Hello Steve, 
 
While contemplating the idea of computers, the internet, and the  
world wide web as candidates for a modern-day "image of the beast," 
it occurred to me that the image need not be autonomous.  I don't 
recall any reason why it must be autonomous.  And, if it need not 
be so, perhaps there's no need to look for a golem brought about 
through some mystical means.  Rather, we might look to a kind of 
re-creation of the "The Almighty Oz" and "that man behind
the curtain." 
It is certainly conceivable and achievable that a person or group, 
operating behind the scenes, or screens, could gather enough information 
about your life and use that information in an attempt to convince  
you that you were being visited by an angel, a supernatural being,  
extra-terrestrials or God.  It might be easy enough to accomplish this 
on a local level, involving a few individuals, but it would be much  
more difficult, if not impossible, to establish a "god" that would  
be recognized as such on a global basis.  On a local level, an 
individual or group could certainly mess with your mind.  Trying to 
program the masses would take a lot more effort and power.  That said, 
let's consider two alternative paths.  Let's say that the first involves 
a fight for peace in the world being fought with weapons of destruction. 
On this path, people die, the victims of bombs, tanks, artillery, etc. 
Let's say, for the sake of the argument, that the second path also 
involves a fight for peace in the world, but on this path we see a 
war of information, information warfare, the battle for minds.  On 
this path, you might find books, radio, television, films, videotapes, 
CDs, DVDs, the Internet, the World Wide Web, etc.  It's sort of like 
arrows in one hand and an olive branch in the other.  Sort of.  Some 
people fight for peace with their fists clenched.  So, what do you do 
when you live in a world where terrorists are tossing bombs left and 
right?   
 
The problem with the "man behind the curtain" scenario is that there 
are no guarantees the person in your vicinity will be as benevolent, 
kind or caring as the "Wizard of Oz."  In fact, the ghost in your  
machine might be the complete opposite, malevolent, mischievous,  
out to steal your identity, steal your business, steal your ideas, 
and destroy your sanity.  Such is the nature of the Internet that 
hackers of all ages, with varying levels of education, and operating 
under no requirement that they possess any particular standard of  
ethics or morals, can access your machine and your life.  The "man 
behind the curtain" could be your friend, or he could be your enemy. 
And, as long as he has the power to observe you, and you've no power 
to observe him, he has an upper hand.   
 
Now, returning back to the two paths in the fight for peace.  Let's 
try to see if we can somehow make a connection.  Suppose the power 
with the upper hand on the first path, the one involving weapons of 
destruction, had the ability to rain fire from the sky.  But, it  
didn't want to use that power.  It only threatened to use that power. 
Then, there, on the second path, is an opportunity to educate yourself, 
to learn and teach others, to share ideas, and the opportunity to  
buy and sell in the world's biggest shopping center, the world wide 
web.  And this web, as it and the Internet spread across the globe, 
makes it possible to communicate ideas and conduct business at speeds 
that challenge those who aren't connected to "keep up."  In a short 
period of time, it becomes obvious that you either plug in or get  
left behind.  Economies will have a hard time surviving unless they're 
part of the Internet / world wide web.  So... perhaps what you have 
here is what they call a fait accompli.  Maybe you needn't look  
further for your "image of the beast."  However, you must ask  
yorself if this fits on all of the criteria.  We've explored, in a 
previous post, how numbers are required in order to access the web. 
Phone numbers, IP addresses, credit card numbers, credit ratings,  
drivers license, home address, they all involve numbers.  And, if  
participating in this global economy based on the Internet and world 
wide web becomes a matter of survival, then we might see another 
connection to the "beast" of Revelation.  But worship?  Remember,  
the passages under consideration talk not only of control of commerce 
through the use of numbers and marks, but it also speaks of worship 
of the beast.  On this point, I'll rest.  You've long explored how 
technology is making it possible to track people and amass databases 
about them.  You've considered how access can be controlled and 
restricted through the use of various forms of biometric identification 
systems.  But what about the line which reads, "...as many who would 
not worship the image of the beast should be killed?"  Do you actually 
believe that some entity in the world will have the ability to force 
everyone to get a Universal Identification Number and participate 
in a global Internet or face death?  And, if this was a matter of 
survival that people chose to plug in, how much different would your 
idea of the beast who demands worship be from the maniacal character 
known as Jobe in the movie, "Lawnmower Man?"   
 
Enough rambling for now... :-) 
 
Marnie 
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