So much has changed…
the world is so different…
when you look at the world we live in
can you believe that this is
what everything and everyone has come to?
From music to movies;
from the way we entertain ourselves
to who we choose to entertain us;
from the easy access to instant knowledge
to the immediate interconnectivity
we have with one others all around the world;
it’s sometimes hard to believe
that we have allowed ourselves to be
brought to this state of being that we are now in:
a world of perpetual uncertainty
where the rich seem to be calling all the shots
and the poor are suffering like never before;
a war of fear, instability, intimidation, and violence
being committed under the guise of securing peace…
the problem with having lived through
multiple states of change and having witnessed
things go from good to bad to worse,
if you are still someone with the clarity of perception,
you realise and you know that people
may have been better off before
we started allowing algorithms to determine
how, what, where, when, and why
we chose to do what we did -
because some days it is more obvious than others
that we are living in an age of mass social anxiety,
mental health issues, and manipulation
at the hands of those with
all the resources and power in the world.
This world is not the same
as it was when I was younger…
this planet has become
even more dangerous
than it was supposed to be…
this reality sometimes feels to unreal
that people believe we are living in a simulation -
because the way things are sometimes seems
so out of the ordinary and as if
everything and everyone is being directed
towards a particular goal and end point,
like the plot of a film, a book, or a video game…
the societies of the globe have never felt more
at odds with one another and as if
everything and everyone is teetering
on the edge of a fall from which
there may never be any recovery from,
because tensions are so high
and so many people are dying
because of the aggressive nature of those
who want to control as much as possible
just because they can.
I think we have collectively lost
more than we have gained as a species,
as a planet, as a whole,
and the problem is no one can stop
what was started years ago before,
because this world is far too deep
into the delusion and the illusion
that is daily veiled over the vast majority of people -
and as a result no one can tell
what is true and what is false,
what is real and what is fantasy,
not to mention whether who and what
we see on a screen is factually accurate
or fabricated by A.I.
and that is why it is so important
to not take anything you see or hear
virtually as being the truth until
you see and you hear the same thing
from a variety of sources,
because it is so easy to be fooled
by the clowns who have become
the enemy of the people
while claiming to represent
and have the best interests
of the majority of the population
of the world at the forefront of their mind -
when in actuality there are so many
“leaders” who are harming the people of the world
in more ways than they could ever realise
or care to take a concerted interest in;
however, that is why I believe
the world will always need those
who have never wanted to be a part of the mainstream,
those who people who know that
absolute power corrupts absolutely,
and those who just want to be
who and what they are and don’t care about
who and what they are supposed to be
and what they are supposed to do -
because this world is full of so many people
who will tell you what you want to hear,
but the real truth tellers are those who might
count themselves as a member of the community
of the world who rebel against the idea of conformity
and who are at their heart a life long “punk”.
rebel
The Pathfinder: Wild Card
Short story: “The Man in Blue” (2018) by Mark Hastings
‘Playing God’ by Mark Hastings (2018) – The Complete Audiobook
A Poem A Day #618: David Bowie
A Poem A Day #596: Maverick
My Poem “Maverick”
I have never minded flying solo... I have never minded going my own way rather than going with the flow... I have never minded thinking differently than those around me... I have never minded being independent because having the gift of independence is the key to being truly free. Even as a boy I knew that my path through life would be different from that of my friends... as a child, and still now, I was never afraid to take a leap into the unknown while those around me stand still and stare and as I choose to push down on the throttle and go to where others might not dare. I always enjoyed the thrill and the adrenaline rush of going against conformity... I always loved running and being fast on my feet... I always wanted to push the envelope and be catapulted to the outer reaches of time, possibility, and space... I always wanted to be and I always will be, whether inside or outside a cockpit, a test pilot, a rebel, a rocket man, a daredevil, and a maverick.
Rest In Peace, David Bowie (a tribute)

On January 10, 2016, I wrote a poem called “Always the Starman” dedicated to the late great David Bowie who died on that very day in 2016 – and I can still remember where I was and what I was doing when I heard of his untimely passing, and I can still remember being immediately inspired to mark the memory of one of the most famous and celebrated music artists of the 20th Century – and two days later I published the poem that I wrote on my blog for all the world to read so that they may get a sense of just how inspirational David Bowie was and still is.
Not long after David Bowie’s death, I remember that I was writing a new short story called “The Man In Black” about this mysterious character – who I didn’t truly know the identity of, nor why they were so mysterious… all I knew at that point was that whoever they were they dressed all in black, they had mysterious and powerful gifts that enabled them to appear one minute and disappear the next, they could bring animals and perhaps people back to life, and they may or may not be some kind of angel or some other supernatural being. And something else that I knew immediately was that whoever this mysterious “man in black” was he also bore an uncanny resemblance to the late great David Bowie, as some sort of tribute to him. But that was it. I originally intended to include my short story “The Man in Black” in my 2016 short story collection “Too Close To The Sun”, however for some reason I held it back… and to this day I still do not know why, what, or who stopped me from doing so – but I am so glad that they did, because from that first story there followed others that featured the same “Man in Black” who at times was known to white also depending upon when you met him. And slowly but surely I wrote more and more, until I finally found myself with seven short stories that explored who the “Man in Black/Man in White” was and why he did what he did. And to this day the stories of my short story collection “Playing God” still remain close to my heart, because within them are characters who I know and who I recognise: characters in need of being saved by a hero, a friend, a rebel, an angel, a god dressed all in black, and sometimes dressed all in white – someone who we would all wish would pay us a visit and heal the world of the present from what we are currently being plagued by.
I wrote my original poem “Always the Starman” and “The Man in Black”, the first story of my book “Playing God”, as a personal tribute to David Bowie – but the more stories that I wrote about this mysterious man who looked and sounded just like David Bowie, I also found myself uncovering many different sources of inspiration – from ancient Greek mythology to the daily torments that some people have to deal with – and I also found myself learning more about why I love writing so much: that thrill of exploration and discovery that I find every time I embark upon a writing challenge that I know will take me to places that I never imagined I would ever venture to. And that is what it is so enthralling and exciting about being a writer and an author of fiction: you never know where it is going to take you.
I will always be eternally grateful to the late great David Bowie for his music, for his creativity, and for the gift of inspiration that he gave to me – which coalesced over time into becoming a book of stories written in tribute to him, but also a tribute to hope, optimism and the gift of life that we are all blessed with which we all sometimes take for granted.
Rest in peace, David Bowie

8 January 1947 – 10 January 2016
‘Playing God’ out now on Amazon
Seven stories… Seven perspectives… Seven experiences… One Man in Black, one Man in White… Seven morality tales of one immortal… Rebel, Hero, Friend, Fan, Father, Son. Playing God takes you on a journey that connects a hero of myth with a modern day hero of music.
You can get a copy of my new book, Playing God, below:

