Darkover
Archangel
- Jul 29, 2021
- 5,641
The human body can be seen as a biological machine—complex, intricate, and full of moving parts. It's delicate because it is susceptible to countless forms of harm: disease, injury, aging, and even mental anguish. It's fragile in the sense that even small disruptions (like an illness or injury) can have catastrophic effects.
We don't choose this "machine" or its flaws. From the moment of birth, we are bound to its limitations, vulnerabilities, and the needs it demands we fulfill to keep it functioning (food, water, sleep, etc.).
While modern medicine can sometimes treat or alleviate symptoms, many aspects of our biology are beyond repair. Aging is inevitable, chronic illnesses often have no cure, and mental health struggles can persist despite treatment.
The term "hellhole" suggests that the external world is hostile, full of suffering, conflict, and hardship. Natural disasters, societal inequality, war, and exploitation are omnipresent. Even those who seem to have "better" lives are not immune to suffering.
The combination of a fragile body and a hostile environment makes existence feel overwhelming and often futile, as though the struggle to survive and find meaning is stacked against us.
We are bound to these machines and this world without our consent, forced to endure the suffering inherent in both. Basic needs and desires keep us tethered to cycles of work, survival, and decay.
Like enslaved workers, we must constantly labor to keep the machine running—feeding it, protecting it from harm, dealing with its breakdowns, and struggling with its limitations.
The ultimate escape—death—often feels terrifying, uncertain, or unreachable, leaving many feeling trapped in an unchosen existence.
We don't choose this "machine" or its flaws. From the moment of birth, we are bound to its limitations, vulnerabilities, and the needs it demands we fulfill to keep it functioning (food, water, sleep, etc.).
While modern medicine can sometimes treat or alleviate symptoms, many aspects of our biology are beyond repair. Aging is inevitable, chronic illnesses often have no cure, and mental health struggles can persist despite treatment.
The term "hellhole" suggests that the external world is hostile, full of suffering, conflict, and hardship. Natural disasters, societal inequality, war, and exploitation are omnipresent. Even those who seem to have "better" lives are not immune to suffering.
The combination of a fragile body and a hostile environment makes existence feel overwhelming and often futile, as though the struggle to survive and find meaning is stacked against us.
We are bound to these machines and this world without our consent, forced to endure the suffering inherent in both. Basic needs and desires keep us tethered to cycles of work, survival, and decay.
Like enslaved workers, we must constantly labor to keep the machine running—feeding it, protecting it from harm, dealing with its breakdowns, and struggling with its limitations.
The ultimate escape—death—often feels terrifying, uncertain, or unreachable, leaving many feeling trapped in an unchosen existence.
