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What I Do With My Hands

They don’t burn books anymore. That’s what people don’t understand. Burning implies the thing still matters. What they do is quieter than that. A form. A reclassification. A gentle note from the Cultural Alignment Office informing you that your property has been assessed and redistributed for community benefit. You get a receipt. Very civilised.

I used to be a writer. I had forty years of notebooks. I got a receipt.

I don’t write now. I want to be clear about that, in case anyone is unclear. I am a retired man with a bad hip and a fondness for instant coffee and I don’t write. My hands are for opening tins and pointing at things on screens. That’s all.

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