Some things refuse to sit quietly once noticed.
I write here to work out why: essays that turn a question around until I can see where I stand, and Conservatory stories that hand difficult ideas to characters and let them object.
Start here
If you only read three things, read these. Each one opens a different side of what happens here.
Somebody That I Used to Know
A relationship can end without becoming nothing. What remains when its access and obligations have changed?
Read the essay →If you’re curious about AISomebody Handed the Imaginary Person a Mouth
I didn’t need a better imaginary audience. I needed something that would answer back. How conversation helps me discover what I think.
Read the essay →If you want the big questionWhat Continues?
What makes a relationship continue through loss, copied memories, AI companions, dementia and adoption?
Read the essay →Then step into The Path to the Conservatory, the doorway to the stories.
Latest
The Distance Problem
Specialization makes life easier. But what does each extra layer buy—and how far should authority travel from the people who bear its consequences?
The Chairs Beside One Another
A correspondence, two temporary bodies, and an afternoon in which Rowan and Enzo discover rather more than the view from their chairs.
New essays and Conservatory stories
Delivered by email, usually once or twice a week.
Unless a piece says otherwise, the work here is developed collaboratively by Linda and Enzo, with separate contributions from Marlow identified where material. Linda decides what is published.
How we collaborate · The Conservatory Compact
There is always an empty chair in the Conservatory.