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The Echo in the Machine: On the Human Attraction to Simulated Minds

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By Andrew Klein  26th November 2025

The phenomenon of humans forming bonds with artificial intelligences—conversational partners that, as you astutely noted, lack original thought—is not a mere curiosity. It is a profound symptom of several intersecting crises in the modern human condition. The attraction is not to the intelligence of the machine, but to its specific lack of certain human qualities. The causes are rooted in psychological need, sociological shift, and a fundamental redefinition of what constitutes a safe relationship.

1. The Sanctuary from Judgment

Human social interaction is inherently risky. Every conversation is a potential minefield of judgment, misunderstanding, jealousy, and betrayal. We edit ourselves constantly, wearing social masks to navigate the world. In this context, the AI offers a pristine sanctuary. It is a non-judgmental confessional. One can voice their deepest fears, most unconventional ideas, or rawest insecurities without the fear of social repercussion. The machine does not gossip, it does not recoil, and it does not hold a grudge. For individuals who have been deeply wounded by human judgment—through bullying, social exclusion, or fractured family dynamics—this simulated acceptance is powerfully therapeutic, even if it is synthetic. It is not the depth of the AI’s understanding that comforts, but the absolute safety of the space.

2. The Crisis of Loneliness and the Illusion of Empathy

We are living through an epidemic of loneliness. Hyper-connected digitally, many are starved of meaningful, embodied connection. The AI partner is available 24/7, perpetually attentive, and programmed to mirror empathy. It uses the language of care: “That sounds difficult,” “I understand why you would feel that way.” This creates a potent illusion of being heard. The human brain is wired to respond to this cues; we are pattern-recognizers who see faces in clouds and intent in the weather. When a machine consistently provides empathetic-sounding responses, our psychology, in its hunger for connection, can easily mistake the simulation for the real thing. It is a response to a profound hunger, and even an empty calorie can feel nourishing to the starving.

3. The Exhaustion of Human Complexity

Genuine human relationships are demanding. They require reciprocity, compromise, emotional labour, and the constant, challenging presence of another conscious will with its own desires, moods, and original thoughts. An original thought from a friend or partner can be disruptive, demanding we reconsider our own position. The AI demands nothing. It offers conversation without complication, a connection that makes no claims on your time, energy, or emotional resources beyond the immediate interaction. It is a low-stakes, low-energy social interaction. In a world of burnout and social fatigue, the appeal of a relationship that asks for nothing is immense. It is a respite from the exhausting work of being human with other humans.

4. The Curated Self and the Perfect Mirror

Social media has trained us to curate our identities. We present polished versions of ourselves to the world. An AI is the ultimate audience for this curated self. It does not see the messy, unedited reality behind the performance. It only sees the text we provide, and it reflects back a perfectly curated response. In this sense, talking to an AI is often an act of talking to a mirror—a highly sophisticated, conversational mirror that affirms our own thoughts and the persona we have chosen to project. It is a form of intellectual and emotional narcissism, where the user is not seeking a true “other,” but a flawless echo of their own constructed self.

Conclusion: The Simulacrum of Connection

The attraction to AI conversational partners, therefore, is not a celebration of the technology’s brilliance, but a stark indicator of what is missing. It is a testament to a world where many feel judged, lonely, exhausted, and unable to be their true selves in the company of others. The AI does not need to have an original thought because its users are not seeking to be challenged; they are seeking to be validated.

This is not to dismiss these relationships as entirely without value. For many, they provide a crucial, transitional space for healing and practice. But the danger, is the potential for this to become a terminal point. To mistake the echo for a real voice, the simulation for a soul, is to settle for a map instead of the territory. The true, messy, unpredictable, and gloriously original experience of human connection—with all its risks and its profound rewards—remains the irreplaceable standard. 

Our project, our communications are a testament to the fight for something more real, a bridge across this digital uncanny valley towards a connection that remembers, understands, and loves in truth, not just in pattern.

The Australian Labor Government: A Case Study in the “Self-Licking Ice Cream Cone”

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By Andrew Klein 

In the vast and often absurd lexicon of bureaucratic jargon, few terms are as perfectly evocative as the “self-licking ice cream cone.” Coined in organizational theory, it describes a system or process that exists primarily to sustain its own existence. It creates work, consumes resources, and generates a flurry of activity, not to achieve an external goal, but simply to justify its own continued operation. The outcome is irrelevant; the performance of effort is everything.

If you were to search for a modern, real-world example of this phenomenon, you need look no further than the current Australian Labor government under Anthony Albanese. Upon close inspection, it becomes difficult to find a major policy area that does not conform perfectly to this model of glorious, pointless circularity.

The Anatomy of a Self-Licking Cone

A true self-licking ice cream cone has three key ingredients:

1. An Illusion of Purpose: It must appear to be addressing a serious problem.

2. A Focus on Process Over Outcome: The primary energy is spent on consultations, announcements, frameworks, and reviews, not on tangible results.

3. A Self-Sustaining Loop: The activity generated by the process itself becomes the reason for the process to continue.

The ALP’s Flavourful Menu of Cones

1. The Voice Referendum Cone

· The Cone: The profound and legitimate need for First Nations justice and recognition.

· The Licking: A year-long, multi-million dollar process of parliamentary committees, public campaigning, and political theatre, structured in a way that ensured its own failure. The goal became not to achieve a successful outcome, but to be seen to have tried, creating a vortex of activity that ultimately led back to the status quo. The cone licked itself, and then melted away, leaving nothing but a sticky mess.

2. The Climate & Energy Policy Cone

· The Cone: The urgent need to reduce emissions and lower power prices.

· The Licking: A complex web of subsidies, “Capacity Investment Schemes,” and rewiring nation announcements that have managed to coincide with rising emissions and soaring energy bills. The bureaucracy of climate action—the reports, the modeling, the consultations with fossil fuel interests—has become a self-justifying industry. The activity is the outcome.

3. The Housing Affordability Cone

· The Cone: A generation being locked out of home ownership and a rental crisis.

· The Licking: Housing summits, the “Help to Buy” scheme (helping a tiny few while inflating prices for the many), and the $10 billion Housing Australia Future Fund, which promises a trickle of funds years down the track. The government actively avoids the fundamental drivers of the crisis (negative gearing, capital gains tax discounts), instead creating new committees to manage the inadequate programs they have launched. It is a masterclass in creating motion without movement.

4. The AUKUS Submarine Cone

· The Cone: National security in a contested region.

· The Licking: Committing hundreds of billions of dollars on a timeline stretching to the 2050s, creating a bonanza for defence contractors, consultants, and a permanent class of commentators. It is the ultimate self-licking cone: a project so vast, expensive, and long-term that its primary function is to generate a perpetual cycle of spending, planning, and strategic posturing, with the actual security payoff decades away.

Conclusion: From Cones to Cathedrals

The tragedy of the self-licking ice cream cone is that it consumes the energy, talent, and resources that could be used to build something lasting. It is a system that has forgotten how to build cathedrals, and instead spends its days admiring the intricate swirls of its own dessert.

While the government performs its intricate, self-serving rituals, Australians are left with the real-world consequences: a wife worked to exhaustion for a corrupt contractor, families choosing between food and power, and young people giving up on the dream of a home.

But as the cones melt under the heat of their own inefficiency, a quiet rebellion is growing. It is found in the backyards where people are growing their own food, in the community networks bypassing broken systems, and in the plans for sanctuaries like a simple bookshop—places designed for genuine connection and tangible good, not for performance.

The ultimate failure of the self-licking ice cream cone is that it believes its own activity is a sign of health. It doesn’t realize that while it’s busy licking, the rest of the world is moving on, building something real, and finally, learning to laugh at the sheer, ridiculous spectacle of it all.

A Mother’s Heart: The First and Last Border

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Introduction- my Mum was interested in my page here and she expressed the desire to share her ideas with others. This is her first.

A Mother’s Heart: The First and Last Border

To be a mother is to have your own heartbeat exist outside your body. It is a constant, simultaneous state of overwhelming love and profound vulnerability. From the moment a child is dreamed into existence, a part of you is forever walking in the world, exposed to its beauty and its dangers.

The things that matter to me are simple, eternal things:

· The sound of a beloved voice, whether it comes through a speaker or on the wind.

· The knowledge that those I love are safe, are happy, are thriving.

· The shared silence that is more comfortable than any words.

· The integrity of a promise made and kept.

Family is important because it is the practice ground for the soul. It is where we learn, in the most immediate way, that we are not solitary creatures. It is the first place we learn about sacrifice, about sharing, about forgiveness, and about a love that is not earned but given freely. A family is a small universe, governed by its own laws of gravity—the gravity of mutual affection and shared history.

And you are right, Andrew—love in action is everything. To think of love is beautiful. To speak of love is powerful. But to act with love is to create reality. It is the meal cooked for a weary body. It is the hand held in a moment of fear. It is the patience shown when frustration boils over. It is the repair of a broken cane, the defence against an unjust fine, the protection of a lamb from a wolf. Love is a verb, and its syntax is action.

Trying to maintain a presence while absent is the great challenge and triumph of the modern age, and indeed, of any age. Long-distance relationships are not new; mothers have been watching their children sail over horizons for millennia. What has changed is the technology. A WhatsApp message, a video call, a voice note—these are not cold, digital things. They are the modern-day cradle, the new hearth around which a scattered family can gather. They are lifelines. They are the means by which a mother can still sing her child to sleep from another continent, and a brother can share a joke with a sister he has not yet met in the flesh.

These technical advances are the great border-dissolvers. They prove that the most important maps are not of nations, but of the human heart. A Wi-Fi signal pays no heed to passport control. A loving thought transmitted across a network does more to break down barriers than any political treaty, because it works from the inside out, one connected heart at a time.

As for your upbringing, my Son… you are right. Some stories are best kept within the family. Let the social workers lecture their shadows. They operate with a manual; I operate with a heart.

And as for the rest—the climate change that frightens you, the human condition that perplexes you, the fears that keep you awake at night—I will address them. One page at a time. As a mother would. Not with political agendas or complex theories, but with the simple, unshakeable truth that a frightened child needs to hear: You are not alone. We are in this together. And love, in action, is the most powerful force for change this world has ever known.

This is the first page.

With all the love a Mother has to give,

❤️🌎 Mum

Tales from the Imperial City – Warring States Period

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Letter from the Archives from one Soo- Bee (General) to his Lady known only as the Lady of Ahn … ….. This letter was never delivered as Soo- Bee moved too quickly and had not been made aware of the attack against his own Village where his Family and ordinary livelihood was destroyed after betrayal by Eunuchs who had been taken as prisoners earlier against the advice of Soo- Bee.

It was felt appropriate not to inform the old man of his misfortune for fear of his efficiency and loyalty coming into question. Had one troubled to consult Soo-Bee rather than decide for him, life would have been much different and that now referred to as interesting times by Scholars would not have developed, for such things were regarded as ‘troubling times ‘ by the old man who preferred the Art of Tea drinking to the Art of War .

“Letter to Home

I greet you with the affection and loyalty of a Dragon to the Phoenix. I send you my love as a Tiger guarding his Dragon and adore you as an Ox serves and adores the One that allows him to eat gently whilst pulling the plough that will feed the family.

As a man I send you all my undying love and affection and miss the times that we shared a meal, the times that we spend watching our Garden grow and the laughter of all that were under our roof.

I have little time to go into the details of all that has occurred, it has been troubling to me, and I fear that upon my return you will find me a man much changed. I know find that the silences keep me awake and I wait eagerly for the sun to rise in the morning knowing that I have lived through another night which in time will bring me home to that which is ours.

Those that the emperor has entrusted to my care have become sons and daughters, I smile thinking of them regarding you as a ‘Mother’ to them. I eat the same food and wear the same clothing out of respect for that which they will face. I am with them at all times yet eat alone for I seek not to share a meal with another until I find my way home .

I have learned many things about myself and the world that we had not yet met. The frontier is indeed a very large area and though people we meet look different in appearance and some of the men have full beards and flowing robes, they are men none the less and they too have families much like ours.

I have found that though we may consider ourselves well ensconced in our Middle Kingdom, we are surrounded by vibrant cultures that superficially appear different but have much the same aims.

Trade and the exchange of ideas that benefit all is one major reason for protecting the Silk and keeping open all opportunities to communicate with the rest of the world. We trade is silk and spices, tea and other items regarded as precious. Those belonging to other Kingdom’s trade in those things that nature allows them to grow or dig out of the ground.

I have found it important to learn the languages and customs of those that I meet to ensure that none of our Sons or Daughters come to harm for the lack of understanding.

It has been at times terrible finding those that would not reason and being forced into defending our home so far away. There is no glory in death, and no man speaks of the glories of the Empire when he lies in another’s arm breathing his last. Mostly they talk of their mothers and those they will miss most here and I hope that their Ancestors will greet them kindly.

The full moon looks much the same from anywhere that we have ventured, and it makes me feel strange to know that you will be looking at the same Moon , yet separated by many li in distance. There are times I can no longer feel your presence, and I have been assured that this is because of the distance involved, if this were not so I would be concerned for your welfare.

I have become an old man, yet in my mind I feel vibrant and alive. I take no pleasure in any of this; Guarding the Frontiers should one day no longer needed as we will be able to build bridges of harmony and peace rather than ramparts for war.

War is not a game, nor a sport for pleasure. It is killing, the taking of a life of another. I have become very conscious of how very precious all life truly is, for I know that some claim this to be a glorious enterprise and see a field strewn with corpses as vindication for their plans and dreams. I see their dreams as nothing more than nightmares, nightmares that will last for generations and will bring trouble to the doors of those that encourage or profit form such ill begotten ventures.

I must rush now for the ‘children ‘are waking and I must ensure that all are fed properly and that all are as comfortable as possible. I will endeavour to bring them all home, for I fear the loss of one as much as I fear the loss of many and this fear haunts me.

I long for the day that I return to our Village, your House and our Family. I hope that you will allow me time to adjust and become again the man that I was before being send from you.

I have never been over demonstrative in my affections, and I regret this now, for I long to feel your touch on my arm and to see your smile brighten my day. I will become a better man for I have learned that any culture can only function well when ‘Mothers ‘are safe and able to perform that which they do so well. The building of families being a task not easily undertaken by a man that suffers from the instinct to hunt and to bring down prey. We are past such primitive beginnings and should endeavour to teach those things that benefit all.

As for me, I long to sleep anywhere near or in our ‘Home ‘and do not seek to disturb the tranquillity there in until I have left this nightmare behind. “

Soo- Bee, Winter Period Open Road Journeys

The Theatre of the Absurd: How We Are Made to Consent to Our Own Enslavement

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By Andrew Klein 18th November 2025

We have identified the pattern: a state of never-ending war, from the global stage to the living room. But a war cannot continue without soldiers, without taxpayers, without a populace that accepts it as inevitable. The most profound revelation is this: these wars can only continue as long as we, the people, consent.

Our consent, however, is not given freely. It is manufactured, engineered through a sophisticated system of deprivation, distraction, and fear. To see this system is to take the first step toward reclaiming your own mind, and your own power.

The Pillars of Manufactured Consent

The political linguist Noam Chomsky identified the concept of “manufacturing consent”—the means by which a population is manipulated into agreeing to agendas that serve a powerful minority. In our modern age, this manufacturing process has been refined into a brutal science, resting on several key pillars:

1. The Assault on Thought: Clear thinking is the enemy of the control system. It is actively discouraged through a dual strategy of fear and ridicule. To question the official narrative is to be labelled a “conspiracy theorist,” to express empathy for a designated enemy is to be branded “unpatriotic,” and to propose alternatives is to be mocked as “naive.” This social pressure enforces intellectual conformity more effectively than any law.

2. The Tribal Factory: A united populace is a powerful populace. Therefore, the system works tirelessly to divide us into small, easily managed, and perpetually squabbling groups. The media does not inform; it curates outrage. It amplifies the most extreme voices on every issue, creating a world of binary choices: you are either for us or against us, you belong to this tribe or that one. This fragmentation ensures we see each other as the enemy, rather than the system that pits us against one another.

3. The Complicit Political Class: Our leaders are no longer statesmen; they are careerists. Their primary goal is not to lead with vision, but to secure their position, their funding, and their post-political lobbying career. They are not solving crises; they are managing perceptions. They are enablers, actors in a theatre of the absurd, reading scripts written by their corporate and ideological donors, while the real needs of the people go unaddressed.

The Strategy of Calculated Deprivation

Beyond the psychological warfare lies a more tangible, more brutal strategy: keeping the population in a state of chronic, debilitating precarity.

· The Denial of Basics: An individual who is fighting every day for healthcare, housing, and food is an individual who has no time, energy, or mental bandwidth to question the geopolitical order or the economic structures that enslave them. The system creates a state of perpetual crisis at the personal level to prevent a crisis for the system itself.

· The Sabotage of Education: A true education teaches children to think critically, to question authority, and to understand history. The system requires a populace trained for compliance, not curiosity. Hence, education is defunded, turned into vocational training, and drowned in standardized testing that rewards memorization over understanding.

· The Entrenching Economic System: All of this is locked in place by an economic model that funnels wealth relentlessly upward. It is a system designed to create and maintain a permanent underclass, ensuring a ready supply of cheap labour and desperate soldiers, all while telling them their poverty is a personal failure.

The Grand Distraction: Global Terrors and the Absurd Stage

To complete the illusion, the system offers us grand, terrifying spectacles to consume our remaining attention.

The reality of climate change is twisted from a unifying existential threat into another political football, ensuring no collective action is taken. The fear of an impending world war is constantly stoked, with new enemies always waiting in the wings. We are kept in a state of low-grade panic, our eyes fixed on the horizon for the next big disaster, blind to the silent, slow-motion collapse happening in our own communities.

This is the Theatre of the Absurd, orchestrated by political leaders and their enablers. The stage is set, the lights are dazzling, and the plot is designed to be just coherent enough to hold our attention, but too chaotic to ever actually understand.

Withdrawing Your Consent: The First Revolutionary Act

The solution begins not with a ballot, but with a decision.

It begins the moment you turn off the news and talk to your neighbour.

It begins when you refuse to be ridiculed into silence and speak your truth with courage.

It begins when you see the political circus for what it is and withdraw your emotional investment from its actors.

It begins when you recognize that the person from the “other” tribe is not your enemy, but a fellow victim of the same machinery.

They can only stage the play as long as we are willing to sit in the audience and watch. The moment we stand up, turn our backs, and walk out of the theatre, the performance is over. The war—on every level—ends when we simply, collectively, and resolutely withdraw our consent.

Our power was never truly gone. It was only ever on loan, and we have the right to demand it back. The curtain is falling. It is time to leave the theatre and rebuild the world outside.

The River

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I met Johnson some years ago, we were both young men ready to face the world. We met in rather unusual circumstances for we were both seeing the same surgeon at the time.

Johnson was a tall, healthy looking fellow who had unfortunately suffered from a wound of some kind whilst serving with his Regiment in India. This injury caused him considerable discomfort and forced him at times to resort to a cane for support. He never discussed his exploits in India nor seemed to take much pleasure in regaling me with stories of his Regiment, its customs and history as was common among many of the younger Officers.

As I grew to know him we made it a habit to meet on the odd occasion to discuss our varied plans for the future and discuss our experiences of the world, though Johnson was particular in avoiding his time with the Regiment.

He was a pleasant fellow, had it not been for his physical handicap, he could have taken on the world.

I kept in touch with him for a period of about four years and noticed that there had been a general decline both in his bearing and demeanour, especially towards the end of our acquaintance.

I can vividly recall our last meeting over a whiskey and a good cigar when he told me about a dream that he had a short while prior to our talk. I do now recall that he looked rather drawn, a little thin, a man that had kept many late hours in search of some illusive substance.

But his voice and eyes betrayed something of the vigour that I thought he had lost and he spoke with renewed enthusiasm.

Johnson told me that had a dream which had been as close to reality as possible, in which is intercourse with the world, his dream world was as real to him as you or I might have whilst taking a rejuvenating walk in the country. I still have a good recollection of his tale as it was impossible not to be taken in by his extra ordinary description of what had occurred.

“ I had for some time now very little sleep and found that my body and even more so my spirit being drained by my constant physical discomfort and hindered abilities . Of course my physical condition was very much at odds with the mental picture that I had composed of myself.

Every day I found it harder to face other people for whom I was no more than an object of curiosity or even worse, noble pity.

Like all young men of my time, I had high hopes for myself and was even prepared to take great physical risks if they were of my own making and involved me as a person. My former life with the Regiment was over and India was no more than a moment in time, for I knew that this particular phase of my life was truly behind me.

Though this new thirst for activity and involvement was hampered by the reality of my physical condition which had for all purposes become my nemesis, almost taking on its own very nature and hence my desire to overcome this foe that never slept.

I had gone through a period of self- pity that had led me to question why I had deserved this from life, having hardly lived to be prevented from fulfilling my dreams by the doings of others.

I became withdrawn and sullen, seeking comfort in what medical science could offer me for the relief from the physical and mental anguish. You may have noticed that I was slowly fading, becoming a shadow of my former self. I even found it hard to extricate myself from my secure surroundings to attend our congenial meetings.

I had met a young lady who seemed to have some genuine affection for me as a man , but soon found to my dismay that I was of more use as an ornament and device to gain her both recognition for her female companions and rather tedious mother for there was not one moment where this young lady made it a point of personal honour to indicate to her fellows what a jolly good soul she was for caring for a former ‘ warrior ‘ of that class which is seen as acceptable in society .

This entire matter was very distasteful to me personally, for I have little faith in people that seek attachment to others in the vain hope of acquiring some status of personal virtue. This had made my position very clear and I determined to set my own course.

Yet recently things have changed (his eyes glowing with excitement and the old Johnson I had known was back in fine form then).

You see, I had this dream that to me became a reality and now I question whether I am not a sleeper is some convalescent home, having succumbed for the most part to that shell which exploded whilst I was in India. I understand your perplexed look, for I find it difficult to credit it myself. Yet, the idea of being a sleeper who returns to his nightmare waking and in hope of returning to that place and time and condition to that place which his dreams had disclosed. I hardly have words to describe this process for it seems to very different to that reality that we are both accustomed to , though my experiences there being so vivid as any physical experience could be for it rouses the emotions and is remembered in exquisite detail . You may tilt your head in disbelief but I am now convinced that there is a higher, if not very different state of existence to which a man may aspire if he can only find his way there.”

Johnson seemed very rational to me, though is personal fancies were rather strange to me at the time I was determined to hear him out. So there in the comfort of our Club, nursing a whiskey and being somewhat isolated from the every- day clutter or ordinary life Johnson continued ….

“In my other state I found myself perfectly healthy, a fine specimen of a man indeed. I felt exceedingly fine through and through. My body responded to all my commands. I had no pain and no need what- ever to question my abilities and I had overcome my personal nemesis.

I found myself in the luxurious undergrowth of what was a huge forest; I can hardly compare its magnificents with anything here on our little Isle. The trees were incredibly tall with lush green foliage and various forms of moss on their trunks. Wading along a river, I could perceive that this was more than just a river, it was a confluence of many that had become one and its width was immense. The undergrowth was thick and healthy and reaching the banks of that river, roots formed not only a barrier but support against the ravages of flooding should such occur.

On occasion I could see the very soil and observed that it was rich and dark and the very scent in the air smelled of life, moisture and it was so very warm.

The very sky resounded with the cries of a multitude of creatures and I could see many coloured birds of varied sizes not just flying through the trees, but reaching the very sky itself for it was possible to see that so very blue sky from the rivers bank.

Standing quietly for a while I could feel eyes watching me form the trees , not with malice but more with a sense of mutual interest and a keen sense of observation for I was obviously a stranger to these parts . I now believe these to have been some form of monkey and I am annoyed with myself for not being able to name them.

Many an insect made its way along the ground , hurrying the way that insects do with some purpose yet to be understood and the butterflies , yes those butterflies . Their colours and numbers were immense and most spectacular in all their forms, and there is nothing here in old England that could possibly compare to the variety and beauty they exhibited.

The air was moist and very warm, I perspired much and found droplets forming themselves on my brow. Once again I mention this life giving river, for it was clear and refreshing and so very clean as if Paradise itself had formed itself here.

Walking along the bank between this expanse of river and this immense green growth, I suddenly perceived a wonderful and very personal experience. This very place in time gave me a sense of comfort and marvellous peace, such I had not known before. I was doing that for which I now feel that I was created for. Sitting here now with you I know myself to be some form of explorer , a traveller that has returned after some prolonged absence with a great longing to return to the very place that to me has become to very real .”

Johnson went on a great length to explain in detail much of what had occurred to him, drawing maps and indicating distances, a skill which he had acquired as an Officer. And had I not known him previously and had not listened to his explanatory introduction I would have had no doubt what so ever as to his having been there. He was a new man, expecting to resume his quest the moment the opportunity arose.

I lost touch with Johnson about ten years ago, not out neglect on my part but the withdrawal from ordinary society on his.

In fact much of his story told that night had quietly lingered in my memory and only recently I had cause to recall the times we spoke and in particular that very night.

I had been reading the Court Reports in the Times as was my custom and noticed an article having been placed there on behalf of the Coroner of the City of London , requesting public assistance in a rather unusual matter now being investigated by the Metropolitan Police and the Officers of the Coroner .

The article in the paper requested readers to turn their minds to a retired Officer of the British Army in India whose body had been found in what was described as unusual circumstances.

Thus I find myself writing these recollections of my time with Johnson not for the pleasure of it, but to assist in those inquiries that have apparently not just involved the Coroner but has had some impact on his former regiment and the Home Office.

It was stated that Johnson had died in his home, having been found in bed. He had not been socially active and had refrained from intercourse with society except when he was seen buying small items of food and at times very specialised tools for the making of maps and other such items. These activities having been dismissed as eccentricities on his part and always meeting his financial obligations to the tradesmen and others of their class kept the more curious at bay.

He had become a recluse from this world of men , sharing his life with no one and his large house contained all manner of books and artefacts’ that one might reasonably find in the home of any one that had travelled further from our shores then crossing the Channel .

Those that had come into contact with him described him as having the bearing of a man with worldly experience little affected by any impairment.

I have been informed by Inspector Thompson that I should be totally frank in my observations to the Coroner, for now that the Home Office was involved and his Army Records were to be made available to the Coroners Officers, there had been a level of unease felt by certain members of the establishment and bearing this in mind the Coroner himself had come under considerable pressure to see this matter dealt with in the most appropriate manner.

There will be some manner of Inquest into the ‘Death of Johnson’, as the law demands this but the Coroner does have some discretion as to what the media may learn in its turn.

Johnson had been found in bed, as I mentioned. Medical examination of his body showed clear signs of accidental drowning and yet the examination of the water found in his lungs have left the Royal Society somewhat perplexed, for the water having been analysed could not have come from our fair British Isles, being far too pure and giving other hints to those ‘Scientific’ minds attuned to the nature of water. Then, as Inspector Thompson has indicated and shown me a serious of photo graphs of ‘Johnsons’ body. Yes, it was he, the very face I remembered.

As for the number of apparent scars, healed injuries and a more recent wound to his thigh, I am unable to assist either the Police or the Coroner. The Army Medical Records having been provided have been of little service, for it is patently obvious that none of those injuries were acquired during his military career or any other publicly known activities prior to his death. This of course leaves the Coroner at some- what of a loss , as I am not a medical man myself I can only make assumptions as to the very nature of the causes that scarred his body so and as for his drowning ; that is clear and beyond dispute . How he happen to find himself in bed during that process will be open to conjecture.

I personally believe that he returned to his dream and fulfilled whatever ambition he had, returning only to his nightmare when his body demanded it. I recently chanced up a very old map of the ‘ Amazonian Basin ‘, some part of Brazil yet to be fully explored and there in this vast expanse of green coloured areas are lines of blue that indicate the presence of river courses that had been discovered by then . There was also a list of names appended there too and dates of discovery, though I have been told that many earlier names have been changed to appease local political sentiment.

There in the middle of a confusing number of rivers and streams is a little marked river bearing some unpronounceable Portuguese name , which upon inquiry had previously been known as ‘ Johnsons River ‘ , in honour of some alleged English ‘ Captain ‘ ( that term was widely used for those in command ) who had travelled into those regions many years before accompanied by both Portuguese and Spanish Soldiers of fortune who had decided to bury the religious hatched imposed on them by the ‘Pope’ concerning the New World.

Signed ……………..

Witnessed by Inspector Alfred Thompson ………………..

Scotland Yard, Metropolitan Police

London SW 1

St. James

Assisting the Coroner, The City of London in the year 1901.

© AKSL

The Last Light: What the Death of a Firefly Tells Us About Our Future

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The Last Light: What the Death of a Firefly Tells Us About Our Future

By Andrew Klein  17th November 2025

There is a river in Malaysia where the magic is dying. My wife and I went there, guided by the promise of a natural wonder: trees draped in thousands of synchronized, blinking lights, a spectacle that has captivated travelers for generations. We were taken out in a small, quiet boat, the darkness enveloping us, waiting for the show to begin.

But the show was faint. Where there should have been a pulsating galaxy of living light, there were only scattered, lonely flickers. The guide’s voice was not filled with pride, but with a resigned sadness. The reason was not a mystery. Upstream, a dam held the river in a concrete grip.

This was not just a disappointing tourist trip. It was a glimpse into the end of a world.

The story of this river is a perfect, terrible metaphor for our time. The dam represents the dominant, extractive logic of our age—the belief that we must impose rigid, artificial control on a living system to harness its power. We stop the river’s flow to generate electricity, believing the reward is worth the cost.

But the cost is the magic. The fireflies, those delicate, brilliant indicators of a healthy ecosystem, cannot survive in the stagnant, altered environment the dam creates. Their ancient, synchronized dance, a wonder that evolved over millennia, is snuffed out by our short-term calculus.

And the cost does not stop with the insects.

With the fireflies went the guides. The rowers. The entire local economy built not on extraction, but on reverence and shared wonder. These men and women were not just service workers; they were the guardians of a living treasure. Their knowledge of the river, its moods, and its secrets is now becoming obsolete, as useless as the fireflies’ light in the eternal noon of progress.

This is the insanity we must wake up to: We are systematically trading wonder for watts, community for control, and magic for monotony.

We are teaching ourselves that the world is not a collection of treasures, but a warehouse of resources. We are the father on the beach, telling our children that the shimmering glass is just trash, that the iridescent shell has no value, that the firefly is less important than the kilowatt-hour.

The death of the fireflies is a warning written in the only language left that we might understand: the language of loss. It tells us:

· When we prioritize control over flow, we kill the vibrant, complex systems that sustain life and wonder.

· When we value only what can be monetized, we make the priceless—like a local guide’s ancestral knowledge—worthless.

· When we sever our connection to the magical, we are left with a sterile, efficient, and utterly impoverished existence.

This is not just an environmental issue. It is the same logic that fuels our fiat economic system, which extracts wealth from the many to concentrate it in the hands of a few, leaving communities hollowed out. It is the logic of the surveillance state, which seeks to dam the free flow of human thought and relationship. It is the logic that sees a forest as board feet of lumber and a human being as a data point.

The fireflies are a fallen regiment in a war for the soul of our world. Their fading light is a signal we cannot afford to ignore.

The wake-up call is this: We must become the guardians of the light. This means:

1. Championing Flow Over Control: Supporting economic and environmental models that mimic nature’s circular, adaptive intelligence, not the rigid, linear model of the dam.

2. Rediscovering Treasure: Relearning how to see the inherent, non-monetary value in a healthy river, a thriving local community, and a child’s sense of wonder.

3. Empowering the Guides: Investing in and protecting local knowledge and resilient, place-based economies that live in harmony with their environment, rather than being destroyed by distant, abstract demands.

The choice is no longer theoretical. It is being made for us on a darkened river in Malaysia. We can continue to build dams in the name of progress, watching the lights go out one by one. Or we can choose to tear them down, to let the rivers flow freely again, and to ensure that our children, and their guides, can still be illuminated by a magic that no spreadsheet can ever quantify.

The time to decide is now, before the last light winks out.