Technology
I abhor technology.
Although technology has been able to make many of the most complicated tasks mundane, I abhor our reliance upon it as a species. It's made us lazy, I think. We are constantly at the mercy of the computer. We've succeeded in creating constructs so elaborate that we hardly have to exert ourselves to accomplish anything worthwhile, yet if that system collapses, we are utterly paralyzed.
This fact was driven home this weekend, while I was at the office working on a particularly complex contract involving a certain high-ranking politician in Washington and his prospects once he leaves office in four years (or seven months). Nothing in the office seemed to be working right.
Elevators went to the wrong floor, or didn't move altogether. Lights flickered. Computers randomly rebooted. One poor bastard was even the victim of a malfunctioning microwave.
While we often take the advantages of a technological age for granted, I'm often struck by the thought that as technology has become more complicated, so too have our own lives. Few things make more more wistful for the days of my youth than that thought.
//engage firewall
On the other hand, technology provided me with a most intriguing encounter this weekend.
Following several hours of constant interruptions regarding the malfunctions throughout the building, there was an uneventful stretch of time when everything ran smoothly. I had planned to use this time to finish my contracts, as most of the work had already been researched.
Then I received an instant message.
At first I thought it to be some random teenager, asking mundane questions in an attempt to chat. Then I attempted to block the intrusion, only to have the intrusion somehow continue in spite of my efforts.
Then the conversation turned interesting. My would-be stalker introduced himself. His name was Moloch. Moloch the Corrupter.
I scoffed outright at the claim. I typed back that Moloch the Corrupter had been defeated seven years ago in Sunnydale by Buffy Summers, and that this ruse had ceased being amusing.
As I finished typing, Moloch himself appeared on my monitor. Or rather, a virtual representation of Moloch. And he demanded my silence forcefully enough that I was compelled to comply as he explained what had happened.
He told me of his imprisonment within cyberspace, following his release from the tome that held him for thousands of years. He told of his attempt to re-create a physical presence, only to have the Slayer defeat him and trap him in the darkness once again. He then told me of his recent re-awakening.
He explained he now looked at his imprisonment not as a curse, but a blessing. He told me of his followers, how their ranks have swollen to spread his love.
Then he told me what he knew of the Senior Partners. Or, as he called them, the Wolf, the Ram, and the Heart. He told me their history from the time before time. He said he was impressed by their power in today's world. He said they could help him regain his power, to spread his love. He said he chose me, from everyone at Wolfram & Hart, to make that happen.
All he wanted, he said, was my love.
As I said, intriguing.
Moloch left me then, saying there were others who needed to feel his love. But he said we would speak again soon.
I look forward to it.
//end entry
Although technology has been able to make many of the most complicated tasks mundane, I abhor our reliance upon it as a species. It's made us lazy, I think. We are constantly at the mercy of the computer. We've succeeded in creating constructs so elaborate that we hardly have to exert ourselves to accomplish anything worthwhile, yet if that system collapses, we are utterly paralyzed.
This fact was driven home this weekend, while I was at the office working on a particularly complex contract involving a certain high-ranking politician in Washington and his prospects once he leaves office in four years (or seven months). Nothing in the office seemed to be working right.
Elevators went to the wrong floor, or didn't move altogether. Lights flickered. Computers randomly rebooted. One poor bastard was even the victim of a malfunctioning microwave.
While we often take the advantages of a technological age for granted, I'm often struck by the thought that as technology has become more complicated, so too have our own lives. Few things make more more wistful for the days of my youth than that thought.
//engage firewall
On the other hand, technology provided me with a most intriguing encounter this weekend.
Following several hours of constant interruptions regarding the malfunctions throughout the building, there was an uneventful stretch of time when everything ran smoothly. I had planned to use this time to finish my contracts, as most of the work had already been researched.
Then I received an instant message.
At first I thought it to be some random teenager, asking mundane questions in an attempt to chat. Then I attempted to block the intrusion, only to have the intrusion somehow continue in spite of my efforts.
Then the conversation turned interesting. My would-be stalker introduced himself. His name was Moloch. Moloch the Corrupter.
I scoffed outright at the claim. I typed back that Moloch the Corrupter had been defeated seven years ago in Sunnydale by Buffy Summers, and that this ruse had ceased being amusing.
As I finished typing, Moloch himself appeared on my monitor. Or rather, a virtual representation of Moloch. And he demanded my silence forcefully enough that I was compelled to comply as he explained what had happened.
He told me of his imprisonment within cyberspace, following his release from the tome that held him for thousands of years. He told of his attempt to re-create a physical presence, only to have the Slayer defeat him and trap him in the darkness once again. He then told me of his recent re-awakening.
He explained he now looked at his imprisonment not as a curse, but a blessing. He told me of his followers, how their ranks have swollen to spread his love.
Then he told me what he knew of the Senior Partners. Or, as he called them, the Wolf, the Ram, and the Heart. He told me their history from the time before time. He said he was impressed by their power in today's world. He said they could help him regain his power, to spread his love. He said he chose me, from everyone at Wolfram & Hart, to make that happen.
All he wanted, he said, was my love.
As I said, intriguing.
Moloch left me then, saying there were others who needed to feel his love. But he said we would speak again soon.
I look forward to it.
//end entry