- Sep 22, 2013
- 4,956
- 250
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Has modern terrorism scarred our aesthetics sensibilities?
This yarn was inspired by The Terrorist.
Signing off,
====
A man touring Vatican City decided to write a series of short stories about two fictional warring robots who represented good and evil. The man was a wealthy prince from Eastern Europe and chose the robots from the Transformers (Hasbro) A.I. fantasy-adventure franchise. The prince's name was Ellis, and he was inspired to write these 'robot tales' after hearing a rumor about a terrorist threat in Vatican City while he was traveling there in the summer.
When Ellis returned, he began writing his stories about the two fictional robots, Cyclonus (a wolfish evil knight) and Rodimus (an ethical valiant centurion). Cyclonus represented Machiavellian fascism and terrorism, while Rodimus represented republican-virtue and democratic values. Ellis wrote, "Cyclonus brought the world a message of malice, and Rodimus countered this message with his self-inspired democratic crusade about basic teamwork." Ellis submitted these short-stories to the New Yorker and they were published and he won the Pulitzer Prize. Ellis boasted to his wife, Princess Shelbye, and he decided he'd begin a new project soon.
Ellis chose as his new project a series of patriotic military adventure stories about anti-terrorism soldiers called 'G.I. Joes.' One G.I. Joe field-assassin named Snake-Eyes was wed to the G.I. Joe female field-commander Scarlett. However, Snake-Eyes and Scarlett divorced, when Snake-Eyes discovered Scarlett was in love with the G.I. Joe commander Duke. Ellis showed these new series of stories to his wife, Princess Shelbye, and she seemed to be impressed. She complimented Ellis on the 'sentiment intrigue' surrounding patriots/soldiers involved in 'human drama' while vying with evil terrorists. Ellis wondered however why Shelbye seemed somewhat aloof, especially since he confided in her that Snake-Eyes was meant to represent him and Scarlett her(!). He soon realized Shelbye was cheating on him with another man.
Distraught, Prince Ellis decided to do detective-work to uncover the identity of this man Shelbye was having an affair with him and found out it was the Duke of Hungary. Ellis traveled to Hungary to confront the Duke but the Duke's wife, Duchess Monica, confronted him instead. She told him she knew everything, and the two began confiding in each other, and the next week, they decided to begin their own love affair, as an act of 'passionate defiance.' Ellis told Monica about his Snake-Eyes and Scarlett terrorism/adultery folk-tales and how they tragically mirrored the real-life adultery in his own life. Monica didn't care, because she fell in love with Ellis. Ellis decided to bring Monica back to his castle.
When Ellis returned to his castle with Duchess Monica, he found a note from Shelbye which explained she was leaving him for the Duke of Hungary. Ellis and Monica decided to marry and remained in the castle as the new throne-keepers. They lived happily, and Ellis completed his G.I. Joe short-stories and submitted them, once again, to the New Yorker. Ellis had a cousin who lived in Manhattan, after all, which facilitated the submissions. Ellis also continued to read the news and observe developments regarding global terrorism and modern politics. Ellis felt content for the time being.
As globalization politics became more and more intriguing, Ellis reflected on his Pulitzer Prize for his short-stories about the two fictional robots Cyclonus and Rodimus who served as his 'avatars' of good and evil. Ellis read a news story about a military security-force assigned to protect Vatican City from a delivered threat-message regarding a mass invasion by a terrorist force known as 'Cobra.' The photo of the Vatican security-force/army was included in the news story, and the photo reminded Ellis of his own G.I. Joe patriotism/terrorism folk-tales. Ellis wondered about the 'realism' of new age 'human drama' (as his ex-wife Shelbye termed it!).
Ellis and Monica had a son and named him Damien. Damien was very handsome and loved playing with toys, so Ellis bought him many nifty see-through water-pistols. You could see inside the working parts of these toy-guns, and Damien loved how they symbolized imaginations about peace and violence. Ellis wanted Damien to value the importance of civics and governance in this new age of networking intrigue (e.g., NATO, European Union, Security Council, etc.). To Damien, the water-pistol gifts were reminders that his parents really cared about ethics. Damien wondered however why his father divorced his first wife Shelbye, since Ellis never really talked about it.
ELLIS: There's much intrigue in modern politics.
DAMIEN: I've learned much at the Academy regarding globalization!
ELLIS: You should write an essay about nonviolence...
DAMIEN: Someday, I'll be the new prince!
ELLIS: Yes, and you'll have to evaluate all kinds of social issues.
DAMIEN: Do you like the Internet?
ELLIS: I like how it offers us quick access to news and culture.
DAMIEN: Yes, it's like a 'fast journal.'
ELLIS: That's right; maybe someday we'll travel to America.
DAMIEN: Yes, we can visit Silicon Valley in California!
ELLIS: Sure; we'll also see Vatican City (perhaps next summer).
DAMIEN: Terrorism has made tourism very insecure, no?
ELLIS: Yes it has; 9/11 frightened everyone...
DAMIEN: We need more 'musketeers' of religion, father.
ELLIS: True; we have to uphold the 'virtuous castle.'
DAMIEN: It's all about good journalism, father.
====
This yarn was inspired by The Terrorist.
Signing off,
====
A man touring Vatican City decided to write a series of short stories about two fictional warring robots who represented good and evil. The man was a wealthy prince from Eastern Europe and chose the robots from the Transformers (Hasbro) A.I. fantasy-adventure franchise. The prince's name was Ellis, and he was inspired to write these 'robot tales' after hearing a rumor about a terrorist threat in Vatican City while he was traveling there in the summer.
When Ellis returned, he began writing his stories about the two fictional robots, Cyclonus (a wolfish evil knight) and Rodimus (an ethical valiant centurion). Cyclonus represented Machiavellian fascism and terrorism, while Rodimus represented republican-virtue and democratic values. Ellis wrote, "Cyclonus brought the world a message of malice, and Rodimus countered this message with his self-inspired democratic crusade about basic teamwork." Ellis submitted these short-stories to the New Yorker and they were published and he won the Pulitzer Prize. Ellis boasted to his wife, Princess Shelbye, and he decided he'd begin a new project soon.
Ellis chose as his new project a series of patriotic military adventure stories about anti-terrorism soldiers called 'G.I. Joes.' One G.I. Joe field-assassin named Snake-Eyes was wed to the G.I. Joe female field-commander Scarlett. However, Snake-Eyes and Scarlett divorced, when Snake-Eyes discovered Scarlett was in love with the G.I. Joe commander Duke. Ellis showed these new series of stories to his wife, Princess Shelbye, and she seemed to be impressed. She complimented Ellis on the 'sentiment intrigue' surrounding patriots/soldiers involved in 'human drama' while vying with evil terrorists. Ellis wondered however why Shelbye seemed somewhat aloof, especially since he confided in her that Snake-Eyes was meant to represent him and Scarlett her(!). He soon realized Shelbye was cheating on him with another man.
Distraught, Prince Ellis decided to do detective-work to uncover the identity of this man Shelbye was having an affair with him and found out it was the Duke of Hungary. Ellis traveled to Hungary to confront the Duke but the Duke's wife, Duchess Monica, confronted him instead. She told him she knew everything, and the two began confiding in each other, and the next week, they decided to begin their own love affair, as an act of 'passionate defiance.' Ellis told Monica about his Snake-Eyes and Scarlett terrorism/adultery folk-tales and how they tragically mirrored the real-life adultery in his own life. Monica didn't care, because she fell in love with Ellis. Ellis decided to bring Monica back to his castle.
When Ellis returned to his castle with Duchess Monica, he found a note from Shelbye which explained she was leaving him for the Duke of Hungary. Ellis and Monica decided to marry and remained in the castle as the new throne-keepers. They lived happily, and Ellis completed his G.I. Joe short-stories and submitted them, once again, to the New Yorker. Ellis had a cousin who lived in Manhattan, after all, which facilitated the submissions. Ellis also continued to read the news and observe developments regarding global terrorism and modern politics. Ellis felt content for the time being.
As globalization politics became more and more intriguing, Ellis reflected on his Pulitzer Prize for his short-stories about the two fictional robots Cyclonus and Rodimus who served as his 'avatars' of good and evil. Ellis read a news story about a military security-force assigned to protect Vatican City from a delivered threat-message regarding a mass invasion by a terrorist force known as 'Cobra.' The photo of the Vatican security-force/army was included in the news story, and the photo reminded Ellis of his own G.I. Joe patriotism/terrorism folk-tales. Ellis wondered about the 'realism' of new age 'human drama' (as his ex-wife Shelbye termed it!).
Ellis and Monica had a son and named him Damien. Damien was very handsome and loved playing with toys, so Ellis bought him many nifty see-through water-pistols. You could see inside the working parts of these toy-guns, and Damien loved how they symbolized imaginations about peace and violence. Ellis wanted Damien to value the importance of civics and governance in this new age of networking intrigue (e.g., NATO, European Union, Security Council, etc.). To Damien, the water-pistol gifts were reminders that his parents really cared about ethics. Damien wondered however why his father divorced his first wife Shelbye, since Ellis never really talked about it.
ELLIS: There's much intrigue in modern politics.
DAMIEN: I've learned much at the Academy regarding globalization!
ELLIS: You should write an essay about nonviolence...
DAMIEN: Someday, I'll be the new prince!
ELLIS: Yes, and you'll have to evaluate all kinds of social issues.
DAMIEN: Do you like the Internet?
ELLIS: I like how it offers us quick access to news and culture.
DAMIEN: Yes, it's like a 'fast journal.'
ELLIS: That's right; maybe someday we'll travel to America.
DAMIEN: Yes, we can visit Silicon Valley in California!
ELLIS: Sure; we'll also see Vatican City (perhaps next summer).
DAMIEN: Terrorism has made tourism very insecure, no?
ELLIS: Yes it has; 9/11 frightened everyone...
DAMIEN: We need more 'musketeers' of religion, father.
ELLIS: True; we have to uphold the 'virtuous castle.'
DAMIEN: It's all about good journalism, father.
====
