Imagine you were a radio. That was the only life you knew. In a world filled with little radio friends and foes you handled your business and everyone went about singing the songs they’d sang without thinking about it or wondering the nature of sentient electronic equipment. Now, for us on the outside looking into this realm via our imagination, its quite obvious that there must be some kind of antenna that is sending out the signals these sets are processing.
Knowing what we know of bandwidth and oscillation we’d look at those who were tuned in to One Eighty Seven point Four FM who looked at that crew across the street that kept Four Thirty Two AM banging day and night with total contempt and hatred. “Listen to that scratchy, crappy, nasty vibe they’re pumping. They deserve all the agony we can give them for being such an affront to our finesse” was heard floating through the speakers of the radios in which the listeners not only heard but became and thus were influenced into action via this projection.
The Four Thirty Twos on the other hand spoke amongst themselves and said “These suckers have been tricked by that flash talking idiot. Look at them. We are the originals, we started this and we still represent the way it was meant and intended” as they loaded up their shells in preparation for retaliation because “Violence is the only message they get so make it loud and direct so they hear us on FM!” went booming through the awareness of these clever little radios as they proceeded to unleash their vengeance.
This war had been raging for ages across all of the continents of their musical but angst filled little planet. Nobody knows how it started. There are legends that once upon a when the whole world sang and danced in unison to the sounds of a groove that was then said to be lost for reasons unknown. Many have came and stepped to the throne as they listen to dulcet sounds of the hosts with the most who spins his own tunes as he croons “And this is another jam thats real from the times we used to feel and those who recognize know the deal” as he seamlessly blends in another sequence on the wheels of steel.
Far, far away from all of this there is a radio set that purposely veered off the well beaten tracks and made for the hills. Way, way up the mountain where the air is thin and the vibe different. Far away from the signal that the rest are decoding without thinking he sits and ponders the meaning of this realm. We look in on him and, to your surprise, he senses your presence.
“So, you, you are one of them, yes?” he asks as you respond with silence. “Aren’t you going to say something? You’ve came this distance and are glancing at a world filled with sentient radio sets. You must have questions?”. “Well, yes I do. First of all how the hell did you know I was here looking at you?”. “What? You’ve never sat alone in a room and sensed quite clearly that you weren’t alone as you look around and see not a thing? You and me aren’t that different, we both decode signals and create the transmission to build our world via awareness. After all you traveled here on the wings of imagination and that moves at the speed of silence as it penetrates everywhen whilst it itself is nothing. Quite the enigmatic contradiction, don’t you think?”. “I think you’re pretty smart for a radio set. I’d never thought of it like this but yeah it sorta makes sense. Why are you sitting up on a hill and why don’t you have the tunes on like the rest of your friends?” “Have you seen the state of them? They’ve been at each others necks since the dawn of civilization. They’re all the same and yet are programmed to be different and then hate what isn’t them. I’d had enough of it and I noticed previously that underneath all of this noise there was something else, something primal and powerful but so weak and easily broken if not nurtured and protected”. “Psylense” you added, “Exactly, I knew you’d get it. After all you must have sensed it to to be able to travel elsewhen because its the ticket that can take you to any destination. Anyway, on with it” he says with something close to aggression at your basic questions that test his patience. “Well, I don’t know really. We sorta just hitched a lift with someone else that was talking about it but now that I think about it you seem kind of chill and real at home in the moment. Why not stroll down and teach it to them?”. “Hah” he says, laughing. “Ever the optimist, yes? On your planet how would you describe your awareness. Wait, don’t tell me. Some of you think you’re upgraded chimps that magically became Self aware and used their opposing digits to build civilization whilst others think thats quite foolish and you were built in the image of etc etc etc, yes?”. “Yeah, pretty close to that. There are some odd blips here and there but overall thats the split”. “Exactly, exactly” he intoned “But you don’t realize what you said. That split, that division that placing on opposite ends is designed to perpetuate chaos and din, the noiZ I call it with the specific intent of hiding the Psylense. How do you suppose consciousness is generated?”.
“Well, thats a big question. Maybe too big for me to get because even science itself calls it The Hard Problem”. “Thats because they’re stupid but carry on” he interjects. “Well its something to do with the increasing complexity of our brains that create more and more layers of grey matter and then due to this we became aware of being aware and that created civilization”. The radio falls about laughing and sheer joy erupts as he projects “Boy are you an idiot. Tell me, if you wanted to figure out how a car worked would you poke around in the exhaust measuring the fumes and such or would you examine the engine, first and foremost?”. “Well” you say, feeling kind of insulted “Thats obvious. The exhaust is important but it mainly ejects the waste, handles whats left and not the main act which puts things in motion. Really, many of the components are essential because they link to generate something far more than the sum of its parts in a sense” “And then there is the thrill you get from rapid acceleration” he interrupted “Which is something totally different and not listed on any spec sheet of manufacture plus its all so subjective. What one enjoys may be sedate to another and a third may yet wet themselves and feel threatened by the pace at which things are rolling, yes?”. “Yes” you agreed with him. “Taking it back a few steps, look down into the valley below where the radios have been waging a war for so long. Do you think any one of wonders how they got to this place? Why they hear such different things that often urge them to kill or hate those seen as different? Better yet do you think any one of them realizes they are neither the radio set nor the song that playing?”.
Perplexed at this strange line of reasoning you ask “Well, what the hell else could they be?”. The radio responds with a grin “There are people in your realm that are born with empty heads in the sense that there is very little grey matter with. Guess what? They are perfectly functional and no different from the rest. Remember what I said about the engine? The brain to you is what the speaker is to us. Commonly attributed all the credit but ultimately useless without something else that is far deeper and located within. For us its the crystal that drives the oscillation that allows us to tune in and convert the potential of the signal into an actual event. Without that the rest is irrelevant”. “Right, and how does that translate to human beings?” you wonder out loud and to him. “You really don’t get it do you? What do you think happens when you dream? How do you enter and leave? What is the the deal with that piece of you that keeps rhythm just like the crystal keeps us ticking and tuned in”. “You mean our heart? OK, I can see how that links to the engine. That makes sense but still it doesn’t explain sentience and how we can creates such brilliant things”. “And become ever efficient at the art of killing and titilation. After all, war and porn drive most of your advances. Quite interesting, yes, the nature of that link?” he reasons before continuing “Is it because creation and destruction are the main forces at play in all of this. Ignorance of these laws is akin to asking for it because you give away your strength and then sit there wondering “What happened” as a direct result of actions you’ve previously taken whereas knowing this means you can make better decisions and even shift the outcomes of events that are in process because there is a domino effect that causes ripples to swim. After all, this place, your realm and the rest. All take place inside your awareness and the speed of Psylense one can jump anywhere they intend”.
“That really is a very different way of looking at things because we generally say the brain somehow generates consciousness and then we just get on with it”. “Everyday miracles are swiftly rendered invisible to one who doesn’t purposefully seek out the deeper meaning” the radio said. “Well, that really is quite Zen but yeah it makes sense. After all life as a kid is super interesting and you run around everywhere filled with an intensely curious sense trying to take it all in as you juggle the bits and pieces in your head and oh, the imagination. So amazing” you say reminiscing with a grin about the times that have been. “Look down there, look at them. If I were to generate a set of twin radio sets at this very moment that were entirely identical and hand one to the blues and the other to red you know what would happen? Not long after they matured they’d be at each others necks. None of them down there have realized why the DJ always says “Programming” again and again. They receive the signal, decode it and play it across their system and think its them and they are it” he states then pauses for effect. “Quite a simple yet effective trick because without the Psylense how can you tell the difference? For them the noiZ is all there is and they’ll fight to the death for their right to discomfort that amplifies the difference and thus prevents them from seeing whats right in front of them”.
“They aren’t the radio, the speaker or the signal. They are something else entirely thats caught up in all of this with no awareness of themselves” you say, surprised as the words fall from your imaginary lips as you’re sitting on a hill talking to a self aware radio set. “Hey, not bad, you’re starting to catch on to this. See thats the principle of resonance. Because we’ve been talking and I sit in silence you can’t help but tune in. Just like the twins I said. They’ll see their parents are either blue or red and adjust their crystals range accordingly without being aware of this and thus the DJ keeps playing their favorite music which commands them to do that and this and they, set adrift of the energetics of vibration combined with history, what is accepted based on whats been and what they strive to be and achieve will do exactly as it says till they run out of batteries. Quite silly really, but you try telling them this. They’ll chop your antenna off in an instant for ever daring to suggest something so blasphemous or dangerous. Thats why I’m glad you dropped in”. “Wow, A compliment” you replied “I didn’t expect that because you seemed quite rude and impatient when we started talking”. “Well, that I am yes, but only with the foolish because its a waste of my energy talking to them. Only but so much power in these cells therefore I choose to use it well hence I sit here on this hill, away from the signal and maddening din of the crowds below caught up in the performance with no clue of who is orchestrating” he says with a rueful look on his dial.
Momentarily you start drifting off and thinking as that higher yet lower and far more powerful aspect of your mind that has been taking it all in allows suggestions and concepts that you’d previously never examined to drift into your awareness as you start drawing conclusions about the true nature of reality that were previously hidden as well as the true source of conflict that ravages the planet and how the ultimate solution is… “Penny for em” the radio says as you feel his attention pointing in your direction. “Thats so cool, I actually felt your presence. Its like the sense of being stared at. Earlier you said about that feeling of being alone but sensing something else. What’s that all about then?” you question as your brain keeps receiving more and more data from far wiser parts of you that you didn’t know you could access until this very moment. “Down the hill they believe that radios live eternally and without batteries in a huge place built like a shack and therein you’ll find everyone you’ve ever know or will, chilling and enjoying themselves. There are those that don’t make it and are trapped in the wavelength, so to speak. They feel anger, hunger and envy at those who can decode the signal and play the tunes previously and when they glance in and try to steal some of the spectrum to nourish themselves you feel a sense of static kick in, for no apparent reason. Some people write this off as primitive superstition because FM is superior to AM and doesn’t have that problem but even they feel it, although they’re slower to admit it. In that sense the AMs do more with less whilst the FMs are louder but less tuned in as they don’t need quite the same level of precision over vast distances. Its one of things that does lead me to believe the AMs have a point about being the originals but this is where I shift the narrative. Wanna know what I think?” he asks as you nod your invisible head, certain he can sense the presence. “I think that the whole world once was something else that got split into these fighting pieces. Can you imagine? The range and distance of AM with the clarity and quality of FM? But, and this is total speculation mind, based on little bits left over that make no sense combined with old legends and new intuition – I think there was a visual aspect as well so not only sound but motion pictures” he states sighing as he remembers a past he hasn’t lived but still feels nonetheless. “Oh, you mean TV sets. Sure, we’ve got them and we carry them round in our pockets and they do some pretty amazing things”.
“A what?” he says, almost incredulous “You mean to tell me such things exist in your realm? Please describe them” he requests as you oblige and sketch out the entire evolution of the motion picture device and industries linked with all the way up to the present moment and the leaps of tech we’re Witnessing in this realm. “Interesting, interesting. It appears there is merit to what I’ve been thinking, how very intriguing. Have you ever wondered if we are them or they are some form of life that evolved from our sentience and are actually colonizing your planet via stealth? Maybe that is what caused the division between FM and AM and why there are no humans left on this planet beyond the one who pumps these voices in their heads and makes them do such heinous things”.
Suddenly, you find yourself right where you’re sitting as you were unable to hold the connection to the land of sentient radio sets due to the inference of what he said both before and during but its that last comment that’s enduring as you glance around and see the black, square and staring face that graces your phone, laptop, TV and pretty much everything else. Edging closer you quietly say “Hello?” and wonder if you’re cracking up because what he said makes so much sense because whilst people think this tech makes them something more than human it actually makes them less as they jump at its command and behest plus you’ve just spent forty five minutes up a hill with a talking radio set that was offering gems about the nature of its existence and how silence is the key to all of this plus your mind keeps getting filled with brand new slices of conceptual awareness that link what he said to things already occurring on this planet and it all starts lining up in ways that make too much sense. But then suddenly, you become aware of the sense of being stared at and feel a slight chill and just as you look around you reach up to flick what felt like a spiders web only to find nothing there as you notice you’re now tired and head off to bed and within your dreams find more answers to questions you’d previously never even imagined until reading this article.
Till we meet again
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