From the designer:

It’s May, 05 2024. I’m in a kratom bar in lower Manhattan. It’s 1:36am. We’ve been watching a genocide on our iPhones for seven months now. We’re inundated with statistics, facts and figures that aim to quantify the horrors being inflicted by the Israeli occupation forces in Palestine. As the body count rises to unfathomable new heights every week, I’m reminded of something I read in Carlo Rovelli’s book The Order of Time:

“When words fail us, we use math
to describe the inexpressible.
the things that terrify us most.
The vastness of space, the shape of time,
the weight and worth of a human soul.”

In April of 2024 the energy and the numbers at the rallies had started to fade. I had started to fade. In an atmosphere of histrionic despotism it’s easy to fixate on rapid-fire updates. It’s rare, though, to be afforded the ability to slow down time and reflect during a groundswell moment of civil unrest while it’s happening. Rarer still, that a philosopher can offer up a timely response—to remind us that the weight and worth of life eclipses the value of any currency, any war, or any politics. When I read this text I was reminded that In times like these, when the narrative seems to lose its edge, the philosopher’s tools can be a great source of renewal. My publishing practice, however infrequent, comes from a desire to provide narratives found in short supply. It wouldn’t be possible without comrades like Genderfail, who’s support in the production of this book enabled us to respond cooperatively and with urgency. During that time the student encampments have enlivened the resistance and raised the stakes. It is my hope that the words in this book can be a source of renewal for anyone running the risk of losing momentum in their role, however small, in the liberation of the Palestinian people. To remind us that Aaron Bushnell’s sacrifice continues to be an act of generosity, that on some level, can work as an allegory for the value of every life lost to this cause.