The deckThe Conditions24 of 24
The Five-Year Plan
The plan, the plot it is digging, and what year it is.
- Figure
- The plan. And the plot it is digging.
- Pattern
- The thing you say you are working toward.
- What it protects
- A plan is a reason not to be asked.
- What it costs
- Year four is already over.
- The move
- Say what year it is in the plan. Out loud.
- ON FILE
- Five flags, four marked year two.
In each position
HOW IT STARTED
You made a plan. It had years in it. Nobody asked you about it again.
HOW IT'S GOING
You are in year four. You are calling it year two. The hole is the right size.
HOW IT ENDS, ALLEGEDLY
You will say you are working toward something. You will say it from the chair.
Three questions
- What year is it in the plan?
- What has the plan excused you from being asked?
- What was year four?
A sample file
A sample file
This office is in possession of one clipboard, five flags and a rectangle of turned earth the size of a plan. The years have been passing at the standard rate while the plan stays where it was left, and you have been calling it year two for what the file measures as about two years. A plan is a very good reason not to be asked, and the office notes that nobody has asked. The office has a five-year plan of its own and has also been calling it year two. xxxx xxxx xx xxxxxxx xxxxx xxx xxx xxxxx xxxxxx xxx xxxx xxx xxxx xxxx xxx xxxx xxx xxxxxxx The office has left a line for the current year to be said out loud. The plan stayed exactly where you left it, and the years did not.
EXHIBITS
- A. Five flags, four marked year two.
- B. A punch list longer than the blueprint.
- C. Two place settings, one paper bag.
OVERDUEyear four of five
Every file is written for the person who pulled it. This one was written for nobody, so it is the only one you get to read without pulling. One sentence is sealed on every public copy, this one included.
On file in cotton
The shirt
Once a day. Three cards, one finding, a status. How it works.