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the 'vast machine'

Well this is sort of a culmination of a few interesting things I have read recently that's worth some sort of reflection and perhaps commentary. Anyway, one of the ways that I like to relax is reading fiction and I recently picked up and read 'The Traveller' by John Twelve Hawks. I tend to like fiction that has some element of non-fiction in it, be it science, history or whatever but stories based on non-fiction do seem to provide an amount of colour that makes interesting reading. Back to The Traveller, its sort of a conspiracy theory/science/fantasy novel which involves a secret society whose aim is generally to control the population at large and uses the concept of a 'virtual panopticon' (do a search on panopticon / Jeremy Bentham if you want to find out more) which roughly speaking, uses the idea that by thinking you are always being watched, you will adjust your behavior accordingly. Anyway, there are a couple of groups of people that are threats to this and these are harlequins and travellers. It turns out in this novel, that there is a good chance that you are always being watched. What really makes the novel interesting, and definitely lets you know where the author is coming from, is the postscript to the book, where 'Twelve Hawks' discusses his? views on society and how we are being tracked with technology (CCTV, RFID, GPS, and many other technologies and digital sources). So Jen, perhaps it is more than the Web that is watching us and Kerrie, I am sure we are 'never alone'. Here are a few things to think about though - how many times today were you under some sort of surveillance (cameras etc) on the way to work, what sort of digital trail did you leave at work, at the shops, via your mobile (who did you talk to and what was your location...) all in the one day. The vast machine is a term used in the novel and John Twelve Hawks (a real name?) according to the novel and a couple of websites, supposedly 'lives off the grid'. The book was released in 2005 but, despite being a 'best seller' has only recently found its way to my local bookshop and there is already a sequel out in other parts of the world so apologies if this is all old news. There is some interesting marketing around the book on the Web. Check its official website out to see an interesting way of promoting it and have a look for some of the other websites that have been built up around characters/places in the book - great marketing. The novel does however highlight just how intrusive technology can become though. My family is considering going overseas next year. The kids will need their own passports now and their first ones must have photos of a quality that enables digital facial recognition and the passports themselves will have chips embedded in them. Anywhere they go they will be monitored quite closely which would seem to be a far cry from my first passport and overseas adventure (not really all that long ago but what a different experience it will be for them as they are finger printed, photo'd and subjected to all sorts of security procedures that are a necessary part of travel in some places now). The ever present CCTV and embedded RFID in The Traveller seems pretty 'every day'. And if you can't get enough of conspiracies and are a fan of Facebook, check this article out from the NZ Herald.

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