#November2010
DEFEAT. 010 – From War with Love
[DEFEAT. is Rendar Frankenstein’s truest attempt at fiction. Presented in weekly episodes, the novella tells the tale of Daryl Millar – a hero who dies at the intersection of pop culture, science-fiction, war epic, and fantasy]
November 17, 1943
To My Beloved Betty,
As I write to you I sit aboard a vessel that, despite being a giant in its own right, is dwarfed by the mammoth that is the Pacific. If it weren’t starting to turn crimson with the blood of good, honest (and not so honest) men, I’d swear this ocean is the embodiment of God himself.
All of the supposed comforts provided by this battleship are revealed as mere feats of human ingenuity – designs of imperfect and selfish beings – when one understands the magnificence of its supporting body of water. I spend a lot of time on deck, staring out into its vastness, wondering how it is that I’ve ever managed to feel important.
The ocean is natural and timeless. Humanity’s current path seems to be anything but.
However, when I think of you and the love you’ve given me I can’t help but remember why it is that I continue. In the long term, I truly believe that we — people, human beings, civilization — will be but a flash in the pan. With that being said, there’s no reason to settle for less during our moment.
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DEFEAT. 009 – Light Gun Eastwood
[DEFEAT. is Rendar Frankenstein’s truest attempt at fiction. Presented in weekly episodes, the novella tells the tale of Daryl Millar – a hero who dies at the intersection of pop culture, science-fiction, war epic, and fantasy]
At just about the same time that the battered son of Lieutenant Larry Buckley was regaining consciousness and Daryl Millar was returning home with the most important gift of his entire short life, 8-Bit was shooting ducks out of the sky.
In his darkened basement.
With a plastic gun.
That was hooked up to his Nintendo Entertainment System.
The game was Duck Hunt and without it 8-Bit would have had absolutely no idea what it means to exert control over another living being. The simulation allowed him to feel a sense of power, twirling the Light Gun on his finger like Eastwood in A Fistful of Dollars and blasting pixilated ducks out of the televised sky. Being shrugged off by almost everyone in his life, 8-Bit relied on Nintendo’s processing power to help convince him that there were instances in which he was empowered.
He was the big-bad-man with the motherfucking gun.
DEFEAT. 005 – Postscript One
[DEFEAT. is Rendar Frankenstein’s truest attempt at fiction. Presented in weekly episodes, the novella tells the tale of Daryl Millar – a hero who dies at the intersection of pop culture, science-fiction, war epic, and fantasy]
A city such as Pompeii is buried by volcanic ash, just as the sands of time sweep over and blanket those falling short of greatness. Pompeii had little to offer the world at large and its ruins were the source of an accidental discovery almost seventeen-hundred years after its demise.
On the other hand, time only helps mythologize those fortunate enough to have achieved legendary status. A city such as Rome, whose epic downfall has served as a warning for future generations, is still lauded for its magnificence and regarded as Città Eterna — the Eternal City.
What type of city should a man strive to be — Pompeii or Rome?
