Punky Fu

Cyber Anthropology

So little was known about this new primate habitat. Despite its immense population and constant interactions, very little is actually known about the behavior of its inhabitants, most preferring instead to make assumptions and operate on presuppositions. Unlike her predecessor, Lia was the new observer at the Human Zoo and had to deal with teeming masses of other humans joining in the ever-expanding ranks.

Still, the dynamics were the same. She would observe, describe, interact minimally, make predictions, and test her hypotheses. She would note the group dynamics behind the interactions - the dance of the Alphas, the mating rituals, the male display behavior, the pecking orders, the poo flinging, the emotional appeals and - most salient of all - the herd mentality.

She would shoulder alongside their burden of freedom, to see if rational thought prevailed over superstition, or if individualism would prevail over conformity. And she would comment - sharing her field and naturalistic observations with the very population whom she studied - all in an attempt to see if people could rise above their biology and be more than just another animal.

At the best of times there was resistance. At the worst of times, blatant judgment and outright rejection were her only results. But as a student of life, she was prepared for this.

Time away helped her to keep perspective and so often was she to leave behind the Zoo - where the monkeys had taken over - and spend time in her interior landscape, the world of flesh and blood, where she developed emotionally and grew beyond her own limitations, and, in the sunlit sanctuary of her studio, fine-tuned her theories.

Such is the life of the Cyber Anthropologist.