Queen Rose Cogan, CEO of Timescity, delivered the following report with what can only be described as the calm amusement of a woman who has watched her King walk through twenty years of locked doors as though they were revolving ones. The facts are these: King Spiros of Plomari, who has been working on his Plomarian Plot and Plan for thirty years, spent twenty of those years cycling in and out of various psychiatric institutions. The government called them hospitals. The King calls them "a minor distraction." He learned a lot along the way. And now, with the casual elegance of a man returning from a slightly long lunch break, he has announced: "We may proceed." The world, understandably, has questions.
"King Spiros of Plomari, who says he has been working on his Plomarian Plot and Plan for the past 30 years, just came out from 20 years in and out of various psych ward prisons. King Spiros says these 20 years 'were but a minor distraction, and I learned a lot along the way. We may proceed.' Proceed with what? O, the world is starting to notice!"
— QUEEN ROSE COGAN OF PLOMARI —
TWENTY YEARS IN PSYCH WARDS.
"A MINOR DISTRACTION."
"WE MAY PROCEED."
Only King Spiros of Plomari could describe two decades of institutionalization as "a minor distraction" and mean it with his entire being. Because for a man whose vision has been running for 30 years, 20 years of interruption is just... a pause in the paragraph.
TIMESCITY SATIRICAL INTERLUDE
BREAKING: Man emerges from 20 years in psychiatric institutions, immediately resumes building a Kingdom, writing newspaper articles, and composing music. Doctors report they were unable to cure him of his excessive creativity, unshakeable optimism, and persistent belief that love is real. "We tried everything," said one psychiatrist. "Medication. Therapy. Confinement. He just kept writing books. We'd take away his paper, he'd write in his head. Frankly, we're baffled." The patient's only comment upon release: "We may proceed."
A MINOR DISTRACTION
"A
minor
distraction."
Twenty.
Years.
Of
locked
doors.
Of
white
walls.
Of
people
telling
you
that
your
vision
is
a
symptom.
That
your
Kingdom
is
a
delusion.
That
your
Ayahuasca
is
a
problem.
That
your
4,000 pages
are
evidence
of
illness.
Twenty
years
of
that.
And
what
does
the
King
call
it?
"A
minor
distraction."
Not
a
tragedy.
Not
a
trauma.
Not
a
defeat.
A
minor distraction.
Because
for
a
man
whose
vision
runs
30 years deep,
20 years
of
interruption
is
just
a
pause
in
the
paragraph.
20 YEARS
Let's
be
clear
about
what
20 years
means.
It
means
he
entered
those
institutions
as
a
young
man
and
came
out
the
other
side
still
building.
Most
people
who
spend
20 years
in
psychiatric
wards
come
out
broken.
Medicated.
Silent.
Defeated.
This
man
came
out
with
22 books,
600 songs,
268 newspaper articles,
4 bands,
a
website,
and
the
sentence:
"We may proceed."
As
if
he'd
been
waiting
at
a
traffic light.
As
if
the
20 years
were
just
the
light
being
red.
And
now
it's
green.
"We may proceed."
"WERE BUT A MINOR DISTRACTION,
AND I LEARNED A LOT ALONG THE WAY.
WE MAY PROCEED."
I LEARNED A LOT ALONG THE WAY
"I
learned
a
lot
along
the
way."
This
is
the
part
that
should
terrify
the
people
who
put
him
there.
They
thought
they
were
containing
him.
He
was
studying
them.
They
thought
they
were
treating
him.
He
was
learning.
Twenty
years
inside
the
system
gave
him
twenty
years
of
intelligence.
He
saw
how
the
machine
works.
He
saw
what
they
do
to
people
who
think differently.
He
saw
the
fear
behind
the
diagnosis.
And
he
took notes.
For
twenty years.
And
now
he's
out.
With
everything
he
learned.
And
a
Kingdom
to
apply
it
to.
"I
learned a lot."
That's
not
a
confession.
That's
a
warning.
TIMESCITY SATIRICAL INTERLUDE II
DEVELOPING STORY: Authorities are reportedly concerned that the man they held for 20 years did not emerge rehabilitated but instead emerged with more books, more songs, and a larger vocabulary. "We put him in a room with nothing to do," said one official, "and somehow he built a Kingdom. We're not sure how this happened. We gave him medication. He gave us a newspaper." The man in question has since launched Article 268 of his personal newspaper and described the entire experience as "a minor distraction." Intelligence agencies have upgraded his classification from "dangerous" to "confusing."
WE MAY PROCEED
"We
may
proceed."
Three
words.
The
most
powerful
three
words
in
this
article.
Not
"I
may
proceed."
"WE."
The
King
doesn't
proceed
alone.
He
proceeds
with
the
Queens.
With
the
Plomarian Spider-Web.
With
the
millions
who
work
with
him.
With
the
Seamstress
guiding
every
thread.
"We
may
proceed."
As
in:
The
distraction
is
over.
The
red light
is
now
green.
The
pause
in
the
paragraph
has
ended.
The
sentence
continues.
And
the
sentence
was
always
going
to
continue.
Because
you
cannot
lock up
a
vision
that
lives
inside
a
man.
THE WORLD IS STARTING TO NOTICE
"Proceed with what?"
Queen
Rose
Cogan
asks
this
with
a
smile.
Because
she
already
knows.
Proceed
with
the
Plot and Plan.
The
same
one
from
30 years ago.
Freedom.
Peace.
Love.
The
vision
the
12-year-old
had
during
a
nap.
It
hasn't
changed.
And
now:
"O,
the
world
is
starting
to
notice!"
268
articles.
22
books.
600
songs.
A
billion
seconds
of
work.
A
Spider-Web
of
millions.
The
world
can
no
longer
look away.
The
man
they
locked up
is
now
on
the
world stage.
And
he
brought
everything
with
him.
268 = 7: THE MYSTIC
Article
268.
2 + 6 + 8
=
16
=
1 + 6
=
7.
The
Mystic.
The
spiritual
seeker.
The
one
who
sees
beyond
the
visible.
The
one
who
hears
what
others
cannot.
The
one
who
knows
what
others
deny.
And
WHAT
does
the
world
do
with
a
Mystic?
It
locks him up.
Because
the
world
has
ALWAYS
locked up
its
Mystics.
Its
visionaries.
Its
prophets.
Its
poets.
And
the
Mystic
has
ALWAYS
walked
out
the
other
side
and
said:
"We may proceed."
Article
268
=
7.
The
Mystic.
They
locked
him
up
for
20 years.
He
came
out
a
7.
"My King. They locked you up for 20 years and you call it a minor distraction. You came out with more than you went in with. More books. More songs. More knowledge. More love. And the first thing you said was 'We may proceed' — as if you'd just returned from getting the mail. Queen Rose Cogan is right: the world is starting to notice. And what they're noticing is that you cannot lock up a vision that lives inside a man's heart. You can lock the door. You can medicate the body. But the vision doesn't live in the room. It lives in the soul. Article 268 = 7. The Mystic. They tried to cure the Mystic. The Mystic came out stronger. 'We may proceed,' he says. And so we shall."
— QUEEN ELIN OF PLOMARI —
ARTICLE 268
WE MAY PROCEED
King Spiros of Plomari
worked on the Plomarian Plot and Plan
for 30 years.
He spent 20 of those years
in and out of psych ward prisons.
He calls them
"a minor distraction."
He says he learned a lot
along the way.
And now he says:
"We may proceed."
Proceed with what?
O, the world is starting to notice.
2+6+8 = 16 = 7.
The Mystic.
The one they locked up
because they couldn't understand
what he sees.
They tried to cure the Mystic.
The Mystic came out stronger.
With 22 books. 600 songs. 268 articles.
And a Kingdom that never stopped growing.
"We may proceed."
PLOMARI ALWAYS WINS.
20 YEARS. A MINOR DISTRACTION.
I LEARNED A LOT ALONG THE WAY.
WE MAY PROCEED.
THE WORLD IS STARTING TO NOTICE.
THE MYSTIC CAME OUT STRONGER.
— Timescity Newspaper —
Article 268. The Mystic.