🗺️ Roadmap for The Faulkner Machine (working title: As I Lay Coding)

Phase 0: Project Scaffolding (Day 1–2)

• Set up GitHub repo (so the devlog has receipts).
• Decide: Python + Streamlit (quick UI) OR Flask (more customizable).
• Prep a small corpus of Faulkner + your own test strings.

Phase 1: Recursive Text Loops

• Build a single loop that:
• Takes input → mutates it with repetition, word shuffling, sentence elongation.
• Option to “nest” → one loop inside another (simulating Rosa/Quentin/father voices).
• Deliverable: a prototype that can generate sentences longer than 500 words.

Phase 2: The Four Voices (Columns of Sutpen’s House)

• Implement 4 independent loops: -- Rosa: vitriol, rage, “corrupting” syntax with sharp cuts. -- Father: shaky, second-hand, reacting to Rosa’s strings. -- Quentin: delirious, random insertions, syntax collapse. -- Shreve: drops questions like bricks (“But why? How could he?”). -Output → each voice in a column of text. -Deliverable: UI mockup with static text in columns.

Phase 3: Cross-Contamination (The Incest Mechanism)

• Each loop pulls random substrings from one of the other loops.
• Text starts to blur → lines repeat, mutate, echo.
• Deliverable: a prototype where the four voices bleed into one another.

Phase 4: Hallucination Mode (1288-Word Switch)

• Add Sentence Length Dial (0–1288).
• At max, text generation runs recursive loops until it reaches ~1288 words in a single block.
• Add “Never Stop” switch → text output keeps unfurling endlessly until killed.
• Deliverable: the first truly hostile version.

Phase 5: The Inheritance Breaker (UI Polish)

• Columns warp/distort as text grows (CSS glitch filters or animated fonts).
• Add audio element → your recorded screams/whispers woven in when output exceeds certain thresholds.
• Visuals: columns could “crack” when inheritance burden becomes too great.
• Deliverable: an immersive horror-art installation, not just code.

Phase 6: Documentation & Performance

• Write devlog entries for each phase (blog + Mastodon snippets).
• Record screencaps → cut into YouTube devlog, interspersed with your commentary.
• Capstone performance → read or run the machine at Faulkner’s grave.