Red and green
LED's in contrast against black paneling -- in light of
day or
incandescent their presence is barely noted, points of vivid brightness made unremarkable by all the
lambent glare. Purposeful utility at these times,
pilot lights added by some maven of
industrial design, giving their best advice on whether the
amplifier is overloaded or how many calls were missed during school. A brief glance, framed in whichever
context the device demands, and
information is transmitted perfectly in less time than even
written words could.
At night everything changes. Darkness both indoors and outside, making each appliance lose its shape and definition, making each become one with its own and every other shadow. Only the tiny squares and circles remain distinct, becoming ever brighter as eyes dilate to enable vision in so much less light. If every tree and bush and patch of grass has its own spirit, then perhaps every wonder of modern technology does too; at night they appear as one-eyed digital kodama, looking down from shelves and table-tops at each other and myself. Most keep constant gaze throughout the night; a special one changes speeds with network traffic flow while its friend winks intermittently when a cron job updates one file or another. Still, these circuit-spirits are all awake and alive around me, radiant with peaceful monochromatic light, watching over me as I rest in what must be their domain.