Chapter 9 Chapter 9 Professor Keppel Predicts the End of Humanity

"I wish, Keppel," said Dr. Herdman Steining after a moment, "I wish you would say what kind of world your - our - aliens might create. To me , you know, I'm a layman to utopias and futuristic worlds—God, how unpleasant they are! Now they're in my vocabulary too, a dozen or so a year. Sometimes I wish I hadn't started. But if these extraterrestrial If people really do gradually populate the world, and stop what we call common fools—human beings—to plunder, usurp, destroy, etc., and say no to them outright, can we, then, even in general terms, imagine What kind of world would they possibly make? What would a world of sane human beings look like?"

"We have to admit," said Keppel, "that we are doing the most impossible thing. The premise is that these upcoming superhumans are stronger than us, and generally wiser. How can we possibly use our imaginations to Guessing their minds, discovering what they think and do? If we have the same intelligence as theirs, we should create their world by now." "In common terms," ​​said Dr. Herdman Stike in his usual mild tone, "try it." "Maybe, in general terms, we can at least say a thing or two about what their world wouldn't be like. What do you find in both your utopia and your future world? I guess what you get time and time again is The same thing, first a caricature of the new gadgets of life today—a five-thousand-foot skyscraper, a two-thousand-mile-per-hour plane, a radio on a watch; ; thirdly, the wildly grotesque, heavy-bodied decorations that attempt to achieve blockbuster effect in art. Finally, novel ideas about sexual relations and attitudes toward contemporary social criticism. But these futurists are all treated as—to put it mildly— -Thieves and fools. Think the world is at peace, but the atmosphere of safety makes them appear even more aimless, and they're nothing in general--or in a fit of hysteria yelling about conquering the moon or something like that. Evidently they have not advanced much in subtlety, refinement, or simplicity. On the contrary, they have never said a wise word; never done a beautiful thing. That is true, is it not?"

"Alas," said the doctor with a smile, "it seems that no one can do better. Some try to do earth-shattering things; some do it in agony. But whether you pray for the future or despise it, it It's always an empty pocket that can't stand up." “An alternative to a progressive utopia,” says Keppel, looking warily away from Davies, “is that the world of the future returns to the romantic scent of a poorly preserved past? . . . Of course you’re neither Believe; none of us believe; but the problem is that we have no material in our minds with which to give a concrete image of what is to come. How can we see or feel the future without creating and being in it? All the same..."

"yes?" Dr. Herdman Stein was amused to see his friend fall into the trap.How many prophets before him have fallen into such a trap and disappeared. "If we stick to general terms, we may be sure of some things. At least—as far as my intellect goes. These new human beings will become more and more apparent in every way, that is, they will be less and less They will be shaken by the influence of the public. In addition to being gifted, they will be free from all the miseducation and crookedness that hitherto no one has been free. Not only will they be better themselves, but they will be better educated. They will work together to make the world a peaceful place. Township. All sane people must think the same about this. They will keep the peace. The goddess of peace is no longer a means of coercion of any kind. What is the need? At some stage in the spiritual healing of this world, Maybe there will be a certain amount of fighting, police hunting down would-be dictators and gangsters, etc. But I doubt that highly intelligent beings who are increasingly able to control their genes will need to use force to eliminate the undesirable, The wise and prudent will manage this planet with clever means. No spurs, no reins.

"Of course there would be a world of peace. That is to say, that, barring natural obstacles and the vagaries of the weather, man would be free to go wherever he pleased, and to exercise his civil rights and duties wherever he pleased. It is an ample economic society rather than a poor society full of exploitation and high taxes. Everywhere, your needs will be met. In terms of food, comfort and dignity, you will not worry about the next step. In this wiser world, there will be no servitude burden, all work is enjoyable and interesting. Such a thing is possible even today. Imagine if the world were wiser, such a thing would happen. It's just that people use the word 'wise' The connotation is too broad.

"But when it comes to materializing this new world, the difficulty increases. To do that is to actually try to foresee all the situations that will happen in the minds of successive generations, each of which is not only more effective than ours, but also more powerful. Good gear. They're going to turn this planet into a garden-like world. No wonder. Maybe they'll keep part of it as a wild forest garden. They're going to readjust life that's out of balance now. Who wants to see locusts in the Cornfields overgrown, rivers clogged with weeds and floods rotting forests, plague rife, lakes full of crocodiles, or grasslands swallowed hectare by hectare, mile by mile? Turning the planet into a garden is not Meaning bandstands, fountains, marble steps, and leisurely strolls doesn't even mean the absence of danger, but it does mean firm control over the decaying old world, and wisdom in economic life. Smart business won't give us Terrible factories, hopeless industrial areas, unbearable noise, cinder piles, and a situation where one place is crowded and the other is deserted. It is stupid humans who make the world a mess. We are still such fools today , no one can unravel the complex riddle of private property and money. It beats us—like the cold, or cancer. Instinct leads to constant wars. If the products are scattered, we will lose.

"Serenity, certainty is serenity. You can imagine what the world will look like in the future, but you can rest assured that this world will not only be richer, but also more beautiful, as colorful as it is today, and all beautiful scenery will be restored by wise people. The green grass slopes shaded by trees, the proud river gleaming happily with its scales, the rolling hills, and the plains. It can be said that the future world will be like this. Do you realize that in today's world, there is hardly a tree A perfectly healthy growing tree? "As for their future way of life, in general terms, we can predict certain aspects. Nature is a kind of rhythm. There is music of atoms and music of planets. Every life is delicate, complex and rhythmic. Yes. Its rhythmic pleasure is in harmony with complex sensations. Those who control matter, all the energy in the world, and their own nervous response systems, do not allow themselves to be hungry for aesthetic pleasure. In everyday life Among them, music and dance are absolutely indispensable, and they cannot be without energetic and beautiful body shapes and colorful appearances. The differences in various poses and with different expressions are hard to tell, and you will not experience magical, strange and beautiful dance parties . Even if you try to paint that scene it's in vain. Their music may not be our rowdy stuff, and their decorations may not be the recurring circles, crosses, spirals and ripples.

"And what about their social life? They're probably very individual, with more colorful personalities, so their meetups are more interesting than ours. Those who are no longer interested in other people will drop out and die. The savages loved to congregate, and men like to congregate now as they do. The joys of socializing are not diminished. The heirs of our world, I think, will be what we call lovers, with a great treasure of character and body. I think, being a woman, living in a big interdependent society, they need companionship, friendship, friends and affection, and they need to be fulfilled in these areas. Maybe they will also go through emotionally fragile teenage years, experience having ego, extreme ego , the tempest of intense carnal desire, will also repeat the human romantic experience. It's still a valid theory of development, isn't it, doctor? Why imagine some ghastly rationalism in these things? Blood freezes if it doesn't flow , the imagination will dry up if it is not stimulated. However, these people will experience these things in an atmosphere of understanding and freedom. All the ugliness, vanity, vicious competition and self-promotion. And how can we, living in such a deceitful world, imagine what the sex lives of those wise men and women are like?"

"Ah!" said the doctor. "You disagree with that statement?" "I wish I could. But you're taking it too far." "Everybody wants to love," Davis said suddenly, "but everybody messes it up. Everyone. Doubts, misunderstandings..." It's one of those things that don't have to be said after all. "You did give us some ideas about alien men and women," said the doctor, starting a new topic. "Those who may inherit our earth live a relaxed and colorful life. Although we have not met them directly." , but I admit, Kepar, your description makes us seem to see and hear their elegant manners and colorful colors. But their career is out of our sight. What is their career? Our business today is mainly It's about getting better and more from each other. But obviously it's all over. No more Wall Street, Stock Exchange, City, horse racing, and casinos. What will their business be? Kepa What kind of work are they going to do? What are they going to do? Can you tell me?"

"You strike me like a sculptor's dog explaining his master's life to a musician's cat." "But—in general terms." "Well, I think, a few words can be said on the matter. Every living thing has an impulse to move, and the greatest joy in life comes from the full use of one's abilities. Even our poor Human beings try their best to use their brains in games, exercises and various trivial leisure activities, not to mention that our descendants will have a brain that keeps thinking. We don't want to let our minds be idle. "But the man who is passionate about science or creative work seldom participates in game competitions. The man who plays games is a degenerate, with an empty mind, wasting his time because he cannot make good use of it. Hunting was an important game in the old days ;War is really an enlarged and more destructive hunt. For lack of a better imagination, when idleness is bored, war happens...

"But you don't have to worry about the work of these newcomers. Our descendants will be eager to display their abilities, to dig and give new ways of life, make it more perfect and more suitable. They have a great interest in researching and making things .There is no doubt that they will be more sensitive to things.Enjoy it-really.Research and artistic innovations amaze the world.Unexpected things happen.Busy people are full of laughter.No one can know how much unknown things, We find joy in life only as far as our bodies and minds allow. The more clearly we know, the happier we will be." Kepar paused, made a grimace, and said: "The problem is, if you hear what I'm saying now, many people will object. Here, the three of us more or less agree because we are walking on the same road." .Unknowingly we develop ourselves and others. But to make a person's mind go against the prevailing ideas is like bringing an untrained dog into the house whose first impulse is to break furniture." "Stupid people have an aversion to anything they don't understand or can't grasp. They will be filled with malice by it and want to destroy it and remove it from people's minds. I think if we didn't have guards and security in our galleries , in one year every famous painting will be damaged, probably severely damaged." "But even if our contemporaries do this out of envy of the unconquerable, I have no doubt that our heirs will find many things to do, and the world will develop steadily and healthily in knowledge, power, beauty, pleasure, etc. .They'll have knowledge that I can't even dream of; What we see is exactly what is in front of us. Like a door that has just opened. People are beginning to wake up, become more awake, stronger and faster, and this future will change the entire course of history. Great times are like a crazy, unbelievable nightmare before the dawn. That's what I'm sure of." "This greater world," said the doctor, "does it exist, Kepar? In your terms. But does it exist?" "It actually is." "In the future—perhaps not so far away?" "There is no difference in terms of time and space." "Maybe in some cases, Keppel, one even has a feeling of nostalgia, yes?" "Yes," Keppel responded immediately, before adding: "My God! Indeed." "We'll never hear their music, and we'll never enjoy the health, the happiness that they had—nor can we have; their whole world is in the care of love, the animals Domesticated by the kindness of every man or woman who has a sensible purpose in life. It is a world far away. Have you never caught a glimpse of that sane world—except in general terms? No color or content, Kay Parr—not even in a dream, is it?" "Yes, I dream. I dream what I dream. I admit it. Often. When I wake up, it flees, fades away, dissolves in the filth of reality, disappears utterly .” Kepar spoke unobtrusively for a moment. "Everything is lost," he said, "not a trace remains. Oh, something remains. A sense of helplessness in life, a sense of being lost irretrievably. Ah! life can be like this , may be, will be! This life is not ours! Yet it is possible for us to have such a life, instead of the present life of consolation in frustration." "Kypal," said the doctor, "let us make this clear—you are prophesying the end of humanity on Earth. You are not talking about life on Earth. That new world is beyond all ordinary human experience. It's alien stuff." "Yes." Kepar said. What he said next surprised Davis. "That's what I hate," he said, "I hate the humans of the earth, these ugly people who trample the earth, or my spiers high in the clouds would stand. No way. Take it, gaping mouth, stinking, weapon abuse, bombardment, hoarse, jittery, rowdy, malnourished fool. Wipe it off the face of the earth!" "You have no mercy for poor earthlings?" "I feel pity for humanity in myself and everywhere, but its limits are not diminished one bit. I hate it..." Davis sat there lost in thought. "Kypal," he said suddenly, "do you believe in all this—about the newcomer? Or are you just talking? Please make it clear. You believe in this world, in a few decades, or at most A century, will become sober and wise?" Keppel thought for a while and replied, "No." "Oh," Davis asked again with a momentary intuition, "do you doubt it?" Kepar had a kind but mischievous smile on his face, "No." He repeated without hesitation. "That's my position too," said Dr. Herdman Steck after a moment's thought.