Blast-Radius Cruft
It was the root of street cool, too, the knowing posture that implied connection, invisible lines up to the hidden levels of influence.
― William Gibson, Neuromancer
On January 6, 2021, I watched live streams of digital simulation blur with reality as the US Capitol Building was raided and occupied by an armed insurrection incited to violence by the President of the United States. The mob didn't seize state power, rather their power was found in the network, which organized and brought them together under the spell of glowing screens. Running through the capitol building in the bliss of a consensual hallucination, using cell phones more than guns, they spent their time staging photos for social media and uploading videos from the abandoned offices of politicians. With explosive devices, armed standoffs, and shootings, there was the capacity for so much more violence. This was a networked simulation performed by a dangerous mob whose worldview is paranoid and delusional which resulted in the death of five people including a US Capitol police officer. Later that day, I created Blast-Radius Cruft.