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They’ve found me out!  

It’s true; I’m currently working on a collection of materials provided to me by an insider from the Early Clues Corporation. I’m still some time away from an official release date, but somehow the Early Clues guys have beat me to the punch and are forcing me to play my hand by threatening me with vague legal repercussions. Thing is, they don’t have a leg to stand on, as the material provided to Strange Animal has been officially dedicated to the Public Domain. I’m going to do the same, and there’s nothing they can really do to stop me.

The whole story of how I obtained this material and why I decided to publish it will appear in the book’s foreword. The cover they’ve obtained is the real deal; not sure how they happened across it, but I may as well give you a sneak peak. This is still just a draft, keep in mind:

And, just for kicks, here’s the back cover, too:




As I mentioned, it’s still a work in progress, but here’s an excerpt from the foreword:

NOTES ON THE CONTENTS OF THIS HANDBOOK

The first section of these materials, presented in the same order I found them when I opened the envelope in my car (to the accompaniment of the rasping static produced by AM Radio), seems like, at first glance, a fairly “standard” corporate employee handbook. When you begin reading, however, some slightly disturbing details begin to stand out.

Policies range from the amusing (“All employees that are able and willing to break-dance will be granted ONE (1) extra window of break time”), to the absurd (“Wage reviews are conducted every 30 seconds for each employee, and salary increases are based on those reviews, as well as our profitability – and are never granted”), to the outright sinister (“Misuse of alcohol or drugs by employees can impair the ability of employees to maintain a sober vigilance to watch for signs against the End of the All”). Still, one does have to question whether any of this material is significantly more disturbing or sinister than the material presented in any modern corporate manual.

The second part of this text is a collection of entries from an Early Clues journal or log of some kind, included in the packet I received as simple print-outs. They seem to be presented as a kind of ‘overview’ of some of the major themes found on EarlyClues.com. OpenQNL and Synconjury are given ample space, with additional sections devoted to “Entity Rights” and a collection of meandering—but unquestionably fascinating—writings by Early Clues “Executives.” “Eclectic” doesn’t begin to describe the contents of this book. On one page there will be moments of deep humor and obvious satire, side-by-side with whimsical poesy, followed by intimations of cosmic horror on the page following.

I don’t know whether this is some kind of “Subgenius” style “Joke disguised as a Corporation or Corporation disguised as a joke,” or if my original suspicions that this may be an elaborate prank or art project are correct, but if even one tenth of these contents are “true” in the objective sense, the implications for what Early Clues refers to as “Legacy Reality” are profound.

I’m anticipating a release of this title some time in late March or early April, depending on how much interest I can generate in the material. I think there’s material in here that will appeal to a wide cross-section of readers, from the “high weirdness” set to the anti-corporate set to people who just appreciate funny, surreal strangeness. Meanwhile, I’m reaching out to Early Clues to make sure they understand that I’m perfectly within my rights to publish this stuff, and that they’d be better served by “cleaning their own house” than by coming after a guy with a couple of websites and a few books for sale on Amazon.

Needless to say, watch this space for more news!