Download

[poliphilo]

I poke a stylus at a screen- just the one prod- and I've bought a book. More than that- the book is already in my hands. The whole transaction took less than a minute.

And I didn't have to sell my soul to perform this magic- or burn aromatic gums or even say, "abracadabra".

Tell me, then, why I shouldn't believe in spirits- or other invisible and elusive things- when what I've just done- this magical action- conjuring a thing out of thin air- would have seemed utterly fabulous and inexplicable to the world I was born into- a mere 65 years ago.

Comments

[pondhopper.livejournal.com]

Every time I instantly download a book over wireless, I marvel. A book jumping through the air waves!

[poliphilo.livejournal.com]

Exactly.

And then I think how in the past you could spend weeks- months, even- trying to track a book down.