nick-o
Well-known member
Somewhere around the year 2450, when some semblance of civilization has at last emerged out of the wreckage of the “Great Pandemic” of 2020-30, a new field of academic research will arise, “cyberarchaeology”.
An enterprising student will base her doctoral thesis on a newly discovered trove of internet postings from what appears to be adherents of an obscurely named cult called “Off Topic,” which seems to be an apocryphal school of a lost religion called “cricket.”
The student will attempt to decode the strange communications she has uncovered, and bases her phD thesis on a classification of the cult members’ reactions to the unfolding apocalypse around them.
The nub of her thesis is that the adherents demonstrated a clear sequence of reactions, which she classifies on a timeline of “n-plus-1” “n-plus-2” etc.
The “n-plus-1” stage is characterized as “denial or defeat,” as some cult-members refuse to acknowledge the coming armageddon while others adopt a “we’re all going to die” resignation.
As understanding of the seriousness of the situation increases, the “n-plus-2” stage sees a wave of nostalgia, as the cult-members look to happier times when they believed their gods (with strange names such as “Richard” and “Benchmark”) who have long departed this mortal plane, will return to lead them to a nirvana (often referred to as “post-count”).
But it is during the “n-plus-3” phase that civilization appears to fall apart. Minor deities known as “mods,” who were believed to have mythic powers of imposing law and order upon the land, disappear, and mob rule becomes the norm, as an increasing number of posts simply call for cult-members to be “lynched.”
The “n-plus-4” phase is typified by references to sexual ribaldry and acts of abomination (usually referred to as “gnske,” a term the student was unable to decode or pronounce, but which apparently denoted depravity).
It was in the “n-plus-5” phase that the first evidence of cannibalism became apparent, as the community devoured itself.
Finally, during “n-plus-6,” the few survivors congregated in what appears to have been a “church” called “Another Game,” where the last remnants of civilization were reduced to one-word statements of random meaning. And even there, the number of survivors fell, until there were just two remaining adherents. One would post “xxxx,” and the other would reply “xxxx”; and so it continued, until finally there was no one left to reply.
When the student presented her thesis to the exam board, her examiners asked her what she felt she had learned from her research.
She replied, “xxxx all.”
An enterprising student will base her doctoral thesis on a newly discovered trove of internet postings from what appears to be adherents of an obscurely named cult called “Off Topic,” which seems to be an apocryphal school of a lost religion called “cricket.”
The student will attempt to decode the strange communications she has uncovered, and bases her phD thesis on a classification of the cult members’ reactions to the unfolding apocalypse around them.
The nub of her thesis is that the adherents demonstrated a clear sequence of reactions, which she classifies on a timeline of “n-plus-1” “n-plus-2” etc.
The “n-plus-1” stage is characterized as “denial or defeat,” as some cult-members refuse to acknowledge the coming armageddon while others adopt a “we’re all going to die” resignation.
As understanding of the seriousness of the situation increases, the “n-plus-2” stage sees a wave of nostalgia, as the cult-members look to happier times when they believed their gods (with strange names such as “Richard” and “Benchmark”) who have long departed this mortal plane, will return to lead them to a nirvana (often referred to as “post-count”).
But it is during the “n-plus-3” phase that civilization appears to fall apart. Minor deities known as “mods,” who were believed to have mythic powers of imposing law and order upon the land, disappear, and mob rule becomes the norm, as an increasing number of posts simply call for cult-members to be “lynched.”
The “n-plus-4” phase is typified by references to sexual ribaldry and acts of abomination (usually referred to as “gnske,” a term the student was unable to decode or pronounce, but which apparently denoted depravity).
It was in the “n-plus-5” phase that the first evidence of cannibalism became apparent, as the community devoured itself.
Finally, during “n-plus-6,” the few survivors congregated in what appears to have been a “church” called “Another Game,” where the last remnants of civilization were reduced to one-word statements of random meaning. And even there, the number of survivors fell, until there were just two remaining adherents. One would post “xxxx,” and the other would reply “xxxx”; and so it continued, until finally there was no one left to reply.
When the student presented her thesis to the exam board, her examiners asked her what she felt she had learned from her research.
She replied, “xxxx all.”
