A Fragment....

From a recently discovered working document for what scholars believe was intended as Kafka’s next work, following The Trial and The Castle

Scholars consider this fragment to belong to a late, unfinished novel.
It opens without preamble:

“K. attempted to receive a simple payment using a system known only as P..P..
Immediately he was informed that his account was ‘limited,’ though no explanation was provided. The steps required to remove the limitation were said to be visible, yet each doorway he entered led him back to the same screen, which now displayed a new message that contradicted the first.”

K. seeks assistance.

“He was assured that a small bell icon would reveal what he must do.
The icon showed nothing.
He was directed to the Resolution Centre.
It resolved nothing.”

Whenever K. asks to speak with a human, he is met instead by a courteous but impenetrable artificial clerk whose replies possess the appearance of meaning, though none of its substance.

“K. requested to speak with someone responsible.
The clerk replied that no such person existed, and suggested he try again later.”

The manuscript ends abruptly:

“K. realised that the system did not wish to be resolved.
It wished only that he continue to navigate it.”

Author’s Note

This fragment serves as a companion piece to a forthcoming article exploring the potential for developing a relational field between humans and emerging AI systems.

If that essay considers what becomes possible when machines cultivate presence, reciprocity, and attuned exchange, The Payment depicts the opposite: the hollow, looping non-relation that arises when automation replaces relationship entirely.

The Payment