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Have you ever read a book, watched a movie or played a game as a child, later coming to wonder as an adult what subtext you’ve missed?  For me, this is one of those things.

IT’S 2031. The world is on the brink of chaos. In the United States of North America, spiraling crime and unemployment rates, decayed school systems and massive government regulations have led to a lazy, contentious society.

This was one of the few text-adventure games I had for my Apple IIc. Most of my gaming on the IIc was done with keyboard or joystick — games like Wings of Fury, Robocop.

Unlike those, this game was a plot-heavy feast of words. A Mind Forever Voyaging was what wikipedia describes as “a polemical critique of Ronald Reagan’s political policies”, as described by the author’s interview in GET LAMP:

“So that was my mission with A Mind Forever Voyaging. I wanted to kind of to show people what a warmongering, Christian Right-pandering, environmental-trashing rights trampling asshole Reagan was. And of course the game was so successful we never had another President like that.”

I wish I could say that it had an influence on me in that regard. I  remember the pervasive sense of dread it engendered through the bleak future it described. In that way, it was extremely difficult to sit and play for any length of time. I think I could charitably say that it helped add fuel to my love of all things technofuturistic/cyberpunk (though Omni certainly played a larger role).

Mostly I remember the decoding wheel needed to actually play the game, and the faux-magazine included in the box.

And the pen it came with:

Bitcoin mining machines are insane powerhouses, and they’re only getting crazier. How much power is getting sunk into the digital cryptocurrency? More than the world’s top 500 supercomputers combined. What a waste.

In keeping with today’s depressing theme..

The shooting of nineteen innocent people, including two children, at a Mother’s Day celebration in New Orleans yesterday was an act of violence only gaudy enough to hold the nation’s attention momentarily. Shortly after the bodies were cleared, the FBI said they “have no indication the shooting was an act of terrorism. ‘It’€™s strictly an act of street violence in New Orleans.’” At that, we were free to let our attention drift. In America, all villainy is not created equal.

“You’re sort of like a robot, but in human form,” said the Amazon manager. “It’s human automation, if you like.”

Soon to be replaced by actual robots. Which, I guess, is somehow more humane.

Yes, that the onion.  Yes, github.