A message from Charlie Fish

Thank you, everybody, for your support with my mission to complete every EquivalenZ task by the end of the era. Every single vote and comment from each of you fills me with a joyful sense of community that will keep me coming back to SFØ for a long time to come. I love you all, more deeply than you realize.

Unfortunately (and perhaps unsurprisingly, given that I only gave myself one month to complete the mission) I have been unsuccessful. I managed to do 16 out of 28 tasks. But although I failed the mission, I do not consider it a defeat. I had a hell of a lot of fun, and judging by the average of over 16 votes per task you had fun too; and I raised the profile of EquivalenZ and challenged the dominance of Aesthematics. That's a pretty successful failure.

I think now would be an apt time to decode my secret rules for EquivalenZ:

Those who think EquivalenZ is only about technology and virtual reality are blinkered.

Equivalenz is about living your life as if it were a computer game, or a movie, or a fantastical hero's quest, giving licence to your fantasies, freeing yourself to "engage in acts of sex, combat and commerce," and all the other things that you would never normally dare to do (but your character does gladly).

Turn the streets of your city, the hours of your day, into a game. Be bold, and damn the consequences - there's always an extra life.

My final EquivalenZ-mission completion follows:

I wanted to go out with a bang, and give a nod to all five six Glasnost trajectories.

Jack Of All Trades and I reverse-engineered five different pleasures, one in the style of each of the five trajectories, by exploring those pleasures with each of our five senses.

Aesthematics - an abstract painting
EquivalenZ - a vibrator
Biome - an apple
Bart PA -Cable cars
Humanitarian Crisis - Charlie Fish's body

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Reverse Engineering an Aesthematic Pleasure by Trades

Abstract Painting:

Looks - chaotic and pale. It looks like it is trying to tell me something but can't quite get its message across. It is slightly frustrating. 7/10.

Sounds - silent. 0/10.
Smells - of dust and room spray, it must have been absorbing the air freshner all these years. The paint no longer has any odor 6/10.
Tastes - bitter! although the white bits just taste mildly savory and the purple is salty and tangy. 2/10.

Feels - dry and rough mainly, but smooth and hard on the shiny bits. Some of the gold paper and bumps of shiny stuff stick out quite far. 5/10.
Conclusion - The artwork really only offers pleasure to look at. It is quite a soothing painting because it doesn't have anything in it. The eye can travel around it and learn nothing new, there is a story there, but you can't quite work it out. It is a bit like a painting of a dream.

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Reverse Engineering an EquivalenZ Pleasure by Charlie Fish

Rampant Rabbit:

Looks - Frightening. 2/10.
Sounds - Cross between kitchen appliance and evil robot. 1/10. (Scroll to bottom to see & hear video.)
Smells - A bit rubbery. Not entirely pleasant. 4/10. (See image below.)

Tastes - Of nothing. At least, before it's been used... 5/10. (Photo below.)

Feels - According to Mrs. Charlie Fish, 10/10.
Conclusion - It seems that all the pleasure of a vibrator is in the feel. Maybe someone should manufacture a dildo that looks/sounds/smells/tastes better?

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Reverse Engineering a Biome Pleasure by Charlie Fish

Red Apple:

Looks - Shiny and delicious. 10/10.
Sounds - Crisp and satisfying; although hearing someone else chew can be annoying. 8/10. (Scroll to bottom to see & hear video.)
Smells - Hardly any smell, but not unpleasant. 6/10. (See image below.)

Tastes - Wonderful. 10/10.
Feels - Firm and smooth. A bit cold. Fairly neutral. 5/10.
Conclusion - An apple is a simple, and high-scoring, pleasure.

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Reverse Engineering a Bart PA Pleasure by Master of None

Cable car:

Looks bizarre and exciting! All the cogs and gears which make it go are out on display unlike more everyday vehicles like a car or a train. 10/10.

Sounds - The machinery at the bottom is quite loud, but up in the cable car all you can really hear is the wind outside and the cable creaking. 8/10.
Smells - Not of much, the wooden seats smell a little of mildew and the air inside is slightly stale. 4/10.
Tastes - The window tastes of coldness, like normal glass. 2/10.
Feels . 5/10.
Conclusion Cable cars are a very pleasurable way to travel, but get boring quite quickly. The views were amazing though.

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Reverse Engineering a Humanitarian Crisis Pleasure By Charlie Fish

Being Charlie Fish:


Looks - Most of the time I'm quite pleased with my looks. Charmingly scruffy, lean, but oh so hairy. 8/10.
Sounds - Judging by the singing in this task, not bad, but not brilliant either. 7/10.
Smells - Musky. Although mostly skin doesn't smell that much. 7/10. (See image below.)

Tastes - Of almost nothing. Neutral. 5/10. (See image below.)

Feels - It feels good to touch myself. (Not just there, you dirty rascals.) 10/10.
Conclusion - The five senses don't seem to do justice to the pleasure of being me. I love being me on an intellectual level as well as due to all the pleasures that my senses deliver.

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And, seeing as Spar created this task, I gave a well-deserved nod to the Blue group as well. Spar implies that the task was originally "Reverse engineer a sex toy" (before the admins approved it), so I did exactly that.





Conclusion: When you actually see how a sex toy works, it ain't so sexy. Scroll to the bottom to see a horrifying video of the sex toy skeleton clattering across the table.

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Bring on the new era! Prior pure-EquivalenZ tasks:

- Dot Matrix
- Take Apart
- R/C Fire
- Keep Your Eyes Peeled
- Virtual Nation Building
- Lucid Dreaming 2: EquivalenZ
- Dodging
- Nintend0
- Spam Poetry
- Correspond with a spammer
- Cellular Breakdown
- SFZero Text Updates
- Objectify a Subject
- Attachment Theory
- Bathe Electonics