Sunday’s Schizophrenization #6
Kekius Maximus and Meme Magick
SCHIZOHIGHLIGHTS, by
Semiotic flashes: moments from social networks and personal considerations about stuff.
Kekius Maximus and Meme Magick
In recent days, Elon Musk changed his name on X to Kekius Maximus, pairing it with an avatar depicting the meme Pepe the Frog as a Roman emperor playing PlayStation. The move caught the attention of mainstream journalists, sparking a wave of articles attempting to decipher his motives.
The connections are varied: political provocation, cryptocurrencies, gaming... Pepe the Frog is often linked to “far-right” circles and politically incorrect memes — keeping in mind that, for mainstream journalists, anyone with a shred of humor and normality is labeled far-right. Cryptocurrencies, on the other hand, tie into the memecoin $KEKIUS, which launched a few days before Musk’s name change and saw a meteoric rise shortly after the news broke. As for gaming, the reference is to Path of Exile 2, Musk’s latest obsession following Diablo IV: Kekius Maximus is reportedly the nickname of his in-game character. By now, however, everything has returned to normal, and this episode has already been filed away as yet another quirk of a bored billionaire.
My opinion, however, is that Elon Musk is cautiously and deliberately toying with the early manifestations of what we might call “semiotic capitalism” — the new phase of digital capitalism.
In this emerging phenomenon, human and algorithmic attention and virality (memes) collide to create a gravitational mass capable of attracting capital. Propelled by cryptocurrencies and artificial intelligence, this capital achieves escape velocity, as seen with the $KEKIUS token, which surged by 12,000% in a week.
A similar case was Terminal of Truths, which I’ve discussed before. Even Trump’s election can be interpreted through this lens of “meme magick”: a narrative so strong that it becomes self-fulfilling and impossible to derail.
Human attention has long been a cornerstone of the digital economy, driving what Shoshana Zuboff somewhat superficially calls surveillance capitalism. Virality, however, belongs to the realm of the meme: a mental virus capable of spreading symbolism (sometimes esoteric, comprehensible only to “initiates”) and supporting hallucinogenic narratives enhanced by recommendation algorithms. But beware: once released, a meme takes on a life of its own — it’s impossible to control the direction of the narrative.
This combination generates market, social, and political effects of extraordinary proportions. Elon Musk, much like Donald Trump, embodies a kind of egregore, aware of his catalytic power and unafraid to experiment.
As I wrote during the American presidential elections: social networks have become a semiotic battlefield where objective reality succumbs to perceptions shaped by algorithmic bubbles and memes. Political programs, journalistic debates, and market analyses are irrelevant: only instant narratives matter. When attention, virality, and capital intertwine, the effect is explosive. This is just the beginning.
ECHOES
Timeless reflections: philosophical, esoteric, and historical wisdoms that resonate into the present and beyond.
Limit yourself to observation, and you will always lose the purpose of your life. The objective can be stated in these terms: live the best life you can. Life is a game whose rules you can learn only if you jump in and play it to the fullest. Otherwise, you are caught off guard, constantly surprised by the ever-changing game. Those who rarely play often sit and whine, complaining about being overlooked by fortune. They refuse to see that they themselves can create much of their own luck.
— Frank Herbert
RETROWAVE
Visions from the past: excerpts and visions from cypherpunk mailing lists and the writings of the Cybernetics Culture Research Unit. From 1992 to 2003.
February 16, 1998
1Dear Sir,
The cultural vacuum at the heart of the Millennium Dome project becomes clearer by the week. The absence of any serious consideration of time from discussion of ‘Dome content’ is all the more astonishing given the Greenwich site.
Amongst those involved in the organization of this extravagant monument, can there really be no one in any way stimulated by the unparalleled historical riches concentrated at the zero-meridian? Surely the fascinating story of chronometry, horology, astronomy, and navigation has some relevance to an event that centrally concerns international conventions of time-keeping and measurement
Meanwhile, computers are set to celebrate AD 2000 in their own way, by returning to 00 and erasing the twentieth century. It could reasonably be argued that – since Cyberspace dates are incapable of counting above 99 –information technology has surreptitiously installed the first intrinsically apocalyptic calendar in history.
It would be ironic if the neglected issues of clocks and calendars found an avenging angel in the so called ‘millennium time bomb’, plunging the opening of the Dome into darkness and electronic malfunction.
Yours faithfully,
Dr Melanie Newton
Ccru
Every week, Cyber Hermetica takes you deeper into the occult digital realm.
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DIGITAL GRIMOIRE
Digital security tactics: OpSec, Cybersec, OSINT, and AI tools to dominate the Digital Age.
What Are Your Main Digital Privacy Concerns in 2025?
A recent Reddit thread sparked a discussion about people's primary concerns regarding their digital privacy for the new year. Here's a summary:
1. "I Have Nothing to Hide" Mentality
Topping the list is an almost philosophical concern. Many users view the spread of the "I have nothing to hide" mindset as dangerous, emphasizing that people often realize they do have something to hide only when it’s too late.
2. Mass Surveillance and Profiling
Concerns remain high regarding mass surveillance by both governments and large tech corporations, including laws like ChatControl. Risks associated with profiling, based on increasingly sensitive and accessible data, also raise alarms, as such practices could be used for social discrimination, censorship, or social scoring.
3. Expansion of Artificial Intelligence
Closely tied to the previous point is the rise of AI in surveillance (e.g., video analysis and profiling) and the processing of personal data. For example, just two weeks ago, we explored how AI can extract significant details from seemingly innocuous public photos. Similarly, LLMs like ChatGPT, Claude, or Gemini can infer personal information (such as precise location) by analyzing what people write on social media. Additionally, concerns are growing about the increased use of advanced phishing and social engineering techniques powered by AI.
4. Mandatory Identification
The increasing demands for phone numbers, document verification, and biometric identification are also worrisome, as they make maintaining online anonymity—or even a semblance of plausible deniability—impossible. While some methods can bypass these barriers in certain cases (as discussed here), the spaces for digital freedom are clearly shrinking at an alarming rate.
5. Collective Inaction
A widespread frustration stems from the fact that, despite growing awareness, the general public remains largely passive. Yet, as we know, protecting one's personal sphere—both data and identity—is crucial in the Digital Age.
SYMBOLS
Memes: visual symbols that decode the schizophrenia of the Digital Age.
SUBNET
Emerging voices: articles and contents handpicked by me to inspire and connect.
KILLER MEMES, by
. The article examines the role of memetic culture in the spectacularization of political violence, analyzing recent events such as the explosion of a Tesla Cybertruck in front of the Trump International Hotel and the staged arrest of Luigi Mangione in New York. It highlights how symbolically dense images can catalyze viral dissemination, transforming acts of violence into powerful symbolic narratives. I told you guys — meme magick is real.Did you read the latest on Cyber Hermetica?
Return next week for another schizotechnic rendezvous.
This excerpt is taken from the writings of the CCRU (Cybernetic Culture Research Unit), an informal and experimental academic group founded in the 1990s, known for its fusion of philosophy, cultural critique, cybernetic theory, and futuristic speculation.
The Millennium Dome, a large British project created to celebrate the turn of the millennium, becomes here a symbol of cultural and philosophical emptiness. The excerpt references the so-called "Millennium Bug," a potential technological crisis caused by computer systems programmed to record years using only two digits (e.g., "99" for 1999).
Interesting read. Peter Thiel running with ideas and "memes" from Rene Girard seem relevant.