Review: Cargo Lock 5: A Review
Rating: 5 out of 5
Date: 03 29, 2014
If you ever wondered what goes on in the mind of a psychopath, this book will give you that window. Both the primary characters exemplify the dynamics of grandious thinking, and the crazed imaginations of narcissistic persons. The rage, frustration and absolute fear that underlay the motivations of every narcissist are clearly in evidence. Only a narcissist believes the world cant live without him/her, and would consider cloning as a means of not depriving humanity of their presence. The building of tall buildings, usually named after them, are so predictable as they always worry about the idea of their own immortality. The edifices they build to themselves are the very embodiment of idolatry. In their desire to avoid the great equalizer that is Death, they follow the old pattern of eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Like Adam, in the biblical account, they seek to become like God. Doomed to always repeat the past, all narcissists build their towers of Babel, name them after themselves, and try to exercise rule over all whom they deem lessor mortals.Only a major traumatic event can shatter the false image that is the persona and, if such an event occurs, a newer, improved sense of purpose emerges to replace the old failed persona. This is what happens to Taylor when he is confronted with the truth of his own life, a lie built upon lies. Note how easily he ranks the value of his relationships with women, drawing them into his delusional world were they serve only as tokens of his imagined powerful self. How sad that women, often beautiful and intelligent, but deeply insecure and self-abusers in their own right, are drawn to these losers.Ultimately, for the narcissist, their sexual partners are little more than receptacles for their excess self-admiration, and are easily dismissed or swapped out at a moments notice. Taylor is a typical son of a narcissist whose entire life consists of carefully crafted fictional experiences, manipulated by his psychotic father, who both craves his destruction and yet worships him as the embodiment of his own insanity.Whom do you recognize in the story? A parent, husband. lover, boyfriend? Count yourself lucky when they discard you, as they always will, as they are always grooming your replacement. Be warned though, they will at some point return because they know that their partners can only shine as lesser lights to their glorious incandescence. They keep going back, like Taylor does to his wife, to keep that person in turmoil.To the narcissist, all others exist as things, to be valued strictly by their utility. Taylor, Jack, John, Felix, Keebs, even lesser inverted-narcissists like Catheri and Vin portray various degrees of psychosis, observable all around us.Every crazed despot, every bad guy in a book, every enemy that James Bond faces on a mission, every vampire, every serial killer, every maniacal family member, is cursed with it. Only a few degrees of separation exist between them as to how much expression they can give to their innate evil; tempered only by the level of resources and level of brutality they allow themselves. And though many cast themselves in the role of deliverer (from the boredom of your ordinary life), they only act with benevolence because it suits them to be perceived as loved by their followers; though they do not reciprocate with genuine love for those followers. Do not be deceived, there is nothing genuine or authentic about any emotion expressed by a narcissist, only the minimum reaction required for you to fall into their well rehearsed trap. So, that pickup line he uses is only a well practiced attempt to overcome your defenses. The only objective is to destroy what they sense is genuine and real inside you. The narcissist hates the authentic, so, again, the cotton-candy emotions they express are simply a manipulation. And so the prey on unsuspecting people, people who project onto others their own sense of goodness. Why?  People want to be perceived as "good", generally, because the stories we were told, allways show the "good guys" win in the end.On the other side of that little self-fiction, evil person's use their target's self-deception to reflect back what the target wants to hear, opening up the door to their emotional destruction.The author has cleverly shown the range of false relational dynamics that exist between interacting levels of narcissists, all while developing an excellent sci-fi oriented police vs bad guys plot. I particularly enjoyed how the primary bad guy is killed by the only emotion that can destroy a narcissist, regret; and that only when the emotions of those whom they have hurt are forced into their conscious minds. There, their inability to empathize, is overwhelmed in the tidal wave of emotions, collapsing the persona, often killing them or leaving them in a vegetative state, their final act of selfishness--a sort of emotional suicide.The narcissist fears abandonement as it lies at the basis of their psychosis. Taylor's change in the story, takes place when he finally sees the file from the orphanage only to discover it has no answers. When the truth comes out about his oriyins, he nearly snaps. But, true to form, as he finds approval from the police force, he negotiates a new future hy partnering with a new Persona, literally. Great story, lots more depth than expected.Five stars indeed.