Friday, December 21, 2012

Choose Your Own Apocalypse



The Warrior Muse is hosting the Choose Your Own Apocalypse Blogfest today. I admit I forgot--signed up days ago, but neglected to actually write a post--until now. I give you my version of Apocalypse :)
~~~

There was a time when our Friday evening gatherings on the porch extended deep into the night, even to the hour when skies began to lighten above us, when, as the last friend or two left, we'd turn off the light over the front door because the bright blue of Curaçao dawn made it irrelevant.

Throughout those long evenings, over several bottles of wine, the talk inevitably gravitated towards the deep, the intangible, the intellectual--the nature of right and wrong, the fallacy of universal definitions, the meanings behind the printed words.

Speculation in spades. Exercising that mental muscle. Forcing new connections between neurons, and reveling in the energy those connections sparked, the energy that drove the conversation ever on as the Earth turned--the energy that felt to us as the very thing that made the Earth turn.

Until someone bought the first smartphone.

"It all hinges on the Demoiselles," Edward said. "That was the first Cubist painting. That was--"

Les Demoiselles d'Avignon
Pablo Picasso (1907)
"No," I interrupted. "I think it wasn't even Picasso but Braque that made the first--"

"No, no!" Yolanda drained her wineglass, set it down on the wooden patio table with a dry ping.

"I think she's right," Manolo said, meaning me. "It wasn't Picasso."

"Edward, why don't you check?" Yolanda pointed her chin at the black rectangle next to Edward's placemat.

We all crowded to look over his shoulder as he opened the browser, used his thumbs to type in the search box--backspace, too, a few times; those damn keys looked tiny. Two clicks later, we had our answer.

"Les Demoiselles, 1907," Yolanda read from the Blackberry's screen. "Braque didn't paint his L'Estaque series until 1908. See? I told you."

From there it all went downhill. Within a year, everybody--including me--had bigger or thinner or wider-screened versions of Edward's smartphone. Conversation at the Friday gatherings turned into a race: whose internet was faster, whose screen displayed results--or videos--better, whose sound was louder. We no longer tried to recall the answers to questions; the blank spots in our knowledge were so easily filled, curiosity so easily satisfied.
Image credit: Daniel Conway

Instant gratification.

Our brains slowed. Our memory atrophied.

The gatherings stopped.

The world still exists. The sun still rises and sets. Grocery stores still sell everything: fresh produce from Venezuela, packaged goods from Holland, the odd import from the USA. There are no weird epidemics, no strange viruses--not any that we didn't already know, at least--taking humanity down.

But if the world exists only to the extent that we assimilate it--the old if-a-tree-falls-in-the-forest-and-no-one-hears-it paradox--then the world has ended. Under the barrage of information we live in, we understand more perhaps, but how much do we assimilate? How much do we make truly ours?

The world still exists. But there's no one paying attention.

36 comments :

  1. Very well done! Beautifully written and conceptually it was very perceptive. I don't have a smartphone myself, but I've noticed what you're talking about when I'm with people who have them. It is a bit creepy to be among a number of people with these contraptions. I feel a bit left out as everybody seems lost in their own little worlds.


    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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    1. Glad you liked it, Arlee :) Yeah, those smartphones--great gadgets, but sometimes I wish we'd never discovered them, hehe. Thanks for the visit!

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  2. I loved your take on the apocalypse. No one pays attention anymore to the real world.

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  3. Wow, this was truly profound, entertaining, and beautifully written. Excellent job!

    Thanks so much for the comment and follow. I'm glad to reciprocate.

    Happy holidays!
    xoRobyn

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    1. Thanks, Robyn! Glad you liked this one. Look forward to more of your posts!

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    1. Hmmm, yeah... Sorry, what?

      :D

      Thanks for the visit!

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  5. Bravo! I like the concept of being drawn into dependence on a virtual reality! I've often said, what will happen if the internet and electronic communications were taken out of commission?

    I expect at that time, the ones who know how to access information from books or have pre-computerised skills will be much in demand and then perhaps we'll rediscover those dusty old enclaves we mothballed in the quest for new/fast/shiny information technology: LIBRARIES!

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    1. Libraries! Viva Libraries! Since I moved to Curaçao I've kind of forgotten what it feels like to have a library close by, all those books, those wonderful librarians, people you can actually talk *books* with. *Sigh* Indeed, if a tech apocalypse should happen, perhaps it wouldn't be such a bad thing :) Thanks for the visit, Sue!

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  6. Oooooooo that was good. I am still working my through all the Apocalypse Blogfest blogs and PHEW am I glad I got here to read yours otherwise I would not be paying attention and therefore be part of the apocalypse.... Luckily I made it here so everything is OK, and I don't have a smart phone and rely on old battered computers thrown away by the world to communicate with the world. And live in a house full of books and paintings, in the hills where I can be grumpy and reclusive.

    Merry Christmas




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    1. Hahahahahahaha... A house in the hills where you can be grumpy and reclusive--are we related, Rob? I'm not in the hills, but I *am* in an island :) Very reclusive, *very* grumpy :D Not so much art, though--not yet. But I'm working on it :) Thanks for the visit, Rob, and glad we connected in time to save you from the Apocalypse :D

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  7. No one is paying attention...That's the scary thing about these times...But maybe someone is...

    I love the art on your site!

    Monti
    Mary Montague Sikes

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    1. Thanks, Monti! Yes, let's hope more people pay attention :)

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  8. Ooh, I like it. A whole different sort of "end" to the world. I remember back when I first saw a smartphone, and ... wait, no I don't. Hold on, let me look that up.

    Excellent post!

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    1. Hahahahahahahahaa... Nate, you fast thinker, you :D Thanks for the visit!

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  9. Well done! And, sadly, true. I've read articles on this recently. We no longer retain information the way we used to. I wonder how that will affect Alzheimer's rates as we all reach the later years? We don't remember people's phone numbers anymore, how to get places (GPS), etc. We can look things up so easily that our brains have adjusted and don't store information in the same way. FTR, I don't have a smart phone.

    Thanks for participating!

    Shannon at The Warrior Muse

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    1. Shannon, thanks so much for the visit and for hosting the blogfest--awesome fun! Haven't finished making my way through all the excellent posts, but I'll get there. You're right--I think Alzheimer's, inasmuch as we don't know what exactly causes it, may see an increase in incidence if we don't stop relying so much on technology. Exercise the brain! And good for you for skipping the smartphone :D

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  10. Beautifully written. Sometimes I read something that captivates me, and then I can't think of anything clever to say. This is one of those times. Thanks for making me think!

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    1. Aw, Stephanie, I'm flattered :) That happens to me too, haha, and I really appreciate your leaving a comment anyway--I usually just skip it and go hide under a table :D Thanks for sharing on Twitter, too :)

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  11. >>... Conversation at the Friday gatherings turned into a race: whose internet was faster, whose screen displayed results--or videos--better, whose sound was louder.

    Ha!-Ha! Welcome to the world of "Virtual Conversation".

    >>... the odd import from the USA.

    Wow, my memory must really be slipping, because I don't even recall being EXPORTED from the USA.

    I enjoyed your - different - take on the 'End Of The World'. (Also the pictures of naked womens, of course.)

    ~ D-FensDogg
    'Loyal American Underground'

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    1. LOL, Stephen :D Your memory *must* be going then. Case in point to Shannon's comment above re Alzheimer's, haha. Thanks for the visit (and the appreciation of the naked ladies)!

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  12. This was such a deep pondering post that it could really happen and no one know it!

    Thanks for playing. Come get your badge!

    Chuck

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  13. huh? what? I wasn't paying attention...

    This is truly scary... because there is some truth to it. I wonder how much...

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    1. LOL :D Thanks for the visit, and I'm glad you found it interesting.

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  14. A touch of truth and possibility to that.

    There's a 90's horror film where the machines run everything for the humans. Only unlike in Wall-E, they don't converse or gather. They just stay in their rooms and in their dream machines.

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    1. Eech--that sounds horrible :( I hope we bounce back to using our brains before that happens. Thanks for stopping by!

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  15. I love your spin on the apocalypse. It's so true that nobody pays attention... each person is caught up in his/her own little "bubble"...
    Happy holidays to you Guilie!
    I hope you have a wonderful New Year!

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    1. Thanks so much, Michelle! Glad you liked the post :) A super happy new year to you, too!

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  16. So funny and very true. My teenager hangs out with his friends via internet-connected video games and Skype. When they do see each other, they spend time outside playing football or hiking.

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    1. Ah, the good ol' outdoors--yes, it's nice that your son gets in a dose of that. I don't think technology is bad per se; what really gets me is how we've become addicted to Google. Our ability to recall stuff "saved" in our memories is like a muscle; it's got to be exercised, or it will atrophy.

      Thanks for the visit, Cindy, and a super happy new year!

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  17. Yea, i told my husband he had to stop doing that or ruin our relationship. I think we spent all of the holidays at my parents asking inane questions of siri. Ah, deep interpersonal interactions.

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    1. Haha--Tara, I get you 100%. Since my b/f got his Samsung smartphone we--seriously--talk way less. Kind of annoying, isn't it? But when I call him on it, he points to the Blackberry in my hand. *Sigh*. What are we to do in this modern world? Thanks for the visit!

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  18. Hi there. I followed this link over from Stephanie at Clay Baboons and I am instantly hooked. This is just a gorgeous piece in its concision and depth. I can't wait to read more.

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    1. Thank you so much for the visit, and I'm glad you liked the piece :) Will look forward to your future visits!

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