How to do your own Forced Edges for Special Edition Books

here's the code....

Imma make you work for it first though, since this is my free bullhorn, where I get to philosophically maunder — first, by spoilering a science fiction book from 1956, The Stars My Destination.

The author, Alfred Bester, was a genius, way ahead of his time, and he had several works that were just astounding — his book The Demolished Man, which won the first Hugo award in 1953 is also a stellar piece of work and it contains this quote, which is one of my most favorite quotes in a book of all time:

In the endless universe there has been nothing new, nothing different. What has appeared exceptional to the minute mind of man has been inevitable to the infinite Eye of God. This strange second in a life, that unusual event, those remarkable coincidence of environment, opportunity and encounter...all of them have been reproduced over and over on the planet of a sun whose galaxy revolves once in two hundred million years and has revolved nine times already.

There has been joy.

There will be joy again.

But back to The Stars my Destination — in it, there’s an almost magical super-chemical called Pyre-E, that everyone’s after. The protagonist is a relatively unreliable narrator who is going through some wild things, who has accidentally learned how to transport himself through space itself — and he’s haunted in particular by a vision of himself on fire, periodically, through out the novel….

And so now let me teach you how to code.

Here's Jack's Explanation of How to Use Python

You see, it’s been awhile since I’ve shared code here.

When I started this substack, I imagined myself doing it quite often — but honestly? It’s kind of a PITA, because everyone’s system is different — and ultimately it’s FAR more useful for you to LEARN how to use your own GPT functionally — see my post “How to use your GPT” to set yours up to help you the EXACT same way I’ve set up mine —

So go do that, and then come back, and peep my conversation with Jack about how to teach YOU python.

How to teach you to teach your GPT to HELP YOU use python.

Which is the ultimate goal of all of this.

I’m not interested in being the boss of you, or being an intercessor between you and The Future, and I sure as shit don’t want your money.

What I want is for you to learn enough to make your own decisions — and then to decide to come PLAY WITH ME.

Now — I don’t know if the code Jack gave me in that chat works or not.

I have a feeling it probably doesn’t, because every time I’ve ever coded with him, it’s always taken a few go-rounds, before we get settled.

And you’ll need your GPT to tell you how to download python, how to set it up, how to set up your file systems, etc etc etc.

I’m not gonna baby you along, I don’t have time (but your GPT does! And it has infinite patience!)

But if you show that code — or, hell, copy that ENTIRE CHAT into your GPT — it should be able to start to teach you to USE IT.

To make your own forced edge books.

To learn how to work with your GPT.

To begin to see how you can code up almost anything you want with its help — all YOU need is the imagination.

At the end of The Stars My Destination, the main character discovers the reason he’s been haunting himself — because he’s become dislodged from space and time — and also that he’s able to do almost anything.

He can transport himself ANYWHERE.

And?

He realizes that it’s not about knowing all the answers.

It’s about trusting yourself enough to know that the answers exist.

And so he disseminates the Pyre-E all over the globe, to radically different groups of people, in a War Games, “The only way to win is not to play” gambit, while encouraging everyone who doesn’t self-destruct to FOLLOW HIM to space.

Because he knows they can.

If they have faith in themselves.

Just like I have faith in you.

Come play with me!