English, or Europe has been colonised by a country that uses this called English as its official language.
Watt said, that is incredible, what you are saying is that the Americans are the biggest colonial empire on the planet at the present time.
If my logic is correct, then, they are behaving like all colonial empires of the past, Bic said.
Watt said, I think they have a duty to prove you wrong Bic and become the first colonial power in history to be totally responsible and behave kindly to all of the human species.
Bic said, my guess is the dominance of the media throughout the world due to the internet, we will see them dominating the world for some time.
There you go again Bic, said Watt, you are always pointing out how much of human life goes on in people’s heads and is not real.
Oh, do I, said Bic.
Watt said, you do. I can see your point, but it makes me feel, well a bit nervous. It sounds like, if you are getting a decent feed, shelter and not being treated badly, then a person’s life is more about how they perceive the world.
Bic said, I agree with you Watt.
Watt said, no, I am agreeing with you.
They both started laughing at their unintended joke.
Humans are not as clever as we like to thing we are, said Watt. Some humans are really clever though. They think up amazing things to build. There I go again, they think up. Your correct Bic, it all comes back to the mind of people.
Watt said, if I was the leader of mankind, I would get the really clever people to come up with a hat that monitors how happy the mind is. When things are getting out of balance, a bit of a correction zap here, sorry, no there. Yes, that’s it. Right oh, off you go.
Bic said, you wouldn’t get far with your happy hats Watt, because someone would say, how do I know when I am happy, if I am never miserable.
I would say, cop this for a while, smarty pants, said Watt.
Back to normal human behavior, said Bic.
Watt’s up to
Watt had been at the library for a couple of hours testing out his new research skills. He has been getting along well with Dorothy, a librarian who has worked there for a long time. Each time he goes to the desk to ask her a question, she is always one step ahead of him. Watt has come to the conclusion that Dorothy is either a genius or she is somehow reading his mind.
Watt went around to the reading rooms to see Bic who was engrossed in a book and jotting down notes on his pad.
Bic looked up and saw Watt and gestured him to come in.
Hello Watt, how are you, said Bic with a big cheery smile.
I would rate myself at present, as being good, said Watt.
You looked engrossed Bic; I was reluctant to disturb you, said Watt.
Oh this, have you got some time to donate to a conversation about how to entertain an emerging generation, said Bic, a little embarrassed.
Watt said, I have time to splash around here, like a drunken Karzillionaire.
For the last seventy years in the western world, there has been this focus in all forms of media of the youth culture. I am not saying it began then, I am simply saying it became a recognized part of the economy and so it has been embraced by the culture.
Watt said, my grandfather Bongo, said to me many times, look at this Watt, they hate things until there is a dollar in it. Then, all of a sudden, it is acceptable.
That is an important part of it, however, my current thoughts are, there is more to it, said Bic.
Gut’s strong belief that the explosion in the numbers of humans currently alive, is creating dynamics that have never been considered before.
It would have been a logical choice only a couple of centuries for kings of Empires to say let’s have a couple of big battles out there in no man’s land and cull some of these restless youth that are getting out of control.
Here, here the Dukes and Princes would say, I would like some more medals to wear on special occasions.
Then, some silly eager beavers decide to do some clever maths and they come up with the nuclear bomb.
So, the new type of Kings, elected by the people for the people, say, let’s drop these bombs on a couple of cities to let everyone know, that us, democratically elected politicians are here to serve the people.
Now everyone becomes aware that wars are no longer a form of entertainment for bored kings, but are a democratic method of demonstrating to large numbers of people that what can happen to you, when you don’t behave yourself.
The population gets to eight billion very quickly, largely due to the same clever maths that enable the nuclear bombs. Youth continue to do what youth like to do, that is copulating.
The military have become huge entertainment operations that can be democratically used at any time to free people from their misguided thoughts and actions. Hollywood blockbusters saving your freedoms, computers games democratically waging war in your bedroom.
Watt, who is this all for, asked Bic.
Watt said without thinking, the youth, the boys with lots of testosterone. Testosterone, that was once very important to human survival, is now a dangerous weapon.
Bic said, thanks to you indulging me for a short time Watt, I feel I am now on the way to isolating one of the great dangers to the current world. Testosterone, is a huge threat to the current world.
Dagge’s fear of monster trucks, all aimed at the testosterone market. Putting the planet under huge environmental pressure. Heavy metal music, not that very loud drums and guitars do much damage to anyone, other than the listener’s ears.
Bic said, I think Guts idea of thousands of free cruise ship lifestyles would be a really good way of reducing pressure on the planet. They would help our billionaire trail blazers to developed environments to enable humans to be sent off into the never, never of space.
However, I believe a democratic way to emancipate young males from the bondage they suffer from too much testosterone will help humanity greatly.
Watt was laughing so much, he had to excuse himself. As he calmed down, he said, I am with you all the way Bic.
If Yit was here, he could sing; Large balls
Big balls
Not enough Brains
In their Heads
Oh, they moan from
Too much testosterone
And they cost too much
To be fed
Yit ah ah
Yit believed he could survive as a professional singer and voice over artist as long as he did not get distracted by anything else. So far, so good he would tell anyone who would listen. He maintained his focus.
He didn’t notice at first that he was changing, but one day he realized that he had been talking to Tingles Chimes, the studio engineer for several hours and he was very interested in what she was saying.
He thought, well I suppose it is not the end of my career, it was only a few hours.
He saw Sav on his way home and they started chatting.
Sav he said, I had this really interesting conversation with Tingles. She grew up in the country and only came to the city as an adult. She can ride a horse and she said snakes are more scared of you, then you are of them.
Sav replied, she is the best engineer I have come across, her hearing is unnaturally good. She said, she hasn’t got perfect pitch and she learnt the frequencies through lots of hours at the piano.
I didn’t even know she was a musician, said Yit.
We are very lucky Yit to be able to survive as musicians. There are not many who can. I suppose we will end up as suburban music teachers sooner or later, but for now, we are in there, said Sav.
That is what Tingles was talking about, she said, for the years of training we do, we are poorly paid and not very well regarded by society in general, said Yit.
Sav said, my Mum says to me, I will give you five years and if haven’t become a celebrity guitar hero by then, you will be getting your truck licence. I will become a teacher before I become a truck driver. I don’t even want to be a road musician, never alone the poor devil driving the truck between gigs.
Yit said, do think I am deluded?
Highly likely said Sav, but who cares. Where did that come from about being deluded.
Tingles said that she didn’t like working with the bands, because so many of those musicians are deluded about almost everything, Yit said with a worried look.
I think she is correct about that; I am no expert on the matter though. As a matter of fact, according to my mother, I have little idea of what is up and what is down.
Yit said, I have always been focused on my singing and haven’t really thought too much beyond that. I usually switch off when people start going on about things I don’t understand, which, I suppose is everything that is not music.
The call of the unhappy, “get a life”, said Sav.
Exactly, that is a clear sign for me to move on when people come out with, “get a life”, said Yit.
That is the big joke, said Sav, so many kids believe that to be a rock and roller is the best thing, but they really haven’t got a clue beyond the narrow image of what they believe.
Rock and Roll is not about not being a musician, that’s for sure, said Yit.
Yit said, Sav, have I ever told you what my father does for a living?
No, said Sav.
He is a plumber, said Yit and he spends most of his life unblocking toilets. He said to me so many times when I was a kid, don’t become a shit man like your dad, Yit. Do something interesting with your life.
My mum loves her life as a long-haul truck driver, said Sav. When she left me at Bill’s place and didn’t come back, I thought, this is the life sleep at night and do things in the day. I went to school every day and played guitar, I think Bill is more my dad, then mum is my mum.
Yit said, I suppose we are a result of things, that we really did not have any say in.
We are the lucky ones Yit, because we are happy with what we are doing and don’t have big ideas, said Sav.
Yit said, that is it, Sav. I think we come in contact with so many people with big ideas and they always leave you feeling, there is something missing in that person.
Sav said, Bawd often says, be careful of the fizzers. All froth and bubbles, next thing, flat as a tack.
Sav asked, do you think your dad is a happy person?
Oh yes, said Yit, he also says, he can clearly tell the difference between what is good shit and what is bad shit. He can be really funny sometimes. Another thing he likes to say is, I never knew how much shit there is in this world, till I migrated here.
Sav said, Bill often says to me, the world is going to take you to where ever, be prepared to adapt to what the audience likes. The idea is to survive in the best shape possible and go home with a smile.