Small World Theory
2023-01-23

***

The little graphs on my phone
show that web traffic has slowed,
that whoever's been attacking
my far-away digital home
hasn't yet chosen to leave me alone.

Have you ever heard
of the Small World
Theory?
Let me explain it quick.
It's rather easy.

The premise is that,
even though there are just shy
of eight billion people on this planet wide,
on both sides
of the hardware
software
OSI layer
divide,
the network is smaller than such a high
number leads
one to believe.

So either
these past months I've been popular
even without the referers
to back the numbers
up
(the people have to come from *somewhere*)
or I've been too passionate in my love
and I caught the hateful eye
of someone who would rather I shrivel up and die.

But then why choose me?
Is it because I look easy
to take down
even though my whole life I've been finding workarounds?
There's nothing that I'm selling,
so financial harm can't be it.
Is it just
for evil fun?
Just to stir up shit?

It's certainly been disruptive.

The Internet makes it look like
there's millions who want my hide,
but if I were to say my name
to any real-world person I come across,
they'd shrug their shoulders,
say, "Who's that?" and then move on.
I don't have any real fame,
nor have I ever yearned
for the fifteen minutes of public shaming be my turn.
I'm not equipped to handle an existence
where everything is under constant surveillance.

I think a steady babbling stream
is more my speed.
Don't you agree,
Jett?
I'd like to sit at the shores
of one of the rivers of Sablade
with you, tucked away
where nobody can hurt me anymore.
Like a router only on for an hour a day.
Get your outside business done
and then we'll again shut the gates.

***

CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (c) Vane Vander
