She woke suddenly in her darkened
drafty apartment. She rolled on her side and looked out the window as the sun
rose over the ghostly city. She grumbled as she reached down her right side
and, with a gasp, slowly pulled out her nerveoptic connection. She stood she
saw herself in the mirror. Her body was pale; her hair darkened with lack of
sunlight. Her thin form shimmered with silver tattoos that looked like a
circuit board. They were the marks of a priestess and these additional connections
allowed her deeper access to the Tri-Verse.
Her bare feet padding along the
floor was the only sound in the quiet apartment as she moved the bathroom. She
relieved herself and performed the ritual physical washing. Ritual washing of
the virtual, spiritual and physical was of the utmost importance for a
Priestess. She reveled in the sounds of the running water. With only one third
of the cities population Physical at one time sound here was nothing like in
the ancient cities she had learned about.
Finished with washing she turned on
the Digital Wall to hear the Papal Council’s message for the day while she
ate. No longer was there a singular Pope. Instead there was one voice of the
many: a council of thousands who collectively sought the perfection of the Tri-Verse
Consciousness through Regeneration. As always they focused on the balance
between truth and love. Their message always eased the anxiety she felt by the
limitations of the physical world. Whether it was the message itself or the
physical sound that eased her fears she did not know.
As the message ended she sighed but
no one heard it. She pulled on her white linen habit and then the heavy wide
long red stole. She picked up her sunglasses to protect her eyes and set out to
check on her flock’s Connections. As she stepped onto the street she wondered
if Josiah had managed to pay his electricity bill and if Rachel had her Oculars
corrected. The Virtual world still commanded the Physical presence of the likes
of Priestess Tamar.
The real and the virtual are one. We can never escape the real in the virtual because as we connect with the virtual it is real. Who are those voices we should be listening to? Who are the popes of today?
ReplyDeleteThe word "should" can be so isolating. So I won't pretend to know who we SHOULD be listening to; rather, I know who I listen to. I listen to the outlaw preachers, progressives and saints. The ones who's life is about service, and being broke a lot of the time and giving up luxuries so that others stay warm on cold nights. The voices I listen to are those that live on the fringes, often rejected and hurt and afraid of losing whatever ground they've gained.
DeleteThe Popes today are the collective voice that cry out for change but do nothing but click on links and sign names to petitions online. They are the slacktavists and the apathetic. Popes today are empty shells of words that do nothing but give us warm fuzzy feelings but leave hungry stomachs unfed.
"Their message always eased the anxiety she felt by the limitations of the physical world. Whether it was the message itself or the physical sound that eased her fears she did not know." Is it good thing for a princess who suppose to care about her flocks?
ReplyDeletePerhaps it would be good if she knew- but I think the priestess is symbolic of the ministers in society today. She has little self awareness. How many of us go on serving others without first practicing self care? How many of us do things to feel better but aren't sure why they make us feel better (like over eating, drinking or spending money).
DeleteRituals are loved by all and i think it is important to create new rituals, I think that is what Pope Francis is doing (prompted by Dr. Waltkins comment on who are the popes of today)...sometimes it is the ritual feeling of old with the newness and change of the new.
ReplyDeleteIs Pope Francis really changing anything? Or is he just saying the same beliefs in a nicer way? Also, rituals are often people driven and not God given. In this way, they can often cause more harm than good.
DeleteYou mentioned the noise (although you did not use this word) level of the city that only has a third of it's population in the physical world at any time. Should there be a redefinition of what the words 'noise' and 'sound' mean? Or maybe just an appropriation of the terms.
ReplyDeleteWhile it wasn't intentional at the time I think "sound" being used here is important to note. Tamar might not even know what are equivalent to noise would be. Sounds in the physical world are muted and dim by an inactive population while noise in the virtual is really just electrical pulses wired directly into her nervous system. So perhaps, yes, a redefinition is needed since noise for her does not exist as it does for us.
DeleteOne thing that was mentioned was the sigh that nobody heard. How do we identify those cries and sighs that normally don't get heard on social media?
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you picked up on that. It is important part of the piece and something I am planning on building upon later. As far as the those "cries and sighs"... I think this is really about learning a new language. Hearing will be about seeing and understanding will be about reading between the lines of status updates and tweets.
DeleteInteresting Hannah. I love what you are doing and determining how to interpret the messages we are sent, silent or otherwise will make or break you as a virtual minister. It means we must have strong intrapersonal awareness.
DeleteAs I read about the Tri-verse, I wonder, does any of the three get preferential treatment? What effect does that have on those who focus more of their energy on the virtual than the physical or spiritual?
ReplyDeleteThis has been addressed a bit already (ideas of burnout, extra connections to go deeper in the tri-verse, 1/3 of everyones time must be in the physical world, etc). On a personal note, I believe where we're too focused on any one thing it can have a negative impact- even if that focus is on spiritual things.
Delete