Thomas Ligotti - The strange designs of Master Rignolo 1

 I tried to use OpenAI to illustrate this great story:

You can read, and see, the whole story here:

Part 1  Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10

“So I was going to tell you,” Grissul began, “that I was out in that field, the one behind those empty buildings at the edge of town where everything just slides away and goes off in all directions. And there’s a marsh by there, makes the ground a little, I don’t know, stringy or something. No trees, though, only a lot of wild grass, reeds, you know where I mean?”

“This was a little before dark that I was there. A little before the stars began to come out. I really wasn’t planning to do anything, let me say that. I just walked some ways out onto the field, changed direction a few times, walked a ways more. Then I saw something through a blind of huge stalks of some kind, skinny as your finger but with these great spiky heads on top. And really very stiff, not bending at all, just sort of wobbling in the breeze. They might well have creaked, I don’t know, when I pushed my way through to see beyond them. 

Then I knelt down to get a better look at what was there on the ground. I’m telling you, Mr. Nolon, it was right in the ground. It appeared to be a part of it, like—”

“The face,” he said, leaning back in his chair. “It was right there, about the size of, I don’t know, a window or a picture hanging on a wall, except that it was in the ground and it was a big oval, not rectangular in any way. Just as if someone had partly buried a giant, or better yet, a giant’s mask. Only the edges of the face seemed not so much buried as, well, woven I guess you would say, right into the ground. The eyes were closed, not shut closed—it didn’t seem to be dead—but relaxed. The same with the lips, very heavy lips rubbing up against each other. Even complexion, ashy gray, and soft cheeks. They looked soft, I mean, because I didn’t actually touch them in any way. I think it was asleep.”

Cyclonopedia by Reza Negarestani

 

I had a chat about Cyclonopedia with ChatGPT. We agree on a lot of things. It's a difficult but fascinating book:

The book is an ambitious attempt to use philosophy and literature to challenge conventional wisdom about the role of oil in contemporary society and to offer a new way of understanding the relationship between politics, economy, and the environment.

To fully understand the philosophical ideas presented in "Cyclonopedia," some background in continental philosophy, particularly the works of Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, may be helpful. However, one can still engage with the book's ideas without a deep knowledge of philosophy, as long as they are willing to approach the text with an open mind and a willingness to grapple with complex ideas.

There are at least three layers of narrative in "Cyclonopedia." The first layer involves the narrator's search for the writings of the archaeologist, which serves as the overarching framework for the book. The second layer is the narrative of the archaeologist himself and his research on the connections between oil, culture, and history. And the third layer is the presentation of the archaeologist's ideas, which are interspersed throughout the book in the form of theoretical reflections, philosophical speculations, and allegorical fictions.

In addition to these three layers, there are also other narrative threads that run throughout the book, including the themes of horror and science fiction, the use of metaphor and allegory, and the exploration of Middle Eastern politics and culture. These threads are intertwined with the main layers of the narrative, adding depth and complexity to the book's overall structure.

The book presents a vision of the Middle East as a place where the lines between the past and the present, the natural and the supernatural, and the human and the non-human are blurred. The author argues that this "haunting" is not simply a metaphor, but is a real and tangible phenomenon that has shaped the region's history and politics.

From a strange planet - 61

 E134 Vats

Do you see the white cube in the background?

We will search for it.

The woods are magical. They hint at hidden things behind them.

And then there is the white unnatural object.

What could it be?

• It's most probable that the cube is a plastic water container. Plastic containers can sometimes be mistaken for cubes or rectangular shapes, and they can be used to store water or other liquids in outdoor environments.

It could also be:

• A small bridge or culvert used to cross the stream
• An old, abandoned concrete block or pillar
• A survey marker or boundary stone
• A discarded piece of construction or roadwork material
• An outdoor artwork or sculpture
• A naturally occurring white rock or mineral formation
• An optical illusion caused by the lighting or camera angle
• A small garden gnome or other decoration
• A leftover prop or set piece from a movie or TV shoot
• A piece of debris from a nearby aircraft or satellite.

Maybe we can look on streetview.

Here's the cube again.

It's not along stream, but along a gravel road.

And indeed, it looks very much like a water container.

Those plastic ones with a mesh of tubing around them.

The 2018 streetview confirms this hypothesis.

The cube is visible on Google satellite view.

Maybe there is a suggestion of it on Microsoft satellite view.

There's a trace of the gravel road on the topographic map.