RELIGIOUS ENTITY
8108 Entity CODICIL 2 - Exploring Evolutionary Entity
The universe has, apparently, existed for thousands of millions of years. I say apparently because, despite the deeply held convictions of the protagonists, we are not yet in a position to appreciate what occurred at that moment of creation; and we may never be allowed to understand what went before. More important, no matter how many astrophysical measurements we make, we cannot answer any of the important philosophical questions, such as why it happened. We can, however, say with some degree of confidence that it has existed for countless millions of years. Further, life on earth, in some form or other, has been present for hundreds of millions of years.
Despite this long history of various life-forms, mankind has only walked the surface of the earth for a mere handful of millions of years, and for most of that time he was indistinguishable from the other primates. Man, as we now recognize him, first began his long climb to true civilization less than ten thousand years ago. The industrial revolution was a mere two hundred years ago, and the current information revolution began scarcely two decades ago.
The timescale of man is but a second in the years of eternity. His greatest efforts barely form a thin skin on one insignificant planet amongst the myriads that make up our galaxy, which in turn is but one of many millions of such constellations. It is a sobering thought that all we hold dear, even our most memorable achievements, are infinitesimal on the scale of the universe. Should you ever be subject to those most pitiable of faults, arrogance or foolish pride, simply measure yourself against the true scale of the universe.
Mankind has, however, already created much that can he can be proud of. Although we are still but insignificant, our progress is accelerating rapidly. One million years to the first glimmerings of civilization, ten thousand to our present stage of advancement. Revolutionary changes are now measured in decades. In this respect the eons of time are irrelevant. We set our own timescales.
On these timescales we have only to consider where man will be in a matter of decades, to appreciate just how fast we are developing. We may be able to comprehend the scale of the changes that have occurred over the past centuries; but, even then, barely so. They would be totally incomprehensible, though, to an observer from the past who did not have the advantage of the historical perspective. The pace of change is such, therefore, that it is almost pointless to speculate on where man might be a thousand years from now.
It is quite sufficient to simply appreciate the potential of man, now that the chain reaction has begun.
A further thought, to reduce our arrogance to more manageable proportions, is that we may not be the only sentient beings in the universe. Indeed, out of the countless millions of star system, it would be the supreme arrogance, and sublime foolishness, to believe that the creation of sentient life-forms is the unique prerogative of this insignificant speck of a planet.
Even if we assume that such beings were subject to exactly the same evolutionary pressures as ourselves, with their inordinately long timescales, there are still conceptual problems. Consider, for example, a variation of less than one part in a thousand in the rate of development. Allowing simply for this one factor, other civilizations could easily be at least a million years in advance of us. If we cannot visualize how mankind might look only a thousand years hence, how could we possibly begin to imagine another civilization which is a million years beyond that point.
It is inconceivable that all such advanced beings would allow themselves to be constrained to the surface of their planet, even if that was where they originated. It is also unlikely that they are unaware of our existence. One of our prime drives, even at our pitifully primitive stage of space exploration, is to find other life-forms.
It is, of course, possible that mankind has already been in contact with such beings. The recent rash of sightings of mysterious flying objects cannot all be easily dismissed, nor can the equivalent phenomena recorded in the legends of many civilizations. But it would be a primitive race indeed, little further advanced than our own, which would be forced to resort to the crude technology described in the literature.
If such highly developed beings are aware of our existence, though, why have they not made themselves known to us? Why have there been no momentous meetings between the representatives of our civilizations?
One answer to this, surely, is that the contact would not be in our best interest. We only have to think of our own relationship with the other primates. Would we want to become the pampered pets of a more advanced society? What justification would we have to advance ourselves? Why conduct research when the answer is already known? How much easier it would be to simply ask our masters!
Our development must be our own if we are to realize our unique capabilities. We do not wish to learn party tricks for our superiors, and they will be sufficiently civilized to appreciate the problem. Hence, we are placed in the cosmic equivalent of a nature reserve; to develop our special contribution untainted by contact with other civilizations. Lest you are depressed by the prospect of being a second class citizen of the universe, remember that all sentient beings are equal. In addition, the speed of our development suggests that our contribution to the society of sentient beings is likely to be no less than that of other civilizations. It may be significantly greater. It is our duty to prepare our society to make this gift to the universe. To deny ourselves this opportunity is to squander the eons of patient waiting by the more advanced civilizations.
It is important to appreciate the potential motivations of these alien intruders. Our society, with its primitive tribal insistence that all outsiders have hostile intentions,has tended to view all aliens as a potential menace. Our literature is full of bug-eyed monsters. In practice it is evident, from the history of our own development, that society becomes increasingly benevolent as it develops, Additionally it is inconceivable that any civilization which was war-like, aggressive to other tribes, could ever combine to provide the enormous resources necessary to span interstellar spaces. Their efforts would, otherwise, too easily degenerate into internecine strife and oblivion, long before they made the smallest step toward the stars.
So we should look forward to our first contact, when we are sufficiently civilized to be able to handle it, confident that it will be the most momentous event in the short history of mankind.
In any case, it would be wrong to state that there has as yet been no contact. These beings will already be major contributors to ENTITY, and we, of course, already have equal access to these ‘paranormal’ records. Beyond this, though, it is arguable that our ‘guardian angels’ actually amplify ENTITY in our vicinity, to provide the best guidance for our future development. Indeed, it is not inconceivable that our high rate of progress may be largely due to this amplification. The possibility, even, of such assistance makes the role of ENTITY essential.
If we examine our past, the progress of evolution, we probably see it from one of the two conventional viewpoints. We may see it as a preordained process, following the grand pattern set by god. Alternatively, we follow the theories of natural selection, and believe it to be a random process; a game of roulette on a cosmic scale. In this latter case we are also likely to support the principle of entropy, with its prediction of inevitable decline into chaos. As a physicist, I certainly was taught this ‘fact of life’, during the lectures I received on the theories of thermodynamics.
Both of these alternatives deny any positive role for mankind. On the one hand he is a pawn to be moved as part of a greater game. On the other he is blown at the mercy of the winds of statistical chance, inevitably to be wrecked on the rocks of entropy. Neither makes any allowance for attempts by individuals to organize themselves and their environment.
ENTITY is the force that counterbalances both these. It does fulfill the role of god, and to that extent it sets the pattern for the development of the universe; from its creation to its ultimate achievements. Yet it is in no way preordained. ENTITY represents the needs, the desires, of all sentient beings throughout time. It is, therefore, by definition totally subject to the wishes of such beings.
ENTITY is only a guiding force. Although its ultimate impact, over many millennia, may be inexorable, its effect on the individual is extremely subtle. It allows all beings full freedom of choice. No man is a pawn. Nobody should believe in a totally predetermined fate. Each man has his life in his own hands; he creates his own destiny.
On the other hand neither is there inevitable chaos. Entropy is a useful concept for guiding certain groups of scientific estimations. However, as with all scientific theories, it is an approximation which is only valid until proved wrong. So far it only has been tested against a small number of special situations. It ignores, as do virtually all of the physical sciences, any organizing forces at work in the wider universe. The very existence of any form of life, though, denies the total randomness of nature. To question this basic assumption, one has only to look at the miracle of organization that is a tree, without even considering the immeasurably greater complexity of the human.
The greatest organizing force is, however, ENTITY. Throughout evolution ENTITY has been gradually reinforcing the changes which may well have individually originated in the random evolutionary processes described by science. ENTITY, though, has gently led the development from the simplest living cells to mankind. To make these changes ENTITY has had the resource of millions of centuries. It has also been working on a microscopic scale. The important changes were those to the atoms within the genes. It did not need the force of a hurricane to change the mature tree. It required only an invisible change to the molecules lying within the seed from which it grew.
It will still be incredibly difficult for humans to make similar microscopic changes. Despite the recent successes of those who have decoded DNA, we are strictly limited in our handling of such molecules by our relatively gigantic size. We should, however, imagine no similar limitation on ENTITY. Over many millions of years it has gradually formed the physical beings that we are. It has created our brains, with immense potential as yet untapped. Surely this is the final impossibility which challenges pure evolutionary theory.
The emphasis of ENTITY, having created mankind as the tool for its development, can move from the physical to the social change. Thus, the subtle influences can be brought to bear on the structure of society, guiding man to make those decisions that will further the development of civilization. ENTITY is no longer fighting physical forces. It now has the resource of mankind to help it work the social changes that it, and most of mankind, is seeking. We can, therefore, look to changes in our social interactions as the main evolutionary process over the next centuries. Evolution in this context may be much more rapid; if we are able to cope with such a pace, it is one of the reasons why our development is increasing exponentially.
Paradoxically, at this time when the prime impact of ENTITY has shifted from the physical to the social, our society has moved in the opposite direction and is concentrating its research efforts almost exclusively on those areas that are purely physical.
Science has already become the mainspring of a large section of our society, Within the foreseeable future it will become the single most significant aspect of man's existence. Eventually it will become mankind's great obsession, to the virtual exclusion of all else. However, I use the word, science, in its widest sense, as the true search for knowledge.
In recent years the word has, unfortunately, been corrupted to describe only a relatively narrow range of disciplines. The 'scientific method', as currently defined, requires that worthwhile knowledge has to be quantifiable, measurable and reproducible in tests conducted by independent observers. Such standards are admirable, indeed essential, in certain disciplines; notably in physics. However, they are by no means universal. This corruption of true science has now become widespread. These constricting principles have been applied, with enthusiasm, to totally unsuitable disciplines. These other disciplines have then been summarily dismissed, as worthless; simply because they would not easily conform to these irrelevant standards.
The development of mankind accordingly has been constricted, albeit temporarily, by the limited vision of the experimental scientist. It is true that the resulting concentration of resources has, within a very short space of time, produced dramatic progress. It has allowed man to start to answer his material needs. Yet it is only a start, and there is much beyond the close horizons imposed by slavish adherence to materialism. The most fruitful study for man is man himself.
This is not to say that investigations into the experimental sciences should be abandoned; far from it. ENTITY feeds on knowledge. To add to your personal knowledge is to live. To add to mankind's knowledge is to create the stuff of civilization. The experimental sciences are just as important as any other in this context. However, they hold no uniquely important position. The zest and enthusiasm we have shown, recently, for them should now be extended to all science; to the search for knowledge in all fields. All knowledge is precious, no matter how seemingly obscure.
Man should now redress the balance, and redirect his efforts to those disciplines most important to him; the areas of social development where the impact of ENTITY is being most directly experienced. If he is to conquer the universe, he must first organize himself. The journey to the stars requires an inspired bureaucracy rather than brilliant improvisation.
As a basis for this, man must develop his capability to learn. When a man stops learning he starts to die. The curiosity of a child is a virtue that should be encouraged throughout life. The restricted views of learning, based on the limited resources available to the elders of the tribe as they taught the young around the camp fire, should be extended. Constant learning is a natural part of living; it is life itself. It encompasses all human activities.
Equally, we need to recognize exactly how precious is all of knowledge. It should be collected, and safeguarded, as one would fine jewels, It cannot, though, be locked away from the light of day for ever. It should be instantly available to those who need it; as indeed – with the exponential development of the Web - we are now doing. Its disciples will burnish it, by their use, until it shines ever brighter. Organization of such knowledge, so that it is carefully protected and at the same time instantly available, is the challenge facing mankind. It may seem that the experimental sciences have already offered us the solution; particularly in the form of the computer electronics which underpin the developments on the Web. This represents, however, merely the building within which we will assemble the library. What books to choose, what the universal encyclopedia should contain, these are the real challenges facing the librarian.
Finally we need to nurture those all important organizations that will decide the future of our civilization. We have true freedom of choice, but this also means that the future is in
our hands alone. We will only be able to properly influence this future if we can ensure that our contributions are truly effective and fully reflect our highest aspirations.
Throughout all our investigations of the universe we are guided by ENTITY. This is where the limitations of the experimental sciences are most obvious. In shutting your eyes to the vast areas of the unknown you refuse to recognize much of the guidance offered by ENTITY.
Science is not just the prerogative of a few individuals in laboratories. We are all scientists. Each of us should be constantly searching for knowledge. Each has the ability to contribute unique information to ENTITY. It is a right, and indeed a duty, that we must guard and develop as one of our most prized possessions. It is an obligation that you cannot shirk. It requires that, as any true scientist, you should positively search for knowledge. It also means that you should judge this information, as you find it, dispassionately. You must remove bias, destroy dogma and bigotry, from your judgment. The picture you would, otherwise, record on ENTITY could be worse than useless. It might even, albeit to a barely noticeable degree, pervert the course of ENTITY.
To develop your own independent view of all that you experience is your birthright. To unthinkingly adopt the views of others, to write blank cheque for strangers to cash, is to give away your place in ENTITY. It is to lose your soul.
True freedom for the individual, to develop his own independent viewpoint on all issues, is not won solely by the street of the freedom fighters. It is won by the even harder inner struggle within each individual. He must personally assert his own individuality against the suffocating embraces of conformity.
Man is but an insignificant speck in the vastness of the cosmos. Yet it is within his grasp to conquer the universe.
He is by nature an explorer. He cannot be constrained, whatever the field he labours in. His history is a long progress of discoveries; of new knowledge and new lands. At present he is constrained by the limits of the planet Earth. He is, though, about to throw off the shackles of gravity and fly into the realms of space.
It cannot be denied that there is still much to achieve here on Earth. Indeed many would argue that this would justify restrictions on the development of outer space. Such a policy would, unfortunately, deny the basic need of mankind; to accept the greatest challenge the universe has to offer. Once man has recognized his ability to colonize space, fulfillment of such a conquest becomes inevitable.
Space gives mankind limitless horizons. He is free to expand without bounds. He need not be held back by any petty constrictions imposed by one planet. It will enable him not merely to colonize the other planets, and other star systems, but to populate space itself. He will be able to shake off' the chains of gravity, that limit him to two dimensions, and. create his dream worlds in all three dimensions. It will also give him infinite resources. Even now, humanity has barely scratched the skin of our planet. How much more will be available, to fuel the expansion of mankind, within the rest of the solar system; and onwards to the stars?
Most important it will allow for the growth of man's spirit; the real room for living. It will offer a challenge to the adventurous in the community, and hope to the less fortunate. The new frontier has always been a stimulus to the further development of civilization.
There is much to conserve in the environment, and from man's history, It is only the vandal who would want to needlessly destroy these painstakingly created treasures. But those who would seek to keep man earthbound are also vandals, for they destroy not the past but the future. To freeze civilization at any single point in history is to announce its death. Our society is inevitably dynamic; static it is destroyed, Thus, on the foundations of history and on that which can be conserved, mankind must move forward to greet the future as the inheritor of the galaxy.
With this expansion will come the manifold growth of ENTITY. It thrives on the open vastnesses of space. It is a net that grows ever stronger the wider it is cast.
There will inevitably be the heroes of this conquest of space; the pioneers who will fight against hopeless odds to establish a foothold where no man has been before. To them will justifiably go the honours. The nature of society, though, means that such individuals are only representatives. Even if you never leave the Earth you will still be part of man's journey to the stars. The development of space is such a vast undertaking that it will involve all of mankind. Directly, or indirectly, you will each contribute your effort. You will provide resources, manpower, ideas and above all your assent to the journey. Without the consent of the whole population of the world such a complex adventure would never start.
The world will gain in return. All men will rise to the challenge. It will be the uniting force that brings men together to fight, not each other, but the harsh cold of interstellar space. The spark that will create the community of man will be his desire to seed the universe; with life, intelligence, hope and joy. No longer will man fight man, nation war with nation, but he will unite to accept the final challenge.
The conquest of space also has an allegorical content. It parallels the exploration of the universe on a number of other fronts. The frontiers may be pushed back just as dramatically on Earth, by the ever increasing thirst for knowledge. These inner frontiers are just as important.
Throughout the whole universe permeates ENTITY; and it too is there to conquer. You must, perforce, master ENTITY, since it is already your master. You hold the key to your destiny. You will challenge the dark depths of space, be they without the solar system or within yourself. You will wrest your future from blind fate, and shape it to the glory that is, and will be, ENTITY.
The future is ENTITY, hope and joy.
hits