Virtual Panopticon Vs Fish Tank

I have over-reacted to the term technology a week after I have read John Twelve Hawks's (pseudonym) book called The Traveller 3 weeks ago. The Traveller is a cautionary tale about the pervasiveness of surveillance and intrusions on privacy. In fact, Twelve Hawks claims to live "off the grid," avoiding contact with the "Vast Machine" ie. the worldwide system of computer systems and cameras that track our daily lives. So, no one (including her/his publisher) has ever seen Twelve Hawks in person. They only speak by satellite phone. The Traveller is the first book of Twelve Hawks's trilogy.

The world of The Traveller consists basically of four groups: the Brethren (they control the computer systems and surveillance cameras); the Travellers (individuals with the ability to have their inner "Light" leave their body and travel to different realms); the Harlequins protect the Travellers from harm and combat the Brethren and the last group is a citizen ie. those who go about about their lives ignorant of the "true" state of affairs.

Twelve Hawks bases the good vs. evil story on a confrontation between an amalgam of ideas and modern technology. The Brethren are generally patterned on the Illuminati (see Dan Brown's Angels and Demons) and seek to render society a "virtual Panopticon" through the use of Radio Frequnecy Identification (RFID) tags and the "Carnivore" software to track electronic communications. The Panopticon was a prison designed by 18th-century philosopher/economist Jeremy Bentham, in which every inmate could be under continuous surveillance with a minimum of guards or effort, without the inmates knowing if they were currently being observed. Due to the "virtual Panopticon" mentioned in the book, many of my actions were slightly overboard 2 weeks ago ;p

For example:
(1) I have made a hand gesture to my Mama not to speak when we are near the ATM.

Mama: Why can't we talk?
pancake Queen: Because someone will tape our voice and use it to access our bank account.

(2) I had limited my phone conversation to just "Yes, true. No, that's not true".

Friend asked: Are you having a sore throat?
pancake Queen: No, just that we'd better be careful because there might be a "Carnivore" to scrutinise our words.

Also, I scanned at every face when I entered a restaurant, worrying that the chopstick at the next table might any minute turn into a weapon. HaHa. I am returning to my normal self this week. The "Vast Machine" is acceptable as long as it doesn't start processing all my details and sending me an e-mail on a Monday morning saying:

"From you shopping habit gathered from your credit card swipes, we have observed that you have eaten too much carbohydrate. It's high time you switch to a low fat diet or else the first date with the guy that you talked on the phone last night will also be the last date".