Offerings for Akuma

Demons ask not for forgiveness, for they know not that they are evil #nymwars

 

It was once said that the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was to convince the world that he/she did not exist. I believe this to be untrue, because I contend that the greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was instead not that he/she did not exist but instead that he/she was God.

 

Think about it.

 

Would we not have religions that contradict their own words of enlightenment at the expense of others? I feel that our ideals are corrupt and that it is not entirely our own fault. We see these demons among us in many forms, coming to us in the guise of angels bringing our salvation and safety, but after we’ve given ourselves to them, they show their true nature – far after it is too late to change.

 

 

 

 

However true this revelation may be, I still refuse to condemn the entire human race for ignorance. No, we always search for deeper meaning and salvation, it is simply in our nature. There is nothing wrong with that driving force within us, but it is that which deceives the masses with false hope and promises that is to fault for this.

 

I blame the Akuma… the demon.

 

This is not a debate over religion or lack thereof. I merely wish to frame a related situation in terms which many of us can easily visualize. There is salvation, but not without a fight.

 

I speak of a special sort of Akuma, or demon… one which infiltrates nearly every facet of our lives. It makes us lazy, and increasingly dependent upon it. We grow weak with every passing day as it grows stronger at our expense and few are the wiser for it.

 

I am wiser for it, and I wish to shed light.

 

By nature I study and strive to understand the world of technology. It is a blessing and a curse to know the intricate details and force with which it controls our lives. I am a technology forecaster, a futurist, an academic researcher, but most importantly and foremost I am human. What surprises me most in my study of technology is the condition of the human race as a result of it.

 

Technology is the beast which demands offerings, and feeds upon us more and more. Much like a demon, it begins with the promise of salvation, and when we begin to trust in it, it asks for more. We do not see the dangers in the innocent requests of this demon because at first it seems so little to give for so much in return.

 

We receive these great devices and services which allow us to communicate, entertain, and access to all the world’s knowledge in a moment. But just like a demon, our technology grows by our submission to it. We give to it all of our lives, we feed it with images, video, audio, personal details of every part of our lives. We trust in this demon to keep us safe, and we trust this demon implicitly.

 

But just like a demon, it is never satisfied.

 

A demon cannot know that it does evil if it believes what it does to be good. Maybe it has worn the disguise for so long that it has begun to believe its own lies. It has become so convincing that a great many are willing to give themselves over without ever questioning the motives or intentions.

 

I speak of a great evil, an Akuma. A demon so powerful that it has control over most of our lives, and we would be nearly powerless without it. Akuma knows this already, which is why it has become so brazen as to no longer ask for our submission to it, but instead demands our sacrifice to it. When we protest the demands, Akuma is crafty in its response for it knows that words are easily twisted to meet its own ends. We do not stop Akuma… we merely slow the progress for a moment.

 

Blind progress leaves us frail and powerless. To burn bridges as we cross them in pursuit of our technological superiority is more blunder than blessing.

 

To know the true power that Akuma has upon you, simply turn off your breaker and shut off the electricity in your home. So fragile is your life and well being that a single button can threaten you.

 

Somebody controls that button, and it isn’t you. You merely have the ability to demonstrate to yourself that such devastation is possible by a mere button. Listen to your home, how quiet and still it has become. Think of how much you rely on that power to keep you alive.

 

No bombs are needed to kill you. Not a single bullet need be fired. There is no army to raise against you. There is only silence.

 

Deafening silence.

 

In this silence is where the seeds of fear are planted, and where our very sanity is engulfed. The demon knows it will not lift a finger save that to give silence, because many will willingly kill themselves and others in that breach of sanity and desperation.

 

Akuma is bad only because we are careless, it is powerful only because we are blinded by the distractions and gifts it returns, all with strings attached. Akuma is bad only because it knows nothing else to be true and believes it is doing good for us all.

 

Technology is not bad if we remain in control of it, and do not let it control us. Akuma is evil only because we allow it.

 

Akuma goes by many names in modern times. It is called by the demon of information, Google, whom came to us as an angel of order, telling us it would do no evil and now demands all things from us. It twists words and rephrases intentions in order to deceive those which it depends upon for power. It gives privilege to those which submit unto it, and punishes those whom dare defy.

 

A demon feeds on the lives of others, it collects the souls of its victims; even if it must do so in pieces. A demon punishes those who will not submit unto it when it believes that its power is absolute. It rewards you with things which do not exist, and will steal away from you all that truly matters if you let it.  Demons are masters of illusion and lies. They take from you the things you can hold and offer in return the things which do not exist or matter.

 

More importantly, demons in our lives exist only because we give them the power to do so. We give these demons control over our lives and offer no resistance or alternatives for salvation.

 

I am not a Luddite. I know that technology and progress have power to make our lives better. It is when we become so complacent in our submission to it and we no longer can offer control over it that technology and progress rule us instead of the other way around.

 

As Jaron Lanier once said: You Are Not A Gadget. You are bigger than your technology, and only you can find deeper meaning in the interaction and salvation it offers. You alone control whether it becomes a demon or an angel, as it is a reflection of ourselves.

 

It still remains that Akuma is simply a reflection. It needs us to have any sort of power, and it keeps this knowledge from us in hopes that we should never have this revelation.

 

Remember this the next time your power goes out, or these demons stop asking you to comply and begin demanding when it believes you have no other choice.

 

There is always a choice, and it begins with knowledge. Do not be afraid of Akuma, for it is powerless without your submission, and knowledge is its weakness. It is weak against the same things which all demons are – the light of truth and human spirit.

 

Be not afraid of our technology, nor compelled to give unto it things which would endanger you or remove your control over it. It is you who control this demon, and determine if it remains an angel at our mercy or becomes so corrupt that we are merely slaves.