In Jest

"e;In Jest"e; is a novel about how public hysteria becomes a technology and the fight for 'security' becomes a way to legalize violence.It all starts with laughter. With memes, funny videos, "e;innocent"e; discussions in school and parent chats. Laughter removes the taboo on cruelty, making acceptable what is still too scary to say out loud. A person gradually ceases to be a person — they become a reason, an object, a target.At the center of the story are Maya and her family. They don't break the law, they don't agitate, they don't hide. They just live differently. This turns out to be enough for a system that has long been ready to launch to start working. First, there are rumors and collective anxiety. Then come the "e;specialists,"e; "e;explanations,"e; and "e;expert assessments."e; And finally, there is language in which fear replaces analysis and suspicion is passed off as concern.The key moment in the novel is the transformation of private opinion into institutional power. The never changing anti-cult rhetoric migrates from lectures and manuals to the media, from the media to the offices of officials, and from there to schools, courts, and child welfare agencies. This is how an anti-cult network grows imperceptibly: a group of activists, "e;consultation centers,"e; public speakers, and loyal commentators who know how to launch campaigns - and call it prevention. A closed network emerges, where everyone falls back on each other.A single sheet of paper with the stamp and signature of a person involved in anti-cult activities suddenly weighs more than a human life. It can shut down a business, deprive someone of their parental rights, and destroy a family. Particularly frightening in this logic is the label: the word "e;cult"e; acts as a switch that turns off sympathy.It does not need to be proven - it is enough to just say it for any facts to become secondary, and any attempts to explain oneself sound like "e;manipulation"e; or "e;recruitment."e;"e;In jest"e; is a story about the entire anti-cult industry. It's about how easy it is to launch a system of exclusion under the slogans of protecting children and national security - and how difficult it is to stop it once it has gained legal status. This book is about dehumanization disguised as prevention. And about the fact that the question always remains: where is the line between protection and repression - and who has the right to draw it?