The third in a sequence of incisive poetry art games, this poem uses a labyrinth interface for the reader/player to navigate the surface of ten different texts presented as evidence of everything exploding. These texts are as varied as they are absurd— including a Dada manifesto, a letter from a young Fidel Castro and another from Bill Gates, the patent for a special kind of box, a NASA flight plan, etc. — and the game maze built on them highlights and comments on them in Nelson’s characteristically humorous poetic style. Completion of each level is rewarded by an odd little video in which a speaker shows and discusses the contents of a matchbook collection. Explosions are obviously a central theme in this poem as reaching every target in the maze reveals new texts after startlingly loud detonations. This idea is also applied to texts, blasted open to reveal their internal politics, implied messages, and ironies.
The evidence is compelling!
