Den

Description

Daniel finds his world turns against him when the ambitions and envy of another threaten his life, and the life of someone he loves. It is his sensible character and his morals which have allowed him to safely create Cell, a programme that stores securely the information of every being on earth, without malicious intent. His colleague, Lara, secretly believes that the technology could be used to invade people’s privacy in order to make money. She tells Daniel’s boss that Daniel does not belong to the young generation of technological natives, and is unfit to be a part of the rapidly changing future. The test she suggests for him becomes a twisted game, a technological prison which Daniel cannot escape. Lara wants to drive Daniel away from Cell; by showing him the darker possibilities of his creation, or by allowing fear to destroy him. Den is the story of a father’s strength for his kidnapped daughter, and of his betrayal by his own, a company which he helped to create It is a visualisation of a computing experience, and how technology must be developed with human morals, and how virtual interaction online is no replacement for the real thing.

Biblical Connection

Daniel in the Lion’s Den, in Daniel 6, is the story of a man whose good qualities inspire envy, but they also save him from the malicious consequences of this envy. What particularly interests me about the story is the fact that Daniel does not escape the den, or kill the lions; he faces his fear and survives it until King Darius sees the unfairness of his treatment. I believe this story demonstrates determination and commitment to an ideal. The original Book of Daniel depicts a society in which the monarch has absolute control. I have translated this into a society in which companies have absolute control, and money is more valued than humanity and love. Lara is the personification of a love of money, and belief in a youthful acquisition of technology, that matches the hatred that the men in the Book of Daniel have for Daniel’s faith; she worships business, whilst Daniel remains honest and moral. Viruses, modern predators, represent the biblical lions which were used to torture Christians. In Den, the character of Sophie allows the indirect dramatisation of Daniel’s faith and resilience, which in the Bible is shown directly as faith in God.