Navigate the Ergodic Space
On Law, History, Volcanology, Folklore & Frequencies
Fig. 1: The outward explosion of a Giant. Mount Kanaga, Alaska. [U.S. Geological Survey]
And they almost always explode. Like Volcanoes. Some go subterranean or go slipping like eels back into the Ocean. Most just go up. Like on the wings of a song; when you are listening well and surrounded by a few goodly people. You see, all memory and what would be the actual soul of a Giant is carried through the Ether by sound.
When a Giant dies, they outwardly explode and there are always a lot of Good People around to see them go, and who carry the tale to others. But a comet doesn't need a tail to be a worldkiller.
Captain Hook on Giant Death
"I've seen men explode outward in the heat of battle, but a Giant's exit—now that's a proper conflagration. Like powder magazine meeting lightning. The difference is, when a man dies, he stays dead. When a Giant dies, he becomes geography."
They don't shoot you down; no. They Shoot you up. With a canon. And wherever you land from that broken water, that's where you lie until, in time, you become ageless.
In a rare case where the Giant dies inward1 there forms a very large crater, also known as a Giant Sinkhole. When a Giant dies on top of a mountain, a volcano will form. When a Giant dies amidst trees, It names the woods and turns them to stone.
1 Inward Giant Death is brought about when a Giant is killed by another Giant, by one of its own. Outward Giant Death comes about when a non-Giant kills a Giant. Otherwise Giants Never Really Die.
Named after the cooing sounds their mother made over them when they were young
Fig. 2: The wreck of the USS Gull. Pacific Theatre, 1944. [Metropolitan Museum of Art]
But it was their father that claimed them as his own creation. After all, it was he whom was the Devoted Follower of Allah and it was him that thrilled on the fact that the Most Gracious and Oft' Forgiving's Most-Holy name was in his children's names. His kids' names. He created them and named them after his Creator. No one would forget a legacy such as his.
Dr. Om on Maritime Jurisdiction
"The inscription of divinity upon the vessel does not guarantee safe passage through territorial waters. The ocean recognizes no prayer, only physics."
Their father's name was Ashe. Ashe Malamé Presidènte. And Ashe is the least important character in this story. It has always been that way for poor Mr. Presidènte.
In 1944, towards the end of the second World-Conflict, really at the height of generational tensions and hostilities, Mashallah and Allash were loaded onto a 50 foot tugboat (styled as a cruising vessel) with their mother to spend a dreaded 10 days drifting and struggling from the Port of Coos on the Pacific coast up to the top of the world, to be deposited at the Aleutian minor island group of Giant.
Agency Record
The Aleutian Islands, also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large volcanic islands and 55 smaller islands. Most of the Aleutian Islands belong to the U.S. state of Alaska, but some belong to the Russian federal subject of Kamchatka Krai.
On the seventh day of their voyage, their ship was dashed upon the rocks of one of the Giant Islands in an unusually strong wind storm. The strongest memory the Children had of the shipwreck was there was no rain. It was the winds that broke their ship's spine and spit the children and a dozen so other bodies onto the beach, where they remained unconscious and drownt for the better part of a day, about a hundred yards away from each other.
Or the Pacific Naval Fleet
Fig. 3: The machinery of jurisdiction. [Architect of the Capitol]
The Pacific Naval Fleet, rescued 47 passengers from that particular shipwreck. 42 of them were dead on the beach and the other 5 were the crew of the tugboat USS Gull who had all jumped into the only available lifeboat and survived.
Captain Hook on Survival
"Five men in a lifeboat meant for fifty, leaving women and children to the waves. I've seen such cowardice before. The sea has a way of settling accounts, but sometimes the land intervenes first. A quick hanging is cleaner than a slow drowning, I'll give them that."
Regarding the casualty, to the crews recollection and records from the port, were 8 passengers unaccounted for. Mashallah and Allash were two of those not identified and strangely, so were the 3 girls and the previous Not-Mother.
When it was apparent that the Surviving crew were survivors solely because they had sacrificed their women and children freight to save themselves and secure their own futures, the magistrates quickly gathered up the men and stood them for public trial on the corner of 126th and Stark, by a dry dock and the river and a well-used gallows that doubled as a theater.
Dr. Om on Liminal Jurisdiction
"Is jurisdiction territorial when the crime occurs in the liminal space between land and sea? The beach is neither domain. It is the margin where two jurisdictions meet and dissolve. Thus the gallows."
And because it was apparent that the Surviving crew were solely responsible for the deaths at sea of roughly 50 men, women, and children; the presiding Judge Magistrate Leonard quickly found the men guilty of conspiracy and public indecency, accused them of some vague plot to murder some rival merchants, and had them executed promptly following a one-hour lunch break for deliberations.
It was one of the largest single day mass-murder of record. At least as large of a killing that any of the Alaskan Indians cared to mention. Their five hanging bodies were never claimed and no records of their death exists.
They simply change states
Fig. 4: The imaginary wolves. Real howls. [U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service]
It occurred to Allash that sunshine was much too bright. To Mashallah the season surrounding the Giant Islands was eternal-day and eternal-night and one was always waiting on the other, cold and furiously impatient. Like salt and pepper in the soup of the sky.
Dr. Om on Shipwreck vs. Landing
"The question of landing versus shipwreck determines the applicable law. A landing implies agency. A shipwreck implies necessity. The former creates obligation; the latter, privilege."
He heard dogs howling and gunshots. He had thoughts of running somewhere for cover but remained still as suddenly a large animal darted over his torso whining.
A large Wolf. Allash could now see these were real wolves and they were scattered all around him. Some were lying on the ground and making horrible crying sounds. Many others laid like beached furry dolphins on the shore.
The gunfire was coming from a number of dinghy boats scattered out fifty yards from the beach. The impact of the shots knocked the wolves back against the grey rocks of the beach and instantly were transformed into wolf gravestones.
Allash took this silence as his opportunity to crawl up and into the woods himself. He squeezed himself breathlessly into the rock, pulling himself blindly until he felt the rocks give way to open space and he tumbled forward into cold and wet darkness, finally landing on top of something semi-soft and wrapped many times in a single white wool blanket.
With a Group Funeral
Fig. 5: The cave at the base of the mountain. Mortarium. [Naica Mine, Chihuahua]
There were dozens of bodies wrapped in woolen sailors' blankets, all laid solemnly in rows in a large cave at the base of the mountain. It was raining heavily at the mouth of the cave. A solid pane of water flowed over the entrance and the light reflected off of dark pools on the cave floor.
Dr. Om on Shelter
"Is this shelter or entombment? The distinction matters in probate law. If they died in the cave, it's burial. If they died outside and were brought in, it's shelter denied. The stones will tell."
Allash counted 27 wool-wrapped bodies. At the mouth of the cave men were carrying more bodies similarly wrapped. The pallbearers were all dressed in similar black oil slickers and floppy yellow hats that seemed to add a sense of comedy to the proceedings.
The men finished an hour or so later after lining the cave floor with 50 bodies. Allash saw bite marks in their arms and faces. A man had his shirt ripped off and his chest was roughly slashed. Another had his hands in his boots like gloves. Allash thought that was funny.
Captain Hook on Caves
"A cave is the original lifeboat. No oars needed, just walls. I've hidden in many a cave, waiting for the tide to turn or the law to lose interest. The dead make excellent roommates—they don't snore and they never steal your rum."
Where was Mashallah?
"Wolves are just as surprised to see humans as humans are to be eaten by wolves."
Fig. 6: The treaty grounds, where bloodlines meet and separate. [Humboldt Redwoods]
And they prefer to come upon a human by themselves. Mano e lupine. That was the custom, which grew into a tradition, and is now a proper institution among men and wolves. This was a precautionary mechanism that served to keep the two separate bloodlines from intermingling and forming more of those bastard dogs, the canines, or Canaanites, whatever they go by nowadays.
Dr. Om on Mutual Combat
"Mutual combat as institutional solution to territorial conflict. The wolf recognizes the jurisdiction of tooth and claw; the man, of paper and seal. When these jurisdictions overlap, we call it war."
Mutual Combat became enshrined as the natural solution to these periodic wars. So the massacre on the beach was a shock to everyone involved. The loss of human and wolf life was the single largest mass killing known to the Giant Islands.
Feeding the wolves and themselves has always been the primary concern for all Gipsie-Romera. The first commandment of the Ro is "Feed both your Wolves".
"Plenty of Mouths to Feed Too"
Fig. 7: The mortarium depths. [National Park Service]
How else was Mashallah going to explain all this to the Giant's Spirit? How could she possibly make this right seeing it was just her and her brother stuck on this cold toe of an island?
Mashallah: "You look like you have seen a ghost Ali."
Captain Hook on Taking Things for Granted
"The younger sibling is always the stronger navigator. While the elder panics, the younger steers. I've seen it in crews, I've seen it in families. Allash wraps himself in a blanket-cape while Mashallah counts the dead. That's leadership, that is."
Suddenly, in mid-stare, Allash violently puffed air out of his nostrils and stood up, snatching the blanket from Mashallah and wrapping it about him like a cape.
Dr. Om on Vestment
"The assumption of agency requires proper vestment. The blanket transforms from shroud to cloak, from death to authority. The garment makes the man, even in a charnel house."
He looked to Mashallah for an idea. She was floating around the cave to each of the bodies, gently placing a stone on their chests, and singing softly to herself as was her way.
During a Lynching
Fig. 8: The lone wolf, tending his litter.
A lone wolf was minding his business one cold morning, tending to his litter of wolf pups and avoiding their mother, when he was approached by a hunter from some neighboring tribe of mankillers.
Dr. Om on Domestic vs. Wild
"The domestic versus the wild. Where does jurisdiction apply? The wolf claims by presence; the man, by fence. Between these claims lies the battlefield."
The Lone wolf didn't move a hair as She pounced on the man, tearing him to the ground in the midst of his own shouting. She swiftly removed his throat while simultaneously tearing her front claws into the center of his chest, slicing through the layers of coat and spraying arterial blood into the air like a pink fountain.
Fig. 8b: The hippopotamus emerges. The unexpected executioner.
It was then, amidst this ambient and animalistic good cheer, that a hippopotamus erupted onto the beach and grabbed the soldier at the head and torso between its powerful tusked jaws and slammed the remaining lower half of the man onto the sharp rocks of the beach. Once. Twice. Three times.
Captain Hook on the Hippo
"I've fought sharks, I've fought krakens, but never a hippo. There's a certain justice to it—the soldier comes armed for wolf, meets amphibious death instead. The sea provides its own advocates."
Just about a half moon after the Hippo incident, the Lone Wolf was enjoying some rare time alone in his den when he heard some man-shouting outside.
"Whoa there wolves!" This time it was a man on a horse, he was covered in shining plates of metal, and wore a helmet with a crown, and carried a shield with a drawing of a Lion and a Unicorn on it. "They are here, I have found the terrible monsters, come quickly men!"
Fig. 8c: The armored rider. Lion and Unicorn shield. [British Library, MS Cotton Nero A.x]
In that moment two things happened. First, two additional riders came from the trees and surrounded the first rider. Second, the brush began to crash and shake all around the horsebacked men and the Lone Wolf began to smell his pups all around him. They were tightening their noose around the horses and their riders.
Dr. Om on the Record
"By unanimous and democratic agreement, the Wolf-General Council as Assembled passed a writ of mandate to be placed upon the Record of Weir Days. Thus was canonized the 'Lone Wolf's Tale of the Boy Who Cried Wolf.' Truth, deferred, becomes fable."
A King of Jews
Fig. 9: The dream that creates children. The Ro Treè. [Museo del Prado]
With Comedy, it isn't funny until there is a burial. In Tragedy, it's funny while it's happening but it is happening to you. It's more like being unburied.
Dr. Om on Agency
"Agency by delegation. Who truly acts? The boy who cries wolf, or the wolf who answers? In law, we call this incitement. In nature, we call it dinner."
The Ro Treè: Treaty and Doctrine
1. Love Ro (Branches of Present) — Accomplished by caring for brethren and parents.
2. Feed Both Your Wolves (Roots of the Past) — Feed as many wolves as you have domesticated.
3. Dream Ro (Leaves of the Future) — When Fathers dreamt with Mothers, that is when the worlds were created.
Joseph knew he was his Father's dream because his Father had told him in the beginning that he had dreamt of Joseph while the rest of his brothers had been their Mothers' dream alone.
The Red Giant
Fig. 10: The Red Giant's skin, blindingly radiant. [ESO/VLT]
It could not have happened to a more genuine and light-hearted Giant. She was a rare Southern Red Giant, and so notable was the color of Her skin, so blindingly radiant, that the humans had adopted her Red Circle emblem on their flags and Coats-of-Arms.
Dr. Om on Causation
"Can there be death without causation in natural law? The Giant dies, yet no weapon is found. Perhaps the cause is cumulative—a thousand small trespasses, each legal, together fatal."
Captain Hook on the Moon
"All men seek the moon, but few pay the price of passage. I've seen sailors go mad for want of that silver coin in the sky. The Red Giant offers a ride, but the fare is everything you have, and everything you are."
How many men found their promised futures on the Moon is uncertain but the incidences of Man's death on the beaches, when charted, correlated to her seasonal path in a perfect sine wave with an amplitude of pi. Nobody needs any more proof than that there is a perfect pi.
de Trialle
Fig. 11: The Aural Updraft. John Serbu Juvenile Court, May 15th, 2023.
May 15th, 2023. John Serbu Juvenile Court.
Captain Hook on the Elevator
"The elevator being out of order constitutes a denial of access. I've scaled many a rope ladder in my day, but a broken lift in a courthouse? That's a new kind of obstacle. The law builds barriers while pretending to remove them."
To say Juvenile Attorneys Heather Saell and JAG Perkins were excited when they rolled up to the Eugene Courthouse on Monday Morning for just a hearing would not be doing it Justice; no Justice at all. Ms. Saell in her wheelchair, Mr. Perkins astride a black Arabian.
He brought the hilt of the blade to his lips and softly blew. After what seemed like months, another sound approached the Kiddie Bar: a storm cloud of migratory birds: herons, cranes, geese by the droves, and even Turkeys! They filled the Space over and surrounding the entire Courthouse.
And then something even more unbelievable actually happened that day: JAG Perkins and Heather Saell were lifted up on a Aural Updraft generated by the flapping of wings and tongues of the Bird Cloud.
Where did they end up? Nobody knows but one thing is known for sure: everything that rises must converge.
A Puppet Theatre Interlude in Four Acts
Being the Circumstances of Necessity
Opening Song
"The Ballad of Mr. Hook"
Thomas Pynchon (Narrator)
In the sea of puppetry, a tale unfolds,
Of Mr. Hook, his story untold.
A ditty of strings and a finger's sacrifice,
In the puppet theater, where stakes are...
The Leviathan. The same whale that sank them.
[The moon casts a haunting glow on the tempestuous seas as Mr. Finger, Colin, and Diplomate JAG Perkins find themselves shipwrecked after a whale collision in Oregon waters.]
Mr. Finger: Avast, Colin! Shipwrecked by the mighty whale in Oregon's tumultuous...
[The moon's glow intensifies as Mr. Finger decides to sacrifice his finger to fashion a fishing hook for their predicament.]
[The moon's glow adds a celestial touch as the hooked whale pulls them through turbulent waters, symbolizing their journey to safer shores.]
Asst. Colin Om: Sharks! Mr. Finger, what have we unleashed?
Captain Hook: Ladies and gentlemen of the puppet court, lend me your ears! In this maritime tale of tempestuous waters and sacrificial valor, Mr. Finger, a puppet of great renown, has orchestrated a grand spectacle...
The finger is gone,
But the hook remains silver.
Moonlight on the waves.
Curtains close on "Hook" by JAG Perkins, PhD II
Fire/Action
Fig. 13: Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp. $25. [USFWS]
A Proclamation
"The United States of America — we should have no one — there should — no one should have to choose between caring for the parents who raised them, the children who depend on them, or the paycheck they rely on to take care of both."
— President Joseph R. Biden
The President had arranged it all. The geese, the timeshares, the whole thing. It was a matter of jurisdiction, really—who owns the moon when Giants die and leave their estates?
Title 4 U.S.C. §5515, "FRENCH-INDIVIDUAL SOVEREIGNTY"
Parental Thinking Error Syllogism (DSM VII: Royal Thinking Disorder)
A. IF Children are the Future; TIME
B. AND I own all these my Children; THE MOON
C. THEN I own a share of the Future; STOCK/SHARE
Dr. Om on Lunar Title
"Title passes by witness, not by deed, in the Giant jurisdictions. The geese are the registry. The moonlight is the notary seal."
Everything that rises must converge. The geese know the way. The timeshare is forever, or at least until the next Giant dies and the volcanoes erupt to create new land, new jurisdictions, new plots to be divided among the survivors of shipwrecks and those who have learned to feed both their wolves.
The Giant Board
"Everything that rises must converge"
In the time of your life, live—so that in that good time there shall be no ugliness or death
for yourself or for any life your life touches.
Dr. Om on Natural Law
Any Giant owes its domicile and dominion to the Laws of Nature, which unofficially states clearly "If an act by a being can be accomplished without the benefit of a Mage, Sygil, Crest, or signature, then it is permissible and the act is not to be questioned by any other Natural Being, or by the Moving Party."