The Butcher

I used to play Diablo (the first one) when I lived with my ex-boyfriend. And the time period I liked the most was in the very beginning, when you were poor, weak, defenseless, and inexperienced, and your weapons and armor were practically worthless. Useless Rags of the Mouse, Shattered Helm of the Cockroach, Vulnerable Shield of the Loser, Dull Sword of the Doomed. That kind of thing.

And the first guy you had to fight was The Butcher. In some ways, the Butcher was the hardest guy to fight in the whole game. You had to fight him with practically nothing at all, and you didn't really even have skills or magic of any kind yet. He was terrifying.

I kind of feel like that right now. It's funny because the Butcher is a metaphor to me - I'm an animal lover, struggling to change into an animal killer. I'd like to learn how to hunt, and I've been reading the dietary advice of Weston A. Price, who talks about the nutritional benefits of eating the way primitive cultures eat. But it's very difficult to think of killing animals when I still see them as cute and lovable. So the Butcher is the first really difficult, challenging enemy I have to confront.

(I remember a time when I fought Baal - I think that was his name - in Diablo II, and there was a glitch - I think somebody did something through the cable modem - and I had to fight two Baals instead of one. And I won.)

(But the most difficult enemy I ever fought was the Jabberwock, on the hardest difficulty level, in American McGhee's Alice. He was awesome. I think he's a good symbol for disinformation and encryption.)