Saturday, January 30, 2010

What if we could see anybody at any time?

What if technology existed that allowed us to view any human being at any time, without them knowing it?

Maybe we punch a wormhole through space-time and look at that person through a window. The how doesn't matter. Let's just say that's the way it was.

You would literally have no privacy. Anyone in the world could watch what you're doing at any time. If you're shitting or having sex or yelling at your child. Someone could be watching.

But maybe not. In fact, probably not. You're not that interesting to most people. To family, however, you might be interesting enough for them to watch you for a few minutes a day. Or maybe your ex girlfriend or boyfriend is thinking about you so they watch you for a few minutes.

Let's take this further. You could watch President Obama in a meeting. You could literally follow him for most of his waking life (as long as you didn't mind sacrificing your own life by wasting your time watching him).

You could watch any movie star you want and see what they're doing at this second. You could watch your boss or your son or the person robbing your house or an old high school sweetheart.

Imagine how different life would be. Now write a book about it.

***
Too late. I got this idea from a sci fi book called The Light of Other Days by Arthur C. Clarke and Stephen Baxter.




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