Arty Connerton

The Manifestation Book

My parents have always been terrified of the internet. They are convinced that it is the root of most of the world’s issues. They also think that computers are going to kill humans, an impending fear they had adopted in the early ages of technology. I was never allowed to have any electronics while growing up. My parents refused my requests and ignored my complaints about other kids having luxuries that I did not. To make up for it, they would let me check out as many books as I would like from the library. It was a regular thing for me, finding so many different novels. I did not want to put any of them down because I knew I would not remember them the next time I would visit. My mother’s eyes widened at the sight of me weighed down by so many books, my torso leaning backward. I was dedicated to getting every single one of them. She would never say a word to me about it. My eyes would always skim past the movies, but my mother would grab my hand and pull me towards the countless towers of words. I truly felt that it was unfair of them to hold me back from something everyone else got to enjoy. It was infuriating to never know what my friends were talking about when they would mention shows and movies on TV. I would tell them that it was my choice to stay away from technology, to save myself from the embarrassment. I was never curious about all the reasons as to why my parents kept the technology from me, until one day when I admitted to my absolute best friend that I didn’t hate technology. All my defensive nagging about why TV rots the brain was rooted from my parent’s irrational fears. My friend sparked a new wave of curiosity within me. She genuinely wanted to know what dangerous scenarios were going through my parent’s minds. Did they imagine human-like robot war villains with guns, or maybe robots that had intelligence of biological warfare, or did they simply fear what technology was doing to people’s social skills, like so many adults did. I wanted to give her an answer, but I had never questioned my parents about the details of their overdramatized nightmares. That day when I got home, I did not hesitate. I was going to get to the bottom of it all and then tomorrow I was going to tell my best friend about all their crazy ideas.