This image was projected on the facade of the Auberge de Castille and introduced as a vision of the future of Malta. They meant it as something to look forward to.
Someone somewhere is visualising your worst nightmare and thinking of how much money they will be making in the process of leaving your children with this. Every tree chopped, every breath of air sucked out of your lungs, the view of the sky reserved for the penthouses and the Level 22s.
In science fiction this is Ecumenopolis, Trantor, Coruscant. A nightmare vision of a future where curves are banished, green is forgotten, history erased, and life is a dream of electric sheep.
The enthusiasts for this nightmare are all misty eyed about desert cities like Las Vegas and Dubai where out of nothing, a flashy paradise of light and cement rises. Except that Malta is not a desert. For those who still have some affection for this country, it is a heritage represented in the way it used to look.
Arnold Cassola picked up this image and commented earlier today.
This is not some accidentally googled image chosen by some unimaginative drone trying to follow a vague script that instructs to “put a picture of the future here”. This is the projection of these people’s mind’s eye for your country.
Until a George Taylor looks back on it in a few thousand years: “Oh my God. I’m back. I’m home. All the time, it was… We finally really did it. You Maniacs! You blew it up! Ah, damn you! God damn you all to hell!”