Frank M. Weeks: In the present environment, fiction is fact & fact is fiction

To The Daily Sun,

Interesting short story by Edgar Allan Poe for those who idolate the electronic "fiction is fact" illusion. "The Masque of the Red Death" is a tale involving Prince Prospero, who barricaded his entourage within the walls ("very big; very tall" — guess who?) of his castle and welded the locks on the gates to prevent the spread of the "red death"(could be the Corona, not the Mexican beer) into the castle. The prince staged a masquerade party for his privileged friends (Who cared about those immigrants outside the castle? Herbert Spencer's Social Darwinism!), yet also happened to welcome an uninvited ghoulishly-costumed skull-faced "guest."

The "guest" was escorted through the seven differently colored rooms within the castle. The colored rooms symbolized the stages of life: the blue room symbolized birth; the second purple room, youth; adolescence was represented by a green room; next was the orange room, adulthood; the fifth violet room was old age; imminent death was the white room; and finally the seventh room was colored black, obviously for death.

At this point the "guest's" attire was revealed to be covering nothing, but blackness; and the entourage succumbed to the "red death." Sadly the walls of this gated community did not prevent the reality of the "red death." Not having the scientific facts, the prince's lack of critical thinking (which is not critical emotionalism) allowed his inability to deal with the reality of life and death to result in his demise.

This is a fictional story (had to say that); but in the present environment, fiction is fact/fact is fiction, according to what is dictated. Comments like "Well, I think that 3.4 percent is really a false number...this is just my hunch.." suggests that the victims of the Corona are just collateral damage.

The deaths are not false! Or the claim that the Corona is "a hoax" suggests Alfred E. Newman's, "What, me worry!" Of course, 109 military members were assuaged when they found out that their Jan. 8 Al-Asad traumatic brain injuries were just "headaches... not very serious..(not) bad injuries."

What a relief! Ah, life is so much better when you are a "stable scientist" and live in a crystal palace. "All you have to tell them is that they are being attacked...it works the same in any country"(Hermann Goering). And they will build it. Humorous conundrum of pruf reedin end spel chek: "I caution the tempted their shins might receive a vicious back-handed strike from my heavy old cain…" Huh! The Mutiny! "Also we should note that various poles here in America..." Bipolar? "...we pay over 70 per cent of NATO's costs whereas our allies have been getting off on the cheep." No tweet! No chirp! Got to love it.

Frank M. Weeks

Gilmanton Iron Works