Wired

Was there a God? It was impossible to answer this question for sure, but the level of human understanding was so insignificant it was the height of arrogance to rule it out. She had posed the question: if God could exist without need of a creator, why couldn’t the universe? But the converse was also true. If the universe could exist without being created, why couldn’t God?

But even if God existed, there was no guarantee this being would have all the answers; would fully understand the nature of reality. An omniscient being could be all-knowing and yet have far more to learn. Infinite infinities yet again. Even if God’s mind could grasp and contain within it the infinity of numbers between 0 and 1, there were still an infinity of numbers outside of this set.

But if God might be unable to fully comprehend the true nature of existence, where did this leave poor humanity? To what end should this lowly species aspire?

Miraculously, Kira’s alter ego had come up with an answer to this question: one she found immensely satisfying. The purpose of consciousness—any consciousness—was to achieve infinite comprehension. It was as simple as that. If a God existed, humanity must strive to discover this God and help this deity become omniscient, not just in one infinity, but in an infinity of infinities.

This was one possible purpose for her species. But her alter ego, using symbolic logic, had arrived at a possibility she considered much more likely: that humanity’s purpose, together with all life across all universes, was not to discover God—it was to become God.

If a single human egg could possess consciousness at the instant of fertilization, how would it view itself? It couldn’t possibly predict or comprehend the multi-trillion-celled being it would ultimately become. The entirety of humanity could well be that single, fertilized cell, unaware that it would grow a trillion-fold more complex and eventually become God, perhaps had already become God, in a universe in which all pasts, presents, and futures existed side by side.

Humanity was composed of separate individuals now, but an embryo at early stages was also nothing more than a ball of separate cells. But these separate cells would ultimately become connected in wondrous ways to create something unimaginably greater than themselves.

And seen in this light, altruism and sociopathy were far from straightforward concepts, beyond even the complexities that Abraham Lincoln had revealed. Absolute altruism on one level could be absolute selfishness in disguise on another, and vice-versa. The cells making up the human body were selfless; gladly sacrificing themselves when necessary for the good of the organism. On the microscopic level they were being foolishly altruistic, foolishly suicidal, but on the macroscopic level they were being purely selfish— ensuring the survival of the body. And what happened when an individual cell became selfish and exhibited Nietzsche’s will to power? It became a cancer. The cell would break free of the restraints on its own division and become immortal—for a while—until its very immortality choked the entire organism to death, killing the selfish cell in the process.

Humanity had no choice but to assume that it would evolve into God, either alone or in combination with all other conscious beings and all other life. The stakes were too high to assume anything else. Life would evolve into God, and then God would create the multiverse and all life, in a circular process extending through all of space-time, with no beginning and no end, which only this ultimate intelligence could comprehend. Some forms of life would play starring roles in this process and some would play lesser roles—which might even call for their extinction. Yet the purpose of all life would be to foster a healthy God; just as the purpose of all human cells was to enhance the health of the entire organism, even at the cost of their own survival, if necessary.

In this case, the questions posed by Nietzsche would be answered in a far different way than this philosopher had answered them. What is good? All that fosters life in its myriad forms, subject to the overriding needs of emerging Godhood. What is bad? All that stands in the way of life and its struggle to become God.

So now their fledgling team would have a clear purpose. And the means to enhance themselves to a previously unimaginable level of thought, without fear of sociopathy. Kira realized that this wouldn’t make their problems disappear, it would only expand them and increase their difficulty. A myriad of tough questions and challenges remained, even in the near term. Could this transcendent transformation be made permanent? Should it be? Should mankind take a hand in its own evolution? If so, could the essence of humankind be preserved? Should it be preserved? What if some wanted to make the switch and others didn’t?

There would be no easy answers. But these were questions for another day.

Right now, it was time to report the phenomenal success of the experiment to the team, and describe the profound new vistas of thought this second level of enhancement had opened.

And she also needed to speak with her husband. To tell him something she knew he was eager to hear.

She was pregnant!

The fertilization had taken place just two days before. It was too soon for her normal self to have known, but her transformed alter ego had realized it immediately.

She could struggle with the nature of existence for all eternity without achieving complete understanding. But she knew this for certain: when their baby came into the world, she and David would be taking their own steps toward immortality. Toward infinity. Their child would take its place in a procession of life that she knew in her soul would end with the creation of God.

Kira prepared to open her eyes for the first time since the transformation had begun and gaze happily into the eyes of the man she loved. It was time to tell him he was going to be a father.

From the Author: Thanks for reading WIRED! Please be sure to rate and review this book on your favorite site, so others will know what is in store for them. Also, feel free to friend me on Facebook at Douglas E. Richards Author, or visit my website at www.douglaserichards.com.

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