Engineer sought

Published on 2018-2-27 by Michael Stanton

A face in the subway. “Engineer sought.”
Apply here.
A young man standing in front of a row of ones and zeros, occupying a space of possibility.
By the look on his face, he knows it too.
He is standing at the nexus of possibility.
He is our moment.
He is our present, and he builds our future.

I am invited to become him.
And why wouldn’t I?
Clearly, he lives in a world where his contributions are rewarded.
There are many things for him to do.
Many requests…and much thanks.
Also good pay.

I stand in the train car, scowling at this young man.
He did nothing to hurt me.
I scowl only because I believed.
However, like always, I take it too far.
Both my belief and my scorn.

I played, after all.
I accepted the invitation into this “bright and shining world.”
Our civilization is so impressed with technology.
All the hopes are placed there.
I didn’t know any better.

And now that I do, is it necessary to damn the ones who still want to play?
No…

Let them play.

Have I offered a better story?

My “good stories” are those of old men and monks.
Did we ever build successful lives on those stories?
I think you fall into these smaller, quieter stories, almost against your will.

So, build with your Lego bricks, avant garde.
You don’t know that your towers will never reach the sky.
The terrible knowledge that they will only block the sky is twenty years distant for you.