152 (p. 110) "Metamorphosen. Strittig, sogar unter Fachleuten, scheint auch die Frage, ob der Mensch als homo sapiens an einen oder verschiedenen Orten erschienen ist. Verdaechtig in dieser Hinsicht ist das Mass, in dem sich die Verwendung von Werkstoffen und die Anwendung von Verfahren, etwa der Schrift, planetarisch synchronisieren laesst. Unsere Technik is abendlaendischen Ursprunges. Ungewoehnlich is ihre explosive Ausbreitung, die am Ende der Eisenzeit beginnt. Dampf, Elektrizitaet, Strahlung - die Schritte werden zeitlich kuerzer, doch maechtiger in geometrischen Progress. Das ist kein 'Fortschritt' mehr. Der titanischen Aktion entspricht, um ein Modewort zu gebrauchen, die universale 'Akzeptanz'. Sie hat weder Missionare noch Glaspaerlenhaendler noetig; sie finden bei den entlegensten Voelkern und bei den Kindern, die kaum erst gehen koennen, gierige Zustimmung." Commentary Indeed E.J. was here questioning progress. And indeed it has been explosive. Somewhere among the obituaries I noted an opinion that Juenger has stressed how military science is leading technologization. I am therfore going to use as an example the infestation of 'Ants* example from the Toffler couple's _War and Anti- War_, but the question is if what they wrote back in 1993 is not already outdated. "Also within the framework of known laws are even remarkable possibilities. Micro-machines, for example. Today the first micro-machines are just being patented - for example, an electric motor less than a millimeter long that could, according to Prof. Johannes G. Smits, drive a robot (the size of an ant... a police force seeds them (microsize sensors and mines) over a pariah state and programs them to replicate to a given density in military sensitive regions. Virtually undetectable and harmless, the mines could be armed selectively from the outside by tiny pulses of energy." The local dictator is told to close down his production of weapons of mass destruction or see all his military bases erupt. And in the final section of 152, E.J. correctly prognostisizes the coming of acceptance, even by small children in remote countries, the coming of internet and surfing. Remarkable ! Greetings Bertil Haggman
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