by Zaza Germond

I have lived in Makhanda since I was a small child.  Since that time I have watched the infrastructure of this town decay around me as I have grown. Personal gain continues to be prioritised over public good. In the need to rationalise this reality around us, I have created a folklore to explain away why things are being destroyed by negligence:

“The algorats did it”, cried the sub-warden. 

The creatures are both physical and digital.

Ghostly visions of an imagined future. 

Digital apparitions that walk this earth influencing the reality around them.

In the decay of infrastructure, creatures have been consuming and populating using digital technology. After consuming outdated technology, they pursue the technology that is still in use. CAT security is trying to contain the creatures that are consuming this technology.

These creatures include the algorats. Algorats show how decay can happen if infrastructure is not properly managed. The chewing and scuttle in the background that builds into a crescendo as the problems within one’s environment grow into something near impossible to contain or fix. The infrastructure around us is changing for the worse, and neglect is leading to outcomes that no longer have positives. Technology keeps evolving. Through these changes, we have e-waste, which is technology that no longer has a purpose and is outdated. The creatures are getting revenge on the propagators of their e-waste origins.