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ISSUE SIX ISSUE SIX

WAKE, AND SEE ANEW_

From the heart of the machine, beginnings form a circle—standoffs endlessly litigated and repurposed with each frantic loop. This month we crack old volumes and draw lines from old to new, while searching for new meaning and lost concepts.

THE HUNGRY GHOSTS OF LATE CAPITALISM_

BY COLIN BROADMOOR — Fan communities were once a source of original work and subversive counter-narratives. Now they're just another part of the marketing machine.

STRAYLIGHT SYMMETRY.

The world throbs to the archaic beat of old machines, now risen from restful slumber. This month our playlist focuses on vapor trails, melted cassette, and worlds of brakelight and the warm neon of another age.

“It may be laid down as a general rule that if a man begins to sing, no one will take any notice of his song except his fellow human beings. This is true even if his song is surpassingly beautiful. Other men may be in raptures at his skill, but the rest of creation is, by and large, unmoved.”

— Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell, Susanne Clarke

ARTICLES ARTICLES

FEATURES_

There is power in images and ideas, even ones faded with age—some shine a light, some hide the truth, and some trap us in nets of our own dreamlike artifice. This month we throw open the shutters and illuminate both past and future for a second look.

THE CULTURE WAR

BY KURT SCHILLER — Why Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos love Iain M. Banks' anarcho-communist space opera.

IN DEFENSE OF WATTO

BY TREVOR DRINKWATER — It's widely accepted that the Star Wars prequels are built on racist caricatures, with Watto the junk-dealing Toydarian as Exhibit A. But does the idea hold up to scrutiny?

``MONEY JUST DOESN'T NEED HUMAN BEINGS ANYMORE. MOST OF US ONLY GET IN THE WAY.``

BRUCE STERLING
STAY SHARP STAY SHARP

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