The notion of rapture, and all of its variables, died with The Quantification. From abstinent withdrawal to debauched revelry, humanity’s age-old romance with the promise of apocalyptic redemption came to a sudden, finite halt.
In the three generations since use of The Unit was introduced, the freely available VR system of simulated spiritual experience had effectively filled this void.
The resultant degeneration of our brains’ inferior temporal gyrus has been so traumatic and prolonged that we have lost the physiological capability of spiritual experience entirely; all reasons for faith organically are now impossible. And as The Announcement tragically revealed to us, faith had become an essential evolutionary aspect of human biology — and thus, of our continued survival.
It seems that fear of death kept us alive and a sense of doubt compelled us to believe. Thus, the certainty of The Quantification has come at the inevitable cost of our countdown to extinction.
Liminals’ co-option of spiritual ritual is without hierarchy or privilege. It is based solely on the prior capacity of acts to incite transcendental experience in pre-Quantification practitioners. Although theatrical by circumstance, their commitment in often extreme corporeal gestures lies in reaching as near to total abandon as possible. These appropriations aspire to resurrect the ancestral physiology of neurological faith, and are carried out with utmost sincerity.
Actions may include but are not limited to:
irregular breathing repetitive motion with voice continuous rocking
earth and air gestures summoning
hysteria stasis infinite loops
In no way puritanical in their appropriations of spiritual ritual, Liminals also incorporate antiquated effects devices, once used in the catharsis-seeking activities of secular twentieth- century esoteric and hedonistic cultures. These objects combined machine and light to stimulate brain waves and aid in the achievement of altered states of consciousness.
Devices may include, but are not limited to:
Mirror ball — a spherical object with a surface consisting of hundreds or thousands of mirrored facets that reflect light in many directions.
Stroboscope — an object that produces regular flashes of light in the region of 10 to 150 joule, discharged evenly in milliseconds to cause optical illusions of movement and time suspension.
Dream machine — a cylindrical object fitted with cut‑out shapes and illuminated internally that moves at 45 rotations per minute, sending out patterns of 8 and 13 pulses per second that correspond to alpha waves present in the human brain while relaxing.
The twentieth-century concept of Liminality is defined as the ambiguity or disorientation that occurs in the middle stage of a ritual, as well as the temporary suspension of societal beliefs during periods of cultural and political change. Constructive and destructive in turns, this dissolution of order is said to create a fluid, malleable situation that enables unpredictable new practices, customs, ideas, and institutions to emerge. It is a period of great uncertainty and disorientation that brings about the potential of important new perspectives.
Although The Announcement has not yet provided an exact date, our extinction is a quantifiable certainty. Thus the quest of the Liminals — and of periphery altruist cultures in general — to incite evolutionary advancement in an effort to save humanity is more consistent with the types of reactionary developmental syndromes commonly found in aversion societies during end times then a plausible attempt for redemption.
Nonetheless, their diligence and commitment to such fantastic ideas is rather fascinating.