“He causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name” (Rev 13:16-17). I would not be foolish enough to call this a fulfillment of the prophecy, but who can deny it as an indicator of the times? The Nov 26 edition of USAToday has a report titled “Palm Scanners Gets Thumbs Up,” showing a picture of a young boy paying for his school lunch by placing his palm on a scanner. The PalmSecure scanner, made by Fujitsu, reads the pattern of the veins just under the skin, which is as unique as a fingerprint. Art Dunham, food services director in the Pinellas County (FL) schools, says, “We just love it. No one wants to go back.” But one father whose child attends a school where scanners are used, is concerned that it “anesthetizes young children to recognizing privacy violations.” The clock is ticking down.