Modern times are witness to the first of a kind phenomenon in the history of mankind. Never before have multitudes of humans communicated so massively and so densely with each other while physically absent. They can transmit electronically words and speech, sound and voice, faces and images, at super speed to all four corners of the globe. They can do so even autonomically, eliminating the need for their physical presence.

A robust man, fresh from a nearby woods, entered a restaurant and lowered himself onto a chair across from me, muffling a groan. He raised his thick eyebrows and fixed his scowl on an empty wine glass. I nodded to him. A high-heeled lady swished by, trailing lilac scent, stopped at our table. The waiter filled our glasses. I stood up and offered one to the lilac lady.

The warmth we had arrived to meet at lunch came in the form of fellow humans, not disembodied voices.

Today, the world is hurtling head long into a future that’s racing ahead of itself. The rate is accelerating, actions are quick, responses instantaneous. The ever increasing speed is consuming our energy, trying our patience. We no longer wait to observe, or pause to reflect. We neither heed direction nor altitude nor purpose, and have ceased to wonder at the moon. Do we still linger to take a reading of a lover’s face?

Memories take time to register, emotions, if fleeting, will leave no mark, feelings are slow to take root if they are to bear fruit.

Electrons are designed to travel at near the speed of light, humans are not.

Are we turning into virtual beings?