The Consolations Of Technology

Those are my friends, says Schopenhauer, waving. Yoo hoo!

Unni stops.

That looks like Schopenhauer, she says.

They all go over to the bench where Schopenhauer is chatting with Rafael Lozano-Hemmer.

Here you are! says Unni. Did you and Gaius find any traces of the giant jellyfish?

No, says Schopenhauer. We decided we had reached an end point. And an end point, in science, is of course a new beginning.

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer looks impressed.

By the way, this is Rafael Lozano Hemmer, says Schopenhauer. The searchlights that you see criss-crossing the sky are part of his installation. It is based on the frustration of the human will.

Beaudelaire and Camus both look impressed.

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer less so.

At this moment Gaius returns.

Remarkable, says Gaius. I've been manipulating one of the levers. At first I thought that I was in control.....

But, says Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, as the different beams crossed in the sky they resisted your control and began to pulsate autonomously in the darkness.

Oh, says Gaius. Was it deliberate?

Yes, says Rafael Lozano-Hemmer.

I thought something was wrong, says Gaius. I tried dismantling it......I see now that I shouldn't have.

You succeeded ? asks Rafael Lozano-Hemmer.

No, no, says Gaius. I am a natural historian, not an engineer. The lever is slightly bent though and some paint is flaking off......

And now:

Let us leave this awkward scene.

Let us say it is five minutes later.

Rafael Lozano-Hemmer has gone off to his hotel.

Beaudelaire and Camus are about to go to theirs.

Would Arthur like to go with them?

No, for some odd reason Arthur would rather not.

Goodbye then. It was lovely. And thank you for the hats. Not to mention the invitation to the Red Death Ball, which was nothing less than thrilling.

Bye now. Bye now. Perhaps we'll meet again one day. Yes, hope so........

And now here are the four cyclists on a freezing night in Hobart, with nowhere to go.

Phuuff, says Unni. With all these people here for Dark Mofo, we'll never get a room.

Surely! says Schopenhauer.

Unni tries Wotif, Trivago, Tripadvisor and Last Minute.

Nothing available. Not even a cupboard.

Fear not, says Captain Louttit, (who has waited until now, for increased drama). I left a door unlatched at the CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research Centre, and the kettle boiling.

Only the first part of this sentence is consoling.