#alexander faustus

[lawrencevonzahn]

The Pirate Hunters I.i.2.2

The Pirate Hunters I.i.2.2

2.2

The door I found myself behind revealed a small chamber as radically different from the great hall as one could imagine. While the great hall was dark and ornamental, with torches and candles and mosaics and engravings, this chamber was bright and bare, having nought but harsh concrete walls and hyphanescent lamps inserted in the ceiling. I took a few moments to catch my breath, then…

View On WordPress

[lawrencevonzahn]

[Algiers]

2.1

an

Much of what we understand of animal neuropsychology comes from the genimal. Not only could we finally shut off the pain centers of the brain — without which, by the way, our experiments would have been torture — but we figured out how to switch on their language. It was like turning up the volume on a biological podcast that, for thousands of years, had been on mute. In many…

View On WordPress

[lawrencevonzahn]

The Pirate Hunters I.i.1.3

The Pirate Hunters I.i.1.3

1.3

Afraid, cold, shaking, my hands unable to grasp the cup in front of me. That was my bodily reaction when I finally understood the meaning of life and the utter futility it entailed. We are not, as philosophers have once said, beings that create our meaning in our actions and words. The meaning of life is the constant struggle to control our own bodies and minds. Why else would religion be…

View On WordPress

[lawrencevonzahn]

The Pirate Hunters I.i.1.2

The Pirate Hunters I.i.1.2

1.2

I am awoken by human voices and the movement of people. The crewmembers are in the room, talking to each other as they change their clothes. I don’t understand the language. Maybe Berber. Some of them are laughing. One of them notices me and comes over to me. “Would you like some food?” He doesn’t wait for an answer before turning around to the others and saying something to them. He helps me…

View On WordPress