Hope you have a peaceful and relaxing one
Thoughts on Ted Chiang's Exhalation, Andor, Hardspace Shipbreaker, and Citizen Sleeper. Also, a Playlist.
Given their shared themes and simultaneous releases, it makes sense to think of Hardspace: Shipbreaker and Citizen Sleeper together, however I do not do that because I did not play Citizen Sleeper until last week. I played Hardspace at release and didn’t think about it in relation to anything until I read Ted Chiang’s short story, Exhalation. In Exhalation, a sentient machine lives in its species’ version of the scientific revolution and performs brain surgery on itself in the manner of the that era's medical studies. Chiang meticulously details the procedure, and because I was familiar with the visual language of Hardspace, I was able to clearly imagine the steps.
In Exhalation, a brain the size of a soccer ball takes the place of Hardspace’s soccer stadium sized ships. A tray of surgeon's tools replaces a tractor beam and a backpack full of explosives. The two are connected by the exploration of the unknown, zero-g movement, physics, a focus on the component parts of a larger whole, and exploded-view spatial thinking. Play Hardspace: Shipbreaker, read Exhalation.
The depictions of community on Ferrix in Andor and while exploring The Eye as the (Citizen) Sleeper have stayed with me. It’s not a spoiler if you don’t look it up, but IYKYK, so I’ll say that I got the relatively rare “Three Body Problem” achievement as a result of my choices. I was focused on mutual aid and finding a home, and the game did a great job illustrating how seemingly little actions can have lasting impact, and how small gestures of kindness can have a cascading effect. The game also repeatedly hammers that many problems are bigger than you, and there’s a slim chance you can do anything about them no matter how hard you try. When time and energy are finite, what do you prioritize? Watch Andor, play Citizen Sleeper.
Playlist time:
The purpose of this playlist is to serve as a buffer, similar to what I would have wanted for myself a decade ago when I went home to my parents house for days of extended family holiday gatherings. The first ~90 minutes of this playlist is for the time after a large gathering. Put it on while you do the dishes and then unwind in your room. Some electronic, some R&B, some DnB, some Rock.
The second ~90 minutes of the playlist is a high energy rap mix. It starts at the Fred Again / Future remix and, as a heads up, is pretty explicit. I hope the second half of the mix gives you the energy you need to get through a day of familial micro aggressions, Gen X takes about Cancel Culture, or anything else, whether your objective is to wear a smiling, indifferent mask for the day or 1v1 your brother-in-law at the dinner table.
Shoutouts to Passion of the Weiss — some of the best music writing on the internet and a huge inspiration for me in terms of music discovery and playlist building. Another shoutout to Bandcamp Daily’s posts — I always find something good in there.
Finally, quick note for Spotify: I recommend going into Settings and turning Crossfade On (10 Seconds), and Automix on. Makes stuff flow a lot nicer.
Youtube Playlist Link is here.
Have you played NORCO? if you liked Sleeper, you’ll love it.