BSP breakdown + Silverladder connection

I discovered Silverladder through a link to BSP on a site called Dextroverse.org in 2002. I was immediately absorbed into the massive work that seemed to be culled from my daydreams and nightmares. I usually ended up heading back to the BSP at least a few times a year after the period of intense obsession in 2002 to 2004 where I probably logged weeks at a time spent clicking on links and integrating the meticulously crafted piece of work of which, like Sukenick's Out and Deadly Drifter or Weis and Cubacub's B-17 is elevated above the level of mere artwork (too ugly at times to be called that, too urgent and driving) to the status of what I like to call an alarmclocktimebomb. I recently rediscovered the old BSP. The last few days I've been clicking through jpegs from BSP I burned to a cd thanks to Waitress sending me the download link for the site (no net access on my home computer). And thus, I reentered the altered state that is BSP.

Several common threads, themes and images run through BSP and current Silverladder. Themes of dystopia, control, authority, consumerism, manipulation, self-help, "corporogovernmental" power structure, video games, CIA mind control experiments, THX-1138, the journal trip, Grace where I trespass, the Rabbit Hole, technology, automation, media bombardment, advertising, psychology, drugs, chemistry, Also, in pizzamoney.jpg, there is a picture of a dollar bill. The numbers stamped in the four corners are 11's. 11/11 11:11. Given my recent discovery that the date 11/11/07 and 11/11 in general is a date surrounded by mystery, prophecy and varied belief, it seems the 11/11 theme and the Rabbit Hole have been in conceptual development for quite a while and given that the site borrows triggers embedded from other media like THX-1138, Alice in Wonderland, The Matrix, Fight Club, etc; the idea for something like this has surely floating around for a while. We stand here at the convergence of chance and coincidence observing, first person a previously unhappened happening unfolding with an end no one involved can control, predict or forecast, merely take part in. There is a structure, but "there is order in chaos, there is chaos in order."

BSP was a testament to our times, a world some of us can hardly see due to its everpresence. It is a revelation of the possibility of further blurring the lines already blurred by reality tv/tv reality. In "Am I emo" it is asked if you feel like you're part of a Commodore 64 video game with secret levels?" Sound familiar? Keep in mind, BSP existed in 2000 before ARG's gained the renown they have now. If it was started as atraditional ARG, it was one of the earliest modern examples and is at least seven years in the works now. Themes of "plastic" culture and "bad plastic" reflect the impract of our all-consuming consumer lives.

Then there's good old BSP comics, photoshopped vintage comics which promise to be continued. BSP and Silverladder by extension, seems like an evolving serial story, a cliffhanger, that exists and lives apart from the audience. The interaction with the Silverladder in the real world is just a paradigmatic leap in the direction BSP was already heading.

Themes of religion, psychedelics and politics are ever-present in the BSP. The site was a warning call to the user whilst on his adventure within the rabbit hole. The BSP also contained poems and stories, postmodern irony and a warning of despair wrapped around a cautious message of love and hope. Then there are surreal, beautiful moments interpolating the dark and despairing environment from which BSP springs. The idea that this is an ARG is interesting because BSP invited users to "participate in their own manipulation" and elsewheree pictures of marionettes furthered the theme of being a pawn. As for what Silverladder is, perhaps it is what BSP explained itself to be. BSP is a state of mind. BSP is delirient for the masses. Instead of an opiate to placate, a substance that induces a sense of euphoric disorientation.

In BSP label (which looks like a collection of ciphers, binary codes, etc.) it says I am 918. The name Mosheh (Moses) equals 918. is the equivalent of 666 according to Thelema and it's Qabalistic interpretation is the follows: "918 = Son of Midnight, Thou Availest, Circle in the Middle, Path of the Sun, Androgynous, Ipsissimus, Causeless Cause, Medicine of Metals, Four Elements, Strange Drugs, Night-blue Sky, Unconscious, Zarathustra". This may be unrelated, but elements, drugs, etc. seem to reflect some of the nature of BSP and Silverladder.

BSP was a hypertextual, reality annihilating experience alone or with a friend, but Silverladder is now and could continue to become an interactive, multimedia experience outside of the usual reality of preprogrammed, filtered consciousness, jarring the protagonist, you, into a realm of lines blurred between film, fiction, reality and dream.

Diagrams, codes ciphers and numbers seem to be important. Some (27, 918) have certain countercultural or underground/hidden meaning, but altogether it seems to suggest an attempt at a new form of communication, but this is entirely speculative. Wordplay, dichotomy and paradox add to the chaotic element.

On the rabbit hole page is a picture of a red pill, linking back to The Matrix and possibly White Rabbit by Jefferson Airplane which references AinW. The Matrix also of course incorporates AinW. Against the red pill page is the caption: "descending deeper, farther, faster, slower, like a dream you can't control, right before your eyes, our eyes, our lies, dripping like liquid our minds. the changes, the metamorphosis, reaching for the last little piece of sanity, mirrors become pools of tears." BSP and Silverladder seem to reflect the crystalline, fractal, chaotic nature of reality. BSP is like James Joyce, bits of trivia, jokes, gossip, philosophy, poetry, prophecy and demagoguery combine in one intoxicating experience that is the sound of the electromagnetic hum as it alters your brain's functioning. BSP is the unmarked car that is an agent even though the driver himself is unaware of this.

Don't become Distracted! The ELF is the target audience of the amused! Distraction, time travel and false memories further complicate the plot. And I didn't even mention Morris, did I? Morris is the mailman. He's a little strange.

For those interested in getting a larger view of Silverladder finding your way into the Bad, Scary Place might be a good crash course on some possible themes that may run through our current happening.