Current

Everything holds still when the current fails. Silence, as batteries, summoned, whisper of a future solid-state and untethered.

The interior goes pre-industrial, architectural. Natural light (or shadows) shading walls and doorways...differently.

Devices are subdued.

So. Drift to the outside like a ghost, unlinked. Water in a glass. Pen and paper. The ticking of a tiny second hand on a wristwatch.

And sunlight, tall sky blue, unconditioned air. Here there are birds, the confetti-flutter of butterflies, and the high-contrast color-pop of flowers. Vast mountains of living green.

Environmental photosynthetics with high resolution details and endless sight-lines.

Then the power is back, with a whirl and flicker of digits. The answering machine’s synthetic voice whispers instructions and light bulbs open their glowing filament eyes.

Reboot.