Episode 2 of Anthropology in 10 or Less: Understanding Culture is now up on YouTube.
Author: michaelkilman
Roachocalypse (Short Story)
Roachocalypse
by Michael Kilman
Email dated April 19th, 2037 09:37 am
To: SusanJamesLapris2034@gmail.com
From: LancasterH@crtownship.gov
Susan,
I apologize for not getting back to you sooner but I’ve been swamped at the office with a rash of new missing persons’ cases. It seems that similar circumstances surrounding your husband’s disappearance are beginning to turn up all around the city. As I said before, if I have any new leads on your husband I will let you know as soon as possible.
I appreciate your patience and your cooperation
Howard Lancaster
Email dated April 23rd, 2037 13:15 pm
To: LancasterH@CRtownship.gov
From: SusanJamesLapris2034@gmail.com
Detective,
You said that if I found anything that might help in the investigation to forward it on to you. I asked my brother Scott to come over and help me get into Darrell’s emails and he figured out the password.
What we found is really strange. We don’t know quite what to make of it. Funny thing is, we only have the sent emails. It’s like someone deleted all the stuff out of the inbox but forget the sent folder.
I tried to call you several times today but for a while, all the lines were busy and then they just went dead. Are you having phone problems over there? As you know the drive is pretty far, so here’s what I found.
****
Forwarded Message
From: DarrelJames@phoenixlabs.org
To: 4387tzf@pentagon.gov
Date April 3rd, 2037 21:23 pm
General,
The experiment tomorrow is proceeding as planned. We traced the hackers back to a Chinese lab and planted a little virus of our own. There should be no further interruptions. I understand your concerns about using this email but it is well encrypted. Without my password, it is impossible to access this email. The Roaches are ready to rumble.
D. James
Forwarded Message
Date: April 6th, 2037 17:17 pm
General,
The experiment was a remarkable success. The roaches’ bodies no long need a transplant; we have completely rewired their DNA with the AI so that the Nanobots grow into the exoskeleton from right from birth. They’re like mini armadillos. Some of them are even starting to run around in little packs, like wolves. It’s fascinating I could watch them for hours.
Also, their nanite armor is incredible. Paul Watson tried to kill one of them with a hammer, and though he succeeded, it took him almost a dozen swings before it died. There may be a military application in addition to our original goals. But don’t quote me on that in one of your reports.
But what’s truly unbelievable is that the carbon they extract out of the atmosphere is eighteen times higher than our original estimates. And today Singh Haig had a brilliant thought. We experimented with allowing them to consume radioactive medical waste. Thus far the results are promising. With your permission, we would like to try to use spent fuel rods from the nearby power plant.
The raw data is on its way through the usual channels. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
D. James
Forwarded Message
Date: April 7th 2037 18:51pm
General,
I understand your concern with the breeding rates and it is noted. We aren’t sure why their multiplying so fast but we are going to try and use that to our advantage. I mean there is a lot of carbon in the atmosphere and even with several millions of these things, it will take years to undo the damage that’s been done. Besides Paul is having a lot of fun with testing out armor strength on the various specimens with that hammer. I swear all he does is swing that thing around now. Population control I guess?
I would also like to note that some of the roaches have taken on an interesting green glow. Some images and videos are attached to this email.
D. James
Forwarded Message
Date: April 9th 2037 13:11pm
General,
I am sorry to report that Paul Watson has disappeared. We searched around the complex and all we found was that damn hammer. The crazy thing is, it had a little dried blood on it. Paul must have whacked himself on accident at some point.
But with his disappearance, we now suspect that he was the mole for the Chinese. We have tightened our security around here but for now, we will continue the tests. I will say that the population is approaching a critical limit. They are definitely breeding faster than we anticipated. At this rate, we will have to call in an exterminator. Just kidding! But we are going to have to thin the numbers a bit and there are too many now to use a hammer.
D.James
Forwarded Message
Date: April 11th 2037 17:01pm
General,
I don’t know what to say. Mike Brokes, Singh Haig and Vanessa Martinez have all gone missing. Their family hasn’t heard from them either. The leaves only myself and Amy Johnson.
There’s been another troubling development. We gassed 3 of the 8 of the enclosures with the Roaches to thin out the numbers and well, when we came in this morning, a fourth enclosure was empty. I mean, it’s as if the damn things just vanished. We have put the whole lab on lockdown. Amy said she heard some strange noises in the ducts. So I went up there to check it out, and I thought I saw something glowing, but I think it was only my mind playing tricks on me.
D. James
Forwarded Message
Date: April 12th 2037 03:12am
General, oh god. They got Amy. I saw them. The ones that escaped, there are tens of thousands of them now. When then moved, it was like they were one body. They picked her up and took her right in front of me. I chased them. I tried to stop them, but I was only able to kill a few them. That armor. They’re so fast and General, some of them are growing. I saw one the size of a cat.
I don’t know where they went. They just seemed to vanish around a corner. And then I heard her screaming. They must have taken her underground or something.
I’m the only one left here. I’ve locked myself in a sealed enclosure, nothing should be able to get in or out. But Jesus General, it was the gas. This all started when we gassed those three enclosures. I wonder if Paul… but never mind that now.
I know this is going to sound crazy but I think they want revenge. Or maybe this was the Chinese, or the AI or the radiation, I don’t know but I do know I can’t stop them. I’m trapped.
Oh no. Their crawling all over the window trying to get in. Oh god, the window is cracking. I don’t think I have much time.
General, we can’t let these things get out. Do whatever you have to do to stop them. Even Protocol 7JF if you have to.
Tell my wife I love her.
End Forwarded Messages
***
Detective,
You see why I don’t know what to think of all this? I mean I thought maybe this was some sort of piece of fiction my husband wrote. He does like writing his crazy stories. You should have read the one who wrote about the zombie ferrets. It was the strangest thing I’ve ever read.
But Detective, do you think there is any connection between this all the missing people in town?
I hope this helps Detective, I really do. I’ll try calling again tomorrow. I’m terribly worried about my husband.
Susan James-Lapris
Anthropology in 10 or Less
Some of you here know that I am an anthropologist and that I teach at a University. Some of you also know that I do freelance video production and photography. Last yeah, in search for material for my courses, I realized that there were a lack of educational videos on Anthropology on YouTube, or at least ones that were short and accessible. So as of today I launched my first episode, Anthropology in 10 or Less in an effort to explore concepts in Anthropology in a short and accessible form.
Check out Episode 1: What the F*** is Anthropology
After the Solstice
After the Solstice
Fallow fields glimmer in frost
Stars on the earth
The gods of the short day let the sun peak
Should short days always be so sorrowful?
Certainly not
In the glimmer a thousand tiny suns speak
They are breathing
They are alive
They, like stars, promise endless wishes
I cannot count them
Sovereign
First new piece of artwork and poetry for 2017!
Enjoy!
Sovereign
penetration By,
choices, changes and the cyclical regurgitation of the will to comply
algorithms and stereotypes
false hopes in finger swipes
the problem?
i am bOund by perception
i am wanting new direction
i am dissatisfied with my lot
but silent? ha! i am not.
i am vociferous
i am malicious
i am calculating
i am aggravating
i am Devastating
too many “i’s”
constantly Heaving heavy sighs
it’s time to consider my own demise
call it what it is
all of it
insanity
but there is a way out.
It’s right here
A Quick Trip to the City
Happy New Year! Here is an old piece of mine of poetry and art that has never been posted. Enjoy!
A Quick Trip to the City
Quick Trip to the City
Foreign passages, passengers, passing through time
In Transcending worlds and crossing boundaries,
Thoughts shimmer and shift,
Shading sumptuous sidetracks,
Blocking narrow corridors,
Ultimately illuminating that singular road
That we all seek.
But in the end,
Though we set out for a quick trip to the city,
We find ourselves wanting and wasting,
Watching and withering.
The grass is never greener but only grows grayer
When we finally realize,
We are already home.
My Film: Unbound: The Story of the Romero Theater Troupe
Two Years Ago I finished my Masters Program and a Documentary Film Called Unbound The Story of the Romero Theater Troupe. It is a film about a social justice theater that I worked with based in Denver Colorado. The film combines some concepts in Anthropology and a short analysis of what is wrong with our media system in general as well as ways people are resisting these systems.
I have decided to make this this film free and available to the public via YouTube.
If you would like to purchase a copy of the film you can buy a DVD or digital copy at http://www.wholecultureconsultants.com/unboundfilm
Back Around
Back around
Drum beats like heart beats
Pulsing, dancing, full of life
Round the rhythm
Round the circle
Round the cycle
All life is orbit
Colors fling in all directions
Like bright stars flickering in the night
Making no excuse for falling feathers
Like fallen comrades
Let the night illuminate
All things end
But all things circle back around
The drumming never stops
New Direction (Spoken Word)
I saw Cornell West speak yesterday and was blown away. As a result I wrote a little spoken word piece. It’s called New Direction. The words themselves are below the video.
New direction
The breath, the breath
The very vessel that leads towards death
Boundaries and Borders
Like old tape recorders
If you Stock up and reorder
Then you continue the disorder
Repeat, then rewind, then repeat
Round and round leading to our collective defeat
Dare you delete, the very elite
That knocked you down off your shoeless feet?
Out In the cold, your whole life, nothing but bought and sold
Learning is bold because It’s not everything you know, it’s everything you’re told
So it doesn’t matter in which school you are enrolled
Or the size of your household, or however well controlled
Look again, and again, and breathe some more
Travel Down Darkened Alleys, Open some locked doors
I implore you to explore despite the ever present war
For your mind, it always wants more, is always willing to ignore
That all of civilization is built on the bones of the poor
Stop for a sec, just breath, don’t leave, there is a little more
The doctor must diagnose the illness before there’s a cure.
Listen, just listen to your own self-deception
When you meet a new idea, don’t go with your preconception
Shift your perception, make a correction, see the connections
If you listen to your discomfort you can make an interception
At the very core of your apperception
But be careful not to start a different kind of collection
Of knowledge and perception, That route leads to even more powerful deception
Know that, True education is liberation
It ends the incarceration of entire minds and entire nations
Participate in a celebration Of your personal annexation
Because aligning with your minds death and a little contemplation
Frees your soul and creates some space for a state of jubilation
Standing Rock, Native American History and Why It Is Important (resources here)
Photo Taken from Facebook Event Standing in Solidarity with Standing Rock
I am taking a moment out of my creative activity to talk about something that is important right now. Standing Rock is our future. What happens in the next few days or weeks there could change everything about our country, for the better or for the worse. It was a rough weekend up at Standing Rock. Check out this news piece from the New York Times for a brief summary on last weekends events. New York Times Story on Last Weekends Events
I am a lecturer at two universities in the Departments of Anthropology and so in addition to my creative writing, I have worked a lot with Native Americans in my career thus far. If we want to understand what is happening at Standing Rock, then it is important to understand the history. Below are a list of resources for anyone interested in educating themselves.
First the Standing Rock Syllabus. This is an overview of the history of Standing Rock and other important historical events for Native Americans.
https://nycstandswithstandingrock.wordpress.com/standingrocksyllabus/
We have to understand the history of these systems in order to be truly effective in fighting the good fight. As such, this week I have decided to pause all lessons and have a discussion about Native American History and Standing Rock. We already do this a little in my courses, but I decided to expand it as I cannot sit by and ignore what is going on.
Here are some videos for those of you who want a quick introduction to some of the issues:
We Shall Remain: American Experience. This is a six part history of Native Americans in the United States written and directed by Native Americans. You can find several these episodes for free on YouTube and many at local libraries. If you are a student most colleges allow streaming of this program from the library website. We Shall Remain: American Experience
You may also be interested in the following books:
.
Some important Supreme Court Cases and Acts to look up (if you really want to understand the history)
There are a lot of resources that are out there for understanding this situation. If you have any resources you feel I am missing and are vital please share in the comments. I will leave them open for people to add their own resources. Let’s educate people, because knowledge is powerful.
Loridian's Laboratory 