THE
CURE


REQUIREMENTS

AGA Amiga
68030 @ 50 MHz
~32 kB CHIP RAM
~14.5 MB FAST RAM
~15 MB disk space
PAL-capable display
sound speakers

The demo is designed to run constantly at 50 fps. If the machine it runs on is
not powerful enough, music will stutter, the video refresh will slow down, and
and some graphics will look cropped at the top - the frequency and seriousness
of these issues will depend on the actual capabilities of the machine.
The picture performance_graph.ilbm shows the performance recorded by the
machines the demo has been tested on and, indirectly, how much power the various
demo parts require.


USAGE

The demo can be run from both shell and Workbench.
When finished, it returns to AmigaOS automatically.
To quit anytime, press the right mouse button.


BACKGROUND

At the end of 2017 I derived the graphics engine at the core of the demo from
another engine of mine. Since then, I have been occasionally tinkering with it
while trying to come up with a game that would make use of it, but I failed: the
engine was too stressful for the eyes and unsuitable for small/medium-sized
graphical elements; it was clearly more suited for a demo (in fact, some people
proposed to make a production of that kind with it), but I kept on ruling that
out because I prefer making games.
Until, one day, what was happening around the world changed my mind: I just had
to say something - and that could be rather effectively and relatively quickly
done with a demo. In the past, I had already tried through a book, but since
I'm Mr. Nobody my message reached only very few people. With a demo I could
reach somebody else - very few people again, but still some more people.
Therefore, although part of my motivation was to make use of the engine, to have
fun doing so, and to give the Amigans a little something to enjoy, the demo's
main purpose is to say something.
The demo tries to deliver the message through the audiovisuals, but, given the
amount and complexity of the concepts, also by means of texts - a lot of.
Given that the graphics are strictly and continuously synchronized with the
music and given the large amount of information, often the texts remain visible
only for a short time - and in certains places they are simply beyond the human
reading capabilities. Despite that, even if some details escape, the overall
sense of the message does arrive to the viewer.
For who wants to fully appreciate and comprehend the demo, what follows reports
all the texts and illustrates in detail each demo part.


PARTS AND MEANING

0. STARTUP

(This part simply gives monitors time to synchronize with the PAL signal.)

1. LANGUAGE / COMMERCIAL

(This part rephrases the first half of what is said in this British Telecom TV
commercial from the 90s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH5Q54eIaPk. Basically,
it says that language has been fundamental for the progress of humankind.)

For a long, LONG, time...
... humans used to live like the ANIMALS,
... until SOMETHING...
... set our IMAGINATION free:
... we started TALKING and LISTENING.
Language enabled us to share IDEAS...
... and thus COOPERATE...
... to achieve the IMPOSSIBLE.

(Side note: as a little tribute to the Amiga, which, as a Commodore stated in
their commercials, was in its heyday an incredible tool that, like language,
gave power to our imagination, "... until SOMETHING..." is written inside a
boing ball.)

2. LANGUAGE / CHOMSKY

(This part shows the flip side of the coin: by quoting Noam Chomsky, it says
that humans made/make also wicked use of language.)

Unfortunately, language...
... has been / is being used also for evil purposes.
(Chomsky quotes start here.)
THE KEY ELEMENT OF SOCIAL CONTROL IS [...]
[...] FLOODING CONTINUOUS DISTRACTIONS ...
... AND INSIGNIFICANT INFORMATION.
PROPAGANDA IS TO A DEMOCRACY...
... WHAT THE BLUDGEON IS TO A TOTALITARIAN STATE.
(Chomsky quotes end here.)

(Side note: the "flip side of the coin" concept is visually represented also by
a flipping stripes effect and by a picture showing two human faces in yin and
yang fashion.)

3. LOGOS

(Although this is not a conventional demo, this part complies with the tradition
of showing the group and demo logos.)

4. PROGRESS

(This part returns to the concept of the progress made by humankind. To stress
how huge it was and how it pertained to every imaginable field of human life,
some fields are presented in alphabetical order and by means of the faces of
some people who contributed particularly to them. Of course, it was impossible
to represent all the fields and to show all the people that would have been
equally worth mentioning.)

ART (Ludwig van Beethoven)
HUMAN RIGHTS (Nelson Mandela)
LAW (Quintus Mucius Scaevola)
MEDICINE (Alexander Fleming)
PHILOSOPHY (Plato)
SCIENCE (Galileo Galilei)
SPIRITUALITY (Jesus)
ALL FIELDS (Leondardo da Vinci)

(Side notes:
 * Quintus Mucius Scaevola's face is based on a statue that instead might well
   represent Marcus Tullius Cicero; the page where I found it attributes it to
   Scaevola, though; Cicero would have been partly a passable choice anyway
   thanks to his having been also a lawyer;
 * "ALL FIELDS" is an umbrella entry; Leonardo represents it because his work
   encompassed several fields, although, of course, not all fields.)

5. PAST RULERS

(This part introduces several concepts that will be developed also by the
following parts. It begins by saying that, despite the aforementioned progress,
some things never changed, and then proceeds by showing, in temporal order, the
faces of some rulers of the past reknown for their evil side. The tags they come
with are to be considered the continuation of the introductory text.)

Humankind made immense progress...
... yet, wars never ceased and like...

PHARAOHS (Tutankhamun)
EMPERORS (Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus)
KHANS (Genghis Khan)
KINGS (Pedro I de Castilla, called "the cruel")
TSARS (Ivan IV Vasilyevich, called "the terrible")
DICTATORS (Adolf Hitler)

(Side notes:
 * a better choice for the emperor figure would have been Gaius Julius Caesar
   Augustus Germanicus, AKA Caligula, but that occurred to me after creating the
   graphics for Nero - which is an appropriate representative anyway;
 * the faces are shown twice, the second time distorted by an effect based on
   the shape of a fist representing their brutal rule.)

6. MODERN RULERS

(This part continues the text started by the previous one, completing the
concept that modern rulers - listed alphabetically - rule as wickedly as the
past ones.)

... BANK EXECUTIVES, BUSINESS TYCOONS, CORPORATE BIG SHOTS, CRIMINALS, FINANCE
SHARKS, FREEMASONS, HEADS OF STATE, INDUSTRY BOSSES, LOBBYISTS, OFFICIALS,
POLITICIANS RULE WICKEDLY...

(Side notes:
 * the background gives a partial visualization of the texts by showing, on a
   bed of USA dollars, a pumpjack, a politician (Silvio Berlusconi) asking for
   votes, some G7 leaders, a stock exchange graph, and Resident Evil's Umbrella
   Corporation logo; I did not add more elements because the graphics were too
   crowded already; the colors recall the dollar bills;
 * due to the insufficient duration of the music section this part synchronizes
   with, I had to leave DESPOTS out, but those are practically a subset of the
   HEADS OF STATE anyway;
 * if you belong to one of the categories and are an unreprehensible, and maybe
   even do good, do not be offended: be angry, instead, at the many others in
   your category who caused it to be included in the list.)

7. MASSES

(This part continues the text started by the previous one, focusing first on
what the wicked rule of the powerful means to masses, and then asking a
question.)

... WHILE THE MASSES STRUGGLE WITH HUNGER AND ILLNESSES :( THE POOR ARE MORE AND
MORE, THE RICH ARE RICHER AND MORE POWERFUL THAN EVER! HOW DID THE LATTER
ACHIEVE THAT?

(Side note: the background picture comes from a drawing that appeared on an
issue of The Illustrated London News, representing the Great Famine of 1876-1878
in India.)

8. DIRTY MEANS

(This part gives the answer to the previous question.)

BRAINWASHING
CORRUPTION
CULTURE OF: CONSUMERISM, EDONISM, INDIVIDUALISM, SUPERFICIALITY...
DRUGS
EXTORTION
FALSEHOOD
FANATICISMS: NATIONALISM, RACISM, RELIGION...
MEDIA CONTROL
NEOCOLONIALISM
SLAVERY
VIOLENCE AND WAR

(Side notes:
 * it is no coincidence that this part is represented by a tunnel that opens in
   the head of one of the poor in the background - i.e. it is a symbolic way to
   mean that most of the means mentioned play with people's minds;
 * it is also no coincidence that the first item in the list is "BRAINWASHING";
 * the items are listed in alphabetical order.)

9. RESULTS

(This part begins with the previous part's tunnel opening on a view of the Earth
to mean that the rulers caused disasters to the whole planet, also from an
environmental point of view. Then, a very current example is provided.)

AND THEY DESTROYED THE PLANET IN THE PROCESS!

EXAMPLE: WHILE THOUSANDS WERE DYING...

(Some statements made by Trump relatively to the COVID-19 pandemic start here.)
IT WILL DISAPPEAR.
THIS IS THEIR NEW HOAX!
WE'RE TOTALLY PREPARED.
(Trump's statements end here.)

CURRENT SCORE
129437
DEATHS

(An imaginary sentence by Death - pun intended - starts here.)
THANKS F@R HELPING ME GR@W MY BUSINESS!
(@ = skull. Sentence ends here.)

COVID-19 STANDINGS
Xi       525470
Trump    129437
Bolsonaro 61884
Johnson   44216
Macron    29896
Löfven     5420
actual figures higher and growing

(Side notes:
 * to underline the concept expressed by the first text, the Earth explodes when
   the former goes out of view;
 * afterwards, the ashes transform into a giant SARS-CoV-2 virion, to introduce
   the example that will follow;
 * Trump's words come out of his mouth a bit like spirals of poisonous gas, but
   this is just a lucky coincidence as the effect was conceived purely as a
   technical gimmick;
 * the "CURRENT SCORE" writing shows the number of deaths caused by the COVID-19
   in USA; it is attributed to Donald Trump as he is directly responsible for
   those deaths because of the way he faced the pandemic;
 * the fact that Death replaces Trump is also to be interpreted as the revealing
   of the man's true face;
 * the "COVID-19 STANDINGS" associates the names of the presidents / prime
   ministers of various countries to the deaths in their respective countries;
   like for the "CURRENT SCORE", the deaths are attributed to those people
   because of the way they faced the pandemic; since the list, due to screen
   space reasons, had to be short, it features the people whose choices have
   been particularly remarkable for their inadequateness and evilness; Xi
   Jinping is attributed the worldwide deaths because he was the first head of
   state who had the duty to deal with the virus adequately, so he is virtually
   co-responsible also for the deaths in countries other than his own;
 * the figures are relative to the date of the creation of the graphics, i.e.
   July 4th, 2020, 12:35 CET; the actual ones are higher not only because they
   constantly increase, but also because the authorities report lower figures.)

10. LYRICS

(This part denounces a few aspects of the global disaster and states that
drastic measures are necessary.)

There's who doesn't have enough to eat
and who eats more than their body can take.
There's who begs for money on the street
and who buys stuff for buying's sake.
Lives sacrificed entirely for money,
nature destroyed, future turned obscure.
If we want days to be again sunny,
we urgently need to start a massive cure!

(Side notes:
 * the music waveform visualization at the bottom represents graphically the
   fact that the spoken words become visible;
 * the voice is mine; I just speak because I cannot sing - I wish I could,
   though.)

11. CURE

(This part first presents some base principles and then explains what the cure
should consist in. There is a lot of (sometimes unreadable) text, and still
there would be infinitely more to be said.)

The world must change. The powerful must change - and be changed! WE must
change. The utopia we should shoot for is...

ALL HUMANS ARE EQUAL. EVERYONE HAS THE RIGHT AND THE DUTY TO LIVE IN TRUE
FULFILLMENT AND MUST BE GUARANTEED: CLEAN AIR AND WATER, FOOD, CLOTHES, HOUSING,
HEALTHCARE, FREEDOM, EDUCATION, PEACE, JUSTICE, A DECENT LIFE, WORK.

MACHINE WORK
MUST INCREASE
AND EVERYBODY
MUST BENEFIT
FROM THAT.

FUNDAMENTAL
SERVICES
MUST BE
PUBLIC AND
EXCELLENT.

EDUCATION
MUST TEACH
HIGH VALUES
AND ENABLE
TO THINK.

FINANCE
AND ECONOMY
MUST BE
REWORKED.

WEALTH
MUST BE
GLOBALLY
REDISTRIBUTED.

INDIVIDUAL
WEALTH
MUST BE
LIMITED.

PRODUCTION
AND WASTE
MUST BE
SEVERELY
REDUCED.

ENVIRONMENT
MUST BE
URGENTLY
TAKEN CARE OF.

(Side note: the Sun's corona is another visualization of the music waveform.)

12. FINALE

(This part states that, despite the complexity of the cure, everything boils
down to a very simple thing.)

In short...
... love yourself...
... love NATURE like yourself...
... love THE OTHERS like yourself...
... and the world will be HEAVEN for everyone!

(Side notes:
 * "love yourself" has an additional and deeper meaning beside the obvious one -
   it means: "look at yourself for who you really are and discover how precious
   you are, do not waste yourself with a superficial life, do yourself justice,
   etc.";
   the "love" in the other lines does not mean "harbor a feeling a love for"
   (that is good if it happens, but it cannot be forced, of course), but
   "respect, care about, help, etc.";
 * the lines of the animation graphics are stretched according to the music
   waveform;
 * the very last section displays a heart that transforms into a drop of blood
   which falls down and then transforms into my signature - that has several
   meanings: first of all, the heart represents a connection to the concept of
   love expressed before; then, the fact that the heart transforms into blood is
   a symbolic way to say "bleeding heart", which means both that I touched all
   the subjects covered by the demo with bleeding heart, i.e. with deep sorrow,
   and that I put all my heart and all my energies (the blood) into the making
   of the demo; finally, the signature, besides strengthening the concept that
   I put all of myself into the making of the demo, is again to comply with a
   demoscene custom - i.e. showing the credits - and to provide an  appropriate
   ending, a bit like the closing credits of a movie;
 * contrary to the demoscene conventions, the demo does not include a greetings
   part because I do not belong to the scene and I have no connection to
   sceners/groups, and also because, due to the overall design of the demo, it
   would have been just out of place; but, of course, that does not mean I do
   not admire and respect sceners and groups.)


END-USER AGREEMENT

DISTRIBUTION - THE CURE is freeware. You can in no way make a profit out of it.

DISCLAIMER - THE CURE IS PROVIDED "AS-IS", WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY. TO THE FULLEST
EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, THE AUTHOR CANNOT BE HELD LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGE ARISING
OUT OF THE (INABILITY OF MAKING) USE OF IT. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK.


EPILEPSY WARNING

Some people are susceptible to epileptic seizures when exposed to certain
flashing lights or light patterns, and they may even be unaware of it. THE CURE
may cause problems to such people. Who experiences blurred vision, dizziness,
disorientation, loss of consciousness, twitches, involuntary movements,
convulsions while watching THE CURE must stop doing so immediately and receive
the due medical assistance.


CREDITS

Concept, design, code, graphics, music, texts:
Simone Bevilacqua

COVID-19 figures source:
dashboard by the Johns Hopkins University
https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Donald Trump quotes sources:
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/inside-trump-s-frantic-attempts-to-minimize-the-coronavirus-crisis/ar-BB10zgPE
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-coronavirus-quotes-graph-covid-19-stats-reddit-a9415576.html

Noam Chomsky quotes source:
https://www.quotetab.com/noam-chomsky-quotes-about-political

Some graphics have been derived by means of computer-assisted and manual
processing from pictures downloaded from the internet, as listed below (where
possible, with the indication of author and/or photographer and/or copyright
holder and/or original source).

Adolf Hitler:
https://www.newnotizie.it/2018/12/05/hitler-e-scappato-con-la-macchina-del-tempo-durante-la-seconda-guerra-mondiale/
https://www.newnotizie.it/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/hitler-415x276.jpg

Alexander Fleming:
http://tonsoffacts.com/27-fascinating-and-interesting-facts-about-alexander-fleming/
http://tonsoffacts.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/alexander-fleming-arzt-102__v-gseagaleriexl-1180x664.jpg

bed of dollars:
https://medium.com/@siraj_raval/make-money-with-machine-learning-f369943e7c7f
https://miro.medium.com/max/1400/1*vYK9vkm9C8ZeJpMv5Yo3AQ.jpeg

Donald Trump:
Dominick Reuter / Reuters
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2016/09/donald-trumps-cruel-streak/501554/
https://cdn.theatlantic.com/thumbor/ET0exgN8WCotCb9DV2DCHqlaS4o=/0x250:4806x2953/720x405/media/img/mt/2016/09/RTX1GZCO/original.jpg

Famine in India:
The Illustrated London News, October 20th, 1877
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Famine_in_India_Natives_Waiting_for_Relief_in_Bangalore.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/ba/Famine_in_India_Natives_Waiting_for_Relief_in_Bangalore.jpg

G7 group:
ANSA
https://lafiamma.com.au/news/g7-leaders-unite-in-the-fight-against-terrorism-34605/#
https://lafiamma.com.au/media/listing_images/2017/05/29/g7_terr.jpg

Galileo Galilei:
Justus Sustermans, 1636
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Justus_Sustermans_-_Portrait_of_Galileo_Galilei,_1636.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d4/Justus_Sustermans_-_Portrait_of_Galileo_Galilei%2C_1636.jpg

Ivan IV Vasilyevich:
Jack Keay
Look and Learn, issue 592, June 2nd, 1973
http://www.illustrationartgallery.com/acatalog/info_KeayIvanLL.html
http://www.illustrationartgallery.com/acatalog/KeayIvanLL-G.jpg

Jesus:
https://amicolibero.altervista.org/11-aprile-2015-festa-della-divina-misericordia-una-sola-preghiera-proteggi-tutti-noi/
https://amicolibero.altervista.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/ges%C3%B9-divina-misericordia-120411-gesc3b9-misericordioso-2.jpg

Genghis Khan:
https://www.albawabhnews.com/4034838
https://www.albawabhnews.com/upload/photo/news/403/4/600x338o/838.jpg?q=1

Leonardo da Vinci:
Lattanzio Querena
De Agostini / Getty Images
https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/portrait-of-leonardo-da-vinci-by-lattanzio-querena-padova-news-photo/148277064
https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/portrait-of-leonardo-da-vinci-by-lattanzio-querena-padova-musei-picture-id148277064?s=2048x2048

Ludwig van Beethoven:
Joseph Karl Stieler, 1820
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Beethoven.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Beethoven.jpg

Nelson Mandela:
University of Fort Hare
https://www.ufh.ac.za/international/notable-alumni.html
https://www.ufh.ac.za/international/images/ufh%20alumni%20image%20-%20nelson-mandela.jpg?crc=28466541

Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus:
De Agostini / Getty Images
https://www.gettyimages.it/detail/fotografie-di-cronaca/roman-civilization-1st-century-a-d-nero-roman-fotografie-di-cronaca/122227072?adppopup=true
https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/roman-civilization-1st-century-ad-nero-roman-emperor-from-54-marble-picture-id122227072?s=2048x2048

Noam Chomsky:
Reuters / Jorge Dan
https://www.rt.com/usa/202223-noam-chomsky-global-terror/
https://cdni.rt.com/files/news/31/5e/f0/00/chom-2.si.jpg

Pedro I de Castilla:
José María Rodríguez de Losada, 1892
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Pedro_I_de_Castilla#/media/File:Pedro_I_de_Castilla_(Ayuntamiento_de_Le%C3%B3n).jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/Pedro_I_de_Castilla_%28Ayuntamiento_de_Le%C3%B3n%29.jpg

Plato
Raffaello Sanzio:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Plato_by_Raphael.png
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/Plato_by_Raphael.png

Quintus Mucius Scaevola (or Marcus Tullius Cicero):
https://www.tuodiritto.it/pagina-esempio-quinto-mucio-scevola/
https://www.tuodiritto.it/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/quinto-muzio-scevola.jpg

SARS-CoV-2:
Alissa Eckert, MS, Dan Higgins, MAMS
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
https://phil.cdc.gov/details.aspx?pid=23312
https://phil.cdc.gov//PHIL_Images/23312/23312_lores.jpg

Silvio Berlusconi:
ANSA/Zeggio
https://www.corriere.it/foto-gallery/politica/15_maggio_09/genova-berlusconi-inciampa-cade-il-comizio-0d826362-f646-11e4-a548-cd8c68774c64.shtml

stock exchange chart:
https://www.newsbreak.com/news/0OfGIsMQ/dow-soars-1600-points-as-growth-rate-of-new-coronavirus-cases-appears-to-slow
https://img.particlenews.com/img/id/3PPOFY_0OfGIsMQ00?type=webp_1024x576}

Tutankhamun mask:
https://earlychurchhistory.org/arts/early-roman-gold-glass/tutankhamun-mask-2/
https://earlychurchhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Tutankhamun-Mask-1.jpg

Umbrella Corporation logo:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Umbrella_Corporation_logo.svg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Umbrella_Corporation_logo.svg


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