^* In Enrique Dussel’s choice formulation, “the Indians were victimized in the name of an innocent victim and for the sake of universal rights” (Invention of the Americas, 50).

^† Such drifting exoskeletal markers constitute an apocalyptic grid in Don DeLillo’s novel White Noise (Mylex, Dacron, Orion, Lycra Spandex, Dristan, Clorets, Panasonic, Tegrin, Denorex, not to mention the sources of common acronyms like Random Access Memory, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, and Mutual Assured Destruction). The protagonist experiences “a moment of splendid transcendence” when he overhears his daughter talking in her sleep : “She was only repeating some TV voice. Toyota Corolla, Toyota Celica, Toyota Cressida. Supranational names, computer-generated, more or less universally pronounceable. Part of every child’s brain noise” (155).