ernst jünger in cyberspace

mailing list archive - DIE SCHERE #22: Notes

Ernst Jünger: DIE SCHERE #22: Text

22

	Signale strahlen nicht nur linear, sondern auch kreis- und kugelförmig
aus. Gehörte der Bildschirm zur Ausrüstung eines Satelliten, so würde
sich auf anderen Satelliten die zurückgelegte Strecke als länger oder
kürzer darstellen.
	Der Empfang ist überall im Universum möglich—wir wissen nicht, was
geschieht, wenn wir ein Signal geben. Nur Ort und Datum der Sendung sind
zu konstatieren— etwa die Explosion einer Sonne nach Millionen von
Lichtjahren. Die Nachricht erreicht die Sterne zu verschiedenen Zeiten—
manche verheerend, andere bleiben unberührt. Selbst bei uns ist die
Wirkung verschieden, je nachdem, ob das Ereignis in Babylon, Altchina
oder auf unseren Warten registriert wurde.

DIE SCHERE #22: Walter's Translation

22
Signals not only send in rays, but also in circles and spheres. If a monitor
were part of a satellite's equipment, the distance covered would be displayed
in other satellites as longer or shorter.

Reception is possible from every point of the universe. We do not know what is
going to happen if we give a signal. Only place and time of a sending can be
stated  -  like the explosion of a sun after millions of light years. The news
reaches the stars at different times  -  devastating some, leaving others
untouched. It even affects us in different ways, according to where the event
was registered, in Babylon, ancient China or in our watch-towers.

DIE SCHERE #22: Thomas Friese's Translation

Signals are irradiated not only linearly but also in circular and
> > spherical form. Were a monitor to form part of a satellite's equipment,
> the
> > path travelled would be represented on the other satellites as longer
or
> > shorter.
> > 	Reception is possible at every point in the universe - we don't know
> what
> > happens when we send a signal. Only the place and time of the dispatch
> can
> > be verified - perhaps the explosion of a sun after millions of
> light-years.
> > The news reaches the stars at different times - some are destroyed,
> others
> > are not disturbed. Here too the effects are diverse depending on
whether
> > the event was registered in Babylon, Ancient China, or by our own
> > observers.

DIE SCHERE #22: Notes
#22 spins out the play with the idea which EJ started in #21. Different satellites at 
different positions would measure different distances travelled by the same signal which 
they would would receive at different times. The impact of the same signal can thus vary 
widely. The explosion of a sun somewhere in the universe can devastate stars in its 
proximity but have no effect on distant ones. All this sounds pretty unexciting --until we 
reach the last sentence. Depending on the distance from earth at which that cosmic disaster 
took place it would be registered by different civilizations on earth because it arrives at 
different moments of world history. Accordingly, the interpretations of such an event could 
be mythological, religious or scientific, thus would differ widely. The reason for such 
differences -- to remain within the imagery used by EJ here-- is that mankind's monitors and 
programming change in the course of world history. Other cultures, other hardware and 
software.

Günter Rebing





Follow Ups to this Message

Markup © John King, 2008. Web archive generated Tue, 21st August 2007.