1. Dependency. It was close to nine o'clock at night, and we were home. At that hour, daylight still held out, giving us a certain amount of joy that seemed fleeting. As it grew dark, fewer and fewer people were on the street, even though the changing of the traffic light allowed two or three cars to pass by at a time. The water was no longer coming out of the faucet; the building's pump was obviously not working. We had candles scattered everywhere, to give ourselves the illusion that we could at least read, although it wasn't easy to find the mood to do so. Our cell phone, which only very sporadically managed to get a connection, ran out of charge. Looking at the computer was pure melancholy. In fact, only the radio remained as a vehicle of connection with the world, a medium steeped in history—for better or worse—essential in times of crisis.
So much instrumentation, so much technological development, so much vanity about the progress of humanity, partly undisputed but never equitably distributed, and suddenly we find ourselves surrounded by prostheses—artificial instruments that allow us to go further—without any of them working. And we've made them so much ours that we react as if we've lost a leg. Are they? Are we really dependent on our prostheses?
Fortunately, before we gave in to depression or melancholy, around eleven o'clock the light came on. And everything suggests that we'll soon turn the page, and if I've seen it, I don't remember. Precisely for this reason, it's necessary to be cautious and informed. What's next? What happened? This is the question that political and economic leaders—governments and companies in the sector—must answer. Nobly and clearly. Without leaving any dark spaces. Conspiracy is a deeply rooted fantasy in human minds, among other reasons because finding someone to blame always alleviates and legitimizes the dynamic of good guys and bad guys. On Monday, you could hear, in conversations between friends and acquaintances, obviously without any data or information, attributions to Trump, Putin, Israel, Muslim radicalism, all the evil influences of the moment. President Sánchez has sought to remain cautious and hasn't taken a stand in any direction. It's his obligation to ensure we truly know what happened: what caused the insane chain reaction. And the technicians have an obligation to report it. From a place of ignorance, I ask myself a question that I would like clarified: how can such a vast area—Portugal, Spain, and part of France—be dependent on a single point? And I think that's what most baffles people today: the overwhelming nature of a chain reaction to a cause that remains to be clarified.
2. Questions. Perfection is a myth that has already been swung around by enough beliefs and ideologies. The human condition is precarious. And nothing is more absurd than denying it. Every change, every progress, has its risks. And that's where we must start. On Monday afternoon on Diagonal, for example, there were quite a few people strolling around, showing signs of laziness from shutting themselves in, but also with a certain resignation. And the gatherings, predominantly young people, outside some department stores trying to connect to Wi-Fi, not always successfully, were striking. It's become difficult for us to live without our fingers tapping on our phones. However, all this doesn't give us the right to forget that in these cases, the same people almost always pay the price: the critical situations primarily occurred among those trapped in stations on trains with limited capacity or among those who found themselves stranded and unable to reach their destination.
In any case, it's an experience that raises many questions, and we shouldn't resign ourselves to ending things as usual: in four days we won't speak again, until next time. What happened? What or who caused it? Who is responsible (through criminal responsibility or negligence and incompetence)? But also any political rivalries that may be related to the case. For now, French Minister Ferrari has already taken the opportunity to say that "France is better prepared than Spain" and that's why the impact there has been minimal. Is this true?
