alternative futures: the end of usury

22 Feb 2018

this is the beginning of an alternative futures project my little (fraternity) brother and i schemed up. its structure is inspired by the renga form. the subject: usury.

leviticus 25:35-37: Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. Do not take usurious interest from him, but revere your God, that your countryman may live with you. You shall not give him your silver at interest, nor your food for gain…

letter #1: goodbye

2048

rina,

i hope this finds you well. if you’re reading this, i am sorry that i have left you in this way, without saying goodbye to you myself.

i asked charles to hold onto these notes for me and to give them to you when you turned 30. i imagined that it wouldn’t be possible for me to have done the work that i did and live to see your 30th birthday. i did i felt like i had to do. for the negative implications on your life, through no actions of your own, i apologize. i really do.

but given that i’m not there to help in person, i write these notes to give you a little guidance on how to deal with what i’ve left behind. little of it is pretty, but i hope all of it is good for the species…

first things first: charles.

charlie knows everything. he will be your greatest asset. i know the way you probably perceived him was just as my driver and assistant but he was so much more. we had to plan every aspect of our relationship so that no one would suspect what we were up to. i needed him to see and read all my emails, schedule my meetings, and drive me from place to place so that he could be with him if i needed him. and when trying extract usury from the core of a society, i can’t even count the number of times i needed him. i can even remember the number of times he’s saved me from a hit…

words / writing / post-processing
258w / 12min / 15min