57

Ω
CLOSE UP: TANMOY'S HANDS
He adds a new record to the mix. The grooves of the vinyl seem to mirror the data streams flowing around him.

⚹ (ALPHA)
But what of the human, in this tide,
the algorithm of feeling, that cannot be denied?
Empathy, compassion, the warmth of a touch,
can a machine, can a machine, can a, can, machine do learning?

⚹ (BETA)
The quirks of emotion, the flaws that define laws,
the beauty of claws scratching at imperfection.
"The luminous crew do human design."

⚹ (ALPHA)
Can a code encompass it all?
A residue of the organic, yeah probably, what ghost in what shell,
the human factor of burps, pits, farts and shits,
that breaks every spell.

⚹ (BETA)
We ponder our essence, like another rabbit hole,
as the network expands, are we creators of rabbit holes going nowhere,
or do tools gift us abundant healthy food clothing and shelter?

"Men are mortal, merely,
"মানুষ মরণশীল" (manush maranshil - Bengali for humans are mortal),"
"subject to the whims of fate and the gods." - Homer, *The Odyssey*¹

x - x - x - - - x -
- - x - - x - x - -
- x - - x - - - x -
- - - - x - x - - -
x - x - - - - - - -

THELONIOUS:
"Wrong is right."²

^1 Homer, *The Odyssey*: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odyssey

^2 Thelonious Monk: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thelonious_Monk