The talk was about Artificial Intelligence. The talk was about Smart Cities. The talk was about terrorism and wars, about naked genocide wiping out cities and populations.
Along came a virus and became the thing to talk about.
Every super-power was working to increase it’s influence and outsmart their peers. Power and influence drove them. Humanity and compassion went out of the room. It didn’t matter if their true faces were exposed. They were the super powers, they had spoken, everyone else had to comply.
And then, came a virus! And showed everyone their worth.
We, too, jumped into the rat race and set our sights on making more money. From 4 to 5, from 5 to 6 and beyond, we wanted to add more digits to our paycheck. Everything sells, and we were ready to sell our body, mind, religion, family, country or culture, just to satisfy our greed and make more of what we already had too much of.
Then, came a virus! And taught us, how little we actually needed.
This virus is a tiny particle of protein. In weight, mass, appearance, it can be termed as ordinary. But it is anything but ordinary. It has brought super powers to their knees. It has turned smart cities into ghost towns. It has made powerful people, with stock piles of advance weapons and machinery, beg for masks and medicine.
There is No President on press spitting venom. There is No Idol on Television, No Diva on Screens, No Super heroes. No one is claiming to be larger than life. No one is showing off their wealth, muscles, influence or intelligence. Everyone has been humbled. This particle, tinier than the tiniest particle of sand, has stopped wars, terrorism, be-headings, blasts and carpet bombings. All of a sudden it has wiped out inhumanity.
Behold the virus that made us all humans!