Or are we the Elves in this--just waiting for the program to finally degrade to the point that we have to pick our ball and head home to the West.

Maybe we're Saruman in his tower looking at what we have wrought being brought to ruin.

Or maybe we're Frodo--realizing too late that he's about to kill his best friend because of the influence of the Ring and its weighty, addictive legacy.

The analogies are endless.