The threat of change that's already occurred

The realm of Sherlockiana is a lovely place to escape from the societal turmoil that seems to engulf so many aspects of our lives. When simple matters such as basic health precautions become somehow choosing a political stance, it all gets very confusing. Yet, at the heart of it all, you can see one great motivating factor: Fear of change. Fear that England is not England yet, and the British empire with London as its world capital is gone.

Oh, wait, that already happened.

Ah, but the mystery genre, with Ellery Queen, Rex Stout, even that new guy, Gregory McDonald, with their detective novels by men for men, shall live on just as Sherlock Holmes has, carrying forward . . .

Oh, wait, that era is long past as well. Who was "Ellery Queen" again?

But let us toast "the" woman, Irene Adler, Sherlock Holmes's one great love interest!

Nope. More stories about him kissing someone else out there these days.

Surely there's one area left that an aged white male can fence off and create a preserve of the past, using hair samples collected from Vincent Starrett and Christopher Morley to grow new Sherlockians and create a Sherassic Park where they still sing that song about a wealthy aunt who dared to flout traditional morals whilst not allowing anyone of that sort at dinner. 

Ah, but the Sherlockian John Hammonds are almost gone now, their fading energies dependent upon younger aids to humor them whilst they still have some value. The dinosaurs aren't going to overpopulate in this version of the tale.

And as all of Conan Doyle's original sixty Sherlock Holmes stories fall out of copyright, and societal evolution moves just a little faster, empowered by a digital infrastructure (if it holds) . . . what then?

Hmmm.  There's this thing that starts to occur as the decades pass, and you realize the world you knew and gained all of your early points of reference are gone. Changes find a place as norms. Influencers lose their influence. And you just can't help but wonder, wanderingly, about things.

So if this post makes little sense, well . . . yeah.