Wired notes a project to add an LCD display to cemetary headstones, a delightful prospect for the haunted spaces tendency. There's the old uncanniness of new media, dating back to the phonograph (and further back, I believe, to writing), whereby the dead can speak to the living. This is allied to the alienation felt by seeing one's own words/face behaving autonomously beyond oneself. I await the first user's frisson at checking their posthumous powerpoint or digital story.
We can go further, inspired by John Crowley's 1985 tale "Snow." What happens when the display's memory degrades over time? Think of the hacking possibilities, either from passersby or by agents of malice aforethought - let's save a place for the first widow's remix! And, once again, copyright meets the Gothic, as the inevitable use of a copyrighted audio track or video clip meets the equally inevitable legal threat.
Imagine the scene around a grave, as various people descend: several family members, squabbling over whether or not this is the original mix, or has been altered. An RIAA goon heads behind the stone, looking to stash a letter, or perhaps pull the plug. A trenchcoated teen lounges on the ground, typing gleefully on a laptop, working her way into the database through WiFi. The voice of the deceased mutters from the LCD, perhaps commenting on the transitory nature of material things.
One of your best ever. Extraordinary mix of satire, rueful irony, and genuine pathos.
Posted by: Gardner | November 11, 2005 at 22:52