God Hates Us All (Part 9)

She was about to say something witty, but was interrupted when Devon raised his hand. “Do you hear that?” he asked.

“What? I don’t hear anything.” Helen replied, trying to listen harder and see if she could pick up what Devon thought he was hearing. It took a few moments, but she finally found out what he was hearing.

It was a soft and very distinctive melody of chimes that was coming from the road that was only a few dozen yards away from where they were sitting. Devon sat there and listened to the chimes, trying to analyze what it could have been coming from, and then it came to him when he realized that the sound was moving, which to him could only mean one thing. “It’s an ice cream truck!” he said as big smile suddenly appeared on his face. The young man bolted to his feet and began to sprint in the direction of the chimes.

Helen didn’t take Devon for much of an athletic person but the idea of getting something from the truck seemed to motivate him as he hurdled over a park bench that was in his way like he was on an Olympic track field. Since she knew Devon to be a bit of a browser, Helen knew she had time to walk over and didn’t feel the need to sprint for her snack.

This time however, he was already making his purchase when she arrived. As she approached, Devon greeted her with a smile. “Would you like something?”

“No, thank you.” Helen answered. “I’m still full from lunch.”

“All right.” Devon said as he grabbed his ice cream snack and started to walk back to where they were sitting before. “Sorry about that, I hate to miss the ice cream truck.”

“Brings back memories?” Helen asked.

“Good ones actually.” Devon replied, “Which is why I like to show my appreciation by giving my business to them whenever a truck comes into sight.”

“What exactly does the truck represent?” Helen asked as she witnessed her friend devour the ice cold treat.

“It represents a lot.” Devon replied as he took a break for air. “I remember the effort my mom used to make to find change for me so that I wouldn’t go without a treat on a very hot summer day. I remember a day when the world wasn’t too dangerous to run out and play on the streets without being supervised. Today parents are too scared to let their kid walk down the street alone, let alone out on their own to chase down the ice cream truck. That has to be hard on their bottom line.”

“It has to be hard on everyone.” Helen said as she agreed with him. “Is life really that dangerous or are we just scaring a lot easier than we used to?”

“We didn’t use to scare that easily.” Devon confessed. “The media makes us believe that there’s a armed robber or a pedophile in every ally. It’s no wonder we lock our kids up in their homes as if we were guarding Fort Knox.”

“The internet and other sources of communication are being abused everyday by someone who thinks they can get away with anything they want.” Helen replied. “I don’t blame people for being paranoid. I wouldn’t want anyone to come near my child too. Wouldn’t you feel the same way?”

“Of course I would.” Devon confessed. “It’s just a shame that we have to.”

“The world is becoming more close-knit and with that comes fear of the unknown.” Helen said as she looked up. “People can get a little Closterphobic as it gets that crowded.”

“With those new powers often come new responsibilities.” Devon said as he resumed eating his impromptu snack.

“Okay there, Uncle Ben.”

“I mean it.” Devon said as he tossed the stick from his treat into the trash. “Everyone enjoys the new toys and things that make life more fun, but no one wants to take responsibility for it when bad people use it to do bad things. We can’t trust everyone to be honest and pay whatever it takes to police them, but we are too cheap and as a result people are getting away with almost murder online.”

“I see your point.” Helen said. “If we are not willing to protect the vaults, we can’t be the first to cry when someone breaks in and steals everything.”

“It’s not all going to be bad.” Devon said as he stood back up. “With those holes will be the venues people will use to fight oppressive governments. The next revolution will not be televised, it will be online.”

“We’ve already seen that in some nations.” Helen confirmed.

“The more people try to control it, the more out of control it’s going to get.” Devon said as he started to walk back towards the other side of the park. “When someone tries to control it, that’s when it will all hit the fan.”

“Do you really think so?” Helen asked.

“I am.” Devon replied without hesitation. “Hackers around the world will one day unite and bring the whole thing crashing down. Some governments are going to try but no will ever succeed. Even China is starting to realize this and adapt rather than try to control the global superhighway that is virtually uncontrollable. That alone is a telling sign.”

“So the future is in cyberspace?” Helen inquired.

“Possibly.” Devon said as he looked back. “One day we’ll build places free of technology to get away from it. For now we’ll just take a walk.” As he said that, Devon extended his hand to Helen.

She smiled, walked up and took his hand in hers. “I agree.”

They walked off back to the park to lie down and leave the vast, infinite world of technology behind… at least for the day.