Author Emily Segal on sociality & subculture in the unbundled now for her debut novel Mercury

“MERCURY RETROGRADE is not, as its title implies, related strictly to astrology, but rather uses Segal’s autofiction as an inroad into contemporary scene-wide currents; the memes, the magical thinking in today’s society, of which the popular pseudoscientific practice is a topical part. Published via Segal’s own independent press Deluge Books, the book follows an imagined account of the author—fresh from the crossover success of a trend forecasting art collective—taking up a job in an ambiguous internet start-up. She first accepts the role as a social experiment of sorts, going on to detail the meme-conscious hubris of her tech bro employers, along with their immaterial product.”