This Captains Log is Part II to Part I: The Cultural Surrender to Big Tech and AI, published on July 27th. Its was delayed in part because of my dealing with a few crisis, including the loss of Broadband and ability to do business in my home.
As a reminder I pointed out : ā In the background, a quiet despair grows.
The story weāre told, falsely, that weāre being replaced or eradicated. Pick your poison. There is plenty to go around. Whether youāre on the AI herald side, or the dooms day cult of today.
And I know what that feels like, being replaced
I lost my biggest client to the AI narrative. Not to budget cuts, not to performance.
To replacement. And like many others I am doing everything I can to survive.
I also believe, and this is what worries me the most, that the pendulum will swing backā very hard. Because this current path is unsustainable, dishonest, and unjust.
But until it does, some of us must walk through fire.
Trying to hold a line no one else can see.ā
I also said : āI have faith. A stubborn faith. And because of that, I am required to have hope.
And because of both, I must also have charity.
I donāt hate Altman. Or Musk. Or any of the others.
This isnāt about hatred.
Itās about warning.
Clarity.
Truth.
What they are building is real. The pressure is real. The damage is real.
But so is our obligation to respond in good faith, even if it means retreat.
Even if it means the catacombs.
Iāll return to that soon in Part II.ā
And here we are finally, I get to explain what I mean by going to the catacombs.
šÆ This Is Not Hiding
When the early Christians withdrew to the catacombs, it wasnāt to vanish.
It was to prepare.
The world above had grown hostile to truth. Public life was ruled by spectacle, paganism, and power without conscience. Sound familiar?
They didnāt stop teaching.
They didnāt stop building.
They didnāt stop preparing the faithful.
They simply changed their position on the field.
Not to survive another day, but to be ready for the day when they could stand openly again.
That is where, I believe, we are now.
š» What Weāre Building Below
Iām not withdrawing to hide from the AI noise, the failed project theatre, or the endless stream of cultural surrender.
Iām withdrawing to prepare.
Hereās what Iām doing in the catacombs:
Launching a podcast to speak plainly about IT Projects, risk, and reality ,without the corporate varnish.
Designing a user-friendly Risk Register based on the Rocinante Method. A tool built to serve those still willing to see clearly.
Continuing to call out bad practices in project delivery, especially the noisy hoax that is AI āproject salvation.ā
Writing, refining, and readying doctrine that can be deployed the moment the climate above changes.
This is the work of readiness. Itās slow, itās deliberate, and itās necessary.
š” Why the Catacombs Matter
Above ground, the spectacle rages on:
Projects built for headlines instead of delivery.
AI integrations pushed without strategy or truth.
Leadership rewarding compliance over clarity.
Below ground, weāre stripping away the noise.
Weāre protecting the good.
Weāre training for the long game.
The catacombs are not an escape. They are a forge.
ā Hope With Teeth
We donāt have ājustā hope! We have hope anchored in truth, sharpened by preparation, and ready for action.
The pendulum will swing back. It always does. And when it does, we must be ready with more than words.
So Iāll keep building here, in the quiet.
Iāll keep speaking truth where I can.
Iāll keep the watch until the gates open again.
š Join Me Below
If youāre tired of the theatre above, if youāre ready to prepare instead of posture ā join me in the catacombs.
Subscribe, follow the work, and be part of the few who will still be standing when the dust settles.
Because when that day comes, weāll need leaders who have not just endured, but prepared.
Join the Rocinante Method and keep the watch, in the catacombs for the time being. .
Captain Mabro (Mark Browne) . Rocintane Method Actual.