[NetBehaviour] Sidestepping the Known: A Loose Chronology of Meztext[ing]s

[mez breeze]

"*>>Beginnings: A Library, An ‘A’ and a ‘B’*

When I was in my late primary school years, I was shunted into an
accelerated reading program. This program was designed for kids who had
either outpaced their schoolmates in terms of reading ability, or who
whizzed through books [while still comprehending them] at a voracious rate.
As part of this program it was decided that I should be given special
privileges in order to join the primary public library. I was to be allowed
to borrow books intended for adult consumption.

When the day arrived to venture into ‘The Proper Library’ [as I’d
internally labelled it] I was determined to prove that I was just as mature
as the adults with whom I’d soon share borrowing privileges. I ventured
into the library foyer solo, with no adult chaperone. As I marched along
the hallway past ‘The Children’s Library’, the thought hit me: I had no
idea how to navigate this place. As I reached the front desk, my card was
prepared and waiting, but [probably due to understaffing] there were no
adults to show me the ropes. So, being the somewhat timid but determined
youngster I was, I marched directly between the first shelves of books I
saw. I had no idea what category of books huddled there.

I *was* aware [thankfully] of how books were organised in a library
setting. I knew that if I selected the first book on the top row, it would
be by an author starting with A. And so I grabbed the first three books
located there [that I could reach], all by an author I hadn’t ever heard
of: Brian Aldiss.

The section I had stumbled into was Science Fiction.

This simple act of selecting those books [written in a genre that would
soon become an enduring favourite] shifted something. My life trajectory
tilted. The tilt was subtle, but enough to make me realise that *this* was
the way to tackle life: head on, by marching into the hiccoughing unknown
with some type of fantastical accompaniment...
<http://cordite.org.au/essays/sidestepping-the-known/>"


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