Reflections on Migration and Teleportation
On a recent journey between two European countries a list of unanticipated encounters with border agents made me start reflecting on the rehearsal process for this project. I recall specific moments in which the performers and I were working to embody the idea that the information being teleported could be altered and/or corrupted as a result of unexpected/chance encounters with elements in the environment. This notion is critical in the drive to develop the quantum computer because it is this moment, the moment of chance encounter, the moment of the unexpected influences that is quantum computers promise more transparency. This transparency makes it possible to tell whether the information sent has be somehow intercepted and/or altered in the process of its journey.
This moment of unexpected/chance encounter is also critical for migration, for this moment has the potential to transform one’s identity; by this I mean the way an individual understands his/her space and place in the world, as well as the ways in which one’s family and community of fellows understand an individual’s role in the family, community and society. Certainly much can be said for the ease in which travel is possible in our 21st century world, varying types of migration has become commonplace in many societies. By migration, I am speaking here of any journey from one location to another that requires some type of border crossing. For this short reflection, I am using border in its narrowest sense to point to territorial border. Territorial borders are crossed every day; for many with the expectation of positive transformation in terms of identity. For these individuals, journeys across borders as tourist, for professional careers, to reconnect with family and/or friends, the journey is a part of a constellation of positive markers that boosts their identity. For others, the journey across borders is a result of having fallen by choice or circumstance into the category of vulnerable (and/or surplus) bodies. My recent encounter gave me a glimpse into this latter world. It has caused me to rigorously reflect about how easy it is in our 21st century western world for chance encounters at critical points such as territorial borders to unravel/corrupt/alter essential information that are foundational to identity. With this understanding it is possible to see similarities in the complexities of migration and teleportation.