《Periodic Table Dysprosium 》作者：- Michael Swanwick 【EPUB】

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Michael Swanwicks Periodic Table of Science Fiction 66 Dy Dysprosium162.5 A Letter from Hell My dear Wormwood In your last letter you asked about the dissemination of the element of confusion andmiscommunication in languagethat which we call dysprosium. As it chances dysprosium is one of the Infernal Establishments great successstories and so widely distributed in government military business and even literary circlesas to scarce need encouragement. However it has been a slow week in Hell Congress is not insession so I shall indulge your curiosity. When the Americas were first discovered or originally conquered by Europe Americansspoke only prose. A man was a man a horse a horse and war was war. Treaties were signed foras long as the sun shall shine and the grass shall grow. It was impossible to go back onones word without admitting to it. This sorry state of affairs could not last. The vast amount of ill-faith coupled with anequally vast amount of self-regard that Europeans brought to the New World required a moreflexible language one in which a word could be twisted to mean approximately anything thespeaker wished it to. So our Infernal Father introduced dysprosium. Now instead of armies there are peace forces. Rather than sneak attacks there arepreemptive strikes. Civilians are no longer massacredthere is only collateral damage. Suchlanguage makes waror rather police actionsfar easier to justify to oneself. Meanwhile prisoners are not punished