The Institute Page #2

opening up and seeing the world

in a different way.

I felt like

I felt before

when I was watching a movie, and

the movie ended, and I left the

movie theater.

And everything outside seems

better than it did before that.

Like, the colors are brighter,

or the world looks like a

different place.

And I wanted to keep feeling

that way,

instead of just

walking around going, "Well, I'm

going to my job.

Well, I have to go do laundry. "

Instead, I was walking around

and looking at stuff with a

different purpose.

Instead of just trying to get

from point "A" to point "B,"

I was looking for clues.

Towards the end of the

induction, on the card, you're

instructed to call the

detective.

And when you call the detective,

he drops a clue about

Cooper alley.

It turns out there's a shrine to

someone named Eva.

Says, "We miss you, Eva. "

Then, at that point, you're

instructed to go back to the

building, and you're given a key

to this wall of lockers.

There's a tiny, little peephole,

and inside there are these sort of

partial letters and numbers

and things like that.

And then, at the very end of the

cycle, it comes together, and

it's the same face that was in

the alley.

About the same time, I got a

text message saying, "Tune in to

Radio Nonchalance in

upper Dolores Park. "

I actually drove up here in my

car because I didn't have a

radio.

And I sat in my car for about a

half an hour listening to this

station.

Over the course of an hour,

there were strange news factoids.

There was an interview with the

proprietor of the world's

smallest postal service.

There was talk of strange

conspiracy.

There was a rant against

Octavio Coleman.

There was all sorts of fun

stuff.

It felt very much like listening

to someone like Art Bell on the

radio.

You can't tell if he's for real

or not.

And now cryptic radio brings

you the secret of Nonchalance.

What is Nonchalance?

And who are its hidden

followers?

This is your announcer,

Commander 14, broadcasting for

a limited time on this special

frequency.

Keep tuned for vital

information.

Follow along as we disclose a

world whose secret presence may

mean the difference between

enlightenment and total

incomprehension.

And just what do we mean by

nonchalance, anyway?

A casual way of sauntering down

the street?

A kind of cool, perhaps?

You like cartoons, don't you?

Of course you do.

Everyone likes cartoons.

Observe as our animated

protagonist stumbles blindly

out of bed, down the stairs,

and out the front door, onto a

busy street.

He easily but narrowly dodges

impending danger, seemingly

without effort or awareness.

Bricks from a construction site

almost but do not fall on him.

At the last minute, as he's

about to step into an open

manhole in the street, he's

miraculously spared the fall.

And after numerous similar

close calls, his unconscious

path is turned around in a

revolving door.

And in his own building, by

fortunate coincidence, he's

somehow returned to bed,

unharmed by the end of the

cartoon.

This ability, to be supported

and guarded by extraordinary

good luck, is called

"divine nonchalance. "

By definition, the nonchalant

is wonderfully scattered and

lacking in all external

direction.

The ride is fantastic, but the

destination remains uncertain.

You are listening to

Radio Nonchalance, dispatches

from Elsewhere.

Support for this program has

been provided by the

Elsewhere Public Works Agency.

Now back to our program.

Well, the EPWA's position on

the Jejune Institute is that

they were selling false

nonchalance.

And what they meant by that, as

best as I can tell, is that

that creative spark which drives

humanity cannot be marketed,

cannot be sold, cannot be given

to you in a bottle.

You either have those moments,

or you don't, and you can't

control it.

So, anybody who tells you

otherwise is selling you

something.

Attention!

This is Commander 14 of

cryptic radio.

Nonchalance is all around you.

Wake up!

It's later than you think.

The false prophets are even now

consolidating their forces, as

they draw up their plans

against us.

Beware especially the one the

world calls

"Octavio Coleman, Esquire," for

he is in the present era the

main opponent of Nonchalance

and a cynical and fiendishly

inspired devisor of false

nonchalance.

Founder of the Jejune Institute,

chief funder of the Algorithm, main

perpetrator of false

nonchalance, CIA operative and

informant, saboteur and

provocateur

Octavio Coleman, Esquire, is

the man who is behind all of

the monitoring, subversion, and

suppression of Nonchalance.

During the 1980s, Coleman

illegally obtained protected

patents and legal control over

a series of innovative

products.

Taking personal credit for

these discoveries, Coleman at

this time consolidated the

Jejune Institute as a

limited liability corporation.

Today, the institute commands

an unheard-of freedom

from governmental regulation or, for

that matter, any superior

authority.

This might have dire

consequences for all operating

nonchalance in this area.

Basically, what had happened

is I'd gone to the institute,

and I had gone through the first

phase and was amazed by it,

obviously, just like you should

be... amazed and confused.

And one day, about a week later,

I was on my lunch break from

work, and I walked down the

street to pick up a slice of

pizza.

And when I came back, there were

the Jejune Institute posters all

over the street where I just

was and on every sign and on

every window.

And so, there had obviously been

multiple agents in the area,

flier-ing everything.

And so, I got on my skateboard.

I started skateboarding around

and trying to find who was

putting up these posters.

And then I did see someone, and

I kind of approached him, and I

said... I asked him if he was

following his nonchalance.

So, he knew that obviously I

knew, and we started to talk.

And he told me to give him his

e-mail address, and then he

left.

They scheduled me to come down

and have an appointment with

them in the offices, and I

didn't know exactly what to

expect.

And they told me to dress

"nicely," which obviously for me

can mean all sorts of different

things.

They told me to show up early,

and I knew what was going to

happen, that there was going to

be a protest, that I would lead

it, and that it would end at the

Lipo Lounge.

And they gave me a couple of

these armbands.

I put some on.

They hand me a bullhorn and told

me, like, that they'd hoped I

memorized all the chants.

And I'd never... there was no

chance.

So, I said, "Yes, absolutely.

I know every chant.

All the chants I know.

I know every single chant. "

And they said, "Let's go. "

Hello! -Hi! Nice to meet you. -Hello!

Hold the signs up high in the

air.

I want to see them.

There's so much energy just

coming right through here.

There's a lot of energy.

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