Cables, ruins and mythology: colonial and material genealogies of the internet’s submarine infrastructure
No. 12 (2022-09-01)Author(s)
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Juan Pablo Pacheco BejaranoInvestigador independiente, Colombia
Abstract
This essay presents an interdisciplinary investigation of the Atlantis-2 submarine fiber optic cable, with the aim of tracing the deep connections between the material infrastructure of the internet, colonial history, mythology, and underwater ruins. By connecting and interpreting an array of historical, technical, and narrative elements surrounding Atlantis-2, this essay speculates on the multiple genealogies of submarine telecommunication cables. Beginning with a discussion of the route followed by Atlantis-2, the first section traces a connection between colonial and digital networks crossing the South Atlantic. The second section weaves a story linking the Atlantis-2 cable and the mythological city of Atlantis, proposing a possible future of the internet as an underwater ruin. The historical and mythological speculations presented in this paper highlight the colonial and material roots of submarine cables, and suggest a different way of investigating and relating to the material infrastructure of the internet as a fragile ecosystem to care for.
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