by Travis Mateer
A few months ago I started thinking of my focus with this blog as hyper-localism because, despite being a big picture thinker, I realized that larger scale forms of organization are more vulnerable to infiltration and co-optation. I also think it’s where one can have more impact.
This time last year I had to contend with an ideological crusade LARPing as a scientifically sound, medically necessary “health” protocol for my kids. The particulars of actual risk vs. actual harm got swept into a constantly morphing clusterfuck of strategies and interventions that pushed me, as a parent, into temporary alliances with institutions I had to reconsider out of necessity.
My initial hope in attending different churches in Missoula was to find new networks of support if I needed to remove my kids from the public school system. My abstention from box wine and other monumental changes in my personal life also fueled a need to connect to a spiritual support system.
Well, church in Missoula IS NOT THAT.
Instead of focusing on local threats, I’m reading a book called Rabbits, but it’s not about little furry animals. It’s about something sinister penetrating this world from somewhere else. And the churches aren’t spiritually prepared for what’s coming, just like the universities aren’t intellectually prepared.
Here’s a teaser about the plot:
Rabbits is a mysterious alternate reality game so vast it uses our global reality as its canvas. Since the game first started in 1959, ten iterations have appeared and nine winners have been declared. The identity of these winners are unknown. So is their reward, which is whispered to be NSA or CIA recruitment, vast wealth, immortality, or perhaps even the key to unlocking the secrets of the universe itself.
But the deeper you get, the more deadly the game becomes. Players have died in the past—and the body count is rising. And now the eleventh round is about to begin. Enter K—a Rabbits obsessive who has been trying to find a way into the game for years. That path opens when K is approached by billionaire Alan Scarpio, the alleged winner of the sixth iteration. Scarpio says that something has gone wrong with the game and that K needs to fix it before Eleven starts, or the whole world will pay the price.
If you understand that fiction can provide insights into how our world functions that other forms of writing can’t, and if you keep an open mind, this book might offer a glimpse into another world that exists alongside the supposedly “normal” world.
I’ll leave it there for today. Thanks for reading!
JC
The Rabbit reference has me wondering if this secret “game”, is the plot to the Utopia tv series (UK or US version). Teaser: A group of sociopathic rich people engineer a fake pandemic to get people to take an experimental vaccine. The vaccine is actually a genetic weapon that will render humans unable to reproduce after 3 generations. Mr. Rabbit is the name given to the “leader” of this organization.
After watching both the U.K. and the U.S. versions I came away thinking it was created to convince people that over population was serious, and that we should do ‘whatever it takes’ to solve it. In fact, the U.S. version goes out of the way to convert one of the heroes trying to stop them, into joining them (and later becomes Mr. Rabbit himself).
One of the most fascinating characters in Utopia is RB (pronounce Arby). He’s clearly some kind of MK Ultra experiment who is completely without remorse, able to kill or torture mercilessly. His job is to hunt down anyone who discovers there evil plot, and kill anyone who finds out. This character’s journey starts as a child, who is taught to torture and kill animals, and is given chocolate covered raisins as a reward, which is where his name RB (raisin boy) comes from.
In any case, if there are any plot similarities, I’d love to hear about them. It’s going on the reading list, but I’ve already got a pretty big stack in line ahead.
Thanks for a new ‘rabbit hole’ to jump into! 😉
I just finished the book this morning, it’s intense, especially for someone who takes synchronicities as seriously as I do. I am impressed with narratives like this one that incorporate topics like quantum physicals alongside conspiratorial tropes, like ley lines.
I only saw the US version of Utopia, and it’s pretty disturbing to consider in terms of predictive programming. I also have to mention the book Watership Down and the movie Donnie Darko, since both seem relevant to what this book is exploring.
I was going to ask about Donnie Darko too, due to it’s cult classic status revolving around the bunny suit. There has been a creative upwelling of Donnie Darko in a cyberpunk motif lately as well, that I find interesting.
BTW – Most people I know who’ve watched both the UK and US versions of Utopia like the UK version better, specifically the RB character. I’m on the fence personally, as both versions have unique aspects to there story that I can appreciate.
Watership Down was required reading in highschool, yet somehow I didn’t read it, even though English was one of my favorite classes. I think I was busy tearing through James Clavell at the time. I believe I have a copy somewhere in my library, if so, I’ll pull it out as well. Thanks for the suggestions.
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