Betrayal

It’s the stuff of Greek tragedy and Shakespearean theater. A jilted lover, a murdered emperor, it is loyalty reimagined as treachery. That’s betrayal. At our age, yours and mine, it is likely though not inevitable, that you have experienced betrayal. I have, and on more than one occasion. In the last handful of decades, it has been delivered to me by technology. Allow me to explain.

My first passion in this life was mathematics. She introduced me to the delights of the mental gymnastics of imagined realities. She was a vixen, and I her willing partner. Later, she became Computer Science. I gave her my every waking hour, and she rewarded me with purpose, humor and fulfillment. I suppose that one might say that it was I who betrayed her – leaving her embrace from the world of software development for the frontier of medicine. I am truly sorry; I did not mean to hurt her.

In the last handful of decades, it is technology that more often has betrayed me. I have relied on her for my work, my daily bread, my entertainment, and my own intellectual growth. Yet, she has, now and then, been spiteful. I remember that she once refused to display my PowerPoint deck to an audience of 300+. She was intent on humiliating me; I suppose. It was probably some kind of vengeance for a perceived wrong that I committed. I improvised, and I succeeded that day despite her spiteful ways.

Other occasions, she has crashed my operating system, blanked out my screens, and otherwise done her worst to thwart my purpose and goals. She can be a bitch sometimes – that’s how betrayal rolls.

This past month, for instance, she murdered my 65″ OLED TV. I have no idea what I did to trigger her that way. Last night, as I gathered data for an image of the Owl Nebula, she stabbed me in the back. Suddenly, I had minimal control of the operating system. Windows 10 suddenly became little more than barred prison fenestrations. I had little control over the operating system. She was intent on making me her bitch.

I have downloaded the Windows 10 .iso file and media creator in order to reinstall Windows 10. I have lost all of my laptop’s astrophotography tools and had to reinstall them. I am fortunate that I still have the wherewithal to recover from her wrathful vengeance.

Technology can be a harsh mistress.