Could Be.

I have often said that I am relatively new to the Science Fiction and Fantasy genre.  Until approximately five years ago, my experience with such things consisted primarily of Star Trek in its various television and film incarnations, Harry Potter, and the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy.  

So my exposure had been better than some, but not nearly in the realm of “fan girl” or someone for whom attending a sci-fi convention would have any value other than to serve my natural penchant for anthropological observation (otherwise known as people watching.)  I say anthropological because sci-fi and fantasy folks are indeed a subculture of our society with their own rituals and customs which make them worth study.  Several documentaries and books have already covered this however, so I won’t add my two cents about it here.  At least not right now. 

In the recent past, I have been indoctrinated somewhat and in doing so, have mentally visited such places as Discworld and Neverwhere.  I have taken journeys with seven of the eleven mad men with blue boxes (who are technically the same man…well..maybe man isn't the right word – eh, we can talk about that later) and I have gone back and forward in Earth time and in the times of several other worlds.   I have vicariously witnessed the births, deaths, weddings, and funerals of humans on other planets, and non-humans on mine.  Suffice it to say my horizons have expanded astronomically and infinitely.

Now, there are some who may answer the above with “Yay, you!  Let me tell you about…” and others with “Oh, dear God no.  You’re a nerd (geek, dork, etc.) now.”   I can see both arguments, because there are definite pros and cons to the concept that anything is possible and that the ordinary is actually extraordinary. 

I feel that the most important of these possibilities is the “could be”.   The idea that what you are currently observing is not to be taken at face value and could be something entirely different – something wonderful or, as is more often the case, something nefarious.   Let me give you some examples.

A dragonfly used to be just that.  A dragonfly.  Since my conversion, the observed dragonfly could also be a minute alien vessel, an extraterrestrial being sent to observe our planetary stewardship, my spirit-guide, or the harbinger of larger, more difficult to dispatch insects which will cause the downfall of humankind. 

The ingredients of a box of cereal or well-loved snack food could be the vehicle by which a super secret society/major corporation comes to control humanity at large and makes us all into, oh…I don’t know…slaves for their island hide-out?  Or by some miracle of chemistry, when the genetically modified wheat gluten in the tortilla combines with the microwaves used in heating your burrito, those who eat it become telepathic.  Burrito eaters will now RULE THE WORLD!

The little old lady in front of you in the grocery line is not, in fact, feeding 50 cats.  She's a cat herself and only takes human form occasionally for trips to the grocery store and the mailbox.  Unfortunately, you're allergic to cats and you can't stop sneezing which annoys her to the point where she changes form and claws you to ribbons right there in the express lane.  You've suddenly become more than 15 items.  

Sure, that prickly feeling on the back of your neck could be the response of your limbic and neurological systems to a potential fight or flight situation.   It could also be the energy field of your great-great grandchildren who have used the new temporal television they got for the Generic Winter Holiday to watch great, great Grandpa check a fuse during a power outage – how quaint!   It could be a ghost.   It could be a cyber spider crawling up your neck, seeking entry into your ear canal for the purpose of studying human thought process.  Or the vehicle by which that super secret society/major corporation comes to control humanity at large and makes us all into island hideout slaves.

See what I mean?   

Before we get all creeped out and start conspiracy theorizing,   I will say that being the natural “glass half full” girl that I am, I tend to lean toward the positive “could be” scenarios.  That dragonfly is a fairy or great grandmother Daisy.  I think I’d like it to be Daisy.   The ingredients of the cereal or snack food will cause us all evolve into better mostly-humans.  Maybe burrito eaters SHOULD rule the world – wouldn't it make public flatulence more acceptable or at least less socially damning?  That prickly feeling is what precedes the oh-so-anticipated engine whine of the TARDIS and soon the Doctor is coming to take me to experience all of those births, weddings, and funerals for myself. (I really don’t care which Doctor, but if it could be one of the last three that would be good.  If it isn't, I’m not going to not go.  Who would do that?)

Until then, with all of these thoughts in my head, I shall live my ordinary life with the hope that the ordinary can, indeed, become extraordinary at any moment.  

Could be.