Tell us about yourself! What would you like readers to know about you?
Mr. Hexagon: First of all I want to give a gargantuan peace sign and emphatic THANK YOU to all the people who follow Mr. Hexagon on Twitter. I am proud to announce that we just broke 1000 followers on the evening of Thursday, July 8th. The gamers, the streamers, the fellow developers, the authors, the artists and the powerful relationships we are building together means everything. We’re forming a formidable agile network with an unmatched tactical effectiveness which should make our obstacles tremble as we approach them. The Mr. Hexagon operation is moving to the next phase according to plan. Pat yourself on the back. We are slicing into the future at the speed of fun.
What book or books have most influenced you as a writer?
Mr. Hexagon: Great question. There are thousands. Let’s stick to influential sci-fi books. The best science fiction story ever written is “Ender’s Game” by Orson Scott Card. It is an easy read. It has perfect dramaturgical expression of timeless themes. It is required reading for the Marines. Then there is “Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy” by Douglas Adams, a good one for all the hoopy froods who want to learn how to make Pan-Galactic Gargle Blasters for fun and profit.
There are more obscure sci-fi books to consider, too. People don’t seem to realize “Atlas Shrugged” by Ayn Rand is science fiction, yet the plot spins around a free-energy generator which converts atmospheric electricity into unlimited power used to make holograms, super-steel, and the sonic weapon PROJECT X, so it qualifies. Several other books I must also mention include the mind-bending “Illuminatus Trilogy” by Robert Anton Wilson and its companion book “Principia Discordia,” hail Eris, the prophetic team-building primer “Sixth Column” by Robert Heinlein, and of course “Pattern Recognition” by William Gibson, a modern cyberpunk masterpiece. There is another 100% safe and verified non-threatening book which is about using DAO Tokens to create a reality distortion field and spawn an impossible-to-kill negative space dragon who will ensure that everything that can’t go wrong will go wrong, but unfortunately I cannot legally remember what it’s called or mention it by name at this time.
Alexis: The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy is still one of my all time favorite series! Douglas Adams is such a funny, unappreciated genius.
What are you doing to de-stress during the pandemic? Is there any coping mechanism you’d recommend (or NOT recommend)?
Mr. Hexagon: I always try to convert the energy of a situation into something productive. This is the best method to cope with life in general I think. When the virus fiasco first started I channeled the fear into a new project named “God Awful Mess” a story which focuses on survival during societal collapse. Imagine a post-apocalyptic Stardew Valley with more cans of sardines and backyard chemistry. March really seemed like the beginning of the end of the world. I reached out to SAL3M to create some conceptual main characters. We’ve collaborated in the past and they were happy to help. Their work is really tremendous. SAL3M puts all of their heart and soul into the things they create. However, the “God Awful Mess” project has since been put on hold for a more effective therapeutic project: Death Factor. Death Factor II has been my ultimate coping mechanism.
I’ve realized everybody’s biggest fear is death. Myself especially. Dying is at the bottom of everybody’s to-do list. Everybody wants to delay thinking about their fate for as long as possible. So it controls us. Our fear of death grips tightly and chokes our capacity for living abundant lives. By confronting death daily it’s allowed me to keep everything in perspective and be incredibly productive. Facing death head-on and directly looking the grim reaper in the eyes everyday makes COVID-19 seem way less scary. That’s how I’ve been coping with all of this. I’m keeping my head down and continuously showing up to build a focused meditation on dying. Also, I have a rule: every time I die in a video game I do a set of push-ups. So I’ve been getting kinda beefy all pandemic, heh. Exercise is important to stay balanced. It keeps the juices flowing when we have to stay inside all afternoon instead of going outside like we’re supposed to do. It keeps one’s brain connected properly.
Alexis: In Chris Hadfield’s book “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth,” he talks about how NASA trains astronauts to ask themselves “what’s the next thing that could kill me?” They believe it’s really important that people fully understand the risks and dangers of space travel, because otherwise they might fall into denial and not face hard truths. I’ve been reminded a lot of that during this pandemic. It’s clear that many people chose to live in denial rather than face their fears. They don’t want to believe their life is in danger or that terrible things are happening around them, so they pretend it isn’t real or that they don’t have to take it seriously for “reasons.” I think it’s so important to look straight at the problem we’re facing, look into the source of our fears, and think honestly about it. Otherwise, it’s madness.
As teacher, it horrifies me that people are fretting over kids getting behind in school and demanding schools reopen. The truth is, if we get the reopening wrong, children will die. Their parents will die. Their teachers will die. It kind of makes the hand-wringing about kids getting behind in reading or math seem ridiculous when you face that truth. Kids can get up on their reading, so long as they don’t die. Abd they’re not going to learn much it their teacher dies mid year. Or their parents die. Or they lose a friend or a grandparent.
What TV shows/Movies do you like to watch or stream?
Mr. Hexagon: My recent secret guilty passion is an obsession with stuff made in 1971. It seems to be the last good year for classic movies, classic rock music, and classic cars. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Dirty Harry. The French Connection. Vanishing Point. Godzilla vs Hedorah. The Andromeda Strain. The Omega Man. A Clockwork Orange. THX 1138. So many good movies. 1971 was last year we were on the gold standard maybe that’s why? So much good music too. Aqualung. Master of Reality. Electric Warrior. Fragile. Led Zeppelin IV. ZZ Top’s First Album. L.A. Woman. Maggot Brain. At Fillmore East. Meddle. The Land of Grey and Pink. Moving Waves. I know it’s not everybody’s favorite type music or movie but if it is, there’s so many good things that came out in 1971. When it’s time to unwind, 1971 is where I time travel. A lot of good sci-fi and a lot of good spacey synthesizers. But I digress.
Do you like playing video games? What’s your favorite game right now? Has a video game ever influenced you as a writer?
Mr. Hexagon: My favorite game right now is Death Factor and it’s my pleasure to offer it at a special reduced price exclusively for Lunarian Press readers. In life, our hunger always grows, so we must buy food to eat. But to buy food, we must work a task to make money. But to work a task to make money we must have enough energy. But to have enough energy we must sleep. But when we sleep we cannot do anything else. We can also choose to be cool or buy stuff or smoke cigarettes. But the longer we live, the greater our Death Factor, and the faster we will die. The game is the cutting edge of simulation science and it plays with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi’s concept of “flow”. Trying to manage your life gets you into a loop. This simple language is how to play Death Factor. If you don’t have the context of the game it almost seems like a self-help book. Some of the first players said the game has a big learning curve, so I’ve also added a new “strategy guidebook” to the package. Even if you never ever played the game, the guidebook would still be insightful. One recent customer said it doesn’t even seem like a game. It’s true. Death Factor is a unique bizarre experience that blurs the line between self-improvement and fun. And the best part is that Lunarian press readers can get it at half-price here https://gumroad.com/l/tNSrd/Lunarian
Do you like playing board games or role playing games like D&D? If so, which games do you like best?
Mr. Hexagon: I am indeed a Dungeons and Dragons geek. I’ve been stuffed into lockers for this. I’ve been given swirlies. I’ve lost lunch money to bullies. None of which has held me back from this wonderful pastime. Our current campaign’s party is called The Circle of the Crimson Thorns. We’ve been commissioned by the king to be the bodyguards (and road crew) for the world-famous traveling band of bards known as “The Beaholders” as they perform their sold-out world tour. Backstage they get into trouble and The Circle of the Crimson Thorns must baby-sit them, which we gladly do because we get a hansom gold salary. When I’m not the DM in the rotation, I play a level 9 high elf wizard named Rynn Dimewood, who has a smug know-it-all 19 score in intelligence but a foolish wisdom score of just 8. Rynn mocks everybody who is not as smart as him, which is everybody, but he is too stupid to realize the futility of his attitude. This has landed him in jail several times and leads the party into terrible scenarios. Fun Fact: The ultimate final boss in our campaign is fashioned after Rob Loggia who is the official Chief Procurer of Processed Meats and Pasteurized Cheese Product for John McAfee. (Here’s a link to his tweet that explains the DnD story: https://twitter.com/Loggiaonfire/status/1231587280520957954 )
What advice do you have for other writers or people just getting started in writing?
Mr. Hexagon: Everybody can write but that doesn’t mean everybody should write. There’s too many empty words out and about which are loosely connected and do not propel us in any useful direction. It is our job as writers to pull together words that need to be connected and deliver them to the people that can best use them. As quickly as possible. We turn the data into actionable knowledge for the decision makers. We connect the dots on the graph. We tell the story. This is not a responsibility to take lightly. It is the ultimate responsibility. We must imagine the awesome future because the rest of the world will follow our footsteps. Sharp cutting words will not do for this objective. Wishful thinking is necessary for such engineering. If you don’t think you’re up to the task, your effort will be better appreciated on synthesis duty. Simply invent new words. One new word per day will do the trick. Clearly define the word and let everybody know what it means so we can use it. We always need new words. These old words are terribly restrictive. Help update the system with new vocabulary.
Do you like Greek/Roman/Norse/Asian/African mythology or folklore? What’s your favorite myth?
Mr. Hexagon: I keep a hammer on my desk to remind myself of Mjölnir, “The Grinder”, Thor’s magnificent hammer. The hammer that can move mountains. The hammer of concentrated effort. The hammer of manufacturing. The story goes that once upon a time a devious giant stole this powerful tool from Thor. The giant terrorized the world with his new ill-gotten power. Dark times... Sad times... Powerless times... but Thor baked up an idea to borrow his wit instead of his usual brute force to somehow repossess the hammer. Thor’s plan was to dress as woman and seduce the giant. He wore the sexiest clothing. He put on the sexiest makeup. He dawned the sexiest smells. He whispered sweet licentious poems to the giant with supreme feminine grace and the trick worked. The giant fell madly in love with Thor. The giant asked Thor to be his bride and of course Thor agreed. A grand wedding ceremony was had and at the peak of the marriage celebration, the giant presented a priceless gift to his dainty new wife: Mjölnir. Thor swiftly grabbed the hammer and smashed in the giant’s skull. Covered in the giant’s blood, Thor raised the mighty Mjölnir to the sky. Lightning slashed and thunder roared. The productive power of the grind was returned to its rightful owner. Everybody lived happily ever after.
Alexis: I’ve always loved that story—I think it’s one of the funniest ones in mythology. I can just imagine a Scandinavian bard telling that story around a fire, being super campy and hamming it up, while his audience dies laughing.
More About Mr. Hexagon
My Twitter is my main base of operations right now. https://twitter.com/MrHexagon Don’t be a stranger!
The unique experience “Death Factor” can be found at https://gumroad.com/l/tNSrd/Lunarian
My Email is mrhexagon@yahoo.com for discussing business.
Death Factor II is in the works and coming soon!