the new relics

"Technology is the knack of so arranging the world that we do not experience it." - Max Frisch (1911-1991)

As we move into the future, we love to reminisce about how we got by with merely 512 KB of RAM or toted around king-sized cell phones before this era of hyper efficiency. But no one ever seems to think about where this stuff goes once labeled "obsolete", while the usefulness period of modern electronics continues to shorten at an alarming rate. Sure there are eccentric collectors out there that are content to fill their garages with arcade cabinets, Apple IIs and the occasional 8-track player, but that's not everyone. After many attempts at getting some return at the neighborhood yard sale, this stuff invariably ends up in a city dump, buried amongst the wastage.

I was out walking the dog on the weekend and I noticed a large, weather-worn piece of black plastic from a distance in the dusty wasteland that is our neighborhood. A familiar looking shape glinted in the sunlight, and as I got closer I made out the "Sega Genesis" logo. The case was cracked open, and it was clear the elements had not been kind. A knockoff six-button controller missing its wire was found nearby. While thrilled with the possibility that this was uncovered in an archaeological dig of modern times, a more likely explanation is that the wayward console was simply dumped here as part of someone's garbage.

Electronics are deeply entrenched in our culture, and will naturally make their way into our waste stream. However game-related hardware can be considered fairly recent - the Genesis that I found was originally released in 1989. That our consumer cycle has already spit out this timeworn machine into my desert of a backyard amazes me.

What will future civilizations think of the byproducts of our wired society? Useless without power, how will they determine what these devices were originally intended for? Finding a clay jar or stone tools buried underneath layers of dirt and rock tells a simple story, but as our culture complicates itself with new ways to distract ourselves from reality, our purpose here is similarly clouded.

with rusted metal heart