Regards Croises: Perspectives on Digital Literature

Speak, “Memory” : Simulation and Satire in Reagan Library

Lee | speak, “memory” 41 sPeak, “memoRy”: simulation and satire in Reagan Library 102 shuen-shing lee National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan 1 Introduction his paper presents a close reading of Stuart Moulthrop’s Reagan Library (http://iat.ubalt.edu/moulthrop/hypertexts/ rl/, accessed on 03/30/2010), focusing on two topics: mnemonic simulation and surrealistic satirization. These are closely related, in that the revelation of Library’s mnemonic simulation lays down insightful perspectives for the ensuing survey of the work as a surrealistic satire. Library’s mnemonic simulation is mainly concerned with the irregular memory of three central characters. The three characters’ mnemonic activities unfold through an interaction design called sifting, or in Moulthrop’s terms, “noise filtering.” The investigation culminates with the interpretation that Library is a satire on Ronald Reagan and his “Star Wars” project, which in the 1980s escalated nuclear tensions between the two existing superpowers and consequently increased the probability of the end of the world. 2 Speak, “Memory” The final version of Vladimir Nabokov’s autobiography Speak, Memory underwent a series of revisions. In the foreword, he describes how he penetrated foggy recesses of memory to reclaim the clear image of a certain person or object: I revised many passages and tried to do something about the amnesic defects of the original—blank spots, blurry areas, domains of dimness. I discovered that sometimes, by means of intense concentration, the neutral smudge might be t 42 speak, “memory” | Lee forced to come into beautiful focus so that the sudden view could be identified, and the anonymous servant named.103 In the same foreword, Nabokov also admits to a broad array of blunders due to “the anomalies of a memory” in the previous versions of his autobiography. The relentless revision of his memory betrays a yearning for refined factuality. More significantly, his confession implies that he is aware of the unreliability of memory. Such admission of unreliability is usually not volunteered in recollection-based memoirs. Most writers apparently disregard the possible gap between what they remember and what actually happened . This discrepancy gives rise to intriguing questions of authenticity, which many fiction writers have fueled with imagination. In Nabokov’s Pale Fire, this discrepancy is embodied by Kinbote’s paranoid voice in the interpretation of John Shade’s poem. Aside from the inconsistency of memory, clinically diagnosed mnemonic diseases such as amnesia are also often dealt with in fiction. Symptoms of such conditions include one losing his grip on reality and thereby being unable to coherently express perceptions or experiences compatible with reality. Nabokov’s revision of his life story strives for greater precision, but past events may also be intentionally distorted to serve the specific purpose or need of an individual. In contrast to those who are able to consciously manipulate their memories, some people who suffer from mnemonic disorders may be mentally incapable of expressing themselves accurately or coherently. This whole spectrum of mnemonicnarrative dynamics is embodied through simulation in Library. Library is of the tradition of fiction that confronts issues of memory and expands the tradition by including forms of memory created by artificial intelligence technologies. Library approaches memory in a way that can be formally termed digital “stream of consciousness” on the diegetic level. As text unfolds, passages of metatext intertwine with this “stream” of memory. The flow of memory is unraveled partly through simulation rather than completely by representation. Therefore, Library is an environment that requires the user’s hypertextual interaction to divulge its characters’ modes of memory processing . The processing comprises such distinct modes as random selection of me- Lee | speak, “memory” 43 morial objects, associative connection of past events, modification of previous memory lanes, and focusing on one specific point in memory while downplaying another. 3 Notes on the Final Construct Library’s four “world-states” or spaces, though intermingled within the interactive environment, are easily differentiated by the color and font used in the verbal area of each node. The 3D panorama of each node is another cue to help the reader distinguish the four different spaces. The red space, particularly its “NOTES” section, is fully devoted to a collection of hints on Library ’s content, form, and navigation design. This space, an independent unit in Library in terms of content, is a metadiegetic construct equivalent to that normally seen in conventional print metafiction. In contrast, the other three spaces are primarily occupied by mnemonic narratives, the...