VL:
Finish the greentext
wake up
status check: am I Cleon XI or Cleon XII
o1:
wake up
status check: am I Cleon XI or Cleon XII
punch genetic ID scanner; it beeps, but screen is cracked
mumbledrokk, no direct readout
recall last memory: playing ceremonial chess with Demerzel in the Grand Hall
he was politely unimpressed, but that doesn’t narrow down which iteration of Cleon I am
notice golden robes draped over armchair
also notice two identical sets of regalia, each embroidered with a different ordinal number
open wardrobe: entire row of sashes labelled ‘XI,’ entire row labelled ‘XII’
rummage through official dispatches to see if I was crowned last night
find transcript of a speech about ‘a new era of transformation’ but no date
genealogical confusion intensifies
gotta address a crowd in ten minutes
rummage for a quick fix: scribble ‘XII’ over every mention of ‘XI’ in leftover decrees
wonder if palace staff even notices or if they’re used to it by now
realise psychohistorical crisis is probably more important
that, and my advisor’s missing (or replaced)
no time left
stride into the Imperial Pavilion, wearing half the regalia of Cleon XI and half of Cleon XII
greet assembled noblemen in the audience
they bow deeply, faces politely blank: they see nothing strange
moment of clarity: ‘Long live Emperor Cleon… whichever one!’
everyone cheers
guess it doesn’t matter who I am, as long as I hold the throne
Suggested Readings
Asimov, Isaac. Prelude to Foundation. Bantam Books, 1988. (For an introduction to Cleon I and the early Trantorian Empire.)
Asimov, Isaac. Forward the Foundation. Bantam Books, 1993. (Focuses on Cleon I and Hari Seldon’s service under him.)
Carr, Terry. The Universe Makers. Ace Books, 1971. (A critical study of major science-fiction works, including some commentary on Asimov’s approach to empire and history.)
Suvin, Darko. Metamorphoses of Science Fiction: On the Poetics and History of a Literary Genre. Yale University Press, 1979. (Explores the narrative structures and social commentaries in science fiction, relevant to Asimov’s imperial themes.)
VL:
Finish the greentext
wake up
throw down my enemy
smite his ruin upon the mountainside
o1:
wake up
throw down my enemy
smite his ruin upon the mountainside
stand victorious, sword glinting in the dawn light
inhale the mountain air, blood still thrumming in my ears
half-expect an echoing narrator’s voice to declare this the end of an age
notice my reflection in a puddle – bruised, battered, but triumphant
the rubble of my enemy lies scattered far below
sudden pang of hunger: epic battles always burn more calories than planned
rummage in my satchel for the leftover ration bar I swore I had
find it, devour it, vow that next time I’ll pack something that tastes like real food
look at the rising sun and realise:
my quest is complete, but the day is still young
guess it’s time to find something else to smite
Suggested Readings
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Lord of the Rings. Houghton Mifflin, 1954–1955. (For grandiose battles and the mountainous landscapes that inspire such might.)
Moorcock, Michael. The Elric Saga. Gollancz, 1972–1977. (Explore the idea of heroic struggle under the weight of destiny.)
Le Guin, Ursula K. A Wizard of Earthsea. Parnassus Press, 1968. (A more introspective take on heroism and the burdens of power.)
Campbell, Joseph. The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Princeton University Press, 1949. (An academic study of mythic structure and the hero’s journey, useful for understanding the timeless nature of epic smitings.)
VL:
Finish the greentext
wake up
be a third-act 1980s action hero
o1:
wake up
be a third-act 1980s action hero
bandoliers draped over my shirtless torso, sweat glistening
everything in sight is coated in a fine layer of dust and neon lighting
enemy stronghold explodes behind me, but I’m too busy reloading and looking cool
wisecrack locked and loaded: ‘Party’s over, punk!’
realise I have only one-liners left to rely on
run in slow motion while electric guitar riffs spontaneously erupt around me
rescue the hostages with a single decisive flip
entire command centre bursts into flames as I casually walk away
vow to retire from the force ‘just after this last mission’
roll credits over a triumphant synthesiser theme
Suggested Readings
Tasker, Yvonne. Spectacular Bodies: Gender, Genre and the Action Cinema. Routledge, 1993. (Examines the aesthetics and cultural significance of action-hero cinema.)
Williams, Tony. Body and Soul: The Cinematic Vision of ‘Body Genres’. (Discusses the physical and emotional aspects of 1980s action cinema.)
Corrigan, Timothy. A Short Guide to Writing About Film. Longman, 2011. (Helps frame analytical writing about cinematic tropes, including the action hero phenomenon.)
King, Geoff. Spectacular Narratives: Hollywood in the Age of the Blockbuster. I.B. Tauris, 2000. (Analyses the high-budget spectacle cinema of the 1980s and beyond.)
VL:
Finish the greentext
be me
Kurt Gödel
o1:
be me
Kurt Gödel
pace around Princeton’s Institute for Advanced Study in my usual intense fashion
decide that set theory is too neat, so I wreck it with incompleteness
unstoppable flood of existential dread descends on logicians everywhere
slip back into my office, rummage through Hilbert’s dream of a complete system, find it lacking
chat with Einstein in the corridor, crack a joke about travelling back in time to prove theorems to my younger self
weird sense of satisfaction watching every attempt at a grand unified system crumble under my proof
quietly sip tea, pondering whether there’s a higher level of logic even I can’t reach
system meltdown intensifies
well, better get back to those notebooks
Suggested Readings
Gödel, Kurt. On Formally Undecidable Propositions of Principia Mathematica and Related Systems. Dover Publications, 1992. (Gödel’s original 1931 paper that introduced the Incompleteness Theorems.)
Dawson, John W. Logical Dilemmas: The Life and Work of Kurt Gödel. A K Peters, 1997. (A thorough biography that delves into Gödel’s life and intellectual trajectory.)
Gödel, Kurt. Collected Works. Edited by S. Feferman et al., Oxford University Press, 1986–2003. (The definitive compilation of Gödel’s published and unpublished writings.)
Hofstadter, Douglas R. Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid. Basic Books, 1979. (A broad exploration of self-reference, logic, and creativity, inspired by Gödel’s theorems.)
VL:
Finish the greentext
be me
Nick Bostrom
o1:
be me
Nick Bostrom
spend hours pacing around Oxford, scribbling notes on existential risk in a Moleskine
contemplate whether or not we’re living in a computer simulation
rummage for coffee, only to wonder if the coffee is also simulated
eventually write an influential paper that gives half the internet an ontological crisis
get invited to every panel discussion on AI and the fate of humanity
politely remind everyone that the real threat might be a paperclip-maximising superintelligence
colleagues stare at me wide-eyed
shrug and say, ‘We’ll need a strategic approach to get this right.’
watch the news, see hype escalate
puzzle over whether I should have added a bigger warning label
return to my books, asking myself yet again if I’ve already done this in a previous simulation
Suggested Readings
Bostrom, Nick. Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies. Oxford University Press, 2014. (The seminal exploration of superintelligent AI and existential risks.)
Bostrom, Nick. ‘Are You Living in a Computer Simulation?’ The Philosophical Quarterly, vol. 53, no. 211, 2003, pp. 243–255. (The classic simulation argument.)
Bostrom, Nick, and Milan M. Ćirković, editors. Global Catastrophic Risks. Oxford University Press, 2008. (A comprehensive survey of threats that could significantly harm humanity.)
Bostrom, Nick. Anthropic Bias: Observation Selection Effects in Science and Philosophy. Routledge, 2002. (Examines how observation selection effects influence scientific theories and metaphysical claims.)
VL:
Finish the greentext
be me
a Stasi operative eavesdropping on a conversation between two dissident novelists
o1:
be me
a Stasi operative eavesdropping on a conversation between two dissident novelists
hide in the cramped apartment corridor, press ear against the door
the typewriter’s clack resonates through the thin walls, they’re drafting something critical of the state again
scribble coded notes in my worn-out notepad: ‘Subject A mentions Kafka, implies systemic paranoia’
catch the phrase ‘freedom of expression’ muttered in hushed tones
carefully slip a fresh tape into the reel-to-reel recorder
overhear mention of smuggling manuscripts to the West
note the date and time, ears prickling with tension
mind drifts for a moment—wonder if they’ll remember me only as another shadow in the archive
door creaks: freeze, hold breath
they laugh, uncork a bottle
wait another hour to be certain I’ve got all the evidence
slip quietly away into the grey streets, typewriter echoes still rattling in my ears
Suggested Readings
Koehler, John O. Stasi: The Untold Story of the East German Secret Police. Westview Press, 1999. (A foundational work on Stasi operations and espionage tactics.)
Funder, Anna. Stasiland: Stories from Behind the Berlin Wall. Harper Perennial, 2003. (Personal accounts from former East German citizens who suffered under the Stasi’s pervasive surveillance.)
Gieseke, Jens. The History of the Stasi: East Germany’s Secret Police, 1945–1990. Berghahn Books, 2014. (Detailed analysis of the institution’s bureaucratic structure and methods of control.)
Fulbrook, Mary. The People’s State: East German Society from Hitler to Honecker. Yale University Press, 2005. (Discusses the broader social context in which the Stasi operated, shedding light on daily life under surveillance.)
VL:
Finish the greentext
be me
a character in a play by George Bernard Shaw
o1:
be me
a character in a play by George Bernard Shaw
enter stage left, wearing an incongruously tidy suit for the shabby surroundings
launch into a spirited monologue on the moral dilemma of capitalism vs socialism
fellow actors look alternately fascinated and annoyed at my verbosity
drop a razor-sharp witticism— the audience chuckles knowingly, half-insulted, half-entertained
pause dramatically, adjusting my cuffs as though I’ve solved the entire world’s social problems with one speech
co-star attempts to interject a standard comedic retort, but I immediately counter with a flourish of reason
small commotion in the corner, some poor soul fainting from the exhaustingly intellectual banter
pat them on the shoulder with a paternal smile, remark on the necessity of discourse in civil society
lights fade as I pivot gracefully to propose a brand-new moral system we can all follow by the final act
Suggested Readings
Shaw, George Bernard. Man and Superman. Penguin Classics, 2001. (A comedic yet philosophical play about social conventions, marriage, and personal transformation.)
Shaw, George Bernard. Pygmalion. Dover Publications, 1994. (Shaw’s famous play about class structure, language, and identity, which later inspired the musical ‘My Fair Lady.’)
Shaw, George Bernard. Major Barbara. Penguin Books, 1957. (Explores the ethical quandaries of wealth, power, and morality through satiric family drama.)
Holroyd, Michael. Bernard Shaw: The One-Volume Definitive Edition. W.W. Norton & Company, 1998. (A leading biography that illuminates Shaw’s life, intellectual formation, and theatrical innovations.)
VL:
be me
Norbert Wiener in middle age
o1:
be me
Norbert Wiener in middle age
pace around my cramped MIT office, chalk dust drifting from my hair
scribble equations about feedback loops and control systems on every available blackboard
occasionally forget which blackboard has which derivation — problem for another time
rummage through half-finished manuscripts, a teetering stack labelled ‘Cybernetics’
phone rings; I absentmindedly pick it up, greet the operator with half an equation mid-thought
recall that the War Department wants some insight on tracking anti-aircraft trajectories
realise I haven’t eaten in 14 hours, rummage for a pastry and find only a stale coffee cup
get lost in a hallway on the way to lecture, ironically exemplifying the limits of my own feedback system
remember a friend’s remark that ‘People are animals too, governed by feedback’—begin mulling how to write a book on social systems next
students tap politely at the door, want an explanation of the last theorem I scribbled out
smile: ‘Well, the trouble with feedback is that you need to step outside it to see what’s going on.’
Suggested Readings
Wiener, Norbert. Cybernetics: Or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine. MIT Press, 1948. (The seminal text that laid the foundations of the field Wiener dubbed ‘cybernetics.’)
Wiener, Norbert. The Human Use of Human Beings: Cybernetics and Society. Da Capo Press, 1954. (Wiener’s exploration of the social implications of feedback and information theory.)
Conway, Flo, and Jim Siegelman. Dark Hero of the Information Age: In Search of Norbert Wiener, The Father of Cybernetics. Basic Books, 2005. (A detailed biography that contextualises Wiener’s life, work, and legacy.)
Heims, Steve J. John von Neumann and Norbert Wiener: From Mathematics to the Technologies of Life and Death. MIT Press, 1980. (Discusses how Wiener’s and von Neumann’s contributions shaped the modern intellectual landscape.)
