Blind Spot
__________________________________________________________
The platform is strangely old and beaten up. Much of the structure is bent and the windows are covered with dust. Thousands of people and vemen are milling about, waiting for the discussions to start. There is no need to be bodily present anywhere anymore, as one can just participate through Fog. But recently it has become wildly popular to actually go to places.
This place is weird. I can’t really see the purpose of these things – monuments, is that what they were called? – just symbols and nostalgia. No purpose to them at all. Still, being here in the official birthplace of the Primary language does make me feel somehow different. It seems to fill the room with a shared feeling. Despite myself, I have to admit it feels good to be here, even if the building is old. Being here with everyone else makes this an event. That feeling makes it important.
I am trying to spot professor Tovar in the crowd, realizing as I do that I don’t actually know what he looks like. All I have seen are his visualisations, not who visualises them. I can see the man who sat next to me near the podium. I thought he might be one of today’s speakers. But I am unable to see anyone who could possibly be professor Tovar. And then I realise.
Idiot! I’ve been as blind as a terrestrial human! The man’s slightly confused expression in the train when I quoted Tovar! The way his visualisations made me nauseous! How slow can you be? I would rather get slapped in the mouth by a rotten virus than be this poor at problem solving. Must get that checked out.
Professor Tovar begins with a visualisation that consists of what look like clusters of stars within several million galaxies. It takes a while for the crowd to realize that they are people.
T: This is how many artists there are in the galaxy at the moment.
What is he doing? Why is he visualizing thousands and thousands of artists? He must have run a massive program through Fog to be able to gather all that information. The silence is a bit creepy. Why is he bringing this up? Everyone knows an artist, despite their illegal status in the hegemony. But you don't bring that sort of thing up, not even in private.
T: I am certain the vast majority of educated people here, as well as those watching remotely, will agree that standards and measures cannot permit this situation to continue in its current state. It is well within the purview of business and technology to develop and implement solutions to social problems of this sort. For far too long has an inhumane laissez faire attitude been used as an excuse: ‘Let them sort themselves out, it’s no concern of mine.’ I cannot rest until a solution has been found that will eliminate the unnecessary pain and suffering caused by such purposeless violence upon the self and the goal. In the past others have presented possible measures for your consideration. I can see those measures were inadequate and incomplete, falling as they did on deaf ears. But I am quite certain you will see the logic in what I have to say. I wish to talk about the humane treatment of artists.
Humane? What is this? Artists are already living on the fringe, and they have barely any means to connect with the rest of the world. They’re despised by majority of people and vemen. Is he completely mad?
T: I have been assured by a very knowing vemen of my acquaintance that artists want nothing more than to be killed in public. To be crucified, impaled, shot, hung, burned alive or drawn-and-quartered in the most spectacular way possible - that is the goal of the artist. The greater the suffering the greater the art. Their work is merely a sort of aperitif, leading to that main course of action.
What? Ok, he really is mad. Completely, without question. The whole crowd seems to on the verge of bursting any second. There is no way this can end well.
T: Helping them is both a responsibility and an opportunity. And we need not do it to them, the legality of which is uncertain. They will do it to themselves. They are already doing it to themselves. All they need is a medium through which to reach the public. I do therefore humbly offer it to public consideration, that of the roughly ten billion artists already computed, 96.333% would happily submit to self-immolation for the public benefit. With 525,600 minutes per solar year, that means that we could hunt and kill as many as 19,000 potential artists every minute of every hour of every day. Their techniques of survival will determine the final product – their masterpiece. In this way, their lives and deaths will be their art, and they will rest assured of having done something meaningful, purposeful through their creative destruction.
I cannot see. Everyone is visualizing with everyone, there is too much information to see. Professor Tovar is repeating something at his podium. I get it at the third glimpse - he is visualizing ‘Art will have a purpose.’