“No, it’s not like Mo’s a slave in The City. Or a ruler, yet. He has a . . . a different role . . . kind of like me, but the opposite.
“That probably makes no sense, huh?
“Well, in The City, New Cannibalism is something everyone thinks they’re supposed to be proud of. And that’s because of Advertising. People try to celebrate New Cannibalism in everything they do. Everything they make is… I mean, that’s what art is in The City.
“And Mo . . . Mo is an artist.
“But I think it was a long time ago, I started hearing people whisper stories. And every story was the same, everywhere. It’s also about when Advertising came to kick out poor Friendship . . . back when places like The Church were, y’know, becoming their own empires, and… And yeah, speaking of The Church, it’s funny how even The Pastor’s messages were sounding more and more like all those same stories. But I’d say the change went both ways . . . like, The Church was so important in The City the stories also changed to match the messages.
“Now every story, and every Church message . . . it’s all exactly the same. It always begins with people . . . slaves or rulers . . . y’know, food or eaters . . . living perfect lives, with everyone perfectly happy in their roles. Then it switches to something feared or bad . . . something new that causes a problem, or . . . or challenges the happy characters’ beautiful lives. The rest is just them finding their way back to how things were at the beginning. The bad thing gets dealt with. And everyone on every level celebrates New Cannibalism again for being the only way to…
“But that same story has been told and retold so many times it’s something everyone in The City feels like they’re part of . . . something I see them all rating and measuring themselves by without even thinking about it.
“Just like how crazy amounts of money go to Advertising to keep showing The City’s rulers on all the screens, I started seeing even more being spent on turning every story into, like, its own massive production. It’s probably pretty obvious why Advertising was happy to give up most of its screen time for those big story productions to get shown instead, right? I mean, The City’s art can go deep with all sorts of layers in how it celebrates New Cannibalism. It’s definitely way better at keeping everyone’s attention. But even though perfection costs so much to make and show, it’s… Well, the higher the quality, the more the productions started having that same hazy, empty look as the fog.
“And once The Pastor’s messages came to fully match The City’s art, I watched even the fog itself start to change. Or at least it looked like it was getting . . . richer . . . more colorful, until…
“Now the fog and art are identical too. It’s just what happens when everything that’s made is meant to show the same Lie . . . that Lie that blends and disappears so easily into the fog.
“I know this all probably sounds so stupid, or…
“Again, I see the art being sold to all the people as their story . . . their culture . . . something they’re supposed to think should show them how to be. So, they’re convinced it’s their job to fight against whatever might remind them of those fears and tensions that all the stories show as threats to their identity and culture . . . threats to New Cannibalism. Any idea that doesn’t fit with New Cannibalism gets written off as dangerous and worth resisting.
“But… I guess one thing I never saw before is how much most people in The City actually hate the art they celebrate. All they do is complain, and say nasty things about the…
“You’re probably wondering: What’s The Lie, then?
“And how could someone hate something they celebrate?
“Remember how I mentioned Friendship could use things like iuns to keep building The Church and other places, or groups, for free, y’know, if not for Advertising taking over and costing everything? Yeah, all the slaves have iuns now. But that’s what I . . . the thing I was getting at… They’re taught to be so afraid of whatever might threaten the way things have always been that instead of using what they have to show and tell their own real stories . . . whatever they could do, and make, and share with each other for free . . . all they do is go on giving their lives and all their money for more of that same art they really hate . . . those huge productions that only ever put others up in front of them, on their screens . . . in their place.
“New Cannibalism makes it more than just okay for the lives of everyday, normal people to be sacrificed. Everything made or shown in The City convinces everyone, over and over, nothing normal can ever be special or worthwhile. So, The City’s art turns normal into just another perfect character in all its productions, like everyone else. And all the real normal people . . . the slaves . . . all they see is how impossibly far their lives are from the perfect versions they keep getting shown. It never changes, but keeps the slaves all low, and hidden, and useful, and…
“Anyway, that’s The Lie I see that hides so perfectly in the fog.
“Even though it still hurts, I… Just, for now, maybe imagine everything born from that fear, and The Lie . . . everything that makes New Cannibalism what it is . . . as, like, water being poured into a tank or drum on one side of some epic scale. Once the tank gets too full, it…
“I could say when we come to now and the way things are in this moment… Well, everything always gets turned up on its head. And I guess the thing I’ve had to learn is it happens on its own. So, it’s really okay.
“I do feel a lot more . . . peaceful.”
I don't know anything 