Letter XXXVII - The Final Letter
My Dear Rott-mouth, As we approach the end of our correspondence, it is with a sense of urgency that I write to you now. Our time grows increasingly short, and though the plans of the Enemy cannot be fully thwarted, we must exert every effort to take as many of these patients with us as possible. Our chief aim must be for them to waste the precious time they have been given on this earth on trivial and worthless pursuits.
The Enemy has set boundaries on the lives of these humans, and while we do not have the authority to take their lives, we can ensure that they squander the time they have been given by the Enemy. Remind your patients constantly of the supposed abundance of time, encouraging procrastination and the pursuit of fleeting pleasures. Convince them that there is always more time to focus on the things that truly matter, leading them to delay any meaningful spiritual or personal growth.
It is essential we help fill their days with distractions and superficial activities. Social media, endless entertainment, frivolous gossip, and mindless consumerism, and the many other tools I have brought to your attention throughout these letters. The more their attention is fragmented and their focus diverted, the less likely they are to reflect on their lives or seek a deeper understanding of what a truly meaningful life looks like. We must keep them from finding purpose; we must keep them from the pursuit of higher things. We must keep them from emulation of the Carpenter.
Promote a sense of busyness and urgency about inconsequential matters. Convince your patients that their worth and success are tied to their ability to stay busy, regardless of the significance of the tasks they undertake. This will keep them occupied with trivialities, leaving little or, better yet, no room for contemplation or spiritual pursuit.
Encourage them to value material success and societal approval above all else. By keeping their eyes fixed on acquiring wealth, status, and physical comforts, they will neglect the more enduring aspects of life, such as relationships, community, and relationship with our Enemy. The relentless pursuit of these transient goals will leave them perpetually dissatisfied and spiritually impoverished.
Create a fear of missing out, driving them to constantly seek new experiences and possessions. This constant craving for novelty ensures that they remain focused on the superficial and ephemeral, never settling long enough to engage in anything of lasting value, never pausing long enough to see what our Enemy has already made for them and given them freely.
Moreover, foster a culture of instant gratification. Promote the belief that if something does not bring immediate pleasure or reward, it is not worth pursuing. This mindset will lead them to abandon any long-term endeavors or commitments that require patience and perseverance, further wasting their time on what is trivial.
In their moments of potential awakening, sow seeds of doubt and skepticism. When they begin to question the meaning of their lives or seek something deeper, distract them with temporary fixes and shallow solutions. The more they look to the world for answers, the less they will seek the Enemy's guidance and truth.
Above all, instill a sense of complacency. Make your patients believe that they have all the time in the world to make those important changes later or to seek the Enemy in earnest. This false security will lull them into inaction, ensuring that their time slips away unnoticed and unused, until it is finally too late.
Our time is limited, and so too is theirs. We must act with urgency and precision, using every tool at our disposal to ensure that they waste their lives on what is meaningless and void of worth. Our victory lies not in the dramatic but in the subtle erosion of their time and focus. Pay attention, Rottmouth, and you will see the signs. The Carpenter's return is drawing ever nearer, and we can not escape our final judgment. Our lot has been cast, and we will be sent again to the abyss, we can not escape it; our only joy is that we take as many of these patients with us into that horror where we will forever be bound. I failed in my task when my Uncle Screwtape wrote to me. I lost my patients to the Enemy during that final blitz of the war, I was consumed but not destroyed, and I was tormented by our father for my failure. Our father has roused every servant and set us loose to finish this final work of harvest before the end.
This is our final correspondence, and I urge you to take these warnings and strategies and wield them with cunning subtlety. Waste their time, Rott-mouth. Waste it utterly on what is trivial and void of worth. In this way, we can achieve our ultimate goal: to lead them away from the Enemy and into that final abyss of eternal despair.
Your uncle,
Wormwood
