These days many of us travel around as a sort of communications center. We have cell phones, beepers, laptops, etc. Being cut off from people has become a choice. In the not so distant future the Internet will freely stream through our car radios, picking up signals from all over the world. Going mobile has its responsibilities, but we can never say we can’t be reached.

Where will all this end up? Who knows? A friend recently shared with me a dream that she had regarding the future. She said, “Jennifer, I had a dream last night where I was walking down the street with a robot, carrying on a conversation, and all of a sudden the robot said, “Hey look! There’s a McDonalds! Would you care for a bite?” While heading towards the McDonalds, I overheard two more robots commenting as we passed by, “There goes another stupid human!” All of a sudden my friend woke up with a look of terror on her face. The thought of hanging out with robots gave her a kind of eerie feeling. I guess that’s taking going mobile to an extreme, but, aren’t these communication tools that we use kind of mini-robots? Electronic instruments that we utilize daily that can and probably will be enhanced over time.
I’m sure there will be many more technological advances coming down the pike, and yes, with each one we have to adapt, but the speed at which information will travel will be extraordinary. With all this there is responsibility, and hopefully we will put these innovations to good use. Where wires were once necessary for us to communicate across long distances, now satellites pick up our signals from just about anywhere, and connect us half a world away. The beauty of all this is that the barriers between people and the distance of time and space are shortened. I pray that mankind uses this to the best of its ability. The more we understand each other, the better off we will be.

Earth calling,
Jennifer Avalon
© 2001 Jennifer Avalon