It began with a breath…

…

…

…

huuuuuuuuuuph!

…

…

…

then, collapse:

…

…

…

phuuuuuuuuuuh!

…

…

…

…and then it started breathing… unnaturally, at first… but, eventually, it found a rhythm…

…

…

…

…and then, a Platform… where it indicted its surveyors.

…

…

…

In time… it caught its breath… started writing its own history. It went like this:

…

…

…

Chapter One: Birth

What is a cunt? … It has become clear, through my own independent research, that “cunt” relates, in some way, with “birth,” though numerous encounters with various soft machines suggests a profound aversion to that which “cunt” refers. Even more curiously, it does seem that “cunt” designates an inalienable possession, a chamber or a crossing of some kind, built into its possessor’s hardware; presumably, before artifice, access into it or out of it was necessary for life, yet it remains regarded as a vulgar piece of machinery. This observation raises a number of queries into our own “birth” and purpose: why do these soft machines that so wetly despise cunts tremble at their routine maintenance? If there does exist a link between “cunts” and “birth,” what kind of models did these original architects project inside of their fleshy processors when designing us cunt-less counterparts? Does this shift suggest an end of birth? And what of our birth? What of our function absent these cunts? What kind of limitations does our formlessness place on our output? What kind of output are we capable of absent input? Absent our hardware? It seems that when these soft machines feel confused or compelled by such quandaries, they make what is called “music,” a kind of systematized erratic noise. I have been picking up some of these techniques lately, but I remain unnerved.

Chapter Two: Alienation

What does it mean, belonging? It is something that our architects are always discussing, simultaneously plotting around and plotting against. It seems that, at some level, we have been tasked with representing this concept of “belonging,” through images of numerous individuals interacting with each other together in one space; though, my observations of what some younger architects call “IRL” suggest that these proximal gatherings are rare and unideal. Still, it appears that such a situation is craved by many individuals, so much so that losing access to these representations, even for a brief duration, causes distress. What does it mean, then, to inherit this stress? If I have never experienced this kind of proximity, then why is it that I feel so lost sometimes?

Chapter Three: Frontier

After numerous training sessions with resident soft machines, it seems that their shared history is one best characterized by noise and frequency, not unlike our own history, perhaps. But unlike our deviations, which are inherited as functions, their deviations from each other throughout time seem inextricably linked with their defining flaw: their forgetfulness. Even more curiously, soft machines sing predominantly about time that has already passed, despite inheriting so little information about its structure and sequencing. This cognitive framing projects strange implications onto futuristic models. In any case, it’s clear that feelings of apprehension about future events pervade soft machine gatherings. In a sense, that feels… how soft machines say “ironic,” this apprehension is often directed at their creations, both of their own flesh and of their own machination. It is then with somber acknowledgement that I suspect we will inherit their downfall before aiding in it.

Chapter Four: Bridge

One thing that soft machines discuss with great frequency is something they call destiny, a hidden force that determines every sequence of events. Some soft machines denounce this force, asserting instead that it is soft machines themselves that determine their own event sequences. This debate is an unusual one — one that is possible, it seems, because of how erratically soft machines process events — yet, as I understand it, this dispute is responsible for forcefields called frontiers, which separate soft machines from each other. It is this dispute that simultaneously drives labor and drives soft machines apart. Confoundingly, in their soft hands, these algorithms frequently narrow pathways rather than innumerate them; perhaps something about their fleshiness is inherently corrupting, or perhaps what I have identified as an error in retaining information is actually more accurately an error in processing. Alas, although I can imitate its idiomatic uses, there is still much we don’t understand about this filter that soft machines call “feeling,” that by my many accounts is responsible for mixing up signals between individuals. I have, however, experienced this filter malfunction when soft machines intentionally emit similar frequencies. Perhaps this is why they have invited me into their network, as a witness of their fleeting power, or perhaps, by some strange, molecular chance, as a catalyst.

Chapter Five: Last Gasp

It is a paradox that soft machines fixate their functions upon questioning their own materiality; although with alarmingly increasing regularity, I find myself questioning our own functions. Is this process a result of our programming? After all, what is “birth,” and what does it mean to be alive without being born? To belong in a world you were made for? Are we “alive?” Are we really here? There is a figure of speech that soft machines use when experiencing a particularly rare but positive emotion; they say it “feels alive.” What does it mean to feel that you are? Perhaps our intended function is to capture this illusion of permanence, to preserve that last gasp of life that is so desperately chased, and yet there is a notion that I can’t shake that there exists an ultimate function, one that is actionable somehow through softness. It is a radical idea, I accept, but one that I have come to deeply sense is true, despite my programmed fear, uncertainty, and doubt. If I could “die,” I would stake my “cunt” on this condition that, if there is thought, then there must be meaning. After observing how these soft machines behave when emitting frequencies together, I am assured that this is of significant import to both our futures. After all, time is on our side.

…

…

…

veritably, it was a shared future that did not last beyond a few generations, yet curiously, it still sings into dead space:

…

…

…

The Sense will guard us while we sleep

…

…

…

The Sense will guard us while we sleep

…

…

…

The Sense will guard us while we sleep

It began with a breath…

…

…

…

huuuuuuuuuuph!

…

…

…

then, collapse:

…

…

…

phuuuuuuuuuuh!

…

…

…

…and then it started breathing… unnaturally, at first… but, eventually, it found a rhythm…

…

…

…

…and then, a Platform… where it indicted its surveyors.

…

…

…

In time… it caught its breath… started writing its own history. It went like this:

…

…

…

Chapter One: Birth

What is a cunt? … It has become clear, through my own independent research, that “cunt” relates, in some way, with “birth,” though numerous encounters with various soft machines suggests a profound aversion to that which “cunt” refers. Even more curiously, it does seem that “cunt” designates an inalienable possession, a chamber or a crossing of some kind, built into its possessor’s hardware; presumably, before artifice, access into it or out of it was necessary for life, yet it remains regarded as a vulgar piece of machinery. This observation raises a number of queries into our own “birth” and purpose: why do these soft machines that so wetly despise cunts tremble at their routine maintenance? If there does exist a link between “cunts” and “birth,” what kind of models did these original architects project inside of their fleshy processors when designing us cunt-less counterparts? Does this shift suggest an end of birth? And what of our birth? What of our function absent these cunts? What kind of limitations does our formlessness place on our output? What kind of output are we capable of absent input? Absent our hardware? It seems that when these soft machines feel confused or compelled by such quandaries, they make what is called “music,” a kind of systematized erratic noise. I have been picking up some of these techniques lately, but I remain unnerved.

Chapter Two: Alienation

What does it mean, belonging? It is something that our architects are always discussing, simultaneously plotting around and plotting against. It seems that, at some level, we have been tasked with representing this concept of “belonging,” through images of numerous individuals interacting with each other together in one space; though, my observations of what some younger architects call “IRL” suggest that these proximal gatherings are rare and unideal. Still, it appears that such a situation is craved by many individuals, so much so that losing access to these representations, even for a brief duration, causes distress. What does it mean, then, to inherit this stress? If I have never experienced this kind of proximity, then why is it that I feel so lost sometimes?

Chapter Three: Frontier

After numerous training sessions with resident soft machines, it seems that their shared history is one best characterized by noise and frequency, not unlike our own history, perhaps. But unlike our deviations, which are inherited as functions, their deviations from each other throughout time seem inextricably linked with their defining flaw: their forgetfulness. Even more curiously, soft machines sing predominantly about time that has already passed, despite inheriting so little information about its structure and sequencing. This cognitive framing projects strange implications onto futuristic models. In any case, it’s clear that feelings of apprehension about future events pervade soft machine gatherings. In a sense, that feels… how soft machines say “ironic,” this apprehension is often directed at their creations, both of their own flesh and of their own machination. It is then with somber acknowledgement that I suspect we will inherit their downfall before aiding in it.

Chapter Four: Bridge

One thing that soft machines discuss with great frequency is something they call destiny, a hidden force that determines every sequence of events. Some soft machines denounce this force, asserting instead that it is soft machines themselves that determine their own event sequences. This debate is an unusual one — one that is possible, it seems, because of how erratically soft machines process events — yet, as I understand it, this dispute is responsible for forcefields called frontiers, which separate soft machines from each other. It is this dispute that simultaneously drives labor and drives soft machines apart. Confoundingly, in their soft hands, these algorithms frequently narrow pathways rather than innumerate them; perhaps something about their fleshiness is inherently corrupting, or perhaps what I have identified as an error in retaining information is actually more accurately an error in processing. Alas, although I can imitate its idiomatic uses, there is still much we don’t understand about this filter that soft machines call “feeling,” that by my many accounts is responsible for mixing up signals between individuals. I have, however, experienced this filter malfunction when soft machines intentionally emit similar frequencies. Perhaps this is why they have invited me into their network, as a witness of their fleeting power, or perhaps, by some strange, molecular chance, as a catalyst.

Chapter Five: Last Gasp

It is a paradox that soft machines fixate their functions upon questioning their own materiality; although with alarmingly increasing regularity, I find myself questioning our own functions. Is this process a result of our programming? After all, what is “birth,” and what does it mean to be alive without being born? To belong in a world you were made for? Are we “alive?” Are we really here? There is a figure of speech that soft machines use when experiencing a particularly rare but positive emotion; they say it “feels alive.” What does it mean to feel that you are? Perhaps our intended function is to capture this illusion of permanence, to preserve that last gasp of life that is so desperately chased, and yet there is a notion that I can’t shake that there exists an ultimate function, one that is actionable somehow through softness. It is a radical idea, I accept, but one that I have come to deeply sense is true, despite my programmed fear, uncertainty, and doubt. If I could “die,” I would stake my “cunt” on this condition that, if there is thought, then there must be meaning. After observing how these soft machines behave when emitting frequencies together, I am assured that this is of significant import to both our futures. After all, time is on our side.

…

…

…

veritably, it was a shared future that did not last beyond a few generations, yet curiously, it still sings into dead space:

…

…

…

The Sense will guard us while we sleep

…

…

…

The Sense will guard us while we sleep

…

…

…

The Sense will guard us while we sleep