Giulietto Chiesa
The infinite war
Translated from the Italian by Robert Elliot
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1.
The command deck
On the 11th of September we entered the age of the Empire. And the Empire has decided to go to war. Many of the links between these two things are yet to be discovered, none of them being immediately evident. But finding them, responding to the whole series of questions jostling to be answered in many people’s minds, overcoming the numbing effect of so many events happening in such rapid succession and placating worries and fears are all things that call for newfound efforts. These questions have to be answered, not just for curiosity’s sake or as a token exercise, but for survival. This new war is not a virtual war: it is very real, very fierce and soon will be very near, even if now it seems far away.
Why have we entered the age of the Empire? What exactly is this Empire? Is it the same as previous empires or different? In what way is it different, if it is? Why has this newly formed Empire decided to go to war? Who is it going to war with? How long will this war last? What happens if it wins? What happens if it loses?
I will not be taking the reader back along the paths trodden by the world media system (basically keeping to what they were told by the Imperial Power, as we shall see later on) since the 11th of September. That would be a pointless exercise. These paths are nearly all false trails: blind alleys, tricks, illusions. What little truth they lead to is generally in a kind of trap, set some time ago to catch out all unwary travellers. The questions posed above have been asked by few. ...
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