Splintered Blog 15: Better left undead
States of decay are often self-perpetuating
8/23/20262 min read
This could get messy…
I hold these truths to be self-evident. Wait, no I don’t. In fact I’m not completely sure why I said that but I guess I can’t stop now, so let me reiterate my commitment.
Done.
You know what is self-evident, or at least self-referential? The fact that only a certain portion of a general population can be considered “living”. Or, to coin a much less amorphous term: “not-dead”. I realize this distinction has electrifying implications.
In the immortal words of Luther Heggs: “Let me clarify this.”
“Not-dead” can also be expressed by the more colloquial term undead in most applications. Sticking with that popular parlance we can go on to posit that “undead” is a curious state of being which involves much more than merely having half your body rotting. Leaving fleshy chunks of stinking flesh behind as a putrid reminder of your passing has a habit of making brash reactions commonplace.
And for good reason!
In a literal sense sure, even while acting as a refuge for rats and maggots the rapidly disintegrating husks still manage to mimic a chance encounter with the trappings of consciousness. Bereft of more malleable attributes they gasp and stagger through the distracted masses hoping no one notices the extent to which their intestines are exposed. (In truth many will, but lacking any candor can’t be bothered really caring.) And so they’re left to fester while their foul excretions multiply, threatening vastly more than just their own disintegration.
What to do?
Suggesting they use superglue is one compelling option but only as it pertains to putrefaction. Externally that is. Impressing a less comprehensive regiment of self-preservation may work in instances where decay rates are sated but it still doesn’t guarantee any long-term success. Any half-assed attempt at rehabilitation runs the risk of spreading indirect infections through a chance reaction. Which may or may not be worth the risk if any truly helpful stats can be observed.
Otherwise I just don’t see the point. Best to let them be, despite the frothing mess, and just accept that sometimes fakely living wraiths will always be ingratiated to the worms that keep them company. I can’t express this any other way and if I could I wouldn’t so I guess this sentiment is barely even necessary.
I’ll leave you with some prime advice that may affect some other outcomes more adversely if robbed of context, which is kind of standard practice anyway.
1: Death is not a doorway it’s a window. 2: Some windows are locked and sealed shut in an effort to make them impregnable. 3: This is, of course, a logical fallacy. 4: Other exits rarely present themselves and if they did then one or the other would still be mostly true. 5: Non-death related decay is a sign of other issues, usually the tendency of things to rot despite any efforts to the contrary, although it could also be a metaphor for something entirely unrelated.
Yes, that last thing.
Finally, if you do happen to chance across the aforementioned entities resist the urge to offer any options for renewal. Your actions may be seen as hostile and a challenge to a rabid status quo impressed by nothing but its own impending entropy.