Our scary science-fiction present-day

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Do androids dream of electric sheep, as Philip K. Dick asked? Do smartphones dream at all?

How do they know what we’ve been talking about so they can show us relevant ads? Oh, we know the answer to that, but we don’t face the implications.

We’re entertained by the pretty FBI agents on TV stalking criminals with their cellphone data and the GPS devices in their cars, and we don’t tremble at the idea of constant surveillance.

Scary science fiction was written years ago about authorities watching the innocent 24 hours a day, and it was brushed off as fantasy or a future to be avoided. Now that it’s a reality, we brush it off as no big deal, or even a blessing — we can be found if we get lost. And maybe if the cameras catch us doing something really embarrassing, We’ll win $100,000 from America’s Funniest Home Videos.

The ghosts of Winston Smith and Julia aren’t laughing, though.

Published by WarrenBluhm

Wordsmith and podcaster, Warren is a reporter, editor and storyteller who lives near the shores of Green Bay with his wife, two golden retrievers, Dejah and Summer, and Blackberry, an insistent cat. Author of It's Going to Be All Right, Echoes of Freedom Past, Full, Refuse to be Afraid, Gladness is Infectious, 24 flashes, How to Play a Blue Guitar, Myke Phoenix: The Complete Novelettes, A Bridge at Crossroads, The Imaginary Bomb, A Scream of Consciousness, and The Imaginary Revolution.

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