A New Bloom

They lit the candles and huddled together, enjoying each other’s company. ‘You know,’ the dad said, ‘times like this, it isn’t so bad.’ His eyes tinkled in time with the flicker of small flames.The mom shivered and snuggled closer to her husband. ‘I don’t know about you, but I miss the little things.”Like refrigerators and microwaves?’She smacked him lightly on the arm. ‘Okay, so I’ve learned how to cook since all this.’The children laughed quietly as they listened to the banter between their parents. Finally, the older one spoke. ‘Dad, tell us what it was like back then.’The dad held up an item and said, ‘This was what led to the downfall of mankind.’

I don’t know what will lead to our downfall, but I suspect technology will play a part. I would certainly mourn the loss of actual books in favor of electronic books only (which would lead to the extinction of bookmarks and highlighters as well) but doubt they will go so quietly.After all, if vinyl can make a come-back …I believe there will be a point in which we won’t laugh at movies like ‘The Terminator’ because some level of sentience will happen. What frightens me more is Harlan Ellison’s ‘I Have No Mouth’, which predicts a much more frightening end. Here is part one of three, read by Mr. Ellison himself. Listen if you dare.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vgc5PDtIii8