Metropolis: The Inferno

[Abishai100]

The modern world revolves around a proverbial super-urban hub of commerce and traffic (and crime), sometimes referred to (in books and movies) figuratively as 'Metropolis.'

Films such as Metropolis, Dark City, and I, Robot describe a new age angst about commerce-coordination related corruption, oppression, and profiteerism-related sins.

The iconic elegiac poem about purgatory, The Inferno (Dante), describes the experience of watchers/witnesses and souls traveling through the various circles/levels/realms of hell and unrequited aspirations in what can be considered a cavernous aftermath of the impact of the prophetic ambition-vain Tower of Babel.

If 'Metropolis' represents the struggle to coordinate ambitions without becoming victims of profiteerism-related sins, then how can we talk about The Inferno in terms of modernism-related fears and concerns?

Here's a comic book stylized short-story I wrote about a valiant fairy-prince named Elmer who travels through the three levels of purgatory (each guarded by a two-sided gate or door) to engage with the forces of modern corruption and unrequited imagination.



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Elmer spoke to God who explained to him that purgatory was guarded by three gates, which must be unlocked to explore the three realms of hell. God explained the first 'gate' was secured by two ghouls, Demogoblin (a bomb-throwing blasphemer) and Two-Face (a chance-cynic); the second 'gate' was secured by two ghouls, Cyclonus (a wolfish robot) and Leatherface (a chainsaw-wielding cannibal); the third 'gate' was secured by two ghouls, Pyro (an arsonist) and Carnage (a violence-maniac). Elmer had to travel through each gate to engage with the forces of evil and understand the shape of goodness in the modern world (or Metropolis).

Elmer took up the challenge and proceeded towards the first gate, which lay at the entrance of the American city of Boston, Massachusetts. The gate was guarded by Demogoblin and Two-Face (as God relayed). As Elmer approached the gate, Demogoblin asked him, "Before you enter Boston, you must answer the question, 'What is the secret of mischief in Metropolis?'" Elmer raised his shield of faith and answered with confidence, "The answer is, 'Impatience.'" Then, the second ghoul guarding the gate, Two-Face, asked Elmer, "That's correct, but now you must answer the second question, 'What is the secret of gambling?'" Elmer raised his shield of faith and answered with confidence, "The answer is, 'Insurance!'"

Elmer was allowed entrance into the traffic-heavy American city of Boston with his shield of faith and his embossed sword of courage. As he wandered around Boston, he noticed strange people, crime syndicates, sports gambling, and worried politicians ruminating on the problems of capitalism in the traffic-heavy city. Elmer proceeded towards the second gate, which was guarded by the two ghouls Cyclonus (a wolfish robot) and Leatherface (a chainsaw-wielding cannibal). The second gate stood at the entrance of the Red Sox baseball stadium.

Elmer approached the second gate and Cyclonus asked him, "What is the reason souls seek prestige?" Elmer replied with confidence, "Souls yearn for leadership!" Then the second ghoul guarding the gate, Leatherface, asked Elmer, "Why is Metropolis congested?" to which Elmer replied, "Traffic is unfortunately gauged by a quest for resources, and sometimes people from all places flock to one area in search of happiness!" Elmer had answered both questions correctly and was granted admission into the Red Sox stadium. When he entered, he started seeing visions of the historic 1986 World Series in which the Boston Red Sox were stunned by the lucky New York Mets. As Elmer saw images of a key fielding error made by a Red Sox player, he thought to himself, "Metropolis is a cauldron for regret!"

Elmer wandered around the stadium until he stumbled upon the third and final gate of the Metropolis-purgatory quest and found the two ghouls Pyro and Carnage guarding it. The gate stood at the entrance of a ground-descending stairway which led to the lair of the Devil (who held the key to Metropolis). Pyro said to Elmer, "Before you enter this final gate, you must answer the question (as best you can), 'Why are skyscrapers vulnerable to fires?'" to which Elmer replied, "For the same reason there are forest fires!" Then Carnage said, "That's correct, but you must now answer the question (as best you can), 'Why are urban policemen in greater danger of being harmed than lawmen of the countryside?'" to which Elmer replied, "The city (or Metropolis) is a place of self-sacrifice!"

When Elmer answered these final questions correctly, the third and final gate was opened and he descended down the stairway which led to the lair of the Devil (or Satan). When Elmer walked into Satan's lair (with his shield, sword, and helmet), Satan said, "It is conspicuous that you have made it past the gates and found me in my lair, so I will tell you the secret of the 'key of Metropolis,' but I warn you now that if I tell you this metaphysical 'secret,' you will forever be wary of the modern city (especially the American city --- a true symbol of capitalism!). Elmer heeded the warning, but replied to Satan, "That's fine. I want to know!" Satan stood up and said to him, "Metropolis is governed by psychiatrists!" and Elmer fled and returned to his realm of sanity and remembered how is journey for the truth about Metropolis led to a revelation about insanity. Elmer decided to eat a hot dog!

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Metropolis (Film)

The Inferno (Dante)



GATE 1:

GATE 2 (and Elmer):

GATE 3:

 

[Abishai100]

The Gate


I like this idea of encountering evil by going through realms, so with this short-story, I'm making the realm a flat plane rather than a cyclone or tunnel and suggesting there's a single gate that leads to the territory of evil.




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Stan was a frustrated shopping mall Santa Claus whose work for the past 5 years began to show on his face. Even though he was only 35 years-old, he started to carry the wrinkles and worry-lines of a real old-man St. Nick. Stan snapped and got himself an axe and decided to become a Christmas terror. After his shift at the Pennsylvania mall he worked at on December 23, 2016, he went on a killing rampage and murdered a dozen people in a suburban neighborhood before committing suicide.

Ten years passed, and Stan was 'immortalized' as the Pennsylvania Christmas Psycho-Santa. Some claimed his ghost was wandering the shopping mall he used to work at as the mall Santa. The security guards working late-shift claimed they could hear what seemed to be a large heavy metal object being dragged across the mall floor, and one security guard claimed to spot a foggy red-and-white apparition (seemingly a man dressed in a disheveled Santa suit and dragging a bloody-axe across the floor).

A young girl named Lucy became that town's new sensation when a series of comic book stylized stick-figure renditions of the Marvel Comics super-villain Hobgoblin (a jet-glider ghoul who wielded miniature pumpkin-bombs) started being hailed as a smalltown celebration of paganism-oriented Halloween-friendly children's art. People started to forget about Stan the Pennsylvania Christmas Psycho-Santa and started thinking more about Lucy the Pennsylvania Mall Hobgoblin Artist. Lucy's paintings were mounted in a series of duplicates down one main hallway of the mall (where Stan worked).

One night, a security guard was walking down the hall where Lucy's paintings were mounted when he swore he saw the ghost of Stan, dressed in a disheveled Santa outfit and dragging a bloody-axe across the floor. The security guard yelled out to Stan and said, "Hey you! Who (or what??) are you, and what do you want?" The apparition looked up at the security guard and seemed to give an eerie grin (and with his axe raised slightly) before replying, "I'm the ghost of Black Friday, and I'm here to warn Americans that they've become hellishly obsessed with vanity-related Christmas shopping!" The security guard wondered to himself, "Could this actually be some kind of 'mall hellmouth' gatekeeper, or is this simply a 'cliched apparition' of a promenade serial killer?"

The smalltown’s newspaper wrote the following story:

“Our mall psycho Santa (Stan) could perhaps be lingering around as a ‘doomsday apparition’ trying to unnerve our sensibilities about holiday season shopping. Whatever this ‘scourge’ is against pedestrian shopping, it seems to have delivered home the message to the people of this town that someone (or something) is always watching over our numbed sense of everyday imagination (and dreams)!”

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