Staring at a Phone.

Daniel was his name, a retired scientist, a dreamer. He was getting older. His hypertension was a concern. It was a challenge, but Daniel was uniting with his trusted doctor in regular check-ups and increases in his medication. It was like a tune up for his physical health. So far, so good.

Daniel presented to the receptionist at the medical center right on time. He sat down, as he had a 9 am appointment. First cab off the rank. The good doctor was nowhere in sight, so Daniel stared at his phone. Browsing, browsing, browsing. Half an hour went by, the waiting room was getting log jammed. Still no wise old owl doctor.

'Doctors are very busy people," Daniel thought. Eventually, the doctor dawdled into his office. He wandered past the receptionist, who was looking at her screen, chatting on the phone. The good doctor was fully engaged staring at his phone. Through the open door, Daniel could see his doctor staring at his own phone.

Finally, the doctor called Daniel into his office, where he had his check-up and his new script, sent to Daniel's phone. Daniel thanked his doctor for more Big Pharma, and took himself off to the nearby pharmacy. The chemist stared at Daniel's phone, and dispensed medicines.

After this epic tour of health providers, Daniel treated himself the coffee shop. It was that time of day, grazing on carbs while he was waiting. Hello, coffee. Daniel stared at his phone, saved embarrassing conversations. He did glance around the cafe. The clientele were staring at a phone. A rug rat squawked, until his exasperated mother gave him her phone.

Peace in the cafe reigned. Daniel pondered while he sipped his coffee. "Is this a good peace, or a different form of disengaged peace?" Everyone there was occupied staring at a phone.

Daniel went home, dreaming. He was basically a pacifist, did not rock the boat. It ran in his family. He sat down to read the news on his phone. Armed conflicts, missile launches, threats, dictators and repressive regimes, bombs for breakfast in some parts of the globe.

Daniel did not know what any one individual could do. "How could humans change this status quo in the 21st Century of worldwide uncertainty?" he asked himself, reading more bad news week. He did wonder what else humanity could be doing.

Daniel slumbered in his armchair. He woke up from his codger kip, afternoon sunlight shining. The postman appeared, bringing an official looking registered letter. That was a surprise. He had been gifted a substantial inheritance, a more than tidy sum. It was all thanks to Daniel's Aunt Maud. She had been a classic old broad. There had never been anyone cooler than Aunt Maud in her younger, protesting days, a peaceful warrior for society.

Daniel just sat there, thinking. His notion that the world's armies needed something else to be doing was formulating. Daniel devised a lateral, pacifist plan. He picked up his phone, and applied for a franchise to produce phones.

The details were soon sorted. Money talks. Daniel's Dream Phone factory was rapidly producing phones at an enormous rate. He created jobs for a range of positions, all positives aglow. Daniel's Dream phones were being marketed and supplied to defense forces around the world. The soldiers, sailors and airmen of every and any country were seen hooked on the worldwide web, staring at their phones. The cannons stopped roaring, the bomber jets stopped flying, no more unleashing of weapons on any civilian or soldier.

Browsing, browsing, browsing, staring at a phone. Lots of dream phones. In fact, eight billion phones, plus spares. Yes, now the armies of the world had something else they could all be doing. Armed combatants became more than slightly dysfunctional, as they stopped obeying orders, that were so infrequent now. Their superior officers were staring at their own phones.

Fat dictators in oppressive regimes grew quite cross. No one wanted to follow a chain of command, or even listen to some tyrant's raving and indoctrination. The munitions industry grew daily more furious. The giant mining companies were going bankrupt. They had not found anything else to be doing, except staring at their own phones. The world was peaceful.

Daniel the Dreamer was satisfied. Great Aunt Maud would have been proud. She had taught him lateral thinking, after all. But the fat dictator in Daniel's land chucked a wobbly hissy fit. He blamed Daniel for all this, as his advisors told him. The thought police raided Daniel's home, and took him off to the Fat Dictator's palace for interrogation.

Daniel the Dreamer held firm, quietly, modestly. He was secretly praying to his God of Peace and Salvation to rescue him from this latest jape. His God did not appear to be listening. The Fat Dictator sent Daniel to be eaten for supper in the lions' den. Daniel was escorted to a large jail cell, where some fearsome lions slept, waiting.

Daniel tried the peaceful, friendly way. He did try to see the good in everyone. He asked his captors, "Hey, do you want a free phone? Netflix are playing The Lion King tonight!" From his backpack, he gave them all a brand new dream phone. The soldiers stood around, staring at their phones. They forgot what they were supposed to be doing, and overfed the lions their great cat food.

The soldiers even tried online shopping, and pizzas appeared. Daniel ate a Capricciosa with hot salami for his last supper. The lions ate the leftovers and all the crusts. Then they rolled over for a fat tummy rub.

By the time the next day dawned, the Fat Dictator was staring at his phone, wondering why his troops had disappeared. They were staring at their phones. Some were 'into' Amazon retailing, some had phone porn, some were hooked on sport or music. The rest were browsing, browsing. Social media, texting. The Fat Dictator went to the large jail cell, expecting to see mincemeat Daniel.

No, God had rescued Daniel, the dreamer. There was a great slumber of snoring fat lions, fat tummies on display, tawny. Daniel was still praying and thanking his God of Peace, for his seeing the sun rise. The Fat Dictator said, "I give up! The world just ain't what it used to be." So he texted his wife on his phone. "Best put the kettle on. Be home soon. No one listens to a word I say." His wife muttered, "I can relate to that."

The human race had finally found something else they could all be doing. Wars and genocide were now extinct. There was peace like never before in the history of the planet. Daniel the Dreamer had achieved his best invention, global peace. He went home, released. Maybe one day, the lions would find their true Serengeti, sharing pizzas with the giraffes and wildebeests.

That little experience had done nothing to reduce Daniel's hypertension. Still, it was all part of the challenge of life on earth. Daniel could visualize Aunt Maud, blessing him and beaming at him from her peaceful Promised Land. A classic old broad.

It was nearly time for his next doctor's appointment. Ah, a reminder text. Daniel the Dreamer stared at his phone. He felt peaceful, like everyone else was now on the planet.

Footnote: Humanity has not invented a better companion than this phone. Yet. What is beyond all of us staring at a phone? May all Daniel's prayers be good and strong......