I am currently reading Lewis Mumford's work, "The Myth of the Machine" and would therefore answer you - influenced by the reading - that the power has been in the mega-machine for a long time. Far too lengthy to put into short sentences, hence the hundreds of book pages. We are all involved in this machine with our will and much of what we believe would benefit us as human beings is erroneous. It is shocking to realise all the things we believed and therefore wanted. Will is indeed, as I see it, the power that controls human and probably equally planetary destinies. The well-known saying "therefore beware of what you wish for" cannot be dismissed out of hand and the universe, as is also said, fulfils wishes. However one wants to consider the universe as such responsible for this :)

The governing powers are those of the all-seeing eye, it is the quest for absolute control over the many, according to my interpretation, which coincides with that of the author. At present we are witnessing the common man seeking to control the other, to an extent I have only known from books, films and my parents' stories - as a result of an obedience I do not have. It frightens me, above all it shakes me, because the distance it creates between the many of us weakens each of us in our humanity, if we allow it. And it is hard to do anything about it when a general bell of fear and sadness hangs over us. How to evaluate one's own life, the past years? I am only glad that I have had times of great liveliness and joy and do not have to think that too little spontaneity, interest in the unknown and unexpected kept me from being alive. I currently follow individuals who dare to do something, who have courage, even though I have to do so from afar because they are travellers.

I have passed my midlife and perhaps, perhaps I had already settled too much to slow down and let my spirit of discovery fade away. Starting over is not as easy as it used to be. For the younger ones, I wish they wouldn't be too damaged and wouldn't need another thirty years to realise how many mistakes the mega-machine has given them. It is - as much as I hate to admit it - easier at present to tear the veil of ignorance, if one wants to. All the more astonishing, then, how solid and stable it seems to be. I basically agree with you about the "I". The "I" has many desires that always give birth to new children.

You have a very interesting style of writing and putting your thoughts into artful sentences.