The Fool travels deep into the dark forest seeking cover from prying eyes. But how will The Fool communicate while eluding constant internet surveillance? Bogna Konior, author of The Dark Forest Theory of the Internet, provides a clear answer: “silence is the highest form of intelligence….to speak is to risk being heard, and to be heard is to risk being attacked.” She acknowledges that internet users will have to make a personal risk vs reward analysis if they care to change their appearance on Facebook. Konior, as an author and scholar, admits the impossible situation she and all other writers find themselves in; when we write and publish we subject ourselves to surveillance from anyone and everyone. 

Historically, writers have suffered from critique, rejection, scorn, and some from religious and political attack and punishment. I have personally experienced such a judgment, having been defrocked as a priest of the Episcopal Church for my book The Bible and the Tarot. Today, we’re living in a global milieu where everyone’s personal information and opinions are being gathered from browsers and social media. Today, it’s not just writers who are at risk of religious and political scrutiny, it’s all of us.  

You may think you have nothing to hide. But what about all those texts you receive every day from politicians asking for money? Do you wonder where they got your phone number? And what about all the ads you receive when you open your internet browser? How did Google know you love hamburgers and fries with a side of mustard?

The Fool keeps hoping against hope that a safe place can be found; one where secrets can be shared with the other Arcana, if nothing more than The Fool is a vegan. Oh shit. Too late. Just got a political voter’s poll requesting my dietary habits as related to my voting choices. Hmm. Do I care to ask who wants such information?