In a certain episode of the popular Battlestar Galactica TV series, Laura Roslin, president of the colonies, receives a cancer-curing blood transfusion from a human-cylon baby.
Cylons, for the uninitiated, are robot slaves originally created by humans. The Cylons not only rebelled and escaped from the colonies, they retooled themselves as human look alikes and have now, 40 years later, returned to avenge their grievances. They nuke the humans. Some 50,000 colonists escape into space, with Laura Roslin more or less in charge.
The expansive story arc, digital effects and social commentary of BSG's universe give the willing imagination enormous sci fi pleasure. In a recent podcast, BSG writers discuss one possible future for the Laura Roslin character post cylo-human blood transfusion: Let's say the cylon blood type, besides curing cancer, begins to change Laura into a (much hated, especially by L.R.) Cylon. Cell by cell, she morphs into her worst enemy.
And now let's say something this side of fantasy, yet eerily similar. After spending a good chunk of a day photoshopping images, garagebanding audio tracks and editing video, my life as computer addict can flow into my dreams. Sometimes it seems I'm solving problems at the keyboard all night, right there in the dreamscape.
I wonder if it's possible to spend so much time with your computer that your brain, cell by cell, begins to morph into the CPU (Cylon Processing Unit, right?). Even before the dreams started, I was getting suspicious. If my laptop's monitor went blank or the internet connection failed, I'd respond with - what's the best word? Frustration? Anxiety? Delirium tremens?
Like the writers of Battlestar Galactica, the masterminds of hardware-software possibilities in this digital universe we inhabit enrich me profoundly. Thank you Steve Jobs. Kudos Bill Gates and all you unsung enablers of our elaborate cyberstructure.
I'm not sold on the idea of turning my cranium completely over to the motherboard. Sleek and smart as my Mac may be, its incomprehensible and aggravatingly literal tendencies make my blood boil. Which I guess is a good sign, depending on the blood type.
Photo ckroberts61 Creative CommonsAttribution 2.0
- Susan Weber's blog
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DREAMING
ALWAYS DREAMING
I dream a lot.
Dreaming of the future.
Dreaming of poetry.
Dreaming of writing poetry.
I dream of creating.
Always creating.
Always writing.
Never Stopping.
I dream of stepping stones
across a universe.
On the other side
a universe of dreams.
Dreams that will become real.
I dream of friends.
Long lasting friendships.
Love of dreams.
Love in dreams.
I have a longtime lover.
Who has made many of my dreams
become real.
Who has made our love
more then real.
She has allowed me to grow.
She has allowed me to be me.
She is my best friend.
And she encourages me to dream
convergence
I think another scary situation is when, a la Laura Roslin, you start having the same dreams as another person. I find that watching the entire series of BSG with a partner over the span of 5-6 weeks, especially if done right before bed, can have this result.
Dreams and...
Dreams and creativity - another fertile connection to explore. When I was having a long dry period, not even picking up the guitar, I could never remember my dreams. I wondered if I were even dreaming. Hmm... right around the time I started watching BSG, the dreams got more vibrant and memorable and my hand started inching towards the neck of the guitar.
Is it all coincidence or because there's so much creativity going on in the making of that series?
Dreams
TO DREAM
For we must dream.
Dreams help us
to get through the now.
Give us a future.
Remind us of the past.
When the time comes.
When no matter how hard we try.
We cannot dream.
Then we need to free our energy
so that others can.
Dreams
DREAMS
It's because of those
who believe in me,
and I in them.
Those that believe in sharing
their politics, their intellects.
A vision with me,
snd I with them.
It's because of those
who share their poetry,
music, with me
and I with them.
This is why I live.
This is why I want to live.
These are my friends,
and we dream.
Remember Seven of Nine
Uh oh -- switching series, boiling blood is symptomatic of adolescent changes in Vulcan males -- I don't recall the term for it, but I'm sure someone will. There is a scene in the movie Startrek III that shows the regenerated Spock experiencing it. It doesn't look pleasant, but then, few things in male adolescence of any specie are pleasant.
I've never owned a Mac, but in PCs there is a phenomenon called "The Blue Screen of Death." I have seen that once on a monitor a few years ago, and it does affect your blood pressure and heart rate. If you start seeing it, or the Apple version of it regularly in your dreams, it might be time to see a pschrink.
Your post scares me a little. I think of when Captain Picard was captured by the Borg, which then commenced to assimilate him. His breaking free was very painful to both himself and his crew (to say nothing of me, the viewer!) Of course, that was fiction. And it kept me coming back for more.
Anyway, Susan, beware of the Borg, and remember Seven of Nine and Tasha Yar.
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Water Color Visions