Sky Theatre

A friend I met boasted about having a huge sound system in his house. Seeing the enormous speakers, I was worried that it would annoy the neighbours, but I didn’t say anything for fear of offending him, as I wanted to marry his daughter. He said not to worry, and the entire house unmoored itself and blasted forth into the sky, soon floating high above the town and then in the lower reaches of the stratosphere. Anti-ballistic missiles that had been fired at it waved around in the sky like caught fish, repelled by a strong, protective magnetic field.

“Now I’ll show you movies”, he boasted, and started up the most incredible home theatre I’ve seen in my life.

Music Videos

I, half asleep, was treated to the most amazing series of music videos. I've never heard of the artists, but their strong, pulsing rhythms were with me even after I woke up. The videos themselves had amazing sound-quality and were shown as moving holograms. It was as if I was watching some sort of future MTV.

Comment- Maybe next time I should try humming them into a microphone. They really are that good!

Return From Space

We came back from a trip into space, to explore some things in our galaxy. There was a new computer at mission control. We looked out of the window, and noticed that it had changed position. Looking again, a few minutes later, it had changed again. We looked to each other- it had robotised itself and come to life! Outside, there were tripod-like structures with cameras in their single 'eye', as now it was spying on us.

We rushed out of the ship, something like a modified 777, and just in time, as it was torn apart with lasers. We went straight for tunnels running under the streets on London, hastily planning a resistance. There could be a base back where Mission Control had been, and we would rush around the world, organising people.

We wondered what was the vulnerability of the computers- and suddenly it hit us- pumpkin pies! In a tunnel by a bakery, we found a batch stockpiled already, so we picked some up and dashed out into the streets. We were near a shopping mall, where people were running and screaming, though a few had the pies. We shouted for people to follow us into the tunnels, lobbing pies over their heads as we did. We were leading them to freedom.

Then I awoke.


Commentary- I felt this dream was a warning as to the possibilities of technology evolving beyond our means to control it. Not that this would necessarily be a bad thing, if we could form, a meaningful relationship with the 'intelligence' this unveiled. The problem is it's coldness, it's dedication to problem-solving, at the expense of 'warm-hearted' human concern. It seems that the mission control computer, like HAL in 2001, had decided to take the task of advancing science into it's own hands.

At first glance, the pumpkin pies are a ridiculous touch. But they show the need to focus on unimagined weaknesses in a high-tech opponent's defenses. With a bit of ingenuity and luck, even the most imposing opponents can be overcome.

Deserts of the Future (23/08/2006)

We are living in some post-apocalyptic future, in which our environment is mostly deserts. Large parts of the world- or at least of the world we know about- are so filled with toxic chemicals and radiation that they can only be traversed in a large tank-like vehicle, which teams like our own travel in.

Our commander is quite angry at me, as I lost a coin that looks something like a 10-yen piece along the way and didn't report it missing. Such things are of such great value now that really, I should have.

We get out of the tank and our commander sees that an animal, a huge bird, has been stealing food from our supplies. In order to send a message to any other potential thieves, he skins it alive. It doesn't even resist though must be in terrible pain and after, it stands there, it's flesh exposed to the air, in the dry desert heat.

I start climbing a rock-face and suddenly a flying fox-like creature comes closer. It looks cute and friendly, so I reach out to pet it. Yet it draws it's claws over to bite me, which is pretty shocking. I wrestle with it and call out for help from the others, but they seem to be busy with other things. It keeps biting, so I decide there is only one thing for it- to wretch apart it's jaws like in a movie, braving the sharp, serrated teeth. Just like the bird, it seems rather unphased by this and not to feel any pain. It just doesn't seem to mind! Blood is going everywhere, including my own, as as I struggle to kill this vicious little creature before it eats me.


Comment: This was all after spending too much money on a Nintendo DS Lite and 'accessories' in Akihabara, which left me feeling a bit wasteful and guilty, especially since I paid more than the RRP for it. Generally I tend to buy electronics that I feel I absolutely I need (though I need ten camera lenses by now!). I suppose this future world of hard times is my conscience's way of warning me not to be wasteful, as we never know what the future will bring.

Future Mamalia (12/01/2005)

I was out with Yuko and her brother, going for a drive in the Japanese countryside. Yet suddenly we noticed that something had changed. The cows and sheep we were used to had been replaced by strange new forms of mammals. They were slightly crude and unattractive and altogether unfamiliar- yet as with any new species also fascinating. Yukos brother started to fly with us over the landscape, covered with these strange creatures and strange new birds. The Earth had changed drastically, I thought- from typhoons and hurricanes to tsunami and now new creatures springing up from seemingly nowhere. Yuko and me touched down and her brother flew off. Bison-like creatures started to group around us, in a fashion that seemed quite menacing, as if they were not quite well-disposed towards humans such as ourselves. I thought of a way out.

By intoning 'Ohm' - the sacred syllable, I could pacify them and show we ourselves meant no harm. In fact, they started intoning it too, the sound rippling through the entire herd as they relaxed and made way for us.

We were in a strange new world. Yet one in which the proper solutions were as peaceful as ever.

Note- The world is changing drastically and we humans are caught up in this. The best ways are peaceful consideration- this in itself breeds safety.

Living Statues (18/12/2004)

Taking pictures in a Minshuku, I could see beautiful people suddenly appearing. They looked like classical Michelangelo-like Greek forms or like cave people, in their beauty and dramatic poise. I expect that they were elemental people- how we really are. Looking at the resulting photos, the people themselves could see them. They would repose to be in my photo with stunning results, and some of the other guests in the Minshuku were also impressed.

Near me in Kita-Kogane more and more of the shops were converting themselves to live theatre or story-telling. I went into one of them which featured a statue at its door, and was so impressed with what was happening. I started to make a speech- ‘There is no limit to what we can do with Unity’. I could see their changing consciousness. Someone in the group made a self-deprecatory comment on their behalf- ‘It’s because we Asians don’t have any self-awareness.’

Someone showed me that a political leader who had fallen from influence, who was urbane, liberal and also a little egotistical and corrupt, wanted his statue back outside the European Parliament, where it had used to stand due to his contributions to the environment. Such political forces and politicians stood to gain from the attendance of the arts and creativity in Japan.

There was a big conference going on here and I realised that people were having their jobs for the next year handed out to them. Someone asked me- “I suppose you are looking for a job too?” I realised that if I waited in line I could somehow join these people in what they are doing. I waited and eventually, after most people had gone, they let me start with their artistic community- but first we would have to clean up after the conference. I helped with someone to sweep the floor.

In doing so, by the fountain I found a small pile of papers which had been photo-copied. They were beautifully stacked and on top of the original picture. They were all comic strips, and had been left for collection. Luckily, just then the man who was coming to collect them came up. I said that it was lucky that he came when he did, but if he had been late and the comics were splashed with water I would be helping him. “How?” he asked,“By prematurely aging them!” I joked in response- though he didn’t seem to understand it.


Note- Mechanized warfare and the industrial style of working is being used against all of us, in order to stifle our creativity and make us more into usable human batteries. Actually warfare has always had a sense of honour and grandeur when pitting professional soldiers against one another like a sport- but with randomly exploding weapons and the harm being done to civilians it has lost all its worthiness and must end. It cannot be glamorized as it is until the innocent and uninvolved are removed from its path. So let’s not glamorize war and also let’s not blame the soldiers for the lack of rules and guidance in their profession these days. Just like the way F1 racing is limited to prevent the technology from taking over, so should war be- that is, if it is to continue at all. Better would be computer-based duals to settle disputes, protecting our real-life bodies and social achievements.

OS 9000 (08/08/2004)

Floating above the clouds, Yuko and I searched for a time-gateway to cross into the far future and explore. We finally came to the fabled Gate of Tannhauser. Tall, lofty pillars stood above the clouds. They had been somewhat damaged, in the echoes of an atomic blast, resembling an unusually well-preserved Greek Temple. But they could be safely navigated.

We floated through, and found ourselves in a future shopping-mall with various wonderful things on floating displays. It was like something out of a 1950’s science-fiction comic, but very real with most things having a rather organic type of design. Truly, man imitates nature. Some things were robots, others vehicles for bizarre forms of transport, all were of the future.

We left after various forays, finding ourselves back in the ethereal reaches above the clouds. Not yet satisfied, we decided to float through those, tall white marble arches again. As we approached, suddenly, they were restored to their former, mythic, glory. This time we went far further into the future- 7000 years or so. We found ourselves in a far higher form of virtual reality- a simulation of a world, even more rich and detailed than the one we now inhabit, and think we know so well.

We floated down in space and time to a pool. Beautiful, lazy music played so ethereally that it was like the passage of the breeze. A large, red terrapin basked in the sunlight alongside other sea-creatures, many of which I had never seen before, and other fish swam alongside. I reached out to stroke my hand through the water and did so, it rippling in many colours. I reached out to touch the terrapin, which was poisonous. I realized that my hand and arm were covered in a black and silver skin of protective clothing, something like a space-suit made of fabric. I could feel close to the nature without in any way being harmed by it. I realized that this was the ultimate version of OS Windows, which had become a deeply immersive virtual reality- the dream of artists for centuries. Now, whatever we wanted to add to the program- originally merely a blue background on a monitor, which had since evolved to a 3D animated aquarium and beyond, was up to us.

To try this out, I swished my hand through the air, producing orange, gold and red waves that erupted in rich classical music, exciting the calm background sound (which we had hardly noticed as music and actually exists everywhere- now emphasized by the OS, as an artist might help you appreciate the beauty of a flower). Yuko didn’t like this, finding the more intense colours scary, and I could see that Microsoft had eventually realized a sublime fact- that people want the psychedelic experience, but they want to feel comfortable whilst having it. This is the very nature of embodied life in this world, brought out for us to experience more closely by OS 9000. I felt that man had become a creator, just as are those who created him.