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Coming from a tradition where memory is passed down through speech, where teaching is done through storytelling, where warnings are given through historical tales, legends, and oral chronicles, it was important for me to tell a story sparkling with reality; the term“ fictional” would be inappropriate, as these paragraphs are steeped in palpable reality. In our culture, we don’ t just explain danger— we tell stories about it, so that everyone can see it, feel it, and recognize it when it appears in real life.
Prologue: The soldier’ s last look
There was an old black soldier in Washington, D. C., in the 2020s, who sat every day in front of the Buffalo Soldiers Memorial. Tourists walked by without seeing him. Pigeons landed on his shoulder. He didn’ t move. A reporter once asked him why he came there every day, rain or shine. The old man didn’ t answer right away. His eyes followed the names engraved in bronze— thousands of names, thousands of men who had defended a country that refused to recognize them as citizens. Then he whispered,“ I come because soon, no one else will come.” The reporter smiled, uncomfortable.“ Come on, it’ s a national memorial. It’ s not going to disappear.” The old man finally turned his gaze to him. It was a gaze that had seen things the reporter didn’ t want to imagine.“ Everything can disappear,” he said softly.“ First from the books. Then from the minds. And finally, from here.” He touched the cold bronze.“ They always start with history.” Three weeks later, the memorial was closed for“ budget renovations.” It never reopened.
Flashmag! Edition 167 Decembre 2025
The Heirs of Darkness
No one saw the exact moment when American democracy began to crack. There was no coup, no tanks, no fiery speeches. Just administrative measures. Decrees. Reorganizations. What was known as Project 2025 was underway. Nearly half of its measures were already in effect— restructuring of federal agencies, elimination of diversity programs, centralization of executive power.
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