The Battle of Don Quixote

Fragment 1: A Knight in the Age of Algorithms

It was a Tuesday in Madrid, but Don Quixote swore it was a day of battle. Wrapped in aluminum foil scavenged from a dumpster and holding a mop handle as a spear, he strode through the Puerta del Sol, his eyes blazing with conviction. Above him, a billboard proclaimed: “REALITY IS WHAT YOU MAKE OF IT.” The neon letters flickered. It was the latest campaign from a tech giant.

Sancho Panza followed cautiously at a distance, his clothes a rough green cloth, very ordinary and in stark contrast to the knight’s armor. “Sir, I have told you a thousand times, those are drones, not dragons!” he shouted, pointing to a group of delivery robots humming in the square. Quixote stopped, his gaunt face illuminated by the light of a passing screen. “Drones? No, Sancho! Look, they are the creations of the evil wizard Zuckerberg… terrible monsters sent to deceive the people and enslave their minds!”

Fragment 2: Lady Dulcinea and Tiktok

In a small café, Quixote suddenly saw something that caught his attention. His eyes spotted a beautiful and voluptuous woman on a phone being held by a teenager. Lady Dulcinea, her face glowing from the smartphone screen as she danced to a trending song on Tiktok. Her movements were like another world, a kind of pixelated divinity in a 30-second loop.

"He is trapped, Sancho! Trapped in the cursed mirror!" His shout sounded anxious as he dropped the chair and lunged towards the phone held by a teenager whose eyes were gleaming.

"Senor, it's just a video," said Sancho quickly while trying to drag him away from the boy. However, the knight's determination grew stronger. "I will free her from the prison of light! No other enchantment will be able to hold my daughter!"

The teenager was scared and ran away. Then made a status: "There is a crazy person!"

Fragment 3: Windmill Monster

After that incident, in the quiet outskirts of the city, they found a windmill. A tall wind turbine towering and stretching out like an alien guardian dragon in the sky. Quixote's breath quickened upon seeing it. "The giants have returned, Sancho! They want to take revenge on us!"

Sancho sighed. His face was troubled. "Those are all just windmills, powered by clean energy. There are no giants, no revenge. It's just technological progress, Sir."

But the knight, in his aluminum foil armor, had his mop ready to catch the dim light of the setting sun. With a war cry that echoed into the void, he charged with the courage of a lion. The turbines flinched from his attack, continuing to spin soundlessly mechanically. Quixote collapsed beneath him, dizzy. Then his eyes glanced at Sancho and he whispered, “The battle may be over, but the war… the war will go on.”

Fragment 4: Knight's Speech in Digital Code

A few months later, a viral post appeared. It showed a photo of a disheveled man in armor, lying at the base of a wind turbine, with the title: "Madman or Hero? The Last Knight in the Digital Era." Of course, he is the knight Don Quixote!

Sancho examined the existing comments. Some people called Quixote a fool; while others declared him a prophet. Essays created by AI debated his significance, while deeply crafted videos depicted his battles against CGI dragons.

Reading all those comments, in their rented room, Sancho gazed at the handle of Don Quixote's sword leaning against the wall. "Perhaps, in a world full of lies, your madness is the only truth," he murmured.

Fragment 5: Silicon Guard

One morning, while strolling through the tech district, Quixote stumbles upon a startup coworking space. He thinks its neon-lit interior is like a castle, with glass walls gleaming like magical barriers. A young programmer, bespectacled and looking tired, greets them.

”Welcome to Virtua Nova! How can I help you?”

Quixote bowed low. “Brave servant,” he said, “I wish to meet the wizard who imprisons souls in these glowing cubes.” Quixote pointed to a row of computer monitors. The programmer raised an eyebrow.

“You mean... CEO?”

“Yes! Take me to that devil. He must answer for his crimes!”

Seeing this, Sancho quickly intervened, apologizing profusely, but the programmer, intrigued, invited them to sit down. Over a soy latte, he explained how algorithms dictate the world's wants, needs, and even beliefs. Quixote listened intently, his eyes wide.

“I understand now,” he said, “that this algorithm is not just a tool, but a wizard of our time, casting spells to bend the human mind!”

The programmer looked at him for a moment, then turned to Sancho, then shrugged.

Fragment 6: Holy War Against “Influencers”

That night, inspired by his newfound revelation, Quixote vows to free humanity from its digital overlords. His first targets are the influencers who thrive on empty worship.

At a rooftop bar, Quixote confronts a group of Instagram stars taking pictures. “Stop this vanity!” he shouts, pointing his mop at a lamp. “You enslave your followers with illusions, weaving false dreams of beauty and wealth!”

An influencer who was shocked by the situation immediately broadcast the encounter live. "Look, there's a cosplay guy here." She recorded Quixote giggling. Soon after, her comments section was flooded with emojis.

Quixote remains unfazed, he furiously smashes the ring light with his mop handle.

“Your charm will be destroyed by the weight of corrupt truth!”

As soon as he finished speaking, a security guard came and immediately dragged him out. While Sancho himself was still inside, trying to apologize over and over again.

Fragment 7: Knight Above the Clouds

Quixote's next battle takes place in a server farm on the outskirts of town. Believing that the humming servers house the souls of the bewitched, he declares war on the "cloud."

“Sancho,” he said, tying a bandana around his helmet, “this may be my last battle. If I die, tell Dulcinea that I died for her honor.”

Sancho cried. “Senor, they are just machines!”

But Quixote persisted. He kept striking the mop handle, sending sparks flying across the steel cabinet. The impact not only made the cabinet rattle, but also set off the security alarm. The shrill sound of the alarm mingled with his screams. When the authorities arrived, Quixote was lying on the floor, holding the severed Ethernet cable like a severed snake’s neck. As they dragged him away, he muttered incessantly, “I have destroyed the magic of our time. The world may not understand yet, but someday, they will.”

Fragment 8: Electric Horse

One night, in a maze of shopping mall parking lots, Quixote finds an electric scooter. He eyes the sleek machine with awe, mistaking its neon blue glow for a celestial aura.

“Behold, Sancho,” he said, “the glorious steed of this age, swift as the wind, tireless as the sun!”

Sancho narrowed his eyes, then looked at his master. “Sir, that is a scooter. You can rent it through the app.”

But Quixote didn’t care. With a surge of passion, he approached a battered scooter with slightly crooked handlebars. “This one speaks to me,” he said earnestly, running his fingers over the scratched paint. “It is a faithful animal, scarred by many battles, but not discouraged. I will name it… Rocinante.”

With cheerful joy, he mounted the scooter. Sancho, holding back his laughter, activated it using his mobile phone. The hum of the scooter was barely audible, but to Quixote, it roared like a war horse.

“Run with me, Rocinante!” he shouted as he wobbled across the parking lot. “Tonight, we will charge into the heart of darkness!”

Sancho ran behind him, shaking his head. “Sir, if we don't return this item within fifteen minutes, they will add a fine.”

Fragment 9: With Rocinante

Quixote's new ride faces its first test on the highway. Seeing a colossal billboard advertising a luxury car, he mistakes the gleaming vehicle for a terrible enemy enslaving society with false promises of status and happiness.

“Rocinante, good! Beat him!” he shouted as he revved his scooter as fast as he could. Without mercy, he slammed into the billboard with the mop handle raised high. The scooter hit, not too hard, but it still sent it overturning. As Quixote was thrown and sprawled on the concrete, Sancho rushed to help him up. His eyes were wide with anger. “Rocinante is broken again, sir,” he said. “How much is this one?”

But Quixote seemed not to hear. His face showed that he did not care about Sancho's complaints. Patting his dented scooter, he said: "Do not be afraid, my faithful friend. You fought bravely. The wild beast trembles at our resistance."

Hearing that, Sancho’s eyes rolled in one direction. He said, with a frown: “Yes, of course. Trembling. Like a leaf blown by a hurricane.”

Fragment 10: The End of the Journey

As their journey neared its end, the Rocinante gave up. Its battery had run out midway. Don Quixote dismounted. “My brave steed, thank you for your faithful companionship,” he said, placing his hands on the scooter’s handlebars. “May you find peace here.”

Sancho sat down weakly. After that, he grumbled about the fine they would pay. Don Quixote himself just stood there silently. His upright body bent to salute his fallen mount. When they left, the scooter lay frozen, a witness in the light of the street lamp, that there was a knight traveling to uphold the truth. But failed.

Note: CGI: computer-generated imagery

Ranang Aji SP wrote this short story with the idea of post-truth literature. In it there are techniques of fractionation and pastiche.

Rahardi Handining was born in Semarang, February 27. Lives in Jakarta. From 2004-2018 he worked as a graphic designer and illustrator at the daily Kompas. Actively participating in art activities until now. Received several awards from within and outside the country, including The 4th Shanghai International Contemporary Art, China, in 2019, and the Special Prize Mellow Art Award, Japan, 2020.