Statement of Intent
I don't know you from Adam, you could make my day / if you leave me a message I'll give it away
I am writing this not for myself, but for the sake of posterity. Regardless of what my newly expanded lifespan is, it is a virtual certainty that the subject of this missive will outlive me, and it is imperative that future generations be aware of the work I am about to undertake.
'cause the most perfect strangers that you can talk to / are the ones who pretend that you're not really you
On December 4, 2007, I encountered my universe's version of Dr. Raymond Joseph Stantz. This man, who had renamed himself "Dr. Proteus Razrazhatsya," is what laymen would term a 'mad scientist.' Like others of his ilk, he suffers from a neurological condition known as Foglio's Syndrome, which allows him to reach great intellectual heights at the expense of his ability to interact with the world around him in a 'normal' manner.
and with any attempts here to play Frankenstein / come with plenty of chances for changing your mind
I have reason to believe that the version of Ray Stantz who frequents Milliways also suffers from this disorder.
I won't find it fantastic or think it absurd / when the gun in the first act goes off in the third
In the few months since I met him, I have seen Dr. Stantz exhibit many of the symptoms of early-stage Foglio's Syndrome: high mental capacities, an awareness of the strangeness of the world around him, a tendency toward monologuing, an ability to make great intellectual leaps while in an impaired state of mind, and a total failure to acknowledge that there is anything abnormal about his behavior.
'cause it's rare that you ever know what to expect / from a guy made of corpses with bolts in his neck
I can only conclude that Dr. Stantz is either a latent mad genius or an extremely high-functioning one. What remains is to determine which of the two is the case.
if the creature is limping, the parts aren't in place / with a mind of its own and a fist for a face
I must emphasize that Foglio's Syndrome is not necessarily a negative condition--in fact, when managed properly, it can be a great asset. However, if Dr. Stantz's mad genius is still latent, he represents a threat of unimaginable proportions.
and when later we find that the thing we devised / has the villagers clamoring for its demise
The transition from early- to final-stage Foglio's Syndrome is invariably marked by a psychotic break, during which the 'mad' individual may act out in dramatic and dangerous ways. When my colleague Dave Davenport went mad, he was working as a technician in another mad scientist's laboratory; in his passion, he destroyed the entire facility, nearly killing his closest friends and himself in the process. The resources at Dr. Stantz's disposal are infinitely more powerful, and therefore more dangerous should he have a similar psychotic break. Every latent mad genius is, in effect, a time bomb waiting to go off--and this one has the potential to destroy entire universes when it detonates.
we will have to admit the futility of / trying to make something more of this jerry-built love
My goal, therefore, is to conduct a discreet study of Ray Stantz's past and current behavior, in order to determine the current stage of his disorder. If, as I suspect, his mad genius is still latent, I will do everything in my power to ensure that it remains so--or, if such is not possible, that his transition into true 'mad genius' is is as gentle and painless as I can make it.
and you'll notice it bears a resemblance to / everything I imagined I wanted from you
I must do this for Ray's sake, for his world's sake, for Milliways's sake... and for my own sake. I have borne witness to one friend's descent into madness, and I will be damned to hell before I allow it to happen again.
but at least it's my own creation / and it's better than real, it's a real imitiation.
Arthur Nicodemus Meriono
December 19, 2007
Whitetext lyrics: Aimee Mann, "Frankenstein"
I am writing this not for myself, but for the sake of posterity. Regardless of what my newly expanded lifespan is, it is a virtual certainty that the subject of this missive will outlive me, and it is imperative that future generations be aware of the work I am about to undertake.
'cause the most perfect strangers that you can talk to / are the ones who pretend that you're not really you
On December 4, 2007, I encountered my universe's version of Dr. Raymond Joseph Stantz. This man, who had renamed himself "Dr. Proteus Razrazhatsya," is what laymen would term a 'mad scientist.' Like others of his ilk, he suffers from a neurological condition known as Foglio's Syndrome, which allows him to reach great intellectual heights at the expense of his ability to interact with the world around him in a 'normal' manner.
and with any attempts here to play Frankenstein / come with plenty of chances for changing your mind
I have reason to believe that the version of Ray Stantz who frequents Milliways also suffers from this disorder.
I won't find it fantastic or think it absurd / when the gun in the first act goes off in the third
In the few months since I met him, I have seen Dr. Stantz exhibit many of the symptoms of early-stage Foglio's Syndrome: high mental capacities, an awareness of the strangeness of the world around him, a tendency toward monologuing, an ability to make great intellectual leaps while in an impaired state of mind, and a total failure to acknowledge that there is anything abnormal about his behavior.
'cause it's rare that you ever know what to expect / from a guy made of corpses with bolts in his neck
I can only conclude that Dr. Stantz is either a latent mad genius or an extremely high-functioning one. What remains is to determine which of the two is the case.
if the creature is limping, the parts aren't in place / with a mind of its own and a fist for a face
I must emphasize that Foglio's Syndrome is not necessarily a negative condition--in fact, when managed properly, it can be a great asset. However, if Dr. Stantz's mad genius is still latent, he represents a threat of unimaginable proportions.
and when later we find that the thing we devised / has the villagers clamoring for its demise
The transition from early- to final-stage Foglio's Syndrome is invariably marked by a psychotic break, during which the 'mad' individual may act out in dramatic and dangerous ways. When my colleague Dave Davenport went mad, he was working as a technician in another mad scientist's laboratory; in his passion, he destroyed the entire facility, nearly killing his closest friends and himself in the process. The resources at Dr. Stantz's disposal are infinitely more powerful, and therefore more dangerous should he have a similar psychotic break. Every latent mad genius is, in effect, a time bomb waiting to go off--and this one has the potential to destroy entire universes when it detonates.
we will have to admit the futility of / trying to make something more of this jerry-built love
My goal, therefore, is to conduct a discreet study of Ray Stantz's past and current behavior, in order to determine the current stage of his disorder. If, as I suspect, his mad genius is still latent, I will do everything in my power to ensure that it remains so--or, if such is not possible, that his transition into true 'mad genius' is is as gentle and painless as I can make it.
and you'll notice it bears a resemblance to / everything I imagined I wanted from you
I must do this for Ray's sake, for his world's sake, for Milliways's sake... and for my own sake. I have borne witness to one friend's descent into madness, and I will be damned to hell before I allow it to happen again.
but at least it's my own creation / and it's better than real, it's a real imitiation.
Arthur Nicodemus Meriono
December 19, 2007
Whitetext lyrics: Aimee Mann, "Frankenstein"