The subterranean traveller was made aware of a phenomenon which was quickly doing the rounds recently, the talking of is, less so the sightings. Quoting the rumour, it was starting to appear that rich people have begun acquiring skin replicade robots which are able to replace them for certain tedious tasks, like making low profile public calls. Skin replicade robots look perfectly human if you don't come too close and they even show human behaviour, as they have high learning capabilities. But robots will never be the real thing, so you will inevitably end up seeing strange features, tight, stricken, emotionless faces on strong and healthy bodies, and it will make you wonder if it's really them as you are no close follower of their facebook page or anything, or a bot after all, taking over while they are being somewhere else. World famous became Phase Buck with his white mask for a face and his weird behaviour on a parliamentary hearing nobody was really interested in, people globally meming their jokes about him being his significantly techy other. The traveller was sort of following the story from some distance before mentioning it at a Friday evening family kitchen gathering. Have you heard about it, he said against a wave of protest. The subterranean was hopelessly late at the stamtoafel, both Trandi and his offspring let him know.
That is so yesterday, Off belittled him belittlingly.
The traveller managed not to move a muscle. But do you believe it?
Why not, would be exciting if it were true, Off happened happily.
Because that's the way you think, you want to like it before you believe it, because you're young, the subterranean thought.
So Phase is Fake and everybody knows about it, the traveller accepted defeat, but what about CR? How natural is he?
CR?
A famous footballer who is indeed showing constrained features of lately, Off helped out. He saw Trandi's puzzled look. He was named after a licence plate.
Whatever he's on, he's not natural, the subterranean traveller pushed the narrative. He had three downhill seasons going from okayish to pretty lame and suddenly he's back with a vengeance, and not just that, but he's getting everything right. Every shot on goal is a hit. There's a distinct Lee Majors feel about CR, don't you think?
Six million dollar man? Off placed a sure bet.
That's the one, buddy, the father praised his son.
So his body should be worth at least 60 million whatever in today's currency, Trandi was showing some interest. What can you buy for 60 mil?
I'd say your numbers are slightly overrated, but a well-equipped modern avatar should be available for that money, yes.
And I say he's only partially enhanced, Off came off. He wouldn't want to miss his own party, would he? So he's got bionically enhanced legs and some chips up the brain to shoot the perfect ball.
Sounds tempting, the subterranean granted.
What is enhanced?
More of the same for the price of something new.
It means his body movements are computer controlled. Do you want me to tell you how?
I sure do, dear Off, smiled Trandi, the traveller feeling outdated again.
The computer learns from his movements and is of course always aware of its position towards goal and the speed at which the ball may approach. It then translates this information into a pattern of muscle contractions which are activated through light injections. The computer is therefore the skin they all seem to be carrying over their real body, transparent of course to avoid asfixiation.
And the processor?
An implant. They don't have to be big.
Cloud, the traveller said unnecessarily.
So it's like a bodysuit, you say?
Not quite so much, it's just a web of sensors, very simple, with the hardware elsewhere. They might even make them disposible.
But what gives the mask face? Trandin wondered aloud. There's no hard substance, I understand.
That's because the wrong stories are written for CR, the traveller broke in, happy to be able to jump the bandwagon. They tell him to have this overly stern face, they make him run like a robot. I don't know if sponsor commitments limit the skin from getting to know its client, but you would expect a more natural behaviour after a couple of matches.
That makes sense, Off admitted admittingly.
So it's like electronic botoxing, Trandi remarked. Would be quite the invention if it were true.
Yes, but hire yourself a good script writer and make sure its learning abilities are unrestricted.
And I would be one of those writers and I'd write scary stories to freak people out, Off served as a thought.
There'd be demand, you'd think? the traveller countered quite immediately.
Off must have noticed his father's irritation, as he chose not to answer.
Of course we never knew if any of our speculations were even nearly true. But they seemed so selbstverständlich when you consider how televison has become a total psyop these days. There's nothing honest and real anymore in tv land. Not even televised football is what it seems. Most results are tampered with and the referees are the main culprits, as they have decision power, though they're sometimes quite openly helped by players. As a consequence, the public's emotions are being gamed with. Ups and downs are artificially induced and can be timed to coincide with wider societal events such as elections and police crack downs. Early champions league exits, for example, do tend to give the host city's economy a bit of a stumble, though so far it hasn't really caused lasting damage. You're outside the circle for a while, is all. Try getting back in with a sacrifice, perhaps.
But what all this pulling of strings and opening of doors that will never close again is really about, are the subsequent emotional highs and lows people experience and which create strong flows of energy emerging from the body's skin and other corporal ports and filling up the astral realm around one's physical confines, how far your thoughts can reach, really. This energy is then collectively sucked off by entities feeding off such high intensity soul activity manifestations as will evoke win or loss in an up to one hundred thousand people stadium gathering. This is the reason behind many spectacular results of late. Give'm a high, give'm a low, give'm a low, give'm a high. Other forms of mass entertainment of course are equally fit for live energy sucking. You can perhaps think of examples yourself. I came to understand how this works when I stepped into a metro full of football supporters on their way home from a successful match, some years ago, me just commuting. The horse stench was overwhelming. Nobody in particular was being the stallion, it was just the sheer number, a whole stadium and to a lesser extent the many millions watching the show on tv, all to a certain degree aggrevated and ready to prove their humanhood. So much heat emanating from bodies. I have been part of such crowds, celebrating analogue wins, but it's quite different when you don't belong.
Whatever happens with this energy, whether it's used and how, we don't know, yet it seems clear there's an agenda behind it. It's all too conspicuous, like you are supposed to get it. As always, there will be at least two agendas. In the meantime, the public have lost all this precious soul energy, given away in mass confusion. We all have done it, from time memorial. Many still do it. 'Cause it's fun. But realise it's coming with a price these days. Our numbers have grown too big to be still naïve about life. And it's absolutely clear we are quickly becoming redundant to the elite's needs. So you'd better assess your real position in all this. You need to be strong for the coming journey. We don't know what's galopping at us, but it can't all be fine. So keep your strength, keep your soul's energy, keep your love for everything around you. Be prepared, not scared.
