Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed…
If I visit a foreign country sometime during or after 2008 (which will likely be the next time I can afford to visit a foreign country), I shall, in all probability, encounter someone in my trip who will capture my attention, gaze deeply into my eyes and murmur:
“Passport please…your iris cleared—you may proceed.”
Actually, I’m embellishing the truth a bit. It will probably be a scanner that gazes deeply into my limpid baby blues and bleeps at me, having discovered that, indeed, I am me, and not some terrorist with sinister intentions. The reason they will discover this, of course, is because it is impossible to duplicate the iris of an eye—which is why the Home Secretary plans to include details of a person’s iris in his or her passport. This certainly lends itself to interesting speculation—just suppose, after waiting in line for three hours to board my plane, I’m just too tired to keep my eyes open? What then? Would that be considered suspicious behavior? What if I just don’t like things peering into my eyes? And surely more timorous travelers might feel intimidated by such an invasion of personal space. So many fascinating conjectures to occupy my time and yours! And what will come next? Perhaps someday They will decide to tag world-travelers like itinerant seals…who can say? Technology encroaches…and time ticks on.
If I visit a foreign country sometime during or after 2008 (which will likely be the next time I can afford to visit a foreign country), I shall, in all probability, encounter someone in my trip who will capture my attention, gaze deeply into my eyes and murmur:
“Passport please…your iris cleared—you may proceed.”
Actually, I’m embellishing the truth a bit. It will probably be a scanner that gazes deeply into my limpid baby blues and bleeps at me, having discovered that, indeed, I am me, and not some terrorist with sinister intentions. The reason they will discover this, of course, is because it is impossible to duplicate the iris of an eye—which is why the Home Secretary plans to include details of a person’s iris in his or her passport. This certainly lends itself to interesting speculation—just suppose, after waiting in line for three hours to board my plane, I’m just too tired to keep my eyes open? What then? Would that be considered suspicious behavior? What if I just don’t like things peering into my eyes? And surely more timorous travelers might feel intimidated by such an invasion of personal space. So many fascinating conjectures to occupy my time and yours! And what will come next? Perhaps someday They will decide to tag world-travelers like itinerant seals…who can say? Technology encroaches…and time ticks on.
