Kim Fielding and I are hard at work on the sequel to Office of the Lost, and as yet to be named second romp through the Connected Worlds with our heroes Crispin and Leopold.
In the scene I just completed, they find themselves on a world named Hades, where the very fabric of the place is made up of a substance that is contradictory in nature. They nickname this weird stuff Schrödinger’s cat because it seems to exist in two states at the same time. Sometimes it’s hot/cold, sometimes it’s black/white, sometimes it smells like cinnamon/garbage. It’s organized, intentional chaos.
I was thinking about it this morning, and it struck me that it’s kind of a perfect metaphor for the world we find ourselves in today. Everything is upside down. They tell us that white is now black, that wrong is right, and that peace is war. Words are bandied about as if they had no actual definitions. Remember when “fake news” actually meant something?
It’s hard living in such an intentionally chaotic world. There’s no safe place to stand and no secure ground under foot. Our characters long for a time when things will make sense again, and fear that that time may never come.
Yet somehow, the characters bungle through it and end up on the far side. How do they do it?
First of all, through humor. They discover that if they make hyperbolic statements, a pathway opens up for them. And the more outrageous the statement, the wider the path.
They also realize that they’ve been looking at things all wrong, and that the actions they thought were moving forward are actually taking them backwards. So they find a different way.
Finally, they all put their minds together and talk things out, and find way out of their predicament.
So their way out of their conundrum boils down to using humor, finding a new approach, and working/commiserating together.
Sounds familiar? Who knew a romantic fantasy could be so deep!
Every week, I get an email from Jay Kuo that summarizes and shares many of the political memes going around. It always makes me laugh, even though it’s sometimes black laughter. But that’s better than no laughter at all, right? It’s also important to remember that humor has always taken front stage when fighting authoritarianism. When we poke fun at those in power and puncture their “all powerful” aura, we reduce that power, even if just a little.
Right now, the left is in the midst of a great rethinking. New ideas are coming to the fore, old leaders are slowly retiring, and we are trying to figure out different ways to imagine what the world could be. When the old ways no longer work, only a fool continues to pursue them. What’s that old saying? “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”
And finally, working and commiserating together. The times I feel best in these dark days are the moments that I spend with friends and family. We come together to lament the state of the world, but also just to forget it entirely for an hour or two, and to recharge our mental and emotional batteries. And out in the world, we come together with like-minded folks at rallies and within our own organizations to try to put a stop to the most outrageous abuses of power, and to create and communicate a vision for something new.
Writing is always a reflection of the real world, and of the person who writes it. Sometimes these meanings are masked in beautiful language and a charming story. But there are life lessons to be learned by digging just a little deeper. That’s the power of the pen.
All that said, Office of the Lost II is in no way political. It’s just so much fun, a romp through a bunch of crazy worlds, and a celebration of humanity and the idea of working together to achieve a common goal, no matter how bleak the world around you gets.
I can’t wait for you to read it!