Broccoli: One of My 2nd Favorite Foods.

                So… how about the feed? I’m a little dumbstruck, maybe due in part to the less than stellar language in the book, but also due to the fact that the ending was, for lack of a better phrase, like meg null. The corporations let her die. GOODNESS GRACIOUS they just let her die and didn’t even try to do anything about it. I’m a little steamed about it. In fact, I’m steaming like a floret of freshly cooked broccoli. Yeah, I just went there and used a food simile. WHAT NOW?

                But more on the point of feeds. Clearly the corporations marketed it as a beneficial tool for convenience and education and technology at your fingertips. If they had advertised its flaws, they wouldn’t have sold any microchips to begin with. I guess it is handy in looking quick things up, like using a computer without having to boot up your actual computer. For education purposes, I’m opposed simply because it doesn’t encourage real learning when you can search for whatever facts or information you need at any given moment.

Even though my feelings about the feed aren’t superbly positive (we’re like frenemies), should I still resist it if our society reaches that point in the future?

Sadly, I’m not so sure I would. Once the feed is installed, I would probably adapt and even begin to enjoy the things that it does for me. If I’m looking for a specific book or piece of clothing or knick knack and it knows exactly what I’m talking about, power to it! It saves me a lot of time and energy. If I can take pictures with my mind, I won’t have to worry about capturing it on my camera, because let’s face it, I’ve got shaky hands so most of my pictures come out blurry anyway.

Besides its apparent benefits, it’s always hard to go against the flow. If a fish tries to swim against the current, guess what? It will probably die or try to jump over the water and get eaten by a bear or something. Personally, I don’t really want to get eaten by the metaphorical bear which is the control of corporations. And as Violet’s situation demonstrated, if you fight the big guys, you lose.

She chose to fight the feed and she ended up paralyzed and brain dead. Just from that vivid experience, I would probably stray from resisting the feed. Of course I’m going to value my life above fighting a losing battle against the feed. I’m only human. I’m also not as brave or as committed to overturning authority as she was, so I’m going to need a lot of preparation if I want to prevent the feed or fight it if it arrives. Maybe there’s a course in overthrowing corporate monopoly on the human mind. I wonder if they offer that at COD.