The Monument Game Sketch

For the finder of the Key: the first gesture. My deepest thanks for your persistence. I am honored to have had your eyes and time pointed in this direction over the last two years, Hyla. This is the very first gestural sketch I made in July 2022 for what would become IX. The Monument Game. For me, this sketch marked a second rupture. The lines were drawn when I felt afraid and stuck—so soon after believing I was unstuck—because I no longer knew how to say what I was seeing with the tool I’d used my whole life. In these crude lines lies a composition, but more so: a challenge to myself—to think on a longer timescale, to plan for the future, to look closer, to try harder, to sacrifice time and love for all things big and small. In exchange, it bonded me to my wife, Rachel, and through its creation, pushed me beyond what I had called myself before in the infinite game. A gesture, a sketch, is a reminder that our ideas and our bonds, can begin gaseous and misunderstood. Its form is found by colliding with others and wearing with time. Consider this gesture the first: a token of my appreciation for your exchange of energy. More awaits The Key. As its keeper, its gate will open in Chapter 7. Play again Harder next time Try to enjoy the game. —Sam