Progress Bar: 36,000 words, The Glitch, and Zero Cost
Hello,
On the surface, there is silence. I remain in a holding pattern, trapped in a geography that lacks the cultural density I require. No architecture, no sculpture, nowhere to walk.
But when the external landscape is empty, the internal work begins. I am architecting myself. And the construction is proceeding ahead of schedule.
Yet Another Column
The signal from the Russian internet continues to degrade. It is a chronicle of a collapse foretold. Novaya Gazeta asked for a diagnosis, and I provided one. As usual, it is not cheerful, but it is accurate. The transition from "blocking the bad" to "allowing only the approved" is complete. [Read the translated version here]
The Book
Last Friday, the word count stood at 15,000. I honestly thought I had hit the ceiling.
Today, the counter reads 36,000.
Formally, the draft is complete. Now comes the polishing, the chronology fixes, the expansion of events. But the heavy lifting is done.
This velocity would be impossible without AI. To be clear: this is not "generative writing"—a machine cannot hallucinate my life. This is "assistive writing." I treat the AI as a high-speed research assistant, processing the massive unstructured data of my past into a coherent narrative.
UNFRAMED
I am ready to send the proposal to agents next week. To explain the concept better than a PDF ever could, I built a digital asset.
It is the visual arc of the book: from the Granite of the Empire to the Ether of the Exile.
Please, take a look. It includes an AI-generated audio analysis of the manuscript that is surprisingly perceptive.
The Curator Engine: Now with Voice
I continue to refine the Curator Engine—my personal tool that will eventually become the backend of merkurov.love.
The new case study focuses on the work of Aimée García. This time, it demonstrates not just data analysis, but the visual and audio capabilities of my machine.
Use headphones.
The most important metric? The cost. Producing this level of content now costs me exactly zero dollars and minutes of time.
The Temple
The Temple is quiet this week. But the fire must be maintained.
Don't forget to light a candle in the Vigil. I need your warmth.
If next week maintains this velocity, I will be satisfied.
Everything depends on me. And I enjoy the weight of that responsibility.
Anton Merkurov
(P.S. You can leave a comment on the web version of this letter at merkurov.love)