
Eyes mark the shape of the city.
Through the eyes of a high-flying night bird, we
take in the scene from midair. In our broad sweep, the
city looks like a single gigantic creature—or more like a
single collective entity created by many intertwining
organisms. Countless arteries stretch to the ends of its
elusive body, circulating a continuous supply of fresh
blood cells, sending out new data and collecting the old,
sending out new consumables and collecting the old,
sending out new contradictions and collecting the old. To
the rhythm of its pulsing, all parts of the body flicker and
flare up and squirm. Midnight is approaching, and while
the peak of activity has passed, the basal metabolism that
maintains life continues undiminished, producing the
basso continuo of the city's moan, a monotonous sound
that neither rises nor falls but is pregnant with
foreboding.
Our line of sight chooses an area of concentrated
brightness and, focusing there, silently descends to it—a
sea of neon colours. They call this place an "amusement
district." The giant digital screens fastened to the sides of
buildings fall silent as midnight approaches, but loudspeakers
on storefronts keep pumping out exaggerated
hip-hop bass lines. A large game centre crammed with
young people; wild electronic sounds; a group of college
students spilling out from a bar; teenage girls with
brilliant bleached hair, healthy legs thrusting out from
microminiskirts; dark-suited men racing across diagonal
crossings for the last trains to the suburbs...