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The Delirium of Negation by Bi Janus


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After my recent run-in with an anaesthetic that caused me one hell of a hallucination (reported elsewhere,) I must tell you that Bi Janu's story is very close to many truths.

However, I would like to comment, not on Bi Janus story, but on the coincidence of "sad teenager" stories. Cole Parker is revealing his sad teen story, and I have a story under construction that touches on more than one element of these stories. The challenge here, is to find a way to keep accusations of plagiarism at bay. I have no concern that my story would be considered part of a conspiracy to drown AD in a sea of teen sad tears, but I amused by the coincidence of the themes and settings being so close to each other.

To Cole, I am enjoying your story very much, and am waiting with exasperation for the next chapter.

:hehe:

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There are only two extremes of joy in a human, happiness and sadness. All of the other emotions fall somewhere inbetween. Bit like sexuality really (Kinsey scale and all that). So you'd have to be pushing it to indulge in plagiarism with a tale of a sad teenager as in real life, there are a fair few.

One of these days, I'll manage to finish my deaf teenager story, but as the estimated world population is 7.4 billion, the estimated deaf population is 70 million, the number of teenagers among them may be quite a few! Indeed, I've got my suspicions that the number given for the deaf population is on the low side. I rather doubt I'm counted, and posts have better hearing than I do...

So I'd not worry too much about plagiarism,

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May I suggest a few instances where the danger of plagiarism looms large:

Stories that begin with a teen asleep in his bed and is awakened by his alarm clock.

Occurrences of a teen staring into his bathroom mirror and describing what he sees, even those anatomical details below the edge of the sink.

Teen protagonists who are lonely and isolated except for a bossy girl classmate who is his best friend and is intent upon manipulating his behavior.

Teen protagonists whose parents have both died tragically together in an automobile accident.

Teen protagonists who view themselves as the cause of the aforementioned accident.

Teens who look out of their bedroom windows and see a moving van pulling up to the empty house across the street.

Teen protagonists sent to live with someone they don't know/haven't seen for years/are deeply hostile toward, BUT

Who stumble upon a best friend/sexual attraction/soulmate within days of their arrival.

You get the idea. Watch your step, writers.





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May I suggest a few instances where the danger of plagiarism looms large:

Stories that begin with a teen asleep in his bed and is awakened by his alarm clock.

Occurrences of a teen staring into his bathroom mirror and describing what he sees, even those anatomical details below the edge of the sink.

Teen protagonists who are lonely and isolated except for a bossy girl classmate who is his best friend and is intent upon manipulating his behavior.

Teen protagonists whose parents have both died tragically together in an automobile accident.

Teen protagonists who view themselves as the cause of the aforementioned accident.

Teens who look out of their bedroom windows and see a moving van pulling up to the empty house across the street.

Teen protagonists sent to live with someone they don't know/haven't seen for years/are deeply hostile toward, BUT

Who stumble upon a best friend/sexual attraction/soulmate within days of their arrival.

You get the idea. Watch your step, writers.

None of that in my current work.

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For Merkin:

Play Jar Ism

Billy slammed his hand on the squawking alarm clock, rolled over for just a few moments’ more sleep, but found his bathroom needs interfering. He staggered down the hall and took care of business, pausing long enough to confirm in the mirror that the three new pubic hairs he had dreamt of last night were indeed in place.

He heard the garage door open and smiled, knowing his parents were on their way to get his birthday present. He didn’t know if it was a car or a computer or a box of condoms, but he hoped it was something useful. His reverie was broken by the sound of a loud crash. He quickly pulled up his boxers and dashed down to the front windows where he saw that his parents’ car had smashed into a moving van unloading across the street at the Robinsons’ old place that had been vacant for months.

The next door neighbor girl, Sarah, was already in her “take charge” mode and organizing a rescue party. His ostensible girlfriend, Sarah was never one to sit on the sidelines – or let him do so either. He dashed out the front door, forgetting for the moment that he was clad only in those selfsame stained, sticky, boxers.

Just as he closed the door behind him there was a sudden “whoosh” as the car burst into flames, setting the moving van alight, engulfing his parents, Sarah, and an incredibly cute blonde-haired boy who he noticed walking out the back of the truck carrying an armload of video game equipment that had now melted across his body. Boyfriend material for sure, but for the vaporization of his face. And all because his parents had left early on his birthday.

Damn. Now he’d have to go live with Uncle Fred, the drug dealing pedophile. Not his favorite person. It occurred to him that dressed only in boxers might be a somewhat unfortunately suggestive way to arrive. He needed to finish getting dressed and go to school. Where the bastards on the football team were going to call him a faggot once again.

And the door had locked behind him and everybody, ignoring the fire and screaming, was watching him.

Sigh. Another day in the life.

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May I suggest a few instances where the danger of plagiarism looms large:

Stories that begin with a teen asleep in his bed and is awakened by his alarm clock.

Occurrences of a teen staring into his bathroom mirror and describing what he sees, even those anatomical details below the edge of the sink.

Teen protagonists who are lonely and isolated except for a bossy girl classmate who is his best friend and is intent upon manipulating his behavior.

Teen protagonists whose parents have both died tragically together in an automobile accident.

Teen protagonists who view themselves as the cause of the aforementioned accident.

Teens who look out of their bedroom windows and see a moving van pulling up to the empty house across the street.

Teen protagonists sent to live with someone they don't know/haven't seen for years/are deeply hostile toward, BUT

Who stumble upon a best friend/sexual attraction/soulmate within days of their arrival.

You get the idea. Watch your step, writers.

Goddammit! You just bollixed up my next six stories!

C

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Getting back on the actual topic, I'm very curious -- does the named drug actually exist and have that effect? And would dialysis actually remove a specific drug like that?

I came down with mono at the beginning of college (yes I kissed another boy) and it knocked me for a real loop. I was in bed for a couple of months or so. But I was not treated with any drugs per se. Of course this was 1969.

R

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R,

I had quite a correspondence with Colinian about the subject. All secrets revealed: the drug, acyclovir, does exist and is an antiviral used now mainly against herpes, a disease with which I could not afflict poor Colm. The drug or its produrug, valacyclovier, does on very rare occasion produce Cotard's delusion. A metabolite of those drugs apparently causes the delusion, and hemodialysis does clear the metabolite and thus cures the disease. Neither drug is used for mono, which is caused by Epstein-Barr virus, because they do not reduce the duration or severity of mono, except in rare cases where intensive care is required, as acyclovir is approved for intravenous administration.

I think the story failed a bit because although the circumstances are unusual, it was really about one boy failing to notice another until something dire happened.

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May I suggest a few instances where the danger of plagiarism looms large:

Stories that begin with a teen asleep in his bed and is awakened by his alarm clock.

Occurrences of a teen staring into his bathroom mirror and describing what he sees, even those anatomical details below the edge of the sink.

Teen protagonists who are lonely and isolated except for a bossy girl classmate who is his best friend and is intent upon manipulating his behavior.

Teen protagonists whose parents have both died tragically together in an automobile accident.

Teen protagonists who view themselves as the cause of the aforementioned accident.

Teens who look out of their bedroom windows and see a moving van pulling up to the empty house across the street.

Teen protagonists sent to live with someone they don't know/haven't seen for years/are deeply hostile toward, BUT

Who stumble upon a best friend/sexual attraction/soulmate within days of their arrival.

You get the idea. Watch your step, writers.

A teen who figures out that he's gay.

Colin :icon_geek:

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I think the story failed a bit because although the circumstances are unusual, it was really about one boy failing to notice another until something dire happened.

This delusion scares the bejezus out of me.

I think reminding people about failing to notice another until something dire happens is a perfectly fine raison d'être for a story. And we see Benjamin struggling with tests of his maturity. I'm good with it.

R

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This delusion scares the bejezus out of me.

I think reminding people about failing to notice another until something dire happens is a perfectly fine raison d'être for a story. And we see Benjamin struggling with tests of his maturity. I'm good with it.

It leaves me wondering if this drug could be distributed through the air as a form of biological/chemical warfare. Make the enemy (or a crowd of demonstrators) give up since they're already done for. Frightening.

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It leaves me wondering if this drug could be distributed through the air as a form of biological/chemical warfare. Make the enemy (or a crowd of demonstrators) give up since they're already done for. Frightening.

The ability of valacyclovir and acyclovir to be distributed in the air is unknown. Acyclovir is a white crystalline powder and valacyclovir is an esterified version of acyclovir. Cotard's Syndrome (the Delirium of Negation or the Cotard Delusion) is very rare in patients taking either acyclovir or valacyclovir. Distribution through the air would not seem to be an effective biological agent in warfare. (Information provided by my spouse, Doug, who is a chemist.)

Colin :icon_geek:

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I think that Doug is entirely correct about this. Antivirals are useless as terror weapons. Now we just need to find a cure for Des's stereonucleosis.

I believe I can have the Stereonucleosis Dolbyed to death, if it is listed on the public health system as a menace to classical music.

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Not trying to get caught up in the humor evidenced here, but I did enjoy the story. bi_janus seems to have mastered the short story, something I find immensely hard to do.

There is so much we don't know about the chemicals our doctors encourage us to use, the reactions are uniquely individual. All you have to do is view the drug ads on television, and specifically the disclaimers they publish, to know we are all being used as guinea pigs for the pharmaceutical industry.

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  • 4 years later...

Re-reading this as a Pick from the Past.  Scary to contemplate, but the brain is a delicate and sensitive instrument.  Even serious infections can cause toxic metabolic encephalopathy, causing the patient to experience various kinds of dementia and confusion.  Luckily treating the infection usually clears up the dementia, although it can take a while.

G

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