Technology as Historical Oddity

A Slice-of-life One Shot

Pallas Athena by Rembrandt

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This One Shot is a slice-of-life in a tech-less utopia written in response to

Elle Griffin

’s prompt for high-tech/anti-tech utopia.

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'We only rediscovered Beauty when we turned off the screens,' Liana spoke from the orchestra of the open air theatre, her voice carried by the careful placement of tiered seating so that everyone could hear without effort. Two enormous white stone statues rose behind her, painted in vivid colours. Athena stood, spear in hand, with an owl upon her shoulder, beside her was Apollo with his lyre and ever youthful expression. 'Technology had led us on a path of efficiency, a utilitarian obsession, where everything became clean cut and form for form's sake was discarded. The only difference was whether the sofa, computer screen, or car you bought was boxy or with sleek curves. Materials too had degraded, from wool, linen, and cotton, to synthetics made from plastic with polymers that could be endlessly manipulated. None of them ever fully felt like the real thing but it was close and cheap so most people dealt with it,' Liana, Professor of History, hid her hands in the wide sleeves of her blue and white robe. At he side was a table with a collection of smartphones, all were rectangular and black with some combination of cameras.

Michael sat slumped in a mid-tier seat, kept warm by a thick woollen jumper with a herringbone pattern, he mindlessly rolled his finger over the eye of the lion carved into the armrest. The past fascinated him. All the luxuries people took for granted, endless streams of entertainment alongside overworking and an oscillating economy that could make or break a family, even a whole nation, without warning. But what really had him wondering about the sanity of his ancestors were mobile phones. Those little black mirrors everyone carried in their pockets and were used, some historians claimed, for up to 10 hours a day.

'This is a mobile phone, specifically a smartphone,' Liana held up a glass and aluminium block about the size of her hand. 'With this a man could send a text message around the world instantly. He could learn whatever he wanted, often for free, whenever he wanted. He could speak to someone on the other side of the world too or simply set a timer. Or he could watch film after film after film with one of the many streaming apps available at the time.'

A hand shot up from the front row, 'I've read about them but what exactly is a streaming app?' Jennifer, the transfer student, asked. She wore a thick burgundy jumper and a black A-line skirt.

'Streaming apps held vast databases of films and “TV Shows”. You will have come across cameras in Patrick's lectures?'

Heads nodded.

'Well using those and splicing different reels of film from different points of view and locations created film, sometimes called movies. Imagine watching a play but it's been recorded and displayed on a screen. For a small monthly fee you could have access to thousands of these recordings. Endless content,' Liana said.

'How did anyone get anything done?' Stefan snickered.

'Some didn't,' Liana said. 'A vanishing minority refused to use them and busied themselves with activities you'd be more familiar with. Reading, painting, learning in their spare time and tending to the land, animals, raising children, exploring the world, and general work. Though much work of that time was digital and... well, not real. Anyway, I have a selection of phones all loaded up with various archaic apps and content for you to experience something of what it was like in those times. Of course we no longer have the internet, all the phone masts were melted down, and the wireless infrastructure that supported these little time-warpers is gone, so what we experience is very minimal in comparison to our ancestors. Come on down,' Liana waved.

Michael bolted upright and leapt down the bands of tiered seating calling out, 'Sorry,' 'Excuse me,' more times than he could count. A bag went flying, three books were cast across the theatre floor. Michael apologised and collected the tomes. Two were recent but the third was bound in bright red, the spine splitting apart, the pages rough cut and yellowed with the brilliant musk of age. Jennifer snatched the book out of his hand, 'You better not have damaged it.' She ran her fingers along the cover, the spine, and squinted at the thread that held the pages in place. 'Mmm, seems to be okay. What's the rush for?' her nose curled up in annoyance. Turning it over she ran a hand across the cover, the title Erewhon vanished beneath her palm.

'These are phones. Have you never wanted to use one before?'

Jennifer shook her head, her red-black hair shimmering as it swayed. 'Not once. I was quite content reading about them but my supervisor insisted I use one so my dissertation would have an experiential angle.'

Michael stood at the front. Only Liana was between him and a mobile phone. 'Okay, we have twenty phones and there's fifty of you so take turns. If your essay question, or research,' she nodded to Jennifer, 'requires longer use of a mobile phone it can be arranged with the Curator of Historical Oddities. There is a one hour, once a week limit, so bear that in mind for your schedule.' With a flourish of her looping sleeves she stepped aside.

Michael dashed for the nearest phone, the type didn't matter. Yes there were competing types at the time but for the most part everything could be accessed from all of them. As soon as he picked up the miniaturised computer the screen burst with life. An interpretation of the Milky Way slowly rotated behind a plethora of apps all calling out to be pressed. With a few taps he was playing music, a light guitar riff alongside a drum beat, but before the singer started Michael already swiped up to the home screen. The music continued.

Jennifer investigated her phone's exterior like it were slightly mouldy bread. 'Who needs three cameras on the back and one on the front?' She tsk'd and unlocked the phone with a swipe of her thumb. Half the phones now boomed tinny music or dialogue from a 'TV Show'.

Michael paused the music, the quantity of sound irritated him. A few of the others did the same. Three tinny songs blared out still, and another eleven phones played strange sound effects like roaring, clashing steel, odd warbling buzzes, and worse. He focussed on his phone, attempting to expel the anger inducing sounds to the background.

'People would use headphones to listen to their own music,' Liana said sternly.

'So people went around in their own private worlds?' a tall student asked.

'Essentially.'

'How did they do anything?' a blond student tapped away at a phone, those behind him laughed at something on the screen.

'There was etiquette. Though it varied and changed quickly and drastically. At first these smart phones were rarely used in public places but within a decade everyone had them and used them whenever they had to wait or travel. The main function seems to have been to pass the time, to keep the mind busy between events.'

'I'm lost. Did these people not think or reflect? Had they eradicated boredom?' the tall student said.

'The eradication of boredom was certainly on people's minds. Though the more stuff they had to do the less they did. A great deal of lives were spent consuming content.'

'Like it were food?'

Liana nodded, 'Yes and fast food at that.'

'What's fast food?'

Exactly what it sounds like,' Jennifer answered. 'Typically food someone else cooked for you fast, often in very hot oil or on a grill. People chose not to cook and many forgot how entirely. In fact a bizarre trend emerged in the 21^st century were people ordered boxes with individual ingredients and instructions on how to cook a particular meal. A sort of commodification of cooking as product.' She tapped away on the phone.

The tall student stared slack mouthed at Jennifer, 'People didn't cook?'

Liana leaned over, 'Jennifer is here for a year to research delivery apps. She travelled over one hundred miles for the chance to use our mobile phone collection first hand. Simon if you want to know more about cooking habits in the Age of Technology then sign up for my second-year class.'

A few students gasped. 'How many days did it take you?' Michael asked. He lived in a village two miles away, from the second floor of the library he could see his family cottage and barn.

'My dad and I hiked for over two weeks with a tour of ancient castles and industrial towns. There was no rush,' Jennifer smiled at the memory.

'You must have packed light,' Michael tapped on a streaming app. Those who'd gasped continued listening while the others talked amongst themselves while taking turns on the phones. Liana demonstrated the camera to the tall student.

'Somewhat. We stayed at inns most nights, ate there too. I only allowed myself five books, and two are epics so I will be living in the library,' Jennifer giggled.

A narrator was introducing a documentary on Ancient Egypt and Michael barely heard Jennifer's response. He watched for a few minutes before his eyes stung from the strain of the tiny screen. 'Sorry, I missed that.'

Jennifer sighed, 'It's alright, it was the phone's fault.'

'It must have been hell living with these all day everyday,' Michael's voice was monotone. He was watching the documentary again and seeing great expanses of sand with impossibly tall pyramids. 'People built those?' he said.

'Built what?' Jennifer asked.

'These,' he showed her the screen.

'I've read about the pyramids. One of my dad's old books has paintings of them in. They seemed... bigger, more real in the painting.'

Before a tenth of the documentary had played Michael returned to the home screen and started up a game. A logo spun by and little men fought with swords, but not real men they were like well painted clay figurines with exaggerated movements. A tutorial popped up on screen in a box next to a woman's head. He read and tapped on the glowing box it pointed to, highlighting his infantry unit, and then on the enemy unit. His unit moved a tile, like in chess, and struck the enemy. It died in a puff of smoke and was removed from the board. He followed along for a few minutes more only vaguely paying attention to the chatter going on around him. Everything seemed to fade into a garbled milieu, only the screen was important.

Michael tore his eyes away. 'I'm done.' The world rushed back in but he struggled to focus, his eyes stung, and a headache brewed around his eyes. He stepped away and another student took his place.

'What did you learn?' Liana approached, her grey eyes questing.

'Err... There was a documentary on Egypt but...'

'You can't remember anything?'

'Not a thing. Cool film of the pyramids though,' Michael said.

Jennifer approached, a notebook and pen in hand.

'And what did you learn?'

'I'm going to have to recreate how the app worked. Without the internet it is a glorified menu. Is there a way to build a network here?'

'The library does have the necessary artefacts but you'll have to apply to use them. Limited time and the inherent dangers. I shouldn't think your research would be refused though,' Liana smiled and moved on to the next student for reflection.

'I'll show you to the library,' Michael said.

Jennifer's eyes perked, 'Oh. That'd be wonderful. Lead the way,' she smiled. 'So, you really can't remember what you were doing for twenty minutes?'

'Twenty minutes!' Michael's stomach dropped as he climbed the steps out of the theatre. A foreboding dread settled in his gut, 'What a waste of time.'

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