OUT

From the opening of OUT:

It all comes together. Don't fall. Each of us carries a
stick of dynamite. Concealed on his person. That does
several things. One it forms a bond. Two it makes you
feel special. Three it's mute articulation of the conditions
we live in today I mean not only us but everybody the
zeitgeist you might say if not the human condition
itself and keeps you in touch with reality. This is your
stick. Don't fall. We know one among us is a government
agent that's inevitable. Maybe it's you. Maybe it's me. The
way we deal with that is as long as everyone does his job
what's the difference. You're either part of the plot or
part of the counterplot. Everybody's got to be either one
or the other they all have their own opinions about which
they are. Personally that's not part of my assignment. Part
of it is having meets. This is a meet. The way you have
meets is you take out your stick of dynamite that's your
i. d. Don't fall. This is a two person meet there are
bigger ones. When we get all our dynamite together we have
a bomb. Then we set it off. It's all chance. Don't trust
anyone you don't know that's the big thing. It's all who
you like who you can work with who you fuck. Personal
affinity. Of course we don't have real names we have
aliases. Today I'm Harrold. Two r's. Tomorrow I might be
someone else. Don't fall. Of course all this probably
sounds wacky to you. That's because none of it is true.
It's just a joke a way we have of testing people's
reactions. The dynamite stick's a dud. Light the fuse and
see. Or maybe you better not. Maybe it'll blow your head
off. Well you never know till you try. Right?

OUT was the first work published in the Alt-X Electronic Virtual Imprint Series in 1996. The original was published in book form in 1972 ...

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Metadata: Sukenick, OUT, Alt-X