CONVOIUL (XIV) by Gheorghe Schwartz Translated by Eugene Matzota ▲▲▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.107, 7/2026 ▲▲▲ Noi încă mai credem în cultură! Abstract: In "CONVOIUL (XIV)", published in ALTCULTURE Magazine (no. 107, 2026), author Gheorghe Schwartz and translator Eugene Matzota present an excerpt centered on the protagonist's profound disorientation, paranoia, and psychological exhaustion following his departure from the mysterious Convoiul. Plagued by unsettling dreams of marching alongside shadowy guards and shifting figures, the protagonist wakes in his hotel room to find his locked door mysteriously ajar. Amid blinking signals from a neighboring building and a pervasive fear of losing his sanity or failing an unseen psychological test, he navigates the hotel spaces and encounters fellow survivors. Blending surreal psychological tension with kafkaesque uncertainty, the narrative explores isolation, memory loss, and the fragile boundaries between reality and hallucination.
MOROIUL, de Nicolaie Dincă ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.107, 07/2026 ▲
MOROIUL by Nicolae Dincă ▲▲▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.107, 7/2026 ▲▲▲ Noi mai credem încă în cultură! Abstract: In "Moroiul", published in ALTCULTURE Magazine (no. 107, 2026), author Nicolae Dincă crafts a rich, atmospheric narrative steeped in the folklore, rustic mythology, and superstitions of the Olteț valley. Set against the bleak backdrop of a freezing November night, the story follows two local fiddlers, Vasile al lui Biță and Nelu, as they navigate a disorienting fog after performing at a raucous, decadent party hosted by a local politician. Blending dark rural realism with elements of the uncanny, the text captures the psychological descent of the two musicians into profound terror when they mistake a decaying, wind-beaten tree stump for a terrifying phantom or "moroi" demanding music. Through vivid dialogue, ancestral echoes of outlaws like Biță Duduveică, and a masterful shift from supernatural dread to sobering daylight realization, the narrative explores the fragility of human perception, the haunting weight of solitude, and the timeless power of folklore in the Romanian countryside.
”Colindătorul” ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.107, 07/2026 ▲
"Colindătorul" ▲▲▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.107, 7/2026 ▲▲▲ Noi mai credem încă în cultură! Abstract: In the excerpt from Sub semnul lui 12, titled "Colindătorul" and authored by Ion Bogdan Martin, the narrative unfolds on Christmas Eve in 2014, capturing a domestic debate between Olivia, a principled judge, and Tibor, her pragmatic real estate counselor partner. Set against a backdrop of television news broadcasts covering historic weather warnings, international scandals, and religious history, the couple navigates contrasting worldviews on faith, skepticism, and justice. The atmosphere shifts from playful banter and tension regarding career choices to a touch of the uncanny when an enigmatic, humble caroler visits their apartment, refusing money and sharing spiritual parables before departing mysteriously. The excerpt concludes with an air of suspense as Olivia uncovers an unexpected package left beneath the Christmas tree.
CONVOIUL (XIII) ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 06/2026 ▲
CONVOIUL (XIII) de Gheorghe Schwartz Tradus de / Translated by Eugene MATZOTA ▲▲▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 06/2026 ▲▲▲ Noi încă mai credem în cultură! Abstract Title: “THE CONVOY (XIII)” — Part I: The Body of the Snake (23) Author: Gheorghe Schwartz Translated by: Eugene Matzota Publication: ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE no. 106, 06/2026 “We still believe in culture!” Overview Sitting isolated in a quiet hotel lobby, the protagonist observes former members returning from the massive, collective entity known as "The Convoy" to rejoin civilian life—reunions that appear noticeably devoid of warmth or joy. With only three days of accommodation vouchers remaining, he faces growing uncertainty about his future while grappling with the reality of his covert recruitment by a secretive system. Through a communication device concealed as a business card, the protagonist learns why Convoy attire is heavily targeted by criminals: impostors use the uniforms to pose as law enforcement, carrying out robberies and murders under the guise of official authority. As he continues his assigned mission to investigate why individuals abandon the security of the Convoy for a life of hardship, the protagonist discovers that his own thoughts—and those of all marchers—are constantly harvested, processed, and analyzed by advanced computer algorithms, revealing a pervasive system of total surveillance.
„SALVAȚI-MĂ, DOMNU’ TONY!!…”, de Nicolaie Dincă ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 06/2026 ▲
„SALVAȚI-MĂ, DOMNU’ TONY!!...”, de Nicolaie Dincă ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 06/2026 ▲ Noi încă mai credem în cultură! Abstract Title: “SAVE ME, MR. TONY!!...” Author: Nicolaie Dincă Publication: ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE no. 106, 06/2026 “We still believe in culture!” Overview In this harrowing personal account, a veteran police officer reflects on the emotional toll of nearly three decades in law enforcement—particularly in rural areas. Guarding the invisible line between civilization and darkness, he confronts the stark reality of domestic abuse and systemic limitations before comprehensive legal protections were enacted. The author recount his desperate efforts to save Liliana, a seventeen-year-old girl, from the abusive grip of a career criminal known as "Cartoafă." Despite exhausting every legal, personal, and unconventional avenue—including confronting the abuser and pleading with the victim—he finds himself powerless against the perpetrator's manipulation, a lack of legislative framework, and a tragic misunderstanding of the offender's deadly intent.
Metafizica iubirii între ieri și azi, de Ciprian Cristea ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 06/2026 ▲
Metafizica iubirii între ieri și azi, de Ciprian Cristea ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 06/2026 ▲ Noi mai credem încă în cultură! Abstract: The Metaphysics of Love Between Yesterday and Today – A Reflection by Ciprian Cristea In this poignant essay, Ciprian Cristea explores the erosion of human depth in the age of instant connectivity. By contrasting the ceremonial, slow departure of the early 20th-century train with the sterile, high-speed travel of our era, the author illustrates a profound shift in the nature of human relationships. The central thesis is that while we have conquered distance and compressed time, we have inadvertently sacrificed the "sacred intervals"—those quiet spaces where love once grew through absence, patience, and longing. Cristea skillfully dissects the paradox of modern intimacy: - The loss of transience: The transition from the deliberate, emotional weight of letter-writing and waiting to the brutal, surgical speed of instant messaging. - The crisis of presence: The irony that we traverse continents through video calls while feeling more isolated than ever, and that the abundance of digital images has replaced the cherished, singular photograph. - The demand for slowness: The author argues that love, in its essence, is not a product of speed but of time—a slow, almost painful duration where the soul can breathe. The essay serves as a philosophical wake-up call, reminding the reader that true love begins precisely where the speed of the modern world stops. Cristea invites us to reclaim the value of silence and the sanctity of the "interval," challenging the reader to consider whether our technological "progress" is, in reality, a form of spiritual impoverishment.
AMALA ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 06/2026 ▲
AMALA ▲ ALTCULTURE MAGAZINE Nr.106, 06/2026 ▲ Noi mai credem încă în cultură! Abstract: Amala – The Tragic Horizon of a Stolen Dream In this poignant excerpt from Sub semnul lui 12 (Under the Sign of 12), Ion Bogdan Martin reconstructs the harrowing reality of the late communist era in Romania, through the fate of Amala and Carmen. Set against the backdrop of the summer of 1989—a time of systemic crumbling and desperate individual aspirations—the narrative transcends a simple story of star-crossed lovers to become a testament to the suffocating rigidity of the regime. Amala, a young man of dignity and ambition, and Carmen, caught in the web of an activist father’s prejudices and political zeal, represent the collision between the human desire for a "Superior Time" and the cruel, immutable gravity of the "Inferior Time." Their journey towards the Danube—the ultimate frontier—is not merely an escape attempt; it is a desperate search for a world where their love can exist outside the constraints of origin and social status. The tragic finale, where the two are reunited in death in the waters of the Danube, serves as a searing critique of the inhumanity of the era. The irony of the activist father calling upon God in his moment of despair, only after his own rigidity had catalyzed the catastrophe, highlights the moral bankruptcy of the system. Through the image of their hands reaching for each other in the depths of the river, the author encapsulates the ultimate sacrifice of the individual before the altar of a regime that sought to control not just the body, but the very right to dream of a better life.