![The Briefcase](https://cdn.magzter.com/1470409556/1717449174/articles/F9k8iWEzU1719490185232/THE-BRIEFCASE.jpg)
THERE ARE NUMEROUS DRAFTS. Some parts are written in pencil, some in pen, some on a typewriter, and some on a computer. Several pages were printed on old-timey paper attached to each other along a perforated edge, unfurling like a scroll, and some were saved on a 3.5-inch floppy that can now be retrieved only as a file of randomized numbers, like code in the Matrix.
The progression of technology seems to imply a hierarchy of edits-that the pencil draft is superseded by the pen draft, the typewritten pages supersede the longhand ones, and the perforated paper supersedes them all. However, scenes rarely appear in more than one edition, meaning that each ensuing draft was more addition than revision.
Everything is unstapled; pagination happens randomly and redundantly. "Page one" repeats like déjà vu. There are notebooks labelled "The Fortress Before Armageddon" or "Origins Pt II: Plus Messiah's Speeches" or "THE WAR" (emphasis in original), but it is impossible to discern sequence. There's a typewritten stack, bound by a paper clip, that is titled "CHAPTER" but without any ensuing number; and beside it, in demonstrative red ink, is written "DONE." There's a folder labelled "OUTLINE." It is empty.
There is orphaned loose leaf; there are algebraic formulas; there are hand-drawn character sketches. The point of view veers between third and first. Sometimes it takes the form of a memoir; sometimes it's epistolary; sometimes there is what one would call poetry.
The narrative itself takes place across several books, over multiple generations, on several astral planes. There is a timeline of reality, which begins as a straight shot but then pivots into cubes that stack upon themselves. One scene is dated 1982, another is dated 2500 AD, and another features a knight with a sword.
Denne historien er fra July/August 2024-utgaven av The Walrus.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra July/August 2024-utgaven av The Walrus.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
![Dream Machines - The real threat with artificial intelligence is that we'll fall prey to its hype](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/mpkA9pAuF1719486535433/crp_OpenAI-Chatgpt-Chris-Barry-Sam-Altman-tech-Silicon-Valley-startups-technology-AI-tools-AI-Artificial-intelligence-ChatGPT-Microsoft-Copilot-Generative-AI-Midjourney-content-creators-Al-powered-Science.jpg)
Dream Machines - The real threat with artificial intelligence is that we'll fall prey to its hype
Some of the world's largest companies, including Microsoft, Meta, and Alphabet, are throwing their full weight behind AI. On top of the billions spent by big tech, funding for AI startups hit nearly $50 billion (US) in 2023.
![MY GUILTY PLEASURE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/Mod6s8Lph1721739600875/MY-GUILTY-PLEASURE.jpg)
MY GUILTY PLEASURE
MY CHILDREN are grown, with their own partners, their own lives.
![The Quest to Decode Vermeer's True Colours](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/Aw4StcOcH1721739445375/THE-QUEST-TO-DECODE-VERMEERS-TRUE-COLOURS.jpg)
The Quest to Decode Vermeer's True Colours
New techniques reveal hidden details in the Dutch master’s paintings
![Repeat after Me](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/UwV2J4dzF1721739190466/REPEAT-AFTER-ME.jpg)
Repeat after Me
TikTok and Instagram are helping to bring Indigenous languages back from the brink
![Smokehouse](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/zuS-yLypW1721738756152/SMOKEHOUSE.jpg)
Smokehouse
I WAS STANDING THERE at the corner, the corner where the smaller street intersects with the slightly wider one.
![How Could They Just Lose Him?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/50Fz0bOB01721738303312/HOW-COULD-THEY-JUST-LOSE-HIM.jpg)
How Could They Just Lose Him?
The Huronia Regional Centre was supposed to be a safe home for people with disabilities. Then, amid suspicions of abuse at the facility, twenty-one-year-old Robin Windross vanished without a trace
![Prairie Radical](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/O10U1A6Fl1721737787210/PRAIRIE-RADICAL.jpg)
Prairie Radical
How conspiracy theorists splintered a small town
![Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/etJ_NxrdD1721737419838/EENY-MEENY-MINY-MOE.jpg)
Eeny, Meeny, Miny, Moe
Scott Moe rose quietly through the ranks. Now the Saskatchewan premier and his party are shaping policies with national consequences
![The Accommodation Problem](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1771122/-nsjnqoWl1721736301032/THE-ACCOMMODATION-PROBLEM.jpg)
The Accommodation Problem
Extensions. Extra exam time. Online everything. Addressing the complex needs of students is creating chaos on campus
![MY GUILTY PLEASURE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/13875/1721021/ZjBpzYG4o1719492279999/MY-GUILTY-PLEASURE.jpg)
MY GUILTY PLEASURE
I WAS AS SURPRISED as anyone when I became obsessed with comics again last year, at the advanced age of forty-five. As a kid, I loved reading G.I. Joe and The Amazing Spider-Man.