A tale of two worlds

Long ago in a far off galaxy lived a people who began to be tech savvy. Using their new found tech knowledge they developed a system by which their personal tech machines could speak to others far away or near. They called it the mesh. Businesses & individuals could access news & information on a colossal scale & in an instant. Everyone was happy




After a while the people developed what became known as the relationship media which allowed people to keep in touch easier, old friends to get back in touch and families all over the world to keep in contact. Everyone was happy.


Then the suppliers of the relationship media realised that they could make a lot of money by advertising products to those who used their sites. But the people didn't want to hear about goods or services that they would never want & the advertisers didn't want to waste their time or money. So wanting to maximise profits the relationship media watched what people were buying or the sites they visited. Between them & the advertisers this information was sold & targeted adverts began to appear on peoples screens whenever they accessed the relationship media. But as it was for goods or services the people might want everyone was happy.


Politicians observed what was going on and they began to realise that they could use the relationship media to their advantage. They understood that most people only want to hear opinions close to their own, challenged they went away & valuable advertising opportunities were lost to the relationship media. So they allowed the interference of the politicians who targeted floating voters & the undecided in an effort to get them to think their way & hence vote for them. But the people did not mind or care. Everyone was happy.


Then strange things began to happen in the political world. Political leaders began to be elected who never would have been in the past. In some countries the population woke up to find that important decisions had been made without them realising what was really at issue. The relationship media had been manipulated, cutting proper debate & half the country didn't really know how the other half felt. But it was all democratic so everyone was happy.


In the dark world of international politics some less democratic countries realised that they could flex their muscles, become more influential in the world by manipulating the relationship media in the same way as local politicians. False sites appeared on the relationship media making comments about issues that people were concerned about, but which led the people to be sympathetic to the aspirations of these other nations. But as few knew this was going on everyone was happy.


Soon the relationship media was seen as the most effective propaganda machine ever devised. Politicians employed mesh companies to farm information from the relationship media & use it to help them get elected. The political spectrum became more & more polarised as people were pulled to one side or the other of the political spectrum. It was at this point that a certain unease started amongst the people as they began to see what was going on.


Soon it was big business and powerful politicians who decided what was true or false & the people believed whom they wanted to be right. Information & personal data became the new currency amongst the elites, but distrust of politicians grew to new heights & the very democratic process was endangered as a result. People were no longer happy.


They began to consider what had gone wrong & whose fault was it. Some blamed the interference from other countries, others the power hungry politicians of their own land. Then others began to blame the owners of the relationship media for their greed. Slowly it began to dawn on the people that these were only symptoms of the actual malaise that gripped their world. That the politicians & business leaders of their nation & others were only people the same as themselves. If roles were reversed would anything have developed differently? They thought not. They began to realise that they were the problem. They were definitely not happy.


They cried out in anguish as they racked their brains trying to think of what they could do. Then someone remembered their sacred texts & an old story of a Saviour & a Cross.
This is a story of a people who lived long ago in a far off galaxy. If it resembles a world you know of it is purely coincidental.