120 lines
5.0 KiB
D
120 lines
5.0 KiB
D
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The Death of Mrs D
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by William S. Burroughs
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[From the book 'The Third Mind', by William S. Burroughs and Brion
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Gysin, Viking, 1978.]
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[Transcriber's note: In this e-text, italicized grammatical
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emphases are surrounded by asterisks, italicized names are
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surrounded by single quotes, italicized foreign words and quotes
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are not indicated.]
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==================================================================
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From Pitman's 'Commonsense Arithmetic'
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1. In the beginning was the word.
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2. The word was and is flesh.
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3. The word was and is sound and image.
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4. Sound travels at the rate of 1114 feet per second.
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5. Image travels at the speed of light: 186,000 miles per second.
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6. Mr B, at point B', and Mrs D, at point D', are 1114 feet
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apart.
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7. Mrs D is equipped with a penetrating, long-range voice that
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carries from point D' to point B'.
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8. Mrs D screams: "...flesh flesh flesh flesh you stinking
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heel..." (She hopes her contempt does not show unpro-
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tected margin.
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9. Mr B is equipped with a telescopic-sighted camera and a tape
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recorder.
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10. The camera and tape recorder are synchronized so that when
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Mr B sights the beginning word on the lips of Mrs D, he
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takes her picture and begins to record.
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11. One second later, he hears and records her words.
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12. When he hears her words, he has already taken her picture.
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13. Mr B has taken a picture of Mrs D one second *before* she
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manifests herself to him in word.
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14. Mr B has split Mrs D's word from her image.
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15. Mrs D might well bellow out some further pleasantries.
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16. Mr B, feeling he has heard enough already, provides himself
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with a rifle.
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17. Mr B mounts the rifle and the telescopic-sighted camera on a
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tripod.
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18. The rifle has a muzzle velocity of 2228 feet per second.
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19. When Mr B sights the beginning word on the lips of Mrs D,
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he squeezes the trigger and takes her last picture.
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20. Half a second later, the bullet hits her square in the mouth
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and explodes her back brain.
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21. One second later, he hears and records her last words:...
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flesh flesh fl...
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22. Mrs D has ceased to exist half a second *before* he hears and
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records her last words.
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23. Expose negative.
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24. Wipe tape.
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25. Not knowing what is and is not knowing, Mr B knew *not*
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Mrs D.
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26. Mr B is now at a point in space, 186,000 miles from Earth
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at point B". (See proposition #5.)
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27. Mrs D is back on Earth at point D".
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28. Mr B has the same basic equipment but has substituted an
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E&G Bradly laser gun emitting intense beams of coherent
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light at 186,000 miles per second, capable of piercing the
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hardest substance, even diamond...laser guns on the table,
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how dumb can you be?
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29. Mrs D has amplified her voice to accommodate the altered
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distance relationship.
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30. At one second *after* 4:00 p.m., Mr B sights the ugly word
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on Mrs D's ugly mouth.
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31. Now, since Mr B is one light-second away from Mrs D, and
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it takes one second for her image to reach point B", Mr B
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has, needless to say, provided himself with a more powerful
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telescope to take a picture of Mrs D...not at one second
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after 4:00 p.m., of course, but at exactly 4:00 p.m., present
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Earth Time.
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32. One second later, Bradly's laser slices through Mrs D's big
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mouth and on my way rejoicing.
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33. Mr B has taken the last picture of Mrs D (for Dead).
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34. Mrs D is always dead when Mr B takes her death picture, a
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second later.
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35. Mrs D existed only in her last image and her last words,
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which arrive, of course, from Pitman's 'Commonsense Arith-
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metic' some hours later...so shut off the recorder...expose
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the negative.
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36. Mrs D's word and image never existed.
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Silent Grocer Shops Cobblestone Streets
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Wind Cold on the Lake
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1. From Pitman's 'Commonsense Arithmetic', 1917:
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"Walks at the rate of 18 miles per day. Will he be there in
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time?"
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2. From Claude P<EFBFBD>lieu, 'San Francisco 9, Beach':
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"Please adjust your brakes; a great risk in 'dancing.'"
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3. From 'Transatlantic Review, 14':
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"The beginning is also the end."
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4. From 'Naked Lunch, Traveler's Companion #74':
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"I can feel the heat closing in."
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5. From 'D. Lamont':
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"Throw the gasoline on them and light it quick."
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6. From 'Work in Progress':
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"terrible bright sun...raw pealed face...this thing dying
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there in my arms..."
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7. I would like to sound a word of warning to the 'Dancing Acad-
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emy', "In Hazard":
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Should the world's gravity be reduced by The Other Half, who
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is known as 'Gravity Gert', the force of the sun's rays would
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increase by one half...from Pitman's 'Commonsense Arithme-
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tic'...constituting The Heat Death.
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8. From 'Work in Progress':
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"The formulae are fierce, can't hold the bastards back. The
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tide is coming in at Hiroshima, you dumb Earth hicks, sauve
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qui peut!"
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9. From 'The Moving Times:
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"Only one caller this week; plain Mr Jones. Going to reach
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Frisco but we'll all be dead."
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------------------------------------------------------------------
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