21st Challenge No. 21

Prayers for the digital age

Published April 24, 1999 4:00PM (EDT)

"Forward into battle! God is great!"

"Guide me, O Great Spirit, through my evening commute."

Since the dawn of our species, human beings have beseeched a higher force to
watch over us in all endeavors, from the lofty to the mundane. So why are
there so few digital-era prayers? Is it because we have devolved into
rational silicon materialism, longing more for RAM than for spirit?

Readers are invited to submit up to three brief prayers, blessings or
supplications. Each should be no more than 50 words and should be suited to
a specific ritual of the Information Era: the day's first cold boot, the
installation of a new network, the recovery of a large file, etc. Submissions
may draw on any religious tradition or spiritual practice, existing or imagined.

R U L E S

Send your submissions via e-mail only to salon21st@salonmagazine.com.
Please include your full name and an accurate e-mail address so we can
contact you if you're a winner. By submitting your entry you give Salon Technology
permission to publish it. Deadline for entries is May 3, 1999.

P R I Z E S

The winning response will receive a copy of Salon Technology senior
correspondent Andrew Leonard's book, "Bots: The Origin of New Species."

In two weeks we'll publish a winner and some selected entries -- then
start over a couple weeks after that with a whole new challenge.


By Charlie Varon

Charlie Varon is a humorist and playwright. His works include "Ralph Nader Is Missing" and "Rush Limbaugh in Night School."

MORE FROM Charlie Varon

By Jim Rosenau

Jim Rosenau is a writer, editor and software designer in Berkeley, Calif. Jim and Charlie are also co-founders of the citizens group Californians for Earthquake Prevention and partners in Mockingbird Media, which offers a full line of comic services.

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