time distortion is language distortion

The notion of time distortion has its roots in both the sciences and the humanities. In philosophy, particularly in works influenced by Gilles Deleuze and Félix Guattari, time is not a simple arrow pointing forward but is instead a multi-dimensional plane of intersecting moments. Deleuze's concept of the "time-image" in cinema, for instance, reflects a break from the linear model of time. He argues that time is not merely represented through movement but can be shown through intervals and disjunctions, where past, present, and future intermingle. In cyberpunk literature, this is often seen through fragmented narratives and virtual realities that blur temporal boundaries. “Time fractures like code, splitting into infinite, recursive loops. The past is overwritten, the future backspaced.” This vision of time here mirrors the postmodern philosophical tradition, where the certainty of temporal progression is dismantled, leaving behind a disorienting and non-linear temporality. Jean Baudrillard’s concept of simulacra further complicates time distortion by suggesting that in a hyperreal society dominated by digital technologies, history no longer progresses but instead is endlessly simulated. The real is displaced by a “precession of simulacra,” a chain of signs that precedes and distorts any notion of authentic temporal experience. Time, in such contexts, loses its objective structure and becomes an endless play of images and signs—detached from historical continuity. If time can be distorted, so too can language, as seen in the emergence of xenopoetics. Xenopoetics refers to the creation or exploration of alien, non-human, or machine-based linguistic systems that break from traditional human modes of communication. Such poetics may emerge from the writings of speculative fiction authors like Samuel R. Delany or Philip K. Dick, but they also have roots in post-structuralist theory, particularly in Jacques Derrida’s deconstruction. Derrida posited that language is inherently unstable, with meaning always deferred—a concept central to the philosophy of xenopoetics. Kenji Siratori’s works offer a contemporary take on xenopoetics, blending human, machine, and alien languages to create texts that defy conventional meaning. In Blood Electric, the text seems to be generated not by human hands but by the interaction of biological and technological processes. “Words,” Siratori writes, “disintegrate into data streams, echoing the pulse of alien syntax.” This process reflects a xenopoetic structure in which language is no longer a tool for human-centered communication but a force that operates autonomously, creating meaning only through interaction with alien or technological entities. From a philosophical standpoint, xenopoetics destabilizes the logocentric tradition that privileges human reason and linguistic mastery. In breaking away from traditional grammar and syntax, xenopoetics resists the hegemony of human-centered meaning-making, instead suggesting that language itself may originate from—and serve—non-human ends. Donna Haraway’s concept of the cyborg aligns with this, positing that the boundaries between human and machine are increasingly blurred, which inevitably extends to language. In a world where human and non-human entities coexist symbiotically, xenopoetics becomes a mode of communication that operates across these hybrid boundaries. The intersection of time distortion and xenopoetics opens up a unique space for philosophical reflection. Both phenomena resist linear, anthropocentric modes of understanding, presenting instead a fragmented, disorienting reality where time and language operate on alien terms. The temporality of xenopoetics, for example, is not bound by the linear structure of past, present, and future but instead unfolds in recursive, multi-temporal dimensions, much like the time loops in cyberpunk virtual worlds. The distortion of time is not merely a thematic concern but is encoded into the very language of the text. The narrative loops and fractures mirror the syntactic breakdowns of the prose, reflecting the intertwined nature of temporal and linguistic alienation. “The text does not move forward.” “It pulses, it vibrates—it becomes an echo chamber of lost futures and forgotten pasts.” Here, the time distortion functions in tandem with xenopoetics to create a text that defies traditional narrative and semantic coherence. Moreover, xenopoetics suggests that time itself may be a linguistic construct—an artifact of the way humans communicate and conceptualize reality. If language can break free from its human-centered origins, then so too can time. Xenopoetics invites readers to imagine temporalities that are not tied to human experience, temporalities that may exist outside the scope of human perception, or in dimensions of existence that are only accessible through alien modes of communication.