On Voyager 1 & 2, "murmurs of Earth" travel light years away on gold-plated copper disks with images, nature sounds, music & spoken greetings in 55 languages. Included: cartridge, needle & instructions if aliens want to listen.
A Journey to the Future of Words
to speak where no one has spoken before
I am the chief writer for SpokenOak & long-time spoken word performer Zoa Smith. My genre is Talkapella™ found in the Postmodern section on the Spoken Arts Genre Tree. In my career I have often heard the question, "How do you tap into creativity?", and my answer is to let your imagination lead while you passionately engage in a wondrous journey. That is at the heart of the fiction called "Futurwurds" which is my prediction of the future of words. Here then is a history of the future of words! The era I imagine is 2025 to 3000 & beyond.
I envision (enhear, actually) a fantastic future for the US/Canadian and, in fact, the entire global-intergalactic spoken arts communities. Other people make predictions based on the current exponentially super-fast growth of tele-com, engineering, physics & medicine. My thoughts focus here, too. Visionaries are saying literature, reading, & computer keyboards need not exist by the year 3000 because we will all be linked brain to brain by then— using a wireless cyborg-like link to the internet system; we will likely be able to access information & friends via brain-embedded receiver/transmitters (tiny cell phones in our heads)! I too, think we are "headed" this way.
Recent research in neuro-linguistics implies, and some experts believe, that eventually we won't even need to speak— we won't need words! We will just think instructions or think what we are meaning to say; the connected person will envision, feel & completely understand just what we are thinking. Words are only representations of abstract ideas & feelings anyway. What a joy it will be to communicate more quickly, more concisely, without the struggle of having to search for the proper words.
Sounds a little eerie? (Actually, it would be anti-ear-y, wouldn't it)?
Don't worry. Dumping words all together is pretty unlikely. As a performer, I've learned people take great pleasure in hearing the spoken word. Vocalizing, sharing stories & intimate words and the urge to be understood have primeval origins— it is a basic familial need to seek comforting voices.
And, don't forget, people love hearing themselves talk way too much to give up their precious spoken words! I am smiling, imagining a future grassroots movement called "The Oral Tradition Movement of 2050". Grunting, stuttering slam poets with sluggish, withering tongues are pulling wires from their heads in protest, waving holographic banners that say "Save our Thoraxes!"
Yes, Humanity may be moving to meld with machines. Some injuries are already remedied with bionic engineering. (Cochlear implants, artificial organs & tissues, robo-prostheses; a nano red blood cell is in the works). Neuroscience & nanotechnology are advancing rapidly. It is very likely the cell phone will become a brain cell phone and, certainly, we will continue to develop less cumbersome ways to access the global brain of the internet.
Seems cold, almost dehumanizing to think of chips in your head. And some people ask where're we gonna get all the resources to make & power new tec-toys? The earth is choking already, the ice is melting for glaciersakes(!), war & famine loom large and… terrorism. What if some fanatic shuts down the info grid? Even a short downtime can bring down, down, down the whole distribution system, military hubs… the masses panic, starve, economies crash. Isn't technology only bringing us closer to Doomsday?
Doom is just around the corner. It always has been, no matter what level of technology people were welding. We were doomed on the first day that precocious primate picked up a rock. Nice for splitting an acorn, but quickly there was the realization this "new tool" could also be used to smash the forehead of a competitor. So, what's going to get annihilated in the future as a direct result of technology? It will be the way people hear, speak & assimilate art and culture. This is a good thing.
Sooner than we think, everything will be heaved to hertz & back by the amazing innovations that are just around the corner. Today, scientist/innovators are seeing the value of sharing ideas cross-discipline— connections are being made— physicists, medical researchers, linguists, acousticians are unraveling the wonderful mysteries underlying language, sound & organized systems. We are on the edge… not of destruction but of a fantastic global consciousness revolution!
Already, there is a major shift in the way people think about the earth & our stewardship here. The technologies & artistic/philosophical experiments of the future will profoundly impact the psyche of Humanity. Inevitably, the soundscape will morph, attenuating us to a more EQ-ed (harmonious, balanced) existence. How will it happen?
Change can unfold in a number of ways. This is called potentiality & is an ancient truth rooted in spirituality, meta-physics & now revealed in quantum physics. But instead of getting spooky about it, I am going to have some fun & climb way out on some twisted limbs on the SpokenOak Family Tree. I will dream up some spoken word artists living in the Futurwurd Era who use communication technologies to launch a coup against the Doomsday-ers:
The spoken "war" began in the year 2050 and was pretty well done after a few decades. It was a terribly radical socio/political/artistic struggle called World War E (for "Exstasis") named after a half dozen artist/geeks who called themselves the Exstatix (pronounced eck-STAT-icks). These fun-loving "out of the box" cyber-artists used words to change the world. The successful expression of their art had more impact on improving the quality of life on earth than any preceding social movement.
The stage had been set back in the 2000's. The ancestors of the Exstatix, we call the Neo-progs, (they said Progressives) had already lobbied their bytes off to keep the World Wide Web accessible to all. They fought the greedy, multinational gov/corps who wanted control of all media including the web. Thanks to the ancestors who worked tirelessly for net neutrality, the right to access a diverse range of ideas was preserved; we say "Long Live the Public Domain."
However, as Humanity's ability to crunch an array of data increased (in quantities leaping 10-fold every year), this by no means meant that people were getting any better at sorting, let alone understanding the varied information. It is impossible to effectively use gigabytes + ∞ (pronounced GIG-a byts to infin-uhTEE) to make ethical or even simple commonsense decisions. Through the first quarter of the 2000's, Humanity was streaming its way into a richly diversified trash can.
Adding to this dismal fact, people became terribly addicted to interactive hyper-story and an infinite number of escapist user-groups & slam gaming. The cyberworld was just sooo enamoring(!) with everything presented in flashy, bombastic formats— hi-fidelity, multi-channeled, 3-dimensional, Virtual Theatre. Violent urges were paramount. And it became increasingly difficult to sort what was insider (the cyberworld) or what was outsider (the old, decaying natural world).
Finally, an American neurosurgeon/entrepreneur & novice storyteller, Dr. Mara Gleeley invented a unique medical procedure. In combination with her extraordinary computer program, she could help people assimilate vast quantities of information. "To provide an affective effect for the adventuresome user" is how it was promoted. Dr. Gleeley's free, outsider clinic helped web users get keedup (micro-stimulators implanted on key neurological hot spots). This adjustment triggered emotional, sensual experiences alongside the usual virtual stimulus. She provided software/downloads, affordable insider games & educational materials. Purchasing or even pirating kee-ups (or just "kees" as they were commonly called) became a pop-culture phenomenon around the globe. And, this was the key! It gave the Exstatix a way to latch on, to "spread the word" for changing world consciousness.
The Exstatixs unleashed the first, virtual, spoken word virus (called "Spordie") using kees on the net. At first, they were deemed "terrorists" by the gov/corps. But they were just the opposite. Call them elation-ists, or ecstasy-ists, happy-ists, whatever, but not terrorists(!); because, really, people went absolutely google over this new way of absorbing the net. Spordie provided a freshly radical, non-violent entertainment experience. The key (so to speak) was its clarity, from any cultural/linguistic perspective— it comprehended linguistic relativism & isolated & projected powerful universal truths with each pulsing message.
The big one hit on July 4th, 2076. The second virus was called the Inoculation of Independence (IOI) and, as an insider joke, was launched from a cyber café in Philadelphia (home of the signing of the US Declaration of Independence). The message was downloaded. The global brain took the shock. Critical mass cracked faster than the speed of sound. The world was forever liberated from war, hate, injustice.
What exactly was the text— the hidden code— buried in the Inoculation? It was a poignant narrative piece— an epic, hypertext kinetic poem. All threads of the story lead to a single, tear-shaking epiphany, the gist of which was: "We all want the same thing, life, liberty & the pursuit of happiness; it doesn't happen if you keep piling dung under the rug or keep threatening to throw it at each other." After that finally sank in, people worldwide demanded their leaders get "exstasized" or leave office.
Even Dr. Gleeley was so impressed by the power of the "attack" she forgave the Exstatixs for subverting her program. She even joined the group and wrote some lovely stories. With her input, the group produced a moving series of "experiences" about other regions, cultures, religions & states of mind. (See Gleeley essay The United States of Mind.)
By 2080, people were extremely broadminded & phono-centric. They were chatting up a storm, wanting deeper connections, devising better ways to speak & listen. They shared stories of their lives with heart-felt accuracy. Funny, they weren't just "captivated" by the myriad places online, they were actually inspired to go outside! How novel, they thought, to have such a primitive experience. Outsider sights & sounds in nature… in real real time!
The world got busy soundscaping— creating outside environments of aural beauty & natural cyclical order. They felt it was a sensible way to preserve cultural traditions, acoustic architecture & unique landscapes (which they suddenly realized were homes to a number of birds & fuzzy things). They learned that listening for & creating harmony propagated more harmony. Like ripples on a pond, echoes in a canyon.
By the year 2090, the world had finally busted a u (taken a turn). War was outdated! Physics had verified the A-Field, after all, which brought a deeper understanding about the nature of "God". Fighting (even arguing) in the name of religion seemed completely ridiculous. (This awakening has a long, complex history, a fascinating story I will tell another time).
The new mindfulness helped divert many environmental disasters. Americans adopted the old-fashioned virtues, honesty, integrity, generosity, and became committed to creating opportunities for as many people as possible. The great Orators of Futurwurds reiterated ancient speeches on the merits of freedom, democracy & preserving wilderness. They ranted & raved on about individualism, condemned the exploitation of others & shamed anyone who wasted resources.
Sound-energy technology was inspired by the surging phono-centricity. Work went forward on sonoluminesence— the creation of light from sound. Fossil fuels & nuclear power were replaced with sonofusion— energy created from atomic vibrations of sound. Summer 2091 was the first time in history you could fill up your car with tunes on the radio or talk to your passenger & go 50 mile per story.
In Canada, in millennium-3 (beginning 3000), a huge art movement hummed along for a decade or so called Nada Brahma (old Sufi reference meaning "Everything is sound"). These sound artists were such devoted naturalists they compiled a huge digital archive of songs from the North American robin. That's how they uncovered the language of animals, though it happened quite by accident in a round-robin sort of way.
Performance poet & sculptor Janine Turroit of Toronto is the one who found birds to be reciting poetry & went on to find other spoken genres in the animal world. The compilation of critter-lit was later dubbed Faunalyrix. This prompted the cipher-loaded mic, the faunafilter, for translating human languages to the animals. (Note, this is a very different technology from Ms. Turroit's method of animal to human interpretation whereby she processed frequencies with the archaic, optical sound-restoration equipment.) All in all, Animals turned out to be pretty good audiences for human word-ers. Though the domestic cat always appears to be dozing off and bears, raccoons & chipmunks only seem interested in getting at the snacks during intermission.
In a flash, the world saw an army of sound recording artists & word performers uncover the words hiding inside inanimate objects. As we know now, things were ringing all around! Microscopic vibrations in trees, rocks, in all manner of things, are grouped by meter, stanza & clever arrangements of onomatopoeia. The whole of life is speaking— bumping, grinding, swaying, beating & thrumming away— all night & all day! (The word "inanimate" of course was dropped from our vocabulary.) After this fascinating audio/literature was disseminated across the globe, people savored it like chocolate. It could be played on tiny interface devices (US-pods) that revealed the multi-melodious, micro-spectral rhetoric we call UltraScript.
Unbelievable as it sounds, the next model of cipher-pods was designed with a specially calibrated electro-magnetic tuner for surfing the A-field. It was named the MUS-pod (Meta Ultra Script). The inventers thought that eavesdropping on the A-field would be perfect for hearing ghost performers. Unfortunately, plans for the MUS-Script had to be shelved when it was learned once you locked onto a ghost channel it was extremely difficult to turn it off. Apparently, it holds true in life & in death that it's nearly impossible to shut up a spirited performer.
Other spoken word forms blooming in Futurwurds were equally fantastical. Experiments in medical arts lead to the genre of Cell-telling. Because of advancements in ultra-sound, a cell-teller can now work in the tiniest of theatres. You might say "on the head of a pin," sending a spiel directly through cellular membranes with the veracity of a snake oil seller. A cell-teller can coax disease into submission with words, words, words and energize & sooth patients with rhythm & rhyme. Patients who preferred a more private method of healing can use Pharmalect, prescription stories & poems. Even full-blown multimedia shows can be floated in a tonic. Gel caps are more popular however.
Robots of course are common place in Futurwurds. And it is not surprising to find a robot driven art movement cranking along in this period. RoboBeat bore many tinstars (slang for robot performers). The Bots savor heavy, metallic booms & scratches, resonant bass beats and these unique arrangements of hi-powered rhythms still blanket the global, tin-com network. Surprisingly, for humans also, this movement resurrected interest in a retro Afro-American music form called Rap, originally from the 1980's & adored well into K-2 (the millenium 2000).
Probably the most profound spoken word movement coming out of Futurwurds took root in 3001. This began the period extending to present called "Contact Period". This label preserves our hope of someday finding an alien audience. Public sentiment for this wanes from time to time, but still we thank the producers at SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) and the Phoenix Project for their perseverance.
I suppose for most people the problem was that irksome delay time. Radio waves travel only so fast. The potential alien world is too far away. So, by the time we get a response from our incessant waving, their world would have exploded in a red dwarf collapse. What's the point(?) most people thought, until…
A colony of spoken word-ers in New Mexico may have found a way. A member of the group (who we've been told uses the stage moniker "Fez") apparently came across an interesting dissertation out of the Duke University's K-2 Neuro-physics Archives. The paper was called "Neurological Coercion of the Bio-mind's Clock: How to Make Infinite Inter-galactic Treks in Only a Few Days." (The whole, long story I will tell when we have more time.)
In essence, the people in the US & Canada rallied to work for & fully sponsor the first performance art space tour. The half-dozen word artists from New Mexico jazzed up & blasted off on August 1st , 3003. (You can view the group's hologram at the Smithsonian & check out those floppy time-trick helmets they're wearing!)
The shuttle was named Van Winkle after the old American folktale character that slept for a few decades & woke befuddled in a totally new world. So the group going to the new planet was called the Van Winkles. Today we just say Winkles.
I am smiling, listening to the doves cooing on the windowsill. I am thinking here we are in the year 3030 and only now people are asking, "So what kind of word performers are Winkles anyway?" No one can remember seeing their show.
Oddly, no document has ever been produced to authenticate all the literature online claiming to be Winkle words. We can only hope the troupe has worked up something nice to say to our neighbors. The last transmission we received from the Winkle shuttle was garbled but still audible. As they went slamming the event horizon of a blackhole heaving a curtain of quarks, we heard, "The show… must go… on…"
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| What came before Futurwurds? |
