You blink, and the rules change.
Or the game.
Or something.
And you find yourself in the middle of a field.
Or an alley.
Or a strange town.
Somewhere.
Anywhere.
And these tin soldiers appear
and begin marching through.
Single file.
As far back as you can see.
Wielding muskets with bayonets.
Metal on metal.
Loud.
In unison.
Quite impressive.
But they don't see you
because you're hiding behind a tree.
Or a dumpster.
Or whatever.
Then the sound changes
to rushing water.
And you're white-water rafting.
Flying along.
Waving to the people on shore.
A rush.
Your life jacket is riding up.
It's hard to open your mouth.
You're trying to say something to the people.
But you can't.
You can't open your mouth.
The guide is shouting to hang on.
You're soaking wet.
You look around at the others.
They've become cardboard cutouts.
The scene shifts.
You're in a front row.
A ballet.
A fidgety ballet.
Young ballerinas.
Gawky.
Sweet.
You try to read the program
but it's too dark.
Blackness.
The ballerinas appear overhead
suspended by wires.
Hundreds of them
in different colored tutus -
white
yellow
purple
red
black
even multi-colored
even tie-dyed
in different positions
arabesques
elevés
pliés
jetés
relevés.
A Frenchman is up there too.
The guy who walked
between the two towers
of the World Trade Center.
And Yo-Yo Ma
with his cello
and music stand
playing Bach's Sarabande
the same piece he played
while the names
of the victims of 9/11
were read aloud.
And then you're back in a lecture hall.
Stadium seating.
A PowerPoint.
Cyber Security.
And the expert is trotting out
that overused analogy
about eating an elephant
though his is a tad more palatable
because of the animation
which takes you back
to the hours
the days
you spent playing Pac-Man
in your quest
for some sort of digital grail.
Frighteningly informative.
At least that's what you penned
on the evaluation sheet
figuring What the hell,
I'll throw him a bone.
But it was.
Frighteningly informative.
Knowing that they're out there.
Armies of hackers
and crackers
pale-skinned
t-shirted
fueled on power drinks
wielding keyboards
instead of bayonets
breaking and entering
accessing your passwords
your letters
your numbers
your bank accounts
your credit cards
your secrets
your most hidden thoughts
your most hidden desires
with the ferocity of Vader
spurred
in many instances
by nothing more
than the knowledge
that it's there
out there
waiting to be plundered.
