LINK TO FREE WEB COMIC VERSION OF TESTAMENT #13 (NSFW)
Quick reminder that TESTAMENT can get pretty explicit!
Original solicitation copy for TESTAMENT #13:
Chapter 1 of "Babel." Aghast at the influence our heroes have had on their timeline, the gods summon a demon who will empower Fallow and his Biblical counterpart to rule the world. As Fallow maneuvers through the political minefield blocking passage of his Globo, he must decide where he stands on the Holy War.
Rushkoff’s Chapter Thirteen (#13) Notes are available here.
Alas, I fell behind again! But for a good cause, I’m working on Tales of Illuminatus! #3 :)))
Interesting news, relevant to our interests here, that Alan Moore is going to be a guest on Rushkoff’s podcast Team Human! Coming this May.
And we’ll be back on May 22nd, for issue #14
same TESTAMENT time, same Jechidah channel :)))
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Thank you for continuing this group. I have caught up on the reading. I wonder what Ezra Pound would make of the ideas about money in this comic, or on the ideas about money in general in 2026. I have Beethoven's Diabelli Variations playing as I write this. I can't wait for our study group on The Classical Style starting next month. And only two days until Walpurgisnacht!
ReplyDeleteKudos to Rushkoff for predicting the unnatural alliance between power-hungry transhumanist tech bros and power-starved Christian fundamentalists. They do have in common a deep love of fascism and an irrepressible urge to enslave the world population, but still, good job on picking up on this almost 20 years ago.
ReplyDelete“The war has pushed oil prices beyond the capacity of your citizens to gas their pickups and get to work. Military spending has increased the national debt threefold in as many years. With America fast becoming an economic and social pariah in the global community […] I’ve supported everything you asked for, Reverend. The war...the Israel thing, the Persian assault…”
Again, this is getting more than just a bit eerily spooky and too close to our daily reality...
“Especially if he finds out I’m carrying Krishna’s child.”
Perhaps unsurprisingly we discover that Gods and Goddesses do not practice birth control, even when cheating on their spouse.
From Doug’s notes, about the Babel story: “God wins by dividing and conquering humanity.”
Goes on to show how much of a douche “God” is, like he’s been reading the Dictator’s Handbook, or something.
I liked that Marduk got exiled specifically to Nibiru.
In our days, Marduk also is the name of an Estonian private company developing a drone detection and neutralization system…
https://talkaboutfuture.com/company-stories/marduk/
Talking about the military industrial complex, Peter Thiel (our very own Mr Fallow), released just last month what could turn out to be the 21st century version of Mein Kampf (yes, I went straight for the Godwin point, sue me). See it for ex here:
https://www.businessinsider.com/palantir-manifesto-alex-karp-technological-republic-summary-2026-4
Look for instance at point 8, “public servants need not be our priests,” and put it in perspective with Testament’s Reverend saying “now be a good public servant” to the senator.
Or point 12, claiming that “a new era of deterrence built on AI is set to begin” while the comic book brings up the AI world currency Globo.
And, yes, point 20: “The pervasive intolerance of religious belief in certain circles must be resisted,” harking back to my above comment on the Silicon Valley walking hand in hand with the most conservative type of religious people. Kind of a nightmarish version of the Guns & Dope Party, where by uniting together they might hope to form a majority of sorts...
And now, a bit of soothing music to relax those muscles of yours that have been tensing up in utter horror upon realizing how terrifying the world we live in really seems to be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EseXUufowr8
Peace out and
Amor et Hilaritas