Cloud to Cloud

Episode 7: Part 2 - The Train to Hell and Back

From the bar, Evan's attention was caught up by a male voice chattering loudly behind him.

"I understand what you're saying Hannah, but seriously. You cannot expect the average person to grasp the depth of what you are intending to offer them."

"How would we know if we don't offer them at least the chance?" A young woman's voice drew Evan further into the conversation.

He turned to see a young woman scowling defiantly at the man seated across from her. An array of necklaces and charms covered what the woman's low cut blouse failed to. The man's cascade of heavy dreadlocks blocked Evan's view of his face.

"We are so connected today. Everyone has a cellular mobile device. We no longer call locations hoping to connect with the person we seek, we call people knowing they are within reach via a small device constantly on their person. How far of a stretch is it to do away with the device and contact the person over these same invisible waves?" Hannah continued her speech, her flowing sleeves punctuating her movements.

"We do it all the time and don't even realize it. Everyone, even normal people, as you call them. I have seen so many people do it. They look at their devices a moment before an alert signals an incoming communication. They know. Their minds are connected to the waves and the messages. We are amplifying our psychic levels and we don't even know it."

Hannah smiled, her serene expression surprised Evan. The woman appeared to be delighted though her stubborn tone displayed otherwise.

"Some even have expressed knowing who is going to call, or they at least have some emotional idea. I have seen it in their faces. They experience an emotional shift before they even look at the screen to confirm who the message is from."

Hannah paused, eyes intent on her partner. Eyes Evan wished would flit his way, if only for a moment.

"Yes, but Hannah, my dear, it is exactly as you say. These people have no idea what they are dabbling in. They are monkeys with a rock. It happens to spark fire against another stone. There is no real understanding of the connection they are making. Why give them more? They are happy as they are. And probably so much safer." Evan stifled a snicker as he considered how right the dreadlock man was in referring to himself.

"But they are ready," Hannah pressed. "And you know as well as I do people today are not truly happy. And what about us, those who do understand? We could be accepted for what we do. We could be the generation that heralds a new era of communication."

Evan watched as the woman leaned forward in her seat and the tangle of crystals and charms shifted.

The mention of communication advances could draw his attention no matter the situation or the speaker. In this case the view was as alluring as the commentary.

"Imagine it all the more─we may not be the first civilization to have even gotten this far." Hannah drew her mobile device from her pocket and shook it in the space between herself and her counterpart. "This, this brick of silicon. What is it without the connection to the cloud? Nothing. Why do we deny more ancient civilizations the power of electricity, mass communication, technology? We have so little understanding of the languages they made use of. We have even fewer clues to the meaning behind such works as the great pyramids of Giza. Or what about Stonehenge? Have you thought about the stones at Carnac?"

"What on earth do all of those have to do with cellular communication? They were holy sites. They were places for the soul to connect to some God, for goodness sake, my dear woman, they were not a place to plug in your wi-fi." The man sitting across from Hannah shook his head and waved at the mobile device in the dejected woman's hand.