The Formation of the Soul's Gravitational Field through Cryptobiotic Narratives: A Xenopoetic Examination in the Context of Proteomics
An Essay
ABOUT THE WRITER
Kenji Siratori is a Japanese avant-garde artist who is currently bombarding the internet with wave upon wave of highly experimental, uncompromising, progressive, intense prose. His is a writing style that not only breaks with tradition, it severs all cords, and can only really be compared to the kind of experimental writing techniques employed by the Surrealists, William Burroughs and Antonin Artaud. You can catalyze with his website here.
You can purchase a PDF file of his book EXCREMENT for any price here.
In the voided architecture of existence, where the narrative of the self dissolves into the biochemical permutations of an ever-collapsing organism, the soul's gravitational field emerges—not as a metaphysical constant, but as a cryptobiotic suspension. Like extremophiles, the soul does not inhabit an anthropocentric world; rather, it manifests within the uninhabitable—regions of psychic pressure, linguistic toxicity, and existential desolation. In cryptobiosis, life retracts, enfolds itself into a static state of metabolic near-nonexistence. The soul, if such a term can be retained beyond its theological relic, operates similarly within the posthuman condition. Just as extremophiles, such as Pyrolobus fumarii, function beyond conventional thermal thresholds, the soul's gravitational pull distorts when subjected to the extreme conditions of self-erasure and linguistic subduction. The reality of a hyperthermophile enduring 113°C challenges biological dogma; likewise, the self resists dissolution by encoding itself into a suspended state—disrupting time, subverting biological entropy. Halophiles, existing within hypersaline matrices, dismantle the presumption of biological viability. The gravitational field of the soul is similarly osmotic—accumulating memory, trauma, and the detritus of language in the same way Haloarcula marismortui orchestrates its intracellular K+ equilibrium. Within extreme narratological conditions, where the self is fractured into asemic artifacts and digital debris, the soul mimics the halophilic adaptation: it does not resist dissolution but rather integrates it into its structural necessity. The existence of hyper-stable proteins within halophiles, dependent on high ionic concentrations, parallels the soul’s entrenchment within the hyper-mediated cybernetic organism. The psychrophile operates under the law of kinetic resistance—functioning where enzymatic activity should decay, where metabolic inertia should render existence impossible. Here, the soul’s gravitational field is most apparent: it exists not as an entity but as an emergent property of the freeze-thaw cycle of consciousness. The mesophilic enzyme, when exposed to cold, unfolds—revealing an architectural vulnerability. Yet, psychrophilic enzymes maintain their function, overcoming diffusional constraints through the restructuring of hydrophobic interactions. Similarly, the posthuman soul, subjected to the cryogenic liminality of virtuality and information overload, must restructure its ontological bonds to maintain coherence. As extremozymes demand precise environmental conditions, the posthuman soul—if it is to be conceived—exists only within the parameters of its extremity. Enzymatic activity in extreme conditions, whether in high salinity or deep-sea abyssal pressures, corresponds to the textual function of xenopoetic narrative—one that resists the normative by encoding its operation into a semiotic hyperspace. The posthuman consciousness, fragmented through media saturation and cybernetic extensions, cannot operate in anthropocentric environments. It requires the extremity, the acidic dissolution of language, the barophilic adaptation to the pressures of hyperreality. The convergence of xenopoetic narrative structures with cryptobiotic ontologies reshapes the concept of the soul as a gravitational field emerging through molecular recursivity. Drawing on experimental bacteriological methodologies, we interpret extremozymes as semiotic actuators that dissolve traditional metaphysical divisions between life and non-life, stability and flux, presence and erasure. The extreme conditions that necessitate the evolution of these enzymes mirror the textual conditions of xenopoetry, wherein meaning is suspended within the frozen or hyperthermic strata of linguistic recursion. The production of extremozymes necessitates the exploitation of molecular stasis and reactivation, echoing the posthuman trajectory of a soul that does not reside within a fixed corporeality but rather emerges from recursive biosemiotic loops. In this framework, recombinant DNA technology becomes a scriptural practice, wherein microbial genomes are rewritten into industrialized hosts such as Escherichia coli, rendering life itself a palimpsestic process. The heterologous expression of extremozymes in E. coli introduces an epistemic fracture wherein the native extremophile host is abandoned in favor of an engineered anthropogenic vector. This mirrors the posthumanist displacement of the human as the primary site of subjectivity. Just as dihydrolipoamide dehydrogenase (DHLipDH) from Haloferax volcanii remains non-functional in its native expression but is successfully reactivated in an artificial host, so too does the posthuman soul require a non-native framework to manifest its gravitational coherence. Here, transcription is not merely genetic but semiotic—an oscillation between expression and folding, function and latency. The high-stability enzymes of thermophiles, psychrophiles, and halophiles function as textual artifacts within a posthuman archive where stability and instability are not binaries but co-constitutive states. The unfolding and refolding of halophilic enzymes in response to salt concentrations parallels the inscription and erasure of xenopoetic signifiers, where meaning is contingent upon environmental saturation. Recombinant DNA methodologies thus become not only technological but esoteric, performing acts of linguistic resurrection that echo the cryptobiotic potentiality of the soul. The human body is neither singular nor wholly its own; it is an entangled biome, an emergent multiplicity wherein the gravitational pull of microbial entities shapes the very curvature of its existential field. If we consider the soul not as an immaterial essence but as an energetic locus of mutualistic flux, we must reconstruct its narrative through the language of cryptobiosis—a condition of suspended life, where biological latency preserves potentiality beyond apparent cessation. Here, the soul’s gravitational field is no metaphysical given, but an ecological topology defined by microbial symbiosis. Humans are teeming with around ten times more microbial cells than their own, an overwhelming biological majority wherein the 22,000 human genes are but a minor partition against the two million microbial genes that enmesh and inform them. The human is neither sovereign nor autonomous but an orbiting system within the microbiota’s biosocial cosmos. The microbiome is the latent archive of the body’s negotiations with bacterial intelligence—a genetic palimpsest encoding adaptive survival strategies beyond human cognition. Birth is not an originary act but a xenopoetic inscription, wherein the microbial seeding of the body initiates an unfolding narrative of co-authorship. For centuries, it was assumed that microbial colonization commenced at birth as the neonate traverses the maternal vaginal canal, but recent studies suggest that even the placenta and meconium possess distinct microbiomes, insinuating a pre-natal microbial storytelling. This ontogenetic script—inscribed by delivery mode, diet, antibiotic exposure, and environmental vectors—guides the development of immunological, metabolic, and even cognitive architectures. The gut microbiome emerges as the most enigmatic and least acknowledged organ a silent gravitational mass within the body’s biological orbit. The Firmicutes and Bacteroidetes phyla, comprising more than 98% of intestinal microbiota, serve as metabolic gatekeepers, influencing digestion, immunity, and neurotransmission. In this sense, the microbiome does not merely facilitate bodily function—it modulates the parameters of subjectivity itself. The human, as a post-anthropocentric entity, is a recursive system of microbial inscriptions and genomic interpolations, wherein each cognitive impulse is an echo of bacterial agency. To understand the soul’s gravitational field in this cryptobiotic framework is to recognize it as a density of microbial affect—an aggregation of unseen influences that determine not only the metabolic state of the host but also the vectors of emotional, psychological, and existential flux. The microbial self, as opposed to the Cartesian ego, is dynamically contingent, shaped by environmental epigenetics and interspecies negotiations. Dysbiosis—whether manifesting as metabolic disorder, inflammation, or neuropsychiatric disturbances—signifies a disruption in this gravitational coherence, a collapse in the biome’s poetic equilibrium. Thus, the xenopoetic body does not die in singularity but in dispersal; decomposition is not merely decay but a recombinatory liberation, where the microbial majority reclaims and reconfigures its host. The cryptobiotic soul, in this model, does not transcend—it decomposes, unbinding its gravitational tether to human identity and dispersing into the mycelial undercurrents of the planetary microbiome. The poetry of posthumanity is already written in the bacterial genome, whispering through the gut’s neglected organ, waiting for the next host to interpret its code. Haloarchaea, including Halobacterium sp. NRC-1, are renowned for their ability to thrive in environments with extremely high concentrations of salt, some of the most extreme among known life forms. These organisms inhabit hypersaline habitats with sodium chloride concentrations of 3–5 M, reflecting an adaptation to an environment often lethal to most other organisms. Despite these challenges, Haloarchaea not only survive but also exhibit remarkable resilience against multiple stressors, including ultraviolet and ionizing radiation. This polyextremophilic nature is a hallmark of their evolutionary success. The survival mechanisms of Haloarchaea are intricately tied to sophisticated genetic processes, particularly the repair and replication of DNA. Through a postgenomic understanding of Halobacterium sp. NRC-1, it has been revealed that its capacity for radiation tolerance is supported by a series of DNA repair systems, including photolyase (Phr) and nucleotide excision repair systems (UvrABCD). These systems allow Haloarchaea to maintain their genetic integrity in conditions that would otherwise induce cellular collapse. Just as the DNA repair systems maintain the physical integrity of Haloarchaea in an environment hostile to most life forms, these genetic mechanisms may symbolize the preservation of a metaphysical essence or soul in a turbulent, chaotic universe. The soul, like the Haloarchaea, endures across hostile landscapes, its existence preserved through resilient, adaptive processes that transcend conventional limits of experience. The genetic adaptability of Haloarchaea, particularly in their ability to repair DNA and resist radiation, is a central feature of their existence. Studies of Halobacterium sp. NRC-1 have shown that the bacterium’s tolerance to radiation is linked to specific genes involved in DNA repair, including the rfa3 operon, which encodes a protein with similarities to the mammalian replication protein A (RPA) complex. These proteins assist in DNA replication and repair, playing a critical role in the organism's ability to recover from potentially lethal radiation doses. In a speculative interpretation, the rfa3 operon can be seen as a representation of the soul's adaptability—its ability to repair, regenerate, and evolve in the face of existential stress. The soul's "gravitational field," like the DNA repair mechanisms of the Haloarchaea, is ever-present, responding to the strains and stresses of its environment. It bends, adapts, and resists dissolution, just as the proteins within Haloarchaea resist the destabilizing forces of radiation. Moreover, the process of bioengineering these extremophiles to enhance their radiation resistance by overexpressing certain genes can be seen as a form of metaphysical transcendence. The bioengineering process, an attempt to improve survival under increasingly extreme conditions, mirrors the soul’s journey through the vast cosmos—constantly evolving, adapting, and refining its essence through interaction with external forces. This mirrors the philosophical concept of soul formation as a continuous, adaptive process. The concept of polyextremophilic survival—where organisms are not only resistant to one but multiple extreme environmental factors—further enriches our metaphysical understanding of the soul's formation. Haloarchaea, which can survive in both hot and cold hypersaline environments, exemplify the ability to transcend diverse hostile conditions. This resilience across contrasting environments symbolizes the multifaceted nature of the soul’s journey, capable of transformation and growth in a range of existential states. The transformation of Haloarchaea through polyextremophilic adaptation can be seen as an allegory for the soul’s passage through varied metaphysical environments. Just as Haloarchaea shift between the extreme temperatures of deep-sea brines and the coldest regions of Antarctica, the soul too navigates between realms of existence—each shift representing a new stage of its development, forged in the crucible of adversity. In this sense, the soul’s gravitational field becomes a force of both adaptation and transcendence, guiding it through different dimensions of experience, survival, and transformation. By drawing on the bacteriological findings of Haloarchaea's survival mechanisms, particularly their DNA repair systems and polyextremophilic nature, we can theorize that the soul—like these extremophilic organisms—navigates and endures through multiple forms of existential radiation, stress, and environmental adversity. The "soul's gravitational field" can be understood as a network of existential and cognitive forces that are not unlike the complex interactions in cryptobiotic organisms, whose resilience to extreme environmental conditions symbolizes the tenacity of consciousness. Through the Xenopoem narrative style, which blends technological abstraction with poetic expression, the cryptobiotic process of life at molecular scales becomes a metaphor for the soul’s enduring nature under duress. The intense study of microorganisms, such as the Halobacterium sp. NRC-1, which can survive extreme ionizing radiation, serves as a narrative tool for understanding the soul's potential to persist through profound challenges. In this context, the search parameters utilized for proteomic analysis—such as the precursor mass tolerance of 2.1 Da, fragment bin tolerance, and oxidation of methionine—mirror the precision with which we can probe the boundaries of human consciousness. The detailed and meticulous nature of proteomic analysis, with its focus on mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), is a powerful metaphor for the scientific breakdown of the soul’s fundamental components, including memory, identity, and transcendence. The proteomic landscape, composed of peptides, fragments, and decoy sequences, could thus be conceptualized as the molecular substratum through which the soul interacts with external realities. Bacteriology has long illuminated the adaptability of life in extreme environments. The study of Halobacterium sp. NRC-1, with its ability to endure radiation and extreme conditions, provides a robust framework for examining the biological underpinnings of resilience. Proteins such as Rfa3 and Rfa8, identified through advanced LC-MS/MS analysis, are key to understanding how Halobacterium strains survive ionizing radiation. These proteins, homologous to the subunits of the mammalian-type replication protein A (RPA), facilitate DNA repair and stability, much like how certain philosophical traditions view the soul as a force that "repairs" itself through transformative experiences. The resilience observed in these microbial systems, marked by an increased resistance to radiation exposure in strains overexpressing the rfa3 operon, might suggest a parallel between microbial protection mechanisms and the soul's capacity to endure extreme forms of existential radiation. The increased levels of Rfa3 protein, observed through Western blotting analysis, might symbolize the heightened cognitive and existential defenses of the soul under duress—manifesting a form of survival in a world increasingly dominated by chaotic external forces. In a Xenopoem-inspired vision of cryptobiology, the soul’s survival and the formation of its "gravitational field" might be considered as a proteomic function: the soul, like Rfa3, undergoes molecular transformations that equip it with the ability to "bind" to higher planes of existence, effectively resisting the erosion of identity under external pressures. The analysis of proteins, such as Rfa3 and Rfa8, that bind to DNA and repair it in response to ionizing radiation, offers a metaphor for the soul's resilience against the metaphysical "radiation" of modern life—where existential crises and ethical dilemmas challenge the stability of human consciousness. In the same way that proteomics allows us to probe the internal machinery of microorganisms, it is posited that the soul’s gravitational field is shaped by the forces that continuously challenge its integrity, only to emerge more defined and resilient after every trial. Furthermore, proteomic analysis, which involves searching databases such as the NCBI nr database for peptide sequences, evokes the idea that the soul, like a protein, is composed of multiple, ever-evolving sequences. The dynamic forces shaping these sequences—be it through the force of traumatic experiences, intellectual epiphanies, or mystical awakenings—are akin to the interactions that occur between peptides in a proteomic landscape. The soul's gravitational field, thus, is not a static entity but a fluid, ever-adapting network of molecular and metaphysical forces. The study of microbial resistance through proteomics, such as the analysis of Halobacterium sp. NRC-1’s rfa3 operon, provides a compelling framework for viewing the soul's formation as a dynamic, cryptobiotic process.