A Cronenberg Dream: 05/14/2020

The dream starts out in a school. The school is reminiscent of a religious school in my old hometown. The place is empty, dark. It could be after hours but I don't remember. I don't recall, but something seems to have occurred, something that makes me want to leave the place and go looking for something from my past.

I drive out on some back roads, and out, in a very tree-lined area I return to someone's home. And the neighbor is crying about 'Corewood.' I look down and I see a bone-shaped plate with the name 'Corewood' written on it on a back porch of a house that is also clearly abandoned. The neighbor, a woman next door is weeping and reminiscing about the dog, named 'Corewood.' I don't recall if this is in reference to an immediate past or something months, years, decades ago. The plate shows wear. I get in my car and drive on.

I drive down the road and the landscape has changed. People are missing. The rituals have changed. I feel beset by a change that I cannot control, a change that has taken all the people I know and all the familiar landmarks in a day from me. Whole towns are missing. Nothing looks familiar. I know that I am driving along familiar roads, except the buildings are completely gone. In their place are fields upon fields, some of which are growing these large plants reminiscent of little shop of horrors, their blooms, reaching out Aubrey-like into the sky. On one side of the road is what resembles ocean. Only it's not ocean. It shimmers an odd blue, and one can make out definition in the undulations that maybe it's a kind of plant, like countless heavy blades of grass of an odd color and rough shape with a shimmery, shiny element to this among it. I drive on.

I drive up a road that dead-ends at a building that is also abandoned. Everywhere I drive is abandoned. Next, I am in a movie theater, and this place is anything but abandoned. It's packed nearly to capacity. The movie is on, but enough light persists out the back of the theater that I can see where I am and that nearly every seat is filled. I am at the back right of the theater with regard to its screen. I overhear some talk about someone coming to bring something. I move from my seat near the back of an otherwise packed movie theater. I am surrounded by kids no more than 12, no less than 10-years old. A blonde kid with shoulder-length straight hair asks if he can sit next to me. I say, 'ok.' He hands me a small pistol and asks me, 'Do you want this?' I say 'Ok.' He continues that 'I don't know, they tell me to carry this.' I am unsure who they is or if he's even on my side. I check the gun's safety switch as the boy indicates that guns are dangerous. I stick this small gun in the back right pocket of my pants.

I get up and squat behind the rear seats in a void with my back against the theater wall. Two people, a man and woman, are standing near the entrance talking. A man comes up the aisle, older, long brown hair, reminding me of a table-top gamer. He's wearing a duster. He goes to take a seat, then he gets up and proceeds to the back where I am and sets down a small, flat triangular box with rounded corners. He asks, 'Is this pointing at you, Jason?' I tell him that it is. Then he proceeds to sit down where I had been sitting. I get up and duck around the corner of the entrance to the theater and watch as the box begins to project a barely visible light against the wall at about the height where my face was as I squatted back there. Suddenly, a long, pale, intestine-like worm begins to emerge from the box. I shoot frantically at the box, but none of my shots hit the worm-snake-intestine creature. It slithers through the wall at the side of the theater into an adjacent, also-filled theater. I run after it, and being screaming 'worm!' 'worm!' then change my plea to 'snake!' 'snake!' and I run to the front of the theater and see the creature moving along the front wall. I aim my gun to shoot the creature but it's now empty. The creature slithers away through the next wall.

I wake up.

Approaching an unknown

The start of any good approach to an unknown is to divide it into fourths and handle known variables as x and y values based upon allowing a number to represent a quantity and to have that quantity placed at a corresponding distance from a zero point along a numbered line.

This quadrant approach itself can be proprioceptive, meaning that our own sense of our body's orientation in space serve in a translational logic where the x axis serves as a left and right, the y axis determines up and down, and 0,0 becomes the center, the mind's I. But I think that concedes too much, so let's forget it.

The quadrant approach allows known, defined, and seemingly related variables to define an imaginary space, which lets the distance between intersecting variables also to represent meaningful difference.

The quadrant approach also demonstrates a shape, which contains a dialectic. The x and y axes and their corresponding 0 positions serve as both a visual and mathematical division of what are presumably 'quantities' of phenomena into characteristically different 'units' of phenomena, that is 'things with different names' More importantly, as they're placed along a continuum their common numerical property reveal a central definition of a dialectic--that is, two objects defined by their difference from one another.

Now, the nature of differences vary. And handling phenomena as numerical quantities may suggest that an architectonic feature of varying quantities of sameness and difference may 'saturate' or 'dilute' an entity, making it one of many objects or their transitional artifacts.

Technology and the end of the old system of whaling

From the 1903 fishing season, Lubbock writes:

"The truth was that the old system of whaling from boats was past, being replaced by the modern one of small powerful steamers with harpoon guns in their bows. These had been invented and brought to perfection by the Norwegians. The Norwegian steamers did not attempt to penetrate the ice, but fished in the open sea, and even the fastest, strongest blue whale, the largest and most powerful mammal in the world, could not contend against their bomb guns." (p. 443)

In the final paragraph of his book, Lubbock places modern whaling in perspective from its origins:

"Though there is still much hardship to be faced in the whaling trade, the thrill of the fight is no longer enhanced by the leviathan's threat to the life and limb of his attacker. Science has taken the romance out of the old fishing and made it into an abominable slaughter, which the old-timer must view not only with amazement but with a very considerable amount of contempt. But the age is a scientific one, and the human being tends more and more to become just a cog in the machinery. However, the one law of life that even Einstein cannot get away with is that the old must make way for the new: in the words of the sea shanty, life is a case of "Get up, Jack, let John sit down." (p. 453)

From "The Arctic Whalers" by Basil Lubbock

The 1890s: Expanding the hunt to any species that offered any value

In his book 'The Arctic Whalers' Basil Lubbock uses the logs of whaling vessels to describe the hardships, adventures, and varying catches of whaling from the late 1700s through the early 20th c. The conclusions that Lubbock draws from his research draw a clear picture about Arctic whaling. The weather made the hunt highly variable, and even in the earliest whaling logs, some ships came home 'clean,' having caught not a single whale. Secondly, the "prodigious slaughter" of such whales, especially in their calving grounds led to the decline and disappearance of the Greenland whale from the historical fishing grounds where whalers knew to find them. Advances in technology, such as the introduction of steam powered whaling ships, the reinforcement of hulls for penetrating ice, and rocket- or gunpowder-powered harpoons all increased what was soon becoming an ever dwindling catch. By the 1890s whales were scarce and whalers increasingly turned to other arctic species, from seals and walruses to reindeer, beluga, and even bottlenose dolphins, many of which were hunted for pelts or for their blubber, which was boiled down into oil.

This slaughter of Arctic species may have had an adverse effect upon Eskimo communities native to these arctic regions and dependent upon some of the same animals for food and materials. The introduction of novel infections, through close contact, and the wholesale destruction of the food web, perhaps may have caused local extinctions of Eskimo communities. As this description demonstrates:

"Again this year, a number of dead Eskimos were discovered; the mate of the Terra Nova came across about 30 skeletons in Dexterity Bay, the women and children lying separate to the men, alongside of whom lay their fishing and hunting gear, while the children's toys and tiny weapons were beside their bodies" (p. 421). 

The expansion of arctic hunting and the institutional momentum defined by ship investments, a specially trained labor force, and markets where arctic oil, pelts, and ivory provided a perennial demand ensured that whaling expeditions would turn a profit by hook or by crook.

Lubbock writes:

"At the beginning of the 'nineties a new form of whaling had been started at Whangamumu in the Bay of Islands, New Zealand. This was the netting of humpbacks, caught passing north between May and August, and south between October and December" (p. 431). 

The 1896 fishing season reveals this from the whaling logs: "Captain Milne, seeing no chance of whales, made up a cargo of anything he could catch, his total bag being 1 whale, 5 narwhals, 21 walruses, 37 bears, 74 seals, 20 reindeer and 3 wolves. The Esquimaux returned with 80 seals, 21 walrus, 12 bears and 2 narwhals, and the Nova Zembla managed to kill 2 small whales. The Alert brought back 45 tons of whale oil, 45 cwts. of bone and 20 tons of seal oil, the produce of 3 good whales and 3890 seals" (pp. 432-433).

As with whaling, many years of sealing, in addition to weather-based catastrophes, led to diminished numbers of seals. The whalers turned to walruses, or 'sea horses.'

Lubbock writes:

It may be asked why this sudden rush to kill sea-horses The answer is a curious one: the hides of the walrus were selling at 1/6 per pound to the makers of bicycles; that is to say, the best bull hides, which were much thicker than those of the females and young. Walrus tusks were fetching 2/6 per pound, and the oil about £18 per ton.' (p. 434).

One can attest to how markets defined what was worthy of hunting and even then the margins were slim. But in economic terms, whaling vessels, harpoons, and skilled seamen and hunters were all durable investments wanting of the opportunity to return year after year for what could be gotten. But the salad days of large whale catches, equally large bonuses, and short seasons were all but over. Instead, whaling had to expand its opportunities to what in the arctic could fetch money in European and American markets. When the whaling or sealing was poor anything went.

"Though 12 Norweigans and 2 Dundee ships, the Polar Star and Balaena, went to the Greenland sealing, the days of this trade were nearly finished, the two Dundee vessels failing to kill 1000 seals between them. Both ships went on to the whaling, but not a single fish was seen. Captain Davidson of the Polar Star gave up the whaling in June, and headed up the Greenland coast in search of walrus, going as far as Lat. 74° N. Besides killing 70 old walrus bulls, Davidson had a very successful musk ox hunting, his bag being 24 head. In these days, when the musk ox was becoming scarce, it is interesting to read that large herds were seen browsing on the main land, most of those killed being straggling animals found on the islands and the shore of the mainland." (p. 435)

Lubbock solidifies this point in writing:

"After bagging 10 musk ox, Robertson sailed for Davis Straits, where he killed 2 whales off Coutts Inlet, the Balaena returning with a cargo of 3 whales, 7 walrus, 3 narwhals, 11 bears and 10 musk oxen. It will be noticed from these different cargoes that the whaling captains were doing their best to make up for the difficulty in killing whales by turning every mammal, bird and fish in the Arctic to account" (pp. 437-438). 

Once, again, the expansion of markets led to a spike in the price of oil, which encouraged more expeditions to the arctic in search of whatever species could offer its blubber for it. Lubbock writes of the 1900 fishing season:

"Owing to a new market for oil being found in Italy, the price of that commodity had increased to £23 per ton. During the past ten years, 2,442,125 seals had been taken off Newfoundland by 181 steamers, but this does not represent anything like the total number of seals slaughtered, for there was tremendous wastage of seals killed and afterwards lost on the ice. Besides this, the sailing fleet of stout-hearted Newfoundland schooners accounted for a large total, reckoned at about 10,000 seals in 1900; then, again, the sealing from the shores of Newfoundland and Labrador also took toll of the seals. When, in addition to this slaughter, one remembers the numbers which had been killed at the Greenland fishing, it is surprising that the seals still seemed to be as plentiful as ever." (p. 438)

The Fishing Season 1892: The demise of the Biscay right whale and the hunt of a blue whale

"Though the Greenland whale was scarcer and harder to catch every year, it is interesting to note that the Norwegians had been killing a few of the almost extinct Biscay right whales during the past year or two to the southward of Iceland. In 1889, 1 was caught; in 1890 6; and in 1891, 10. During 1892, every whaler was on the lookout for them, but none were seen, and it seemed likely that the Norwegians had killed off the only school in existence.

Discouraged by their want of success in the Arctic, the four Dundee whalers, Active, Balaena, Diana, and Polar Star, sailed in September, 1892, for the Antarctic in search of the southern right whale, but their voyage was an absolute failure, and they had to cut their loss by filling up with seals. Their most interesting adventure was the Active's endeavour to kill a blue whale. The fish towed the whaler and her three boats, with 6 lines out, for 14 hours; the ship then put her engines astern and the lines broke."  (p. 426)

From The Arctic Whalers by Basil Lubbock

Of note in this passage is a reference to the enterprise of whaling and how it spawned various other arctic expeditions. Some led to better mapping and naturalistic examination of the Arctic landscape. Some led to the expansion of the hunt to include seals, porpoises, bears, foxes, narwhal, and beluga as the correct, or 'right,' whales were all hunted to scarce enough numbers to make whaling for them alone a financial loss. The majority of Arctic produce was the blubber found on the various large mammals there, which was boiled down into oil. In addition, some were also hunted for their beautiful white skin, in the case of the beluga, or pelts, in the case of walruses, seals, bears, and foxes. Finally, their bone, chiefly the whale's baleen and jaw bone, the walruses' tusk, and the narwhal's 'unicorn' were all prized by markets in Europe eager to turn these into various fine and useful products for homes that could afford them.

The fishing season 1891: Speculation about the over-hunting of a species

"By this date, Peterhead owners were seriously losing heart in the Greenland fishery. What few whales were seen had become so wild that it was almost impossible to approach them, and it was contended that the noise of the screw could be heard by whales for a tremendous distance and gave ample warning" (p. 423).

One could surmise that several hundred years of hunting a large cetacean had thinned the numbers of the breeding population that were less likely to startle awake and flee while being hunted. Likewise, those that were relatively calm in demeanor among a population that had no real predator at adult size other than the newly arrived whalers were the first among this population to perish as were those whales that chose to bask in the open, away from floes. Contrast that to the one instance of the 'unsuspicious fish' that circled a whaling vessel a few times and even nudged it along as if it were a fellow whale before being harpooned point-blank. The rare few in a Greenland whale population that could be perceived as its ambassadors among humans, those that felt no fear or animosity toward them, were the first to perish as they were the easiest to harpoon, flench, boil down, and sell to markets in Europe and the Americas in the form of oil and baleen products.

Quote above from The Arctic Whalers by Basil Lubbock

An account of stalking a Greenland whale

From the 1889 fishing season:

"Most of the Greenland whales were caught near a very large floe; one of these, which was harpooned by Mr. Robert Gray, the eldest son and chief officer of Captain David Gray, was seen from the crow's nest of the Eclipse, about a mile away with only its crown and part of its back showing--it was fast asleep. The boat pulled up behind it as quietly as possible and, when near enough, was allowed to drift silently upon the whale, and Mr. Gray did not fire until the boat was over the whale's tail with its bow almost touching its back. This whale had over 10 ft. of bone" (p. 421).

From The Arctic Whalers by Basil Lubbock