The invocation of souls is interesting, a reminder that this is not the first generation to shape itself for an omniscient eye. What is an all-seeing God, capable of knowing our thoughts and intentions, if not the most effective surveillance tool ever invented? The genius of this form of religion is the way it seduces believers into performing purity in life in order to reap rewards after death. And unlike today's surveillance state—which knows only what we type, say, and do—monotheistic gods claim to know our intentions as well.

SEED: Could become an essay contrasting the coercive grip of omniscient gods (who surveil intentions) with the shallower reach of today's surveillance states (which only see behavior). XREF: Connects to Foucault's panopticon theory and to discussions of whether modern surveillance surveils less of the self than religious surveillance historically did.

Naomi Klein, Doppelganger, loc. 182