The Mosaic Board

The computer room of a woollen mill in Valdagno in the Veneto on a summer evening, warm low sunlight from a window on the right, polished terrazzo floor, a tall upright console one metre fifty-five high, dark brown side panels and a black frame around a vertical board, a mosaic of square tiles in white, pale green, light blue, yellow and red, in every tile a round illuminated button, some glowing white, every button blank and every surface plain and unmarked, in front a glossy black projecting shelf with a keyboard of small round white keys, a woman's hands resting on the keys, aluminium racks with cables along their tops soft behind.