Letters From the Knot #10: Disentanglement
Letters From the Knot #10: Disentanglement
A six-week course to help you on your way.
Hello and welcome to Letters From the Knot where, every fortnight, I post a short piece of fiction. Each one takes place in the Knot, a mess of tangled spacecraft, an inverted city kept spinning to provide some semblance of uneven gravity, a place both figuratively and literally coming undone. This project is an extended exercise in worldbuilding, and my aim is to populate the city over time, creating and discovering new parts of it as I go. Each piece will be different: a story, a dream, a character sketch, a slice of life, a fragment.
This week, an exploration of some of the more dystopian aspects of life on the Knot. I will include a ~TRIGGER WARNING~ here, as this piece concerns euthanasia.
And if sci-fi’s not your thing, I also release a more traditional newsletter on the off weeks. Enjoy!
Disentanglement
In a world of cycles, endings can be daunting. Life accrues. We are not just ourselves but also our relationships, our possessions, our homes, our finances, our tax credits and our civity obligations. When we decide to end our own rotation, the Knot spins on, and there are steps we can all take to ensure our passing is easily borne by those around us. But how will you disentangle yourself from the Knot? How will you know it’s the right time? And how will you ensure that your loved ones benefit from the credits and subsidies you’ll leave behind?
At Päätepiste, we’ve gathered the very best end-of-life experts from across the Knot. Over six weeks, they’ll guide through the metaphysical, financial, legal, and emotional challenges you’ll face on your way off the Knot, and provide you with cutting edge strategies to carry you on your way.
Making the decision to end your life is not an easy one, but here at Päätepiste, we’ll treat your decision with the gravity it deserves, preserving your dignity and privacy at every step. As the sole Selma-endorsed end-of-life coaching course on the Knot, Päätepiste is the only provider you need to consider.
Course outline:
Week One: Why me? Why now? The Selman government recognises the rights of all citizens to make their own choices about when to depart the Knot but, as you know, the Knot is a place uniquely bound and, as citizens, we are each asked to balance our own needs and desires with the longevity and prosperity of the Knot. Week One of the course, then, is about context, placing ourselves in the grander spin, seeing ourselves as one part of the Knot’s long journey.
Week Two: Your body, your choice. Fertiliser? Scientific research? Fuel? Even in death, you can help the Knot prosper and grow. In Week Two of the course, we’ll talk through your various post-life options and explain how the associated tax credits can be incorporated into your concerns and can benefit your loved ones.
Week Three: Untangling your finances. Have credits left? Still working off your transit debts? Can’t access Earthbound pensions? Our financial experts can advise you on how best to settle your accounts before you make your final journey. Of course, your decision to end your life also grants your family or other affiliations with special benefits and credits that, under some circumstances, could be life changing. We’ll explain your options and, using our unique Working Years Calculator, tell you exactly how much you could pay forward.
Week Four: Your digital self. Over the course of your life time, your implant will have gathered a wealth of information about you, your work, your diet, your place in the Knot, and how you’ve moved around it. Much of this data will already have been monetised through your working life, but many people are surprised to learn of the value of their residual digital footprint, and of the price their ulluware can still fetch. What’s more, some elements of your digital self can be preserved into an ullugrated memorial programme to allow your loved ones to feel closer to you after you’ve gone. Week Four will ensure you only leave behind what you choose to, and that your family remember only the best of you.
Week Five: Protecting the Knot. As we all know, the Knot has its points of fragility. Everyone hears rumours, and we all have nagging concerns from time to time, but it can be hard to reach out to the appropriate authorities when you have obligations to see to and your whole fragile life ahead of you. In Week Five of the course, we work alongside the Selman Federalist Guard to give you an opportunity to put those doubts to bed. We’ll provide a fully confidential setting to allow you to share any worries or concerns you have about the safety and integrity of the Knot, or about other citizens of the Knot, enabling you to take your next steps in the knowledge that the Knot of the future will be a safe and peaceful place for your loved ones.
Week Six: Saying goodbye. In the final week of the course, we’ll turn our focus inwards. Working with a team of muti-disciplanary specialists, we’ll ensure that your emotional, spiritual and psychological needs are met. As well as your own mental wellbeing, this will be a chance for your friends and loved ones to join you on the course and to help you say goodbye on your terms. Though you are gone, the Knot spins with them.