Researchers have developed a microscope powerful enough
to see data. Trace amounts have since been discovered
in the drinking water of midwestern cities, beached whales, space.
On live TV, scientists train their microscopes on the crisis, which dissolves
into static, then a fine lace of zeros and ones.
Pregnant women begin to dream long meaningless strings of numbers,
birthing a new generation of conspiracy theorists.
These children see themselves as trails of code, puppets
only visible in shadow. Their negatives play
on the nation’s great screen, flowing through networks
of streets and hallways, like waves
produced by dreaming brains. The weapons in their hands
are bytes: trails of light and shadow
casting distortions through the scene.