S R Gurney

Mirror S R Gurney

In February of 2019, two days before my 24th birthday, I was let go from a job I could have sat in till I was 90. So while I searched for a new job, I challenged myself, quite like my challenge to write a creative piece everyday for a year birthed Beyond Absolute, 2017 (my first publication). I suppose it must have been the threat of wasting time that I set myself the challenge to write an advanced piece of modern literature - in a week. Probably the answer to why it is 14265 words in length. The story is set into six chapters, which follow a similar title structure to Yevgeny Zamyatin's We. I suppose too that the predecessor lends an arm of interest to the idea which questions the triad of Governmental vs. National vs. Social affiliations. At which members of all states must navigate and moralise. The story told is mirrored between two titular protagonists, an at the end of his game British journalism (Tony Kingston) & young female Kuwaiti Academic (Amara) whom counter one another, in their experiences of privilege, custom and self. (Entirely). The Extract below explains the conceptual identity of the project.-----------Prologue: There we stand, momentless and benign. In the image of ourselves, the reflection of our projections, where there is little space between the silhouette and reality. One cannot see a single dancing connotation to grasp, and so only the judgment of emptiness befalls the hypocrisy of condition. Shapes that seem to shadow the omission of light and vantage. Wonderment finds the view of self to be unique and defined, when I know the truth to be so much more. The shelter of our minds sanctity, and the impression we cast in the sands insecurity. The forge of precision allocates and defines, empowers and commands us the living image of our reality to shine the glare of poignancy. The master of us, and truth with perspectives entwined, how must we separate ourselves from these coiling identities, warping our consistencies. Baring our souls unsolved by the perfect vision of morality, mythologic allegory and deity mismanagement. Dense are we to think wantonly of redemption for lives never doubted to be unsaved. Our alignments are shackled to the reflection. Endowed by the ignorance of conflict, where war begins with a triumph and ends with the vigil of regret. The prophetic pantomime of the global stage has us mystified by mindless powers of unspoken entities. Winds in the break of the trees line, where we douse the cleanliness of virginity, divinity and purity, and so be it reflects our demonization of its perfect counterpart. O' how we have been demonized by ourselves. Echoed by the indoctrination of symbolic control, over dominion, money and the self. Detect the reflection - I implore. ----------Kind regardsS. R. Gurney