Hitherto Unknown to Known
“Man is the tool-making animal. The history of man is the history of tools into machines, greater and more efficient functioning elements.”
K. Dick, P. (1954). Souvenir. Fantastic universe, 2(3), pp.41-51.
“Things are what we encounter, ideas are what we project.”
Stein, L. (1927). The A-B-C of Æsthetics. California: University of California.
Here, the story begins with a name. A name you never heard before or you are familiar but not sure who it is. Then, story continues. Telling you a story which leads you to follow.
Many of the novels, start with an unknown name. That is very same as a newspaper. You are reading a story or seeing moving photographs. Is it true? or is it based on true story? It doesn’t matter if it makes sense. A narrative will allow making story/world for that name to live. From when we started watching movies says “based on true story?” Is it really matter whether it is a true story or not? Or, it is just referencing the source? Let’s makes it clear. referencing is not means that production dedicates the story to that name. It means I am using your name to support my story. There is no space for the “name” of the true story.
Where “name” goes? Where that person goes? It is just gone. Never appeared actually.
Homo sapience sapience. That is my name. I am “human being”. That’s also my name. I am Moon. That is another specific name. But is it really matter whether it happened to me? or is it matter to you because we have the same name as a human being? Have you cried before for someone’s life? and have you cried before for another creature’s life? What was different between them? Is it because we have a common name as a homo sapience? or we have a common as a mammaliaformes? How about the bugs or bees. Any other form can make you cry? or at least make your emotion trembling? Do you really believe it is because of that name? Very personal and very individual that name?
A name on the novel has not any different. It is just name written by text, nothing more than that. But the story holding its disappearance. Its death.
Let’s closer than that. Let’s imagine someone who is close to you but not enough to know more than exposed life. Nothing more than daily conversation such as “how are you”. Do you think you know better than novel character? Actually, It is even not close to the main character. Sub-character around your life, encounters. The relationships between sub-characters we are living in, that is I am sad about. We are encountering each other but never collide together. I know I will be just a sub character who comes out once a while and provide critical evidence to follow the main story. Nothing more than that.
Sometimes I think human is not the social animal, but desire animal who wants to become as myself. Someone who wants to create the world wholly my own. That is, I believe, the power once Foucault mentioned. Recognised by the name. A name. Therefore, the story with that name fully devoted to that name.
At least for me. That is the power of the name. Once you have, you are seized by it. Your world seized by it. The first encounter we meet. A name to call or represent for me. A name makes me visible, that makes me alive. First “things” that I meet. I was not meant to be with my name. I have met it after I realise there is a world. That name was my first world to expand.
Then, it stopped. Even if I became famous. I am not the one who actually recognised, but my name who travelling without boundaries. We are together, but the power of it totally owned by the name. Such disappearance, the lonesome disappearance is continuing day by day.