Valedictions Jeremy Byrne
It was around thirty-two years ago that I first met _fustian, first through science fiction fandom, but with that additional cyberpunk twist for the time, but also with mutual interests in gaming, computing, and politics of the libertarian socialist variety. He would host some rather delightfully clever parties, rather famous for the presence of the "big blue bottle" of medical-grade nitrous oxide with an attached facemask. With others, we speculated on the formation of the "Liberal Socialist Democrats", a political party that would come with the delicious acronym 'LSD'. On hearing that the Happy Mondays had sold more t-shirts than albums, we (and others) formed a band called industrial band "Dresden" that would produce no music at all, but would exist purely on merchandise. It would feature on several nightclub flyers for a number of years. Such was the wild dreams and dances of our youth.
He was an active individual in the Australian science fiction community, especially notable for his involvement in Eidolon and as co-editor of The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy (volumes 1 and 2), and was a driving force in the industrial nightclub, Interzone in Perth. When he moved to Melbourne I had the opportunity to engage in more social activities with him, often in gaming (but also in clubbing, e.g., the Euchronia Steampunk NYE with a live Tesla coil!), where he participated in a number of RPG campaigns with me, including The Great Pendragon Campaign, Laundry Files, and Megatraveller. He also attended the 2018 RuneQuest Glorantha Down Under Convention, where he provided correspondence for the RuneQuest MMORPG that he had been developing quite some time in the past. Jeremy was also the person who got me to sign up to Ingress in its early days which kept me busy trekking outdoors for a few years.
But the reality was that Jeremy wasn't well. Cells in his body were not growing in a normal and controlled manner. Yesterday, I received a message that he was very sick, and confined to a hospice in Kew. I journeyed over with caseopaya and spent some time in his company (he was sleeping, his breathing laboured). It is in these situations that you know that there is nothing you can do, apart from reflecting and being reminded of the precious little time we have on earth and not to waste it. I read out Lindasusan Ulrich's Prayer for the Dying and joined the company of some of his nearest and dearest who were also present for the day. The conversation that followed was one of quality, and despite the circumstances, even happy. This morning I received news that he had passed away. But there will be drinks, there will be stories, there will be memories. My own memories of Jeremy are entirely positive; all the time I had in his company was creative and intellectually stimulating. I am going to miss him a great deal. This entry was originally posted at https://tcpip.dreamwidth.org/328398.html.
He was an active individual in the Australian science fiction community, especially notable for his involvement in Eidolon and as co-editor of The Year's Best Australian Science Fiction and Fantasy (volumes 1 and 2), and was a driving force in the industrial nightclub, Interzone in Perth. When he moved to Melbourne I had the opportunity to engage in more social activities with him, often in gaming (but also in clubbing, e.g., the Euchronia Steampunk NYE with a live Tesla coil!), where he participated in a number of RPG campaigns with me, including The Great Pendragon Campaign, Laundry Files, and Megatraveller. He also attended the 2018 RuneQuest Glorantha Down Under Convention, where he provided correspondence for the RuneQuest MMORPG that he had been developing quite some time in the past. Jeremy was also the person who got me to sign up to Ingress in its early days which kept me busy trekking outdoors for a few years.
But the reality was that Jeremy wasn't well. Cells in his body were not growing in a normal and controlled manner. Yesterday, I received a message that he was very sick, and confined to a hospice in Kew. I journeyed over with caseopaya and spent some time in his company (he was sleeping, his breathing laboured). It is in these situations that you know that there is nothing you can do, apart from reflecting and being reminded of the precious little time we have on earth and not to waste it. I read out Lindasusan Ulrich's Prayer for the Dying and joined the company of some of his nearest and dearest who were also present for the day. The conversation that followed was one of quality, and despite the circumstances, even happy. This morning I received news that he had passed away. But there will be drinks, there will be stories, there will be memories. My own memories of Jeremy are entirely positive; all the time I had in his company was creative and intellectually stimulating. I am going to miss him a great deal. This entry was originally posted at https://tcpip.dreamwidth.org/328398.html.