b (2023)

The next global conflict will see ghillie suits swapped-out for costumes resembling login pages or Amazon’s one-click-order button.

In The Golden Bough, Sir James Frazer distinguishes between two types of magic: taboo and empathetic magic. Taboo avoids interaction, camouflaging itself to prevent unwanted contact, whereas empathetic magic seeks resemblance, drawing its subject closer through likeness. In b, the protagonist stumbles into a realm where these principles of attraction and avoidance collide. A misspelled URL entry initiates their reverse odyssey, drawing them deep into the labyrinthine world of a spam website.

What begins as curiosity quickly spirals into an overwhelming assault of unsolicited offers, dominated by promises of transformation via viagra. Each click tightens the net, entangling the protagonist in a system where garbage data masquerades as truth. Like cargo cult scientists who imitate experiments to summon results, the spam landscape mirrors legitimacy to gain traction. Here, camouflage and attraction intertwine, blurring the line between deception and allure.

By the end of the journey, the protagonist doesn’t just navigate this digital ecosystem—they dissolve into it, becoming a website themselves. Their transformation suggests that participation in the system is both voluntary and inevitable, a fusion of science and magic in the age of information overload. b explores these themes through the lens of communication, highlighting how modern digital signaling operates on the same principles Frazer identified: one part science, one part magic.

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