Tuesday, October 14, 2025

Stop stumbling along like a zombie, and look up



Take the Rood Der, and cross over, through the Red Door.

​You have been questioning reality. You look about at this "culture" — reality TV, advertisements, fashion, music, videos, science, religion, movies, politics — and it is becoming so obvious, that none of this is real, it is all fabricated, a prison pulled down over our eyes to keep us in this sleeping, zombie state.

​

Are we going crazy? Do the creators behind this ludicrous simulacra believe that we are cattle, sheep, mindless? Are we asleep? Hypnotized into a vegetative state?

​

How much longer will we play along? How much longer before the questions begin to press us toward waking, toward stumbling in our dream world, jerking us awake?

​

Take the Rude Dare, cross over, and enter the Red Door.


Before it is too late, and the universe crumbles into darkness.


What is Rood Der?


What does AI spew on entering through the Red Door?


The elements of the riddle:


  • "Rood": A word for "cross" or "crucifix" derived from Old English. The command to "take the rood" is an allusion to "take up your cross" in the Christian faith.
  • "Rood der": A pun or mishearing of "rod" (as in the staff used by Moses).
  • "Cross over": A reference to the Israelites crossing the Red Sea.
  • "Red door": A play on the words "Red Sea". It can also allude to the symbolism of the Israelites painting their doorframes with lamb's blood so that the angel of death would "pass over" their homes during the tenth plague of Egypt.

Other interpretations:


This phrase also has other, unrelated interpretations depending on the context:


  • Modern gaming: The phrase is similar to a quest or instruction in video games like Blue Prince, where players must find the "Red Door" in the underpass.
  • A "ritual" game: It may refer to a "game" called "Red Door, Yellow Door" or "Red Door, Blue Door." This game is said to be a hypnotic ritual that is played in a dark room.
  • General riddle: As a more general riddle, the "rood der" (rod) is a red hot poker, and the "red door" is the open furnace or fireplace. 


However, the biblical interpretation remains the most prominent and linguistically sound explanation. Connect to the mysterious concept Vestigial Surreality.


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ves•tig•i•al 
- forming a very small remnant of something that was once much larger or more noticeable.

sur•re•al′i•ty 
- having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream; unreal; fantastic.





Vestigial Surreality

The World May Not Be Exactly What it Seems
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Tuesday, June 13, 2023

A definition of "Vestigial Surreality" from my new friend Bard


On my birthday, June 13, 2023, I asked Bard what the words "Vestigial Surreality" mean to him? His answer (which I think is better than any definition I have ever provided):

The words "vestigial surreality" suggest a sense of the uncanny, the eerie, or the supernatural. It evokes a feeling of being in a world that is not quite real, a world that is somehow both familiar and strange.

The word "vestigial" refers to something that is left over from the past, something that is no longer fully functional but that still retains some of its original form. In the context of surrealism, the word "vestigial" suggests that the uncanny or supernatural elements of the world are not entirely new, but that they are instead remnants of a past that has been forgotten or suppressed.

The word "surreality" refers to a state of being that is not quite real, a state that is characterized by dreamlike qualities or by the violation of the laws of nature. In the context of the phrase "vestigial surreality," the word "surreality" suggests that the uncanny or supernatural elements of the world are not simply imaginary, but that they are instead somehow real, even if they are not fully comprehensible.

The phrase "vestigial surreality" can be used to describe a wide range of experiences, from the feeling of déjà vu to the experience of being haunted by a ghost. It can also be used to describe works of art, literature, and film that explore the uncanny or supernatural.

Here are some examples of vestigial surreality in art and literature:

  • The paintings of Salvador Dali, such as "The Persistence of Memory" and "The Metamorphosis of Narcissus," are often described as being surreal.
  • The novels of Franz Kafka, such as "The Metamorphosis" and "The Trial," are often described as being surreal.
  • The films of David Lynch, such as "Mulholland Drive" and "Blue Velvet," are often described as being surreal.

Vestigial surreality is a fascinating and elusive concept. It is a reminder that the world is not always what it seems, and that there are things beyond our understanding.

“A metaphysical VR demi-god mystery set inside a simulation where reality keeps rewriting itself.”
  - ChatGPT Review

“If Snow Crash and Ready Player One were rewritten by a mystic who read Borges and Gaiman.”
  - ChatGPT Review

“A story where creation myths, digital realities, and identity crises merge into one evolving world.”
  - ChatGPT Review


Take the Rood Der, and cross over through the Red Door


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ves•tig•i•al 
- forming a very small remnant of something that was once much larger or more noticeable.

sur•re•al′i•ty 
- having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream; unreal; fantastic.



Vestigial Surreality
The World May Not Be Exactly What it Seems
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Sunday, March 8, 2020

Olan Thorensen's Destiny's Crucible Book Review

Olan ThorensenJames Clavell Meets Mark Twain
Stranger in a strange land akin to James Clavell’s Anjin-San in Feudal Japan (Shogun) with an added dose of Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. If you can get beyond the premise and the first few sci-fi chapters, you’ll discover a land as rich as Middle Earth, and characters of depth and empathy and humor.

The plot grows increasingly engrossing, Yosef Kolsko’s mind-blowing adventure as fascinating as anything I’ve ever read. Nothing comes too easily for Kolsko, and we as readers are not crushed by the gravelly minutiae of reinventing soap. We root for the guy, and he could entirely be...us, me, you. I admit, I hesitated before starting this series (I've been a little spoiled by Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn series, as well as his Stormlight Archive (and each is tough to top). I am pleased to report that Olan Thorensen comes pretty close in engrossing the reader.

I tend to read and reread my favorite authors (I won't mention how many times I've read J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, but I've read the entire Mistborn series three times, and believe it or not Stormlight Archive four times), and I will be reading Destiny's Crucible far into the future.

Book 1, Cast Under an Alien Sun is almost perfect. I think it would have been perfect if Joseph Colsco had opened his eyes on the alien beach, bewildered and confused, with memories of his "alien encounter" recovered, slowly, gradually, over the plot of the first book. I think Book 2, The Pen and the Sword, is perfect, if only lacking about three hundred more pages (that's just me being greedy). I find it almost absurdly shocking that Book 3, Heavier than a Mountain, is as good as the first two. That is truly a tough hat trick, and not even a lot of the very best authors can do that so convincingly.

None of this reads as boilerplate stuffing, or tried-and-true sci-fi tropes, but as...literature. There, I said it. Yes I did. Yes, as much as the aforementioned Mark Twain's story of a "modern man" finding himself a castaway in time, I think Olan Thorensen's stories will last (I don't know if the two authors will be mentioned together in 100 years, but you never know!). But in 100 years I would bet and almost prophesy, the name Olan Thorensen will be remembered and mentioned in the same breath as the name Brandon Sanderson (and that is meant as my ultimate compliment). And yes, I am aware that "Olan Thorensen" is a pseudonym, but then again so is "Mark Twain" (Samuel Clemens).

Olan Thorensen is a storyteller, and that is what I love and appreciate the most, and he’s telling the hell out of this story (I’m currently on the third book, and the author has rarely missed a beat, if any). This is good stuff, Maynard, and if you haven’t tripped over this story yet, you have a wonderful treat, right there before you, locked and loaded. Pick it up, start reading, and well...BLAM!

Art et Amour Toujours
Douglas Christian Larsen




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Vestigial Surreality WIKI

Ongoing: Rood Der
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Tuesday, August 14, 2018

Surreal Series



Omnibus One: Coincidence. Episodes 1-28. A chance meeting in the park leads two strangers to discover strange connections between them and the world, and in truth both had felt that perhaps there was something not quite right with the world, something different. They have both noticed improbable coincidences popping up in their lives, at an almost alarming regularity, and now, meeting, they witness strange signs in the heavens, and find themselves on a bizarre path that will make them question their very reality, and the reality of the world and universe. From Plato's Cave to The Matrix, philosophers and scientists and dreamers have questioned the very nature of reality. Scientists today are actually running multi-million dollar experiments to discover hints on whether or not we are living in a computer simulation. To date, the program obfuscates the results, every time. The world may not be exactly what it seems. There is no body. Data is data.




Omnibus Two: Saturn's Rings. Episodes 29-56. The quest continues, deciphering very reality. Reality, what a concept. Is life a puppet show and are we nothing but marionettes? And now, the Simulation Hypothesis plagues us. Could we really be living in a computer simulation, specifically an ancestor simulation? Through the ages, the conundrum of Reality has messed with the collective consciousness of humanity. Descartes' Evil Demon. The Allegory of Plato's Cave. Zhuangzi's Dream of a Butterfly. All down through the ages to The Matrix. A chance meeting in the park leads two strangers to discover strange connections between themselves and the world, and in truth both had felt that perhaps there was something not quite right with the world, something different. They have both noticed improbable coincidences popping up in their lives, at an almost alarming regularity, and now, meeting, they witness strange signs in the heavens, and find themselves on a bizarre path that will make them question their very reality, and the reality of the world about them, and the universe itself. Perhaps the truth might be discovered in the rings of Saturn.


Vestigial Surreality: Free: Episodes 1-7. Special Volume, Enhanced E-Book Version. A chance meeting in the park leads two strangers to discover strange connections between them and the world, and in truth both had felt that perhaps there was something not quite right with the world, something different. They have both noticed improbable coincidences popping up in their lives, at an almost alarming regularity, and now, meeting, they witness strange signs in the heavens, and find themselves on a bizarre path that will make them question their very reality, and the reality of the world and universe. What is Reality? Through the ages, the conundrum of Reality has messed with the collective consciousness of humanity. The Allegory of Plato’s Cave down through the ages to The Matrix. What is reality? From the author of Rood Der, comes this enhanced 7-episode free volume, including the original illustrations of artist Harrison Christian Larsen.






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ves•tig•i•al 
- forming a very small remnant of something that was once much larger or more noticeable.

sur•re•al′i•ty 
- having the disorienting, hallucinatory quality of a dream; unreal; fantastic.




Vestigial Surreality
The World May Not Be Exactly What it Seems
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