Perhaps the most disquieting anecdote mentioned in “The Library Of Babel” is the search for the Vindications. Borges’s surrealist nightmare depicts an infinite library containing every possible book (every possible sequence of letters) that could be written. By its infinitude, such a library would necessarily contain “The Vindications–books of apologies and prophecies that would vindicate for all time the actions of every person in the universe and that held wondrous arcana for men’s futures.

The ant trap by my window contains a poisonous liquid which the ants misinterpret as food. When I look to the left can I see ants marching confidently out to their death. What does that feel like? Does the ant suffer? Does he feel agony in his throat as he suffocates? Or he is a machine - devoid of feeling like a car or a microwave. Most people hope that it’s that latter, but I doubt it.

Content warning This essay explores the philosophical implications of vampirism. In doing so, the essay directly addresses the topics of sexual abuse and sexual sadism. I do not wish to normalize or glorify these practices. Instead, I reference this subject matter with the intention that the distress associated with such practices highlights the distress which is intrinstric to the underlying philosophical problem. The poignancy of the Dracula story stems from the mythological trope of corruption.