The mice run at an incredible pace along the subway tracks of the Zoologischer Garten station. They desperately sought a hiding spot. Their movements, both hesitant and hectic, generate a beautiful choreography. This improvised show was the only thing she had to entertain her during the wait. The train was delayed ten minutes. What had happened to the myth of German efficiency? 

She had little to celebrate; like those mice, she lived at the mercy of the BVG. That night’s commute had been hell. Why is this city always under construction? A group of young teenagers made the wait even more unpleasant. They partied to the sound of loud AI-generated techno music, drank Club Mate, and were stupidly mean to one another. She wondered what the main difference might be between her artistic aspirations and some AI art applications. Does it even matter? That morning, she’d learned how Jason M. Allen created an award-winning AI artwork using Midjourney, an artificial intelligence technology that turns lines of text into hyper-realistic pictures. It is still a privilege to be an artist, though, even when you are more on the struggling side. The lack of texture in the music made her want to find refuge, like those mice on the tracks. It felt as if everything was rendered the same way: AI will not control us, it will just drive us mad. Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo got louder and louder, upsetting other commuters. According to the Wikipedia entry for Zoologischer Garten: 

In the 1970s and 1980s, the back of the train station on Jebensstraße - now Zoologischer Garten - was a meeting place for the hustler scene. The book Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo, written by Kai Hermann and Horst Rieck and based on tape recordings by a teen named Christiane F., deals with everyday life in the drug scene from the perspective of an affected person. This publication gave the station a dirty image throughout Germany. It also inspired the film Christiane F, which included an acclaimed soundtrack by artists such as David Bowie. 

Long gone are the days of Christiane F., but the station and its soundtrack has not gotten any better. When the train arrives, the AI nightmare seems to come to an end- but has it? Once on the train, she takes out her notebook and pen: Write a short story about moving around in public spaces, reflecting on my privilege.