Through the anonymous histories of corpse and the History of
Death
(An a dde ndum to |De c a y|)
Posted by bl ue.bear d:
I hav e a l i ttl e tr oubl e f ol l ow i ng y our pol y sy l l abi c di ser tati on, but i m o, death and decay can be studi ed
f r om sev er al di f f er ent appr oaches.
Ecol ogi cal :
Decay i s the pr ocess of r ecy cl i ng those m ater i al s used by the f or m er l i v i ng. It i s i n m ost par t a
col oni zati on of the w hol e body by the bacter i a i n the gut, hel ped enor m ousl y by m aggots and other
scav enger s. The f l i es ar e, i n tur n eaten by other ani m al s and the f ood chai n r estar ts i ts upw ar d jour ney . In a
w ay , y ou coul d consi der m aggots to be the top of the f ood chai n, and conv er sel y , the bottom . The w heel
tur ns...
Pr acti cal l y :
Hum ans ar e om ni v or es, but w e can't eat ev er y thi ng. The sm el l of decay i s not v er y pl easant f or
hum ans, because i t i s a si gn of danger . Besi des bei ng i nedi bl e, cer tai n di seases can br eed i n a decay i ng
cadav er . I i m agi ne the odor i s qui te sti m ul ati ng to f l y s and beetl es:)
Phi l osophi cal l y :
The pr i m ar y i m pr essi on of a cadav er (sti m ul ati ng f or som e w hen f r esh) i s that of total passi v i ty Despi te
i ts hum an f or m , i t i s i ndi f f er ent to any changes i n i ts env i r onm ent, w hether i t i s decay , w eather , scav enger s
(ani m al s or i nsects) or necr ophi l es.
Death i s al so the endi ng of al l goal s or ar gum ents. Once dead, one no l onger s car es about unf i ni shed
pr ojects, w ar s, l ov ed ones, hated ones, etc.
I thi nk that thi s i s a si m pl i f i ed r estatem ent of y our post, but I'm not sur e. In any case, i t i s m y per sonal
v i ew of the subject.
bb
Hi bl ue.bear d,
Fi r st thank s a l ot f or y our com m ents. Per sonal l y , I bel i ev e i n w hat y ou hav e stated her e, up to som e
l ev el s. How ev er , thi s ar ti cl e (Decay ) i s som ew hat tur ns to another poi nt of v i ew ; l et m e dev el op the l i nes of
m y di scussi on(s) to m ak e i t m or e accessi bl e and not br i ng that ar ti cl e (Decay ) under a di r ect sur gi cal
anal y si s. In f act, w hat I di scussed i n 'Decay ' w as a sum m ar i zed f r acti on of m y pr oject on pow er , l i f e, and
base-desi r e on the one hand and on necr ophi l i a, openness and necr ocr acy on the other , accom pani ed by m y
ethnogr aphi c i nv esti gati ons. Hope thi s v er y br i ef r epl y cl ar i f i es m y di scussi ons to som e ex tent.
My pr oject i s star ted w i th the hi stor y of cor pse m anagem ent and handl i ng w hi ch r etur ns to anci ent
Per si a and Çatal Hüy ük (7400 BCE) i n Anatol i an pl ateau, al so the r est of other ci v i l i zati ons at that ti m e. I
di scussed how the State has ar r anged al l i ts goal s to ex ter m i nate cor pses, to ex pl oi t the i nv i si bi l i ty of death,
abusi ng w hat as y ou stated, "the death as the end of al l ar gum ents", so si m ul ati ng death as a m ega-f asci sm
or a non-r el ati v e cl ose sy stem w i th no entr opy (and no negati v e pathol ogy ) that no one can escape f r om l i k e
the State and i ts l aw s, l i k e one's f ace and despoti c body ; ther e i s onl y tw o w ay s f or r eacti on and the
r eacti on shoul d be def i ned by these tw o: (1) com i ng to the State, Pow er and thei r hor i zons that i s to say
conf i gur ed by the ter r i tor i al i ty and the gr ound thr ough w hi ch the State has been ger m i nated ... (2) sl i ppi ng
to death, to be ex ti ngui shed.
The State av oi d w i pi ng som eone (or som ethi ng) out by l i ttl e agents si nce l i ttl e ones ar e al w ay s the
qui ck ones, the w et ones, and tr ansi ent ones, com i ng and di sappear qui ck l y , som ehow i nv i si bl e to the State,
untr aceabl e to the m achi nes of i nv esti gati on ... the l i ttl e ones ar e tr ai tor s, f r eak s, v i l l ai ns, the sw ar m of
i nsects, the subter r anean scav enger s, w ol v es, l i es, v i r ul ence desi r e, Acephal ous bodi es, pr ol i f er ati ng
di agr am s and bi zar r e objects. The State cannot tr ust such nonhum an w ar m achi nes, so i t si m ul ates i ts ow n
dr eadf ul dev i ce, a col ossal and m onol i thi c w ar m achi ne that cannot be m ov ed, sti m ul ated or sti r r ed, a nonsegm entar y Absol ute. The onl y pr obl em that r em ai ns i s how to ex ti ngui sh and def eat al l r esi stances w i th
such an autonom ous w ar m achi ne w hi ch i s not bal l i sti c and v er sati l e at al l ; the sol uti on l i es i n the dy nam i sm
of Pow er and i ts m etr ons [1] (di m ensi ons, judgm ents, ar chi tectur al r outs of m oti ons). The dy nam i sm of
pow er tr i es to l ev el al l bl ock s f or one to be i ntr oduced i nto such an i m m ense r eady -to-dem ol i sh ar senal
ascr i bed to an unk now n dei ty (f ather , God, f ace, or gani c end, f i ni s, ...). Ther e i s an ex tr em e i r ony at pl ay
her e that pow er dem ol i shes al l bl ock s and put bl ock s concur r entl y to l ead one i nto the death si m ul ated (the
si m ul ati on of Death that i s ex ter i or to the State) by the hands of the State, the si m ul ated death thr ough the
di scour ses of sol i di ty . The State cannot com m uni cate w i th Death unl ess i t si m ul ates another death thr ough
i ts ar chi tectoni c spher e; but ev en i n the case of the si m ul ated death (i ts l ap-pet), i t behav es conser v ati v el y ,
f ul l of ter r or and aghast. The dy nam i sm of Pow er (m etr on) conf i gur es one's ev er y second of l i f e, thoughts,
desi r es and steps (that i s to say l i v i ng: subsi stence) accor di ng to the posi ti on of thi s w ar m achi ne; a
w ar m achi ne w hi ch has been cl ev er l y si m ul ated by the State and Pow er ; the tr anspar ent sur f aces of w hi ch ar e
attached to the boundar i es of the State, not at the i nsi de but f l oati ng i n i ts hor i zon (The l ethal spi r i t of the
State i s bey ond i ts f r onti er s.). The dy nam i sm of pow er (m etr on) ani m ates one to thi s autonom ous
w ar m achi ne, to the si m ul ated and ar chi tectur i zed death. Bef or e the obl i gator y pr esence of such a cunni ng
dy nam i sm and a w or k -gr ound w hi ch m ak es thi s dy nam i sm possi bl e (m etr ons and di m ensi onal i ti es of pow er )
and an 'autonom ous' w ar m achi ne (a death si m ul ated thr ough the ar chi tectoni c f or ces of sol i di ty and the
State), one becom es a f asci st, a pol i ti ci an of sur v i v al econom y tr y i ng to sur v i v e and l i v e i n l i f e, a l am i nar
f l ow of capi tal , an engi neer of the State, a di m ensi on of Pow er , m etr on, a state-of -ar chi tectur e and i n the
end, one "engi neer [s] an apar thei d of the dead." [2], a "f asci st m y th" [3]. What an act of ter r or w hen one i s
w i ped out by such an i m m ense ar senal : a tw i sted and i nv er se hecatom b.
Pow er and the State l i v e as the pi m ps of death, but then agai n, the death they hav e si m ul ated -- deathr aum , a de-contam i nati ng r oom , a non-i nhabi tabl e dw el l i ng sy stem -- to com m uni cate w i th Death. At l ast,
one becom es the other : the State and Pow er appear (ar e si m ul ated) as Death (si m ul ated thr ough the
ar chi tectoni c f or ces of sol i di ty ) ... they can be the end of al l "ar gum ents, l ov es and pr ojects" and "no one
car es": a centr i f uge w i th an i nf i ni te m oti on thr ough w hi ch ev er y thi ng ceases to ex i st bef or e i t com es to
Death.
... the phantom death or the death-r aum i s a si m ul ated ar chi tectur e of Death assem bl ed by the State,
Pow er and m etr ons.
I'v e di scussed how i n anci ent Per si a cor pse w as the Other of thi s si m ul ated death (a m al -death) and i ts
dem on w as Dr uj- (a f em al e nam e f r om i ndi c r oot: 'l i e' and 'to Bl ack en' = Mother of Abom i nati ons); the
ul ti m ate pr oject of the Magi w as to er ase (sani ti ze) the cor pse-f i end (Dr uj-Nasu) f r om al l r ecesses of l i f e ...
Vi dēv dād (Vendi dad) or Zor oastr i an's 'the Book of the Law agai nst Dem ons' has v er y str i ct i nstr ucti ons f or
m ak i ng one's thought, body , l i f e, sex ual i ty and desi r e cl ean, shi m m er i ng, v i si bl e and tr aceabl e to the State
and death (the si m ul ated death), hi ghl i ghti ng the par si m oni ous ar t of 'l i v i ng' (sur v i v al ) on the satani c pl ateau
of l i f e w i th a despoti c atti tude (P= 1). The pr oject of thi s i nf l uenti al Book w as not agai nst Death but a
contam i nati on, a chaos or an uni m agi nabl e m ess thr ough w hi ch ev er y thi ng becom es l i e, a bl ack ened Thi ng
and a f r ee-pl ay l i ne of hor r or , ev er y thi ng becom es anony m ous to the ey es of Pow er (P= 1) and the State, so
the ar chi tectur i zed death by w hi ch they com m uni cate w i th the zer o-di m ensi onal Death. The ul ti m ate spi r i tual
tr i um ph of the Magi w as tr ashi ng the cor pses aw ay and k eepi ng death eter nal l y under the si m ul ati ng and
ar chi tectoni c techni ques of sol i di ty . Ev er y thi ng shoul d be k ept cl ean so i n the end one can sk i p the f oul i ng
cor pse and di v es r i ght i nto the pur e ocean of a death w hose pi m ps ar e the State and Pow er . Accor di ng to
Vendi dad, v i l l ai ns cannot sk i p thei r cor pses; they r ot f or a l ong ti m e bef or e l eav i ng thi s base-m ater i al i sm to
death. To pur ge thi s contam i nati on f r om al l r ecesses of cosm os, they coi ned the w or d Khr af str as nam ed af ter
the nox i ous ani m al s to er adi cate any thi ng i nv i si bl e to thei r ey es, that can cr oss thei r si m ul ati ng death or
tur n i t agai nst the State i tsel f , any thi ng that m ov es as a sw ar m (the tur bul ent body of hor r or ) or has som e
r el ati onshi ps w i th the r otti ng cor pses, any thi ng that does not car e f or the unbr eak abl e bonds betw een 'State
and Pow er ' and 'death' (si m ul ated and ar chi tectur i zed death) and thei r ter r or i zed com m uni cati on w i th the
ungr oundabl e Death, any thi ng that scav enges the ar chi tectur al death, appear i ng as som ethi ng m al i gnant to
the State and i ts pur i ty that i s a m odel of the f asci st (non-pathol ogi cal ) pur i ty of thei r death [4] so to speak ,
w ol v es, i nsects, the gr ow i ng hum an nai l , m enstr ual bl ood, r ush of thoughts (the State needs the consol i dated
ones), nom adi c w r i ti ngs, tur bul ent m oti ons, etc. [Com par e al l these to the pur i ty of the gr ounded death
w hi ch i s r ef l ected on the ex pl oi tati ons of r aci sm and i ts cl ai m f or an ev er -pur gi ng pur i ty , com par e al l these
w i th the cl ai m s of pur i ty : the ex ter m i nati ons of Jew s and Gy psi es by the Nazi m egadeath i ndustr y , the
ex ter m i nati on of apostates by Musl i m s, m ur der i ng cr i m i nal s by those w ho cl ai m they ar e the nor m s and the
nor m al ones, and then those w ho star t to el i m i nate the nor m ati v e l i nes because they consi der them nor m al ,
consequentl y gar bage. Ther e i s al so another i r ony her e, m ay be the w i l dest one, al l those w ho cl ai m PU RITY
i ntr oduce thei r pr ey s i nto the absol ute Pur i ty of death on w hose gr av ey ar ds the State has er ected i ts ow n
f r agm ents and ar chi tectur es of pur i ty : the i r ony of pur i ty engi neer i ng (or col l ecti v e-death-engi neer i ng).]
What r eal l y scar es the State i s not Death -- si nce i t has i nv ented i ts ow n m achi ne of r egul ar i zed
com m uni cati on w i th Death, a m achi ne w hi ch m anages i ntensi ti es, an ar chi tectur i zed death (f r om now on I
cal l i t death-r aum .) -- but contam i nati on (epi dem i c openness), the desi r e f or Death and the catastr ophi c
di seases i nf esti ng and i nf ecti ng the State and Pow er i n the gui se of v er sati l e and bal l i sti c sw ar m s and m i cr opests, the "l i ttl e death(s)" (Batai l l e) f used w i th the qui ck w ets (the m ol ecul ar f l ui ds, untr aceabl e to the State
and seek i ng to i nf est death-r aum , m ak i ng i t epi dem i cal l y open): dr ool i ng m ouths l i ck i ng death ... soak i ng i t
i n the noctur nal em i ssi ons of m ucus; i s i t a necr o-phi l i c [5] m ess?
Per si a w as the f i r st gr eat ci v i l i zati on i nsti tuted the ul ti m ate w ar m achi nes to pur ge any basecom m uni cati on (epi dem i c openness, contam i nati on, etc.) w hi ch dev i ates (to m ak e per v er t) and di sor der s al l
ex pl oi tati ons of death-r aum by the State and Pow er . The Gr eek s (and other nati ons and m onothei sti c
cul tur es) f ound the Per si an m ethods of de-f l eshi ng the hum an cor pses and thei r decontam i nati ng di sci pl i nes;
they appl i ed thei r occi dental m odes of di sci pl i ne to i t; addi ng i t a new di m ensi on: em pl oy i ng the qui ck and
ef f i ci ent essence of Per si an techni ques thr ough thei r ow n ar chi tectoni c (ar chi tected and ar chi tectur i zi ng)
ethos.
'Sar cophagus' or w hat i n Gr eek m eans 'the f l esh-eati ng stone' -- used by the Egy pti ans and Rom ans as a
ter r a-cotta cof f i n -- i s an accel er ator to pur ge the contam i nati on of cor pse w i thi n a l ocal i zed r adi us, l eav i ng
onl y the bones bl eached by the sun, ti m e and gr av e that i s to say tak i ng the onl y i nf l ex i bl e, sol i d, w hi te and
i m m acul ate par ts of a cor pse, the ar chi tectur al par ts l i k e the ar chi tectur al essence of Pow er and the State:
the Sk el eton or the m etr on of cor pse.
The Gr eek s r e-m odi f i ed the Per si an techni ques as the ar chi tectur al w ar m achi nes agai nst contam i nati on
and ev er y thi ng contam i nati ng; f usi ng Per si an decontam i nati ng m ethods w i th thei r cosm ol ogi cal school s of
thought and di sci pl i ne of phi l osophy , sci ence, ar t, pol i ti cs and thei r pantheon of gods.
Ar chi tected by death and ar chi tecti ng death, the State, as once m enti oned, f i nds Death a hor r or and the
death i t has ar chi tected (death-r aum ) a potenti al m al f uncti on (or r ather m ul ti -f uncti ons) w hi ch m ust be
gr ounded and l ocal i zed w i th the ex tr em e pr eci si on and car ef ul ness. Thi s obsessi v e anx i ety that State suf f er s
and concentr ated on i ts ow n w or k (death-r aum ) i s not m er el y a par anoi a but r ather m ani f ests w hat has been
di scov er ed by the State: w hat com m uni cates w i th Death thr ough a r egul ated com m uni cati on i s under the
ex posur e of a contam i nati on w hi ch i s al w ay s tr i gger ed by any openness to death, any com m uni cati on w i th i t;
death has an i m m ense pow er f or i nf esti ng and bei ng i nf ested. Death-r aum (the ar chi tected and
ar chi tectur i zi ng death) i s under the constant danger of thi s ex posur e, thi s pesti l enti al openness. To thi s
ex tent, the ar chi tectur es of death-r aum ar e under gr ounded and m ar gi nal i zed (the pr obl em of gr av ey ar ds,
m or gues, etc. and the af f ai r s ar ound them ) by the State or sur r oundi ng ar chi tectur es autom ati cal l y .
How ev er , the State f ai l s to detect and i nter cept one poi nt: that openness ger m i nates str ategy (m ul ti pl i ci ty of
the contagi ous l i nes) as i ts openi ng and contagi ous agent; f or Str ategy i s al w ay s an openi ng f or ce, a
contagi on w hi ch w or k s by and thr ough the al l i ance and m ul ti pl y i ng pr ocesses of the tacti cal l i nes, i ntr oduci ng
ev er y com m uni cati on to Zer o by cr y ptogeni cal l y ci pher i ng (ci f r e) i t. The str ategi es em er ge f r om thi s
com m uni cati on (the com m uni cati on of death-r aum w i th Death) as the pesti l enti al l y cr eati v e agents that the
State can nev er i nv esti gate or tr ace, the str ategi es w hi ch br i ng the State to a base-com m uni cati on w i th
Death. Thi s i s w hy the ar chi tectur es er ected thr ough the State ar e the ungr oundi ng str ategi es, the State
com i cal l y f eeds on them , econom i zi ng them and em pl oy i ng them as de-contam i nati ng spaces: the
com posi ti ons of i ts auto-col l apse.
Ar chi tectur e and Li v ew ar e: death-r aum i s a pr oject f or upr ooti ng the contam i nati ons or l ocal i zi ng them .
A pr oject assem bl ed by di m ensi ons, m etr ons and ar chi tectur es. As Batai l l e has suggested, ar chi tectur e and
i ts anom al ous pr oducti ons ar e the f ear som e w ar m achi nes of the State and Pow er , r ef er r i ng to an author i ty
w hether di v i ne or hum an: tom bs, gr av ey ar ds, chur ches, m osques, m or gues, r ow s of cor pses ex posi ng bef or e
the sun to be ossi f i ed, putti ng m ask s f or getti ng r i d of Dr uj-Nasu, i ntr oduci ng one to m etr on, body
di sci pl i nes, etc. How ev er , at the sam e ti m e, al l ar chi tectur es ar e the cr eati v e sel f -ex hum i ng m achi nes and
the af f i r m i ng (str ategi c and non-di r ect af f i r m ati on) com posi ti ons of sof t-col l apse and i m pl osi on.
Then, don't a gr av e and the i conogr aphi c f i gur e of Sk el eton pi m p out the ar chi tectur e of death that the
State and Pow er si m ul ate?
As I m enti oned bef or e, "What hor r i f i es l i v ew ar e and i ts w ar m achi nes i s not an em pty tom b but a tom b,
ex hum ed and m essed up. Ar chi tectur al pol i cy of l i v ew ar e does not r eject destr ucti on or deconstr ucti on but
escapes ex hum ati on ... def l ow er i ng the f ace [6] (w hi te w al l / bl ack hol e [Del euze]), m ar r i ng and m angl i ng
i t ... by m essi ng the sur f aces, scr atchi ng ... sk i nni ng ... bur ni ng ... eati ng ... tur ni ng to dust ... cutti ng i nto
the cor e, w i th bar e hands, dagger s and nai l s, enzy m es ... sal i v a and br eath ... shov el and pl ow . Ex hum ati on
i s al l cr i m i nal and w i ck ed but f ur ther and basi cal l y pol l uti ng and i nf ecti ng as i t under goes sur f ace col l i si on,
necr oti zi ng the ar chi tectur e, pr ol i f er ati ng hot and col d sur f aces i nto each other , l etti ng the col d ev apor ates
and the hot be r eek ed up: Resur r ecti on of the def i l ed body . The col d cannot be r eheated; i t i s m essed up."
Ex hum ati on r i di cul es the ar chi tectur e of death desi gned by the State and Pow er ; i t pops up as a str ategy
w her ev er death-r aum i s gr ounded, as an ungr oundi ng f or ce thr ough the com posi ti ons on w hi ch gr und i s consol i dated.
Mehr dad Ir av ani an, the Ir ani an ar chi tect, suggested f or study i ng ar chi tectur e y ou m ust i nv esti gate
necr ocr acy ; i t's not enough, y ou shoul d pr acti ce the ar t of ex hum ati on too.
Apar t f r om the Gr eek appr oaches to the Per si an decontam i nati ng techni ques, ther e i s al so another
i nf l uenti al appr oach, the Judeo-Chr i sti an appr oach to the hy per -par anoi d Per si an di sci pl i ne that l ater
per m eates thr ough the Isl am i c custom s. Per si ans w er e the m aster s of an Osseol ogi c cul tur e ... a cor pse
shoul d be enter ed i nto a sophi sti cated and f ul l y i ndustr i al i zed ar r ay of the pr ocesses to be di sti l l ed as the
bones or dr y and i nf l ex i bl e ar ti cul ati on of death-r aum thr ough the sol i d space of the State. Thi s i s the heav y
Osseol ogi c (bone-cul tur e) tr adi ti on that has i nf l uenced the Judeo-Chr i sti an ar chi tectur e, bel i ef s, pol i ti cs and
custom s; and one can f i nd i ts m or ti f y i ng and f r enzi ed por tr ay i n the i m age of Val l ey of Dr y Bones (Ezek i el
37:1-14) w hi ch ex cl udes the r otti ng sof tness of contam i nati on and al l -i ncl udes and necessi tates the w hi te and
ar ti cul ati v e pur i ty of the bones as the pr er equi si te gr ound f or the pur i ty of the State, death and m onothei sm .
Thi s i m age and al l ex hor tati ons i n Lev i ti cus ex pr ess and m ap the or i gi nati on of a gr eat por ti on of the
ar chi tectur es assem bl ed thr ough death-r aum and the di scour ses of sol i di ty : the tr adi ti on of entom bi ng,
autopsy , hum an anatom y , death penal ty , bui l di ng gr av ey ar ds and catacom bs, eschatol ogy , ethnocentr i sm ,
body di sci pl i ne, etc. How ev er , as i t w as m enti oned, ther e i s a secur i ty hol e i n ev er y assem bl age, the State
and Pow er put together thr ough death-r aum and the di scour ses of sol i di ty . It i s the f atal desti ny of al l
ar chi tectur es w hi ch br i ng thei r secur i ty hol es once they ar e assem bl ed by m eans of di m ensi ons and m etr ons.
The ar chi tectur al essence of gr av es and m or gues that i s supposed to be a decontam i nati ng ar chi tectur e,
l ocal i zi ng the v i l e body of cor pse w i thi n a r adi us, and be a bone-br eedi ng f actor y thus sati sf y i ng the hunger
of the State f or pur i ty and gr oundness, tur ns to be a hang-out, a cl ub f or the necr ophi l es i n w hi ch they
conti nue thei r base-contam i nati ng di al ecti c w i th death-r aum , br i ngi ng i t to a tw i sted openness; and the
contam i nati on gushes out i n an i m m ense i ntensi ty . Thi s i s an i nstance of the str ategi es w hi ch ar e al w ay s at
w or k thr ough the ar chi tectur es of death-r aum , ungr oundi ng i t r estl essl y and unl eashi ng thei r ow n br ands of
openness, base-com m uni cati on and desi r e f or death w hi ch i s ger m i nated on the l i ttl e-death(s).
The bones, too, ar e the str ategi c attr actor s f or w etness of al l k i nds (qui ck w ets, f l ui ds, m ucous, sem en,
etc.); they al w ay s bear thei r ow n necr ophi l i c upheav al s -- so catastr ophi c f or the State and basi cal l y
unm anageabl e f or m etr ons -- w hi ch l i e i n the char acter i sti cs, i ncl i nati ons and posi ti on of the bones
them sel v es. Vendi dad, ther ef or e, w ar ns about pul v er i zi ng the bones dur i ng ti m e i n the speci al ossuar i es
nam ed Ostodan as a di si ntensi f i cati on pr ocess f or thi s necr ophi l i c encounter . How ev er , thi s dust i ndustr y
m ul ti pl i es i ts ow n l i nes of str ategy too, becom i ng an odor l ess pl ague or a dr y GAS (pest m ol ecul es?)
com posi ng i tsel f as a pesti l enti al l y cr eati v e w ar m achi ne, a tr ue hor r or spr eadi ng the necr ophi l i c l i nes and
epi dem i c openness (the l i nes of contagi on, pl agues and base-com m uni cati on) not onl y thr ough sepul chr al
debaucher y but al so i n and thr ough the ar chi tectur es of cul tur e, soci ety , m i nd and anthr opom or phi c desi r e as
GAS (thi s pest-tsunam i ) [7] or the ter m i nal l y f l ui d af f i r m ati on of ev er y thi ng, a depth i n w hi ch ev er y thi ng i s a
possessi on and a contagi on, enjoy i ng an i nf i ni te pr ol i f er ati on on the v i r tual sur f aces of Zer o.
One of m y pr ojects (Thr ough the Pl ague) i s di agr am m i ng the epi dem i c str ategi es hi nted, ci pher ed or
char ted i n the w or k s of such w r i ter s as Mow l av i (Rum i ), Ni etzsche, Batai l l e, Ar taud, Sadegh Heday at,
Mi chaux , Del euze, Ly otar d, Gabr i el l e Wi ttk op, Kathy Ack er , Shel l ey Jack son, Pat Cadi gan, Ri char d Kal i ch (The
Ni hi l esthete), Doug Ri ce, Kenji Si r ator i , Cor m ac McCar thy , Pi er r e Guy otat, Ni ck Land (w hose sol e book i s m y
onl y r ecom m endati on to al l Pl aguer s [8]) and m any other s w ho com pose the str ategi es of openness, col l apse,
af f i r m ati on, al l i ance and base-par ti ci pati on both thr ough par anoi a and "schi zotechni cs" (Ni ck Land), thr ough
w hat they di agr am and the techni ques of di agr am m i ng. How ev er , ther e i s an ev er -w i deni ng gap betw een m y
pr oject and thei r s; a di f f er ence bey ond m y contr ol as a nov i ce, i ncubated i n m y cul tur al speci f i ci ty and the
Asi ati c com pl ex i ty I l i v e i n, and pl agued by the hi stor i cal back gr ound I'v e cl ung to: an anci ent necr oPHILIC
countr y w i th an i m m ense Thanatoni c cul tur e.
Best,
R.
Note s:
[1] For a br i ef del i neati on of m etr on, see |Pesti s
Sol i dus| at Mar ak a Pr oject, endnote 3
[2] f r om The Thi r st f or Anni hi l ati on: Geor ges Batai l l e
and Vi r ul ent Ni hi l i sm , Ni ck Land, Routl ege, P. 195
(Inconcl usi v e com m uni cati on)
[3] Ibi d.
[4] What a gr i m pur i ty that w hen i t touches, i t br eeds
i tsel f .
[5] For a note on necr ophi l i a, see |Pesti s Sol i dus|
[6] ... the f ace of Chr i st and hi s Em pty Tom b, the f ace
of the Ear th, the seducti on of f ace, the f ace of death
and the Gr i m Reaper .
[7] For notes on GAS, see |Pesti s Sol i dus| and |Cata-|
[8] Land, Ni ck , "THE THIRST FOR ANNIHILATION:
Geor ges Batai l l e and Vi r ul ent Ni hi l i sm ", Routl edge,
1992