[Titles at the end]

The boiler of this train exploded some time back. Now it can’t be stopped. Naturally, some people heard the explosion, but others slept right through it, slumped in their seats with enviable calm. Still others, namely the boiler operators, stood dumbfounded at the destruction of such a precise and exceptional machine, unable to believe what was taking place right before their eyes. Others, the shrewdest, having at least predicted what could happen at least in part, seemed disappointed, even anxious to find out what was coming. The passengers closest to the engine car – the first-class travelers, of course – were startled at first, wanting to know what was happening up ahead. But they relaxed when the skilled, highly professional staff assured them they could go about their business without a second thought; that the train was operating normally and right on schedule. Other passengers, the ones who’d heard and felt a brief shudder through the strain, were also worried, but when they saw the prevailing impassiveness and cool indifference in the most privileged cars – their passengers accustomed to demanding treatment suited to their rank – they convinced themselves that they weren’t in any danger, either. Needless to say, way back in the very last car, where the least advantaged passengers were crammed in all together, a torsion – one of those peculiar shifts a train can make as it turns – allowed just a few to witness the very moment when the boiler exploded spectacularly in a burst of fiery orange and blue. Seeing the entire thing, they were met with the utter apathy not only of the passengers farther up the train, but also of their own immediate fellows, some of whom were so traveling so densely packed that they’d spent the entire ride staring at their neighbor’s elbow, struggling against the humanity of their face in competition for the meager habitable space available to them. After the near-hysterical screams of those few passengers, now dismissed as crazy, there was no noise at all, and everything carried on exactly as it had until then. —Who cares if we can’t turn off the boiler? Back there they’ve got fuel to burn for a million years. Besides, don’t you like the speed? Stick your face into the wind – the fear of falling becomes a pleasure, trust me. Can’t you see something sacred flickering in the blue center of the flame? Don’t worry too much. Just sit back and enjoy the show. It’s all over so fast. Let’s enjoy it while we can.— But this was just a fleeting illusion. The railroad switchman, meticulously armed with his instruments of long-range vision, communicated to his superiors the very thing that no one ever wants to hear: the truth. And this simple but jarring truth, which clanged against the ears of the train authorities, abrupt as scissors cutting into paper, was that the rail responsible for conveying the most beautiful, the most powerful, the most tenacious mechanism on earth – and, indeed, in the entire universe – was bound straight for the abyss. And it was then, following a brief, rough wait, like a match following an anxious path along a strip of strike paper, that the news scattered, stark as the glint of light over the match head.  —I think we can summon the mechanics and have them design a machine that will lay down unlimited lengths of wood and rail ahead of the train, but faster, so we can proceed indefinitely. Right, and where do you suppose we’ll get the wood for those tracks? I don’t know what you’re so worried about if the train doesn’t even exist. Neither do the tracks. I think we should just keep going and see what happens. Who can say for sure that there isn’t some better place awaiting us beyond the abyss, someplace we can’t yet see? Obviously everything went to the dogs a long time ago. It was in our nature from the very beginning. That’s what we are. We just have to enjoy what we’ve got left. You’re a cynic! And a miser, don’t you forget it! Ha, ha, ha! I think we need to keep a cool head, folks. In situations like these, the most important thing is a steady hand, a leader who can maintain his composure and make difficult decisions, even if they call for sacrifice. —Why don’t we uncouple our car and send that machine and the first-class passengers straight to hell? Are you insane? And then end up all alone in this desolate cactus-riddled wasteland? By all means, you stay put and burrow like a snake, go right ahead, but don’t ask me to join you. Do you really think they’ll let us go just like that? Don’t be stupid. All the servants and provisions are back here with us. Fuck it – I’m going to get off and see what happens! I’m telling you, we should organize and take the first car by storm. We’ll toss them overboard and boom, that’s that! Oh yeah? What about the machine? Well, we’ll see. First things first, right? Nothing’s going to happen, man! It’s all for show. They just want to scare us so we’ll keep cowering like sheep back here. So what do you suggest? No, nothing, I was just saying (what a bunch of idiots, I’m going up front right now, but go on, keep yammering away, poor idiots – they’re all idiots. That’s why they’re not riding up front, because they’re stupid!) Here comes the guard! Shut up, they’ll hear you! Excuse me? But I didn’t say anything, I swear! Can you see anything? I can’t make out a thing from here, can you? Me neither. But it sounds like something’s happening, doesn’t it? I see people moving to another car. What a mess! Hey, what if we switch cars too? What about the kids, though? They’re little, they can adapt. I don’t know. What if it’s even worse in the new car? We should stay put. At least we know who’s going. But there’s nothing here. So what do you hope will be there? Well, I don’t know, but it has to be better than this. Why else would people be moving? You know how they are. I’m scared. I’m just going to go take a look. Let’s see what happens. I’ll be right back. —Everything okay? Get me out of here, sir, please, please, I’m begging you, I’ll do whatever it takes, just don’t leave me here, I’m begging you! Hail, holy Queen, Mother of mercy, hail, our life, our sweetness, and our hope. To you we cry, the children of Eve, to you we send up our sighs, mourning and weeping in this land of exile. Put that down! Let me go! What does it matter if we’re all going to die anyway! Put it down! Give it here! Let go of me! Hallowed by Thy name, Thy kingdom come. Oh God! What have they done to you, child? Quick, get a towel, he’s bleeding! To you we cry, the children of Eve. O clement, O loving! It’s nothing. I’m telling you, it’s nothing. It’s punishment.

— Ahhhhhhhh!—

                                   Did you see that? Crazy bitch! She fell right onto the rocks. 

—What are you talking about? I demand an explanation! I can assure you that our team of engineers is working tirelessly to sort out the situation. Although it’s possible that we’ll have to unhitch one of the cars to ease the pressure. Are you serious? What about the provisions? Our security team is already working on a solution to keep the essential cars attached. Do you have any idea how much all this is going to cost me? We realize this isn’t the ideal scenario, but please understand that, under the current circumstances and in the interests of safety, we can’t maintain a permanent connection that enables transfer between cars. It’s for your own good. What about the help? I can assure you that our team of engineers will find an adequate technical solution in the unfortunate event that any elements of mechanical force must be replaced. But what if this thing plunges into the void – don’t you see? I can assure you that our team of engineers will find an adequate solution to meet your needs. There is an entire spectrum of technical alternatives designed to overcome what we might call “death” as the ultimate human horizon, which will facilitate…

Capitalocene:

A Tragedy in Two Acts

*Translation from Spanish by Robin Myers