Since the first time I accidentally downloaded “Peppered Cancer” on LimeWire back in 2007, I had several attempts to steal from the progressive metal band, Spastic Ink.
As my interest in their music eerily increased, my initial intention was to adapt Ron Jarzombek’s Circle of 12 Notes theory, wherein he devised a new music writing tool. The premise was simple: I would determine the general options for broader categories such as character, time, place, literary trick, and human emotion, and then proceed with random combinations of them in each scene. I made a few attempts but the results turned out to be too form-oriented, as the content was written for the sake of the formula, and the form was not designed to support the narrative. Ultimately, it was a disaster.
The second option was to emulate their song “Amnesia,” now released under the name of Blotted Science, in which the notes slowly disappear from the main riff, offering a musical representation of amnesia. In terms of literature, the idea of a text imploding into itself was hardly original; my man B.S. Johnson had already embarked on a similar mission in House Mother Normal, so I did not pursue it through.
I was so devoted to steal something from Spastic Ink/Blotted Science, I then tried their image-to-sound method, in which they sync the music to the movements within a selected scene, with perfect examples of “Cereal Mouse” and “Cretaceous Chasm.” My approach was a loose adaptation of it: listening to songs with lots of signature changes and writing a story that would accompany its ups and downs. The only good it did was reminding me of what a terrible poet I am.
Finally, I’ve found my calling. The closing songs of Blotted Science’s album “The Machinations of Demantia,” titled “Adenoise Breakdown” and “Adenoise Buildup,” were in fact mirroring each other, and both were equally enjoyable. With this inspiration, I’ve decided to write a short story that can be read both forward and backward.
The Rules
The stories should mirror each other sentence-wise.
Stream of consciousness narrative must be avoided as much as possible. No need to cheat. . .
The story must have a logical plot/flow in both versions.
The plotline should be related to the form.
So, with these rules in mind and Blotted Science blasting on my headphones, I write “Amnesia & Cold” — a text in which, when read forward, tells the story of an amnesia patient realizing he has a cold, and read backward, depicts a story about a man with a cold slowly finding out he’s suffering from amnesia.
Tell me, what else can I steal, and how? . .