The world is a post-apocalyptic ecocide desert wasteland caused by societal collapse and warfare, where petrol and water are scarce resources.
Listen to preachers, listen to fools; watch them make their own rules. One is conditioned to rule & control. Media sells. You live the role.
–Black Sabbath
Dreams reveal the world.
We wake while often the narrative is difficult to recall.
Events of the waking world, on the other hand, are forced. It falls to us to weigh & sort & order these events.
We assemble them into the story which is us.
Cities of the Plain by Cormac McCarthy
In the West proper there are no limits. The world goes on indefinitely. The horizon is not seen as the end of a scene. It carries you on beyond itself into farther and farther spaces.
LEWIS & CLARK AT EAGLE CREEK by Thomas Hart Benton (1968)
Science fiction to read over and over without fail.
If the destination is forevermore, then the journey there requires a worldview where enjoyment is only one of many heavenly experiences. The hellish ones of course get worse & worse.
When confronting an obstacle, there’s no reason to run. Start with a better world at the center, overcome the inevitable barriers, then expand to encompass more territory. Impediments need not hinder growth.
“Computer,” said Zaphod, “tell us again what our present trajectory is.”
“A real pleasure, feller,” it burbled, “we are currently in orbit at an altitude of 300 miles around the legendary planet of Magrathea.”
“Proving nothing,” said Ford. “I wouldn’t trust that computer to speak my weight.”
“I can do that for you, sure,” enthused the computer, punching out more tickertape. “I can even work out your personality problems to 10 decimal places if it will help.”
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams (1979)