By Rayden Tron
A single species crosses a threshold in symbolic processing ability and proceeds to claim every habitat and resource for its own. The consequences for other species are dire. Hundreds are eliminated outright and thousands more are brought to the brink in an ever-escalating spiral of carnage and ecological destruction as this single species, Homo Sapiens, breeds out of control and alters the Earth at will.
A few sensitive Homo Sapien souls hear Mother Nature’s cries for relief and wish to heed her warnings. Their tireless and thankless efforts stay the hand of fate somewhat and sprinkle wisdom about like seeds with hope some will take, but ultimately their work is like replenishing a beach against the relentless assault of the ocean of their own kind.
There are other shots across the bow, literally, from space. Asteroids miles wide sail past Earth unseen, like the speeding train around the bend, until it would be too late if one were in its path, threatening a repeat performance of what was done to the dinosaurs. Dying stars, flaring in supernovae, present an awesome spectacle and a window into the fires of creation and the darkest secrets of physics. Alas, such a show would be fatal for life on Earth if it occurred in the local neighborhood.
Put simply, in order to survive, man must change.
I have great hope that man can make that change. We have survived the first trial, wielding the power of the atom bomb and putting it down with almost all the planet intact. In doing this we exerted mastery over our biological nature. The next step will be to transcend it completely.
My stories posit a future perhaps 50 years away. Those who have inherited the ancient human quest for immortality have found it through technology. Those who feel or know from experience how dirty, rotten, and brutally unfair biological existence is have finally found a way to level the playing field. A new branch of humanity springs up, consisting of those who have had the contents, functions, and active processes of their organic brains transferred to analogous robot brains in shiny new robot bodies (read an excerpt from a story detailing the process).
Upon completing training and adapting to their new forms, these Techno Sapiens return to a culture that has given them mixed reviews. Many flesh-and-blood people doubt their claim to humanity and begin a whole new form of racial bigotry. Others cannot help but recognize their loved ones and stand behind the robots, mindful of the day when their own capacities will fail and transfer will be their only way out.
The Techno Sapiens’ mechanical appearance, physical superiority, and computer-capable brains present a whole new twist on the age-old problem of prejudice, but the robots are taught that their true strength lies in their values. Their ethic of service, community, acceptance, and patience touches the hearts of the silent majority, and their close calls with the Grim Reaper give them a maturity, an appreciation of life, and a message of powerful hope which they can offer for the benefit of others. As they increase in number, many of them take on the tasks of restoring damaged and polluted ecosystems, preserving the remaining wild lands, and building new homes in space, first for themselves and then for organic humanity to follow.
Despite their benevolence, the Techno Sapiens are quite able to defend themselves and do not hesitate to do so. In a volatile world fed images of both Terminators and C-3P0, that is sometimes necessary. It becomes even more essential when immortality becomes a possibility on the biological side. In a conflict that threatens to tear humanity apart, the new Methusalen humans claim self-interest motivates the opposition of the Techno Sapiens while the robots see only an accelerated resumption of humanity’s path to self-destruction, environmental degradation and widening gaps between haves and have-nots.
© 1998-2001 rayden@erols.com