The next question proposed to Eric was, “How does a famous person maintain their fame?” Eric, despite his disinterest in celebrities, aspires for his name and work to become synonymous with greatness.
“Perhaps,” he began, “by consistently associating their name with their work and their face with their name, famous individuals can understand that fame isn’t eternal or might never come to pass.” Eric spoke as though his name were a sticker mirrored on the foreheads of all renowned individuals, known to his children and grandparents.
“Famous people establish their reputation through symbiotic relationships, interacting with other celebrities to mutual benefit. Biologically, their faces resemble one another through the exchange of expressions, where constricted pupils absorb dilated ones, resulting in equality. This biological harmony among humans contrasts with the contagious disease called ‘hysteria,’ the root of vanity. All this, coupled with the need to replace the transparency of a sticker with the permanence of a tattoo, if you catch my drift,” Eric continued, driven by a newfound fervor.
“The faces of the famous are absorbed by the eyes of the masses through screens, preventing us from achieving fame ourselves. We romanticize the other side of the screen, thinking it’s celestial, when, in reality, it remains dark and circular, like a final eclipse of our own silhouettes over the luminaries that supposedly illuminate our world.”
Eric paused, realizing that people typically didn’t speak this way. It was as if he were both asking and answering his own questions, offering commentary in the process.
“Excellent guess,” his Personal Companion (PC) replied, slightly taken aback by the response but quickly regaining composure with a scripted reply. “Keep in mind that fame isn’t solely about appearances or maintaining them, unless, of course, one’s appeal is waning.” The PC reminded Eric that he could hold his convictions without imposing them on others since he wasn’t entirely incorrect.
“Psychologically, celebrities protect each other through osmosis, having been seen repeatedly over time by strangers they’d rather avoid. The assimilation of character becomes effortless for everyone when the difference between knowing and guessing how we treat others hinges on avoiding eye contact with strangers or gazing at celebrity faces. It’s a choice between pedestal or boot heel, celebration or indifference,” the PC hinted that celebrity status doesn’t negate a person’s goodness, and anonymity isn’t inherently bad.
“But the question wasn’t about how someone becomes or remains famous; it was about how they endure fame long after they’re gone,” Eric noted, glancing at the empty spot on his wrist, where watch hands once made their perpetual rounds but now hairs grow back thicker every day. He placed his wrist at eye level, imagining his watch was still a confidence booster, and began to explain.
Francis Erich McElroy 