My father, Dr P.T. Brown, recently told me a very striking image he had had of a possible future for us all. He was extrapolating from the fact that so many of us are communicating less & less face to face, & more & more via screens & icons: via laptops, tablets, mobiles or cells. He speculated that in future, each of us might carry masks like Venetian carnival masks which folded up like fans. We would each carry say seven of these, one depicting happiness, one sadness, one anger, one grief & so on: & whichever emotion we wished to display, we would unfold the relevant mask & put it to our face. I find this possibility convincing, compelling & chilling.
I would like to add an image I thought of for Life itself:
You are walking down a long back street in a Northern town on an unseasonably cold late March afternoon. The street is a terrace of houses on one side & on the other is a railway line. Despite the houses, the street is almost deserted, & there is no sign of life apart from the back of a huddled figure walking far in front of you & in the same direction. An icy east Wind blows pieces of rubbish round & round in small eddies. At the top of the street, the figure in front of you turns the corner & disappears, never to be seen again.