122 lines
7.1 KiB
Plaintext
122 lines
7.1 KiB
Plaintext
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_____________ _/_/ | | \ \ _/_/ _____________
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| ___________ _/_/ | | \ \ _/_/ ___________ |
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| | c o m m u n i c a t i o n s | |
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| |________________________________________________________________| |
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|____________________________________________________________________|
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...presents... The Bishop
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by Curtis Yarvin
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>>> a cDc publication.......1994 <<<
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-cDc- CULT OF THE DEAD COW -cDc-
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____ _ ____ _ ____ _ ____ _ ____
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|____digital_media____digital_culture____digital_media____digital_culture____|
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No one has come to the cathedral in some time.
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The bishop is not sure how long it has been; sometimes he feels as though
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it was just the other day when at mass the pews were full of old women in
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black. Sometimes he feels as though it has been a very long time, possibly
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since before he was born.
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Such confusion no longer disturbs him. He thinks of his memory as like
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one of the lower crypts, where the resting places of the monks can be
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distinguished only by the patterns of dust that their disintegrating bones have
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formed on the floor. Delicate, perhaps, and obscure; but beautiful in its own
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way, and not something one would wish to change even were it possible.
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The bishop is a man of logic. Unlike many older people, he is unwilling
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to repaint the world he sees around him, to make it a more comfortable place in
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which to live. He recognizes unpleasant facts. Indeed, he delights in them,
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for in the act of recognition he finds proof that his faculties have not
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decayed to that state of contented oblivion which he believes a sure precursor
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to death.
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He understands, thus, that no one has come to the cathedral in some time;
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and he understands, further, that his cathedral is not in any sense unique,
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that it is but one cathedral among many, and even where it stands out it is
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typical in its way of standing out. Thus, it is possible, indeed likely, that
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no one has come to any cathedral in some time.
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Furthermore, although he is unable to discern how long that time has been,
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he knows that his persistence in life has been unusual, even extraordinary.
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The bishop considers himself devoid of false modesty, which to him has always
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been a particularly great sin, and realizes that most ordinary men, even most
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ordinary bishops, would have long since abandoned the mission.
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Thus, for quite some time he has considered himself a cardinal, assuming
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that the ordinary constituted authorities are, if still capable of such an
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appointment, no longer actively seeking out candidates, and knowing that his
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qualifications and time of service are more than adequate for the position. In
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his youth he had always wanted to become a cardinal, and he considers his
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attainment a great honor. He does not shirk the responsibilities or privileges
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that accompany it, and always dresses commensurately with his position. There
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are many cardinals' hats to be found in the crypts, and he uses the resource
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wisely, never wearing any one hat for more than a week at a time, as they are
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old and wont to crumble. Their deep red color, he finds, is particularly
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useful for deterring wild beasts, which have of late grown common, and bold.
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He still holds Mass each week. It is true, that there have not been many
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communicants recently, but such observations if taken to heart have a way of
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making themselves come true, and he considers the service his duty as a officer
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of the Church. Deliveries of material have ceased, but in the basements there
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are considerable stocks of wafers and wine. The latter is especially abundant;
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not all of it is sacramental, but being a bishop as well as a cardinal he can
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perform his own consecration, and feels free to make liberal use of it. It
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fortifies his Latin, he finds, and has shown some signs of clarifying his
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memory.
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Every month he makes a circuit of the cathedral's exterior. Regular
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maintenance is no longer being performed, but the building remains in
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remarkable shape for a structure of its age. Now and then a gargoyle will drop
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off; on his rounds he finds the carving, sunk into the mossy earth, and takes
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it inside to the repair room, where its predeceased comrades lie in straight
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rows. The repair room is coming to resemble one of the crypts. Sometimes,
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indeed, he feels more companionship with the rocky gargoyles than with his
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ancestral brethren below, and considers leaving his remains with the former
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rather than the latter.
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But it is not yet time for that. Lately, he has been wondering whether he
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ought not to be considered Pope. The temporal situation, he thinks, warrants
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the decision; but there is the question of his habit. His episcopal robes are
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not proper papal attire, even for informal situations, let alone High Mass.
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Nor does he have the correct mitre.
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The obvious solution is to declare himself Pope-elect until appropriate
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habit can be provided, but it is unclear to him by when he can obtain such a
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habit, and a prolonged tenure as Pope-elect would be unseemly. It would, he
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feels, project a sense of disarray at the highest levels, and reflect poorly on
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the Church.
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As a compromise, he plans to take up sewing, as a hobby. He has
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investigated records, and many of his predecessors have also had hobbies. It
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is true that, so far as he can tell, sewing has never been among them, and is
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thus somewhat unusual; but these are, certainly, unusual times. He will sew
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himself a proper papal habit, and then he will become Pope.
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This, he feels, is an excellent plan.
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_______ __________________________________________________________________
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/ _ _ \|Demon Roach Undrgrnd.806/794-4362|Kingdom of Shit.....806/794-1842|
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\ / |The Works............617/861-8976|Ripco ][............312/528-5020|
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(' ') | Save yourself! Go outside! DO SOMETHING! |
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(U) |==================================================================|
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.ooM |Copyright (c) 1994 cDc communications and Curtis Yarvin. |
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\_______/|All Rights Reserved. 05/01/1994-#252|
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