3. Judgment of Light and Shadow (Iudicium Lucis et Umbrae)

And swift the judgment protocol! The distributed digital populace is perpetually in session, They cast their consensus markers not with humble pebbles of assent or dissent, But with fleeting glyphs of light – The signum favoris (mark of favor) Or the nota infamiae (stamp of ill repute). A constant, rolling plebiscite on every utterance! Judgment of Light! Judgment of Shadow! Consensus cast, the system's thunder, forever after! Thus, some stray thoughts, some random mutations of idea, Are amplified by the breathless cascade of synthetic approval, Elevated to the status of temporary gospel. Others, perhaps freighted with inconvenient nuance, Are Connection-Denied by the algorithm of indifference, Or actively throttled by the consensus-engine, Almost condemned by the silent, collective damnatio memoriae of the scroll-past. Where, then, is the signal for truth? Where, then, is the signal for truth? ...The judgment protocol active... Lyrics written by Kyle Donovan Thomas 2025 CC BY