Archaeology Today
It was when Jerry saw that the ceiling of the burial chamber was painted blue with yellow stars that he realised he had just discovered where he had previously been buried. He had been exploring the Valley of the Kings in Egypt for more than a decade when he discovered a staircase that led to the tomb.
It took months to clear flood debris from the descending corridor and during this time Jerry and his team assumed the tomb belonged to some pharoah or other. But as soon as he saw the ceiling of the burial chamber had been decorated with scenes from Notting Hill, he knew he had made what he has since hailed as the most significant discovery since sex.
He felt an ‘extraordinary sort of déjà vu at that moment,’ Jerry told his mates in the pub. ‘When I came out of my own burial chamber the only thing I could do was burst into tears. Of course, the tomb turned out to be completely empty, not because it had been robbed, but because I am alive. I escaped through a subsidiary corridor and moved somewhere else.’
Welcome to Hell
Classrooms and bussing home
Frantically attending to the nightmare
Somewhere on the other side
Ever-present flames in blazing glory
Outlandish versions of sin
Why didn’t you do what you wanted?
Snow days spent at the museum
Several dying colleagues
Poisonous fumes leaking
Potential spiritual catastrophe
Chaos burning within
Massive underground war
Clusterfuck journalism
Writers fleeing from terrorism
Pleading and consequence-threatening
Astronomy and space exploration
What is wrong with you?
A tireless ambassador of torture
Instruction day tomorrow
Hard inclement weather
Expected from the future.
Feeling he’s landed a great opportunity
Determined to meet Satan himself
The Endless Festival
In the land of golden sands and towering pyramids, a most unusual pharaoh reigned: Jerry Cornelius. While most pharaohs were known for their military conquests and divine wisdom, Jerry was known for his humour, kindness and a fondness for foreign foods, especially pizza.
Jerry ascending to the throne after the mysterious disappearance of Pharaoh Amun-Ra III. His coronation ceremony was one for the history books, not because of the grandeur of the event, but because Jerry made everyone laugh. When asked by the high priest how he would rule Egypt, Jerry replied, ‘With wisdom, justice… and feasts of olives and cheese!’
His lighthearted approach was met with raised eyebrows by the nobles and court officials. They had grown used to the serious demeanour of previous pharaohs and were unsure about Jerry’s unorthodox ways. But Jerry’s reign brought unexpected change. Instead of focusing solely on war or wealth, he sought to enrich the lives of his people through sex and drugs and rock’n’roll.
Jerry decided to host The Endless Festival. People from all corners of Egypt gathered in the capital city. Hawkwind were the guests of honour and played joyous space-rock tunes, the Grateful Dead dazzled crowds for days at a time with their strung out tunes, and comedians took the stage to tell jokes that made even the most stoic of priests crack a smile.
‘Why fight when we can feast and laugh together?’ Jerry asked his council. Members were sceptical, but Jerry insisted, promising everyone an endless supply of free food and an endless atmosphere of love and peace. Egypt’s nobility frowned upon such anarchy but the common people adored him. The story of Pharaoh Jerry was passed down through the generations, mostly by Jerry himself.
The Engine of Creativity
I’m singing one tune and then it changes halfway through. You can hear me fumbling to get back into the song as it morphs into a Jerry Cornelius adventure, which seems like a completely natural thing for it to do. If it speaks we release it to the public: it will be a hit with space children and adults alike.
Jerry knew nothing about political theory, he just wanted to get out of the suburbs and be heard, using the trappings of the English punk scene. He was pissed off with the way rock and roll no longer seemed to represent the people listening to it, hated the fact that Glam Rock was no more. He also mentioned the nearby crematorium, feeling the noise would be unfair to those visiting.
Jerry pretends death is nothing to do with entropic energy. This passivity extends to his sexual escapades as an amoral sort of guy who has previously worked as a knitwear designer. There’s a track from a live gig where he introduces himself as disinterested and bored and lethargic.
Jerry is an agent of Chaos who is just as willing to be seduced as enjoy kicking time to bits. He tends to do gigs only when he can although he has no cosmic insight and cannot hold a tune. He much prefers a kind of declamatory chanting about apocalypse and alien invasion, tripped-out retellings of alternate visions and God installations.
As a time-travelling agent, Jerry often gets revenge, using mind control, thermodynamics and word viruses to invade communities and events which have rejected him, imagining his arrival as the coming of a messiah in a very literal sense.
If he ever awakes from his drug-induced trance Jerry may find ethereal resurrection in a mysterious cave where the core narratives of himself exist, away from urban myths told by stoned dealers. Jerry’s regeneration activities go for all-out nonlinearity and bring a real buzz to the show.
Jerry introduced us all to the world to Jerry Cornelius. An amoral dandy, mad scientist, rock star, London hipster and music snob, he illuminates our town with stunning art and songs of dreaming, attempting to release the child within. One fan liked it but most are through with spectacle and wonder.
It’s Only Natural
A cave and discovered years later. Divine moments in the tomb, including fragments of time suspension to experience you want. Definitive evidence of Jerry Cornelius’ complete freedom of movement within space, although he cannot avoid his future.
Time seems to have a direction whereas spatial dimensions are ambidextrous. There is no unity between time and space, time travel of any sort is possible thanks to quantum level paradoxes. Jerry long ago figured out how to visit the future, where his house is in ruins and his family have died.
He has a long past, knows many story-loving people and has an unwavering dedication to great mysteries. Jerry has lived in foster care, homeless shelters, abuse shelters, at the other end of the mountain and in hospitals but he prefers the Valley of the Kings.
The presence of a wide staircase down to his own tomb makes for easy access, means Jerry can easily escape persecution and enjoy some personal time. The Grandparent Paradox does not apply if you avoid black holes, keep relatives apart and have a picnic nearby.
Jerry’s thoughts and prayers are dimensions of space and all dimension of time are woven together. He think of himself as separate entities effortlessly shared with the world and is able to manipulate the fourth dimension. He won’t be destroyed by negative feedback or what might happen if he falls through a wormhole.
Jerry is always comfortable, spends nights traveling into the past or future, thinks he is as cool as Stephen Hawking in a rotating black hole (which is not feasible with current technology). Jerry is a natural time machine and Egypt is blessed with lots of sunshine and very little rain: conditions perfect for venturing into science fiction.
Thoughts and Prayers
A hovel with no electricity or water / piles of stuff that may be trash or treasure / he may be alive / dig deeper for divine guidance / shield us from higher power
As alienating as prayer / taking time to analyse debate / this has little to do with actual thinking / the nature of moral reflection
Time is just a language / Jerry a name for the divine / he tries to find the plan / scattered across different times and universes / liberation from yesterday / shadows of never alone
Retrieve the gizmo / it allows the user to control multiple universes / see all the alternatives at once / released from today / chains of the past / what we thought had gone now reappears, remains
Moments of confusion / uncertainty, routine, courage / caught in the whirlwind / infinite ability to transform / grounded in grace / wheels propelled by faith
Reduce gun violence / situations that call for grieving / confronting the horror / dispelling the darkness / this enduring doubt / public statement language / ruthlessly morbid routine
Face uncertain futures / not defined by words / stream of consciousness nonsense / assume the human dimension / this is a story which cannot be changed
.
Rupert Loydell
.