*It's been over a month, I know. What is my excuse? Well, you wouldn't believe the maintenance this thing takes to keep it running. It started out being that I just had to install a new part to give us all a smoother ride. Alas, my lack of sense caught up with me when I tried using the Chinese side of the installation instructions. Pipes burst, alarms went off... It was wet, really wet down here. And I don't like being wet. Its like eating pancakes. Five minutes into what you thought was a great idea, you realize you'd rather not have done it in the first place. Everyone would rather be dry than wet, except for Michael Phelps and dogs; also sea creatures. But I've finally fixed everything back here in the bowels of the blog. The Wizard of Oz can now get back to his shamming. Hmmm hmm hmm, ohhhh Dorothy!!!*
In the beginning of the wave humanity did not exist. Simple as that. There you have it. Well, go on...
All we know is that at some point on the ride from big bangs to sabre-toothed fangs, *check, check* humans emerged. Like everything surrounding us we were a product of motion in the wave; nature and nurture, if you need more tangible concepts. But unlike the other wave byproducts, we accomplished the unthinkable. We hijacked the wave itself.
Consider the instance in which humans gained the ability to determine the progression of the great wave: Our ancestor, the beast-human, sits in a field over a foreign pile of bones. It wonders what it has found and where it came from. It picks up a bone to examine, and a curious notion enters its brain. It uses the force of the bone to break the others into shards, forming many sharp objects for further examination and use. The first drop of blood has been added to the wave.
What gave our ancestor this notion? That, I think, is a most fascinating question. If the beast had known that a mere action of curiosity would ignite a chain of such incredible events, would the revelation have blown its mind out the back of its skull? In our present state, we as a species know that the wave is still far from our complete control, but we can plainly see that the velocity of our progress will continue to shorten the gap between the possible and impossible of our abilities. What a queer existence to behold: That we would have the capacities and the keys to ride and guide the wave of all existence.
On planet Earth at least, the wave is now blood red. There are many things outside of our control that would render this little trend non-existent in a second. And while the wave would surely continue without us just fine, it is wise for us to consider the inherent chaos of the wave, and if our presence in it provides a unique opportunity for all life. We have the ability to give life a chance in the deluge of the wave. We have snorkels. This is the foundation for our case in the right to determine its path: As far as we know, it is ourselves and not mother nature that have the only ability to sustain permanence of existence. We alone have proven capable of bending the wave on this planet to such a trend. Our ancestor, the beast with the bone in hand, must have been so weary of the chaos surrounding it. It had cried out to God for solace in its misery, and had only heard the faint mysteries of the wind. Control was the only solace it found that day, and it alone is the great experiment our species has been tasked to carry out.
"Out upon nature, in upon himself, back through the mists that shroud the past, forward into the darkness that overhangs the future... Beneath things, he seeks the law; he would know how the globe was forged and the stars were hung, and trace to their origins the springs of life. And, then, as the man develops his nobler nature, there arises the desire higher yet—the passion of passions, the hope of hopes—the desire that he, even he, may somehow aid in making life better and brighter, in destroying want and sin, sorrow and shame... Into higher, grander spheres desire mounts and beckons... Lo! the pulses of the man throb with the yearnings of the god—he would aid in the process of the suns!" - Henry George
While this is our path in life, it must be remembered that humanity has done all that it can to ruin any chance for established equilibrium. This should not be so striking, if one understands that we are children of the wave. Yet some believe the wave itself as a child of a higher power, one that favors equilibrium, and that is what divides right from wrong in our small minds. Without God, everything is lawful, just as our mother wave has taught us. But, if we are in fact disinclined to this conclusion on the premise of whatever belief or argument, then it is our responsibility as wave changers to understand what has gone before us in the form of change, lest we repeat mishaps of the past. The more power we have, the higher the stakes. This time around, we may lose our snorkels.
Before we continue, it would be good to put things into perspective, for though we have great mastery over the wave, we are eons away from being in any form of full control. We are even further away from being able to afford any irresponsibility of its use. Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Carl Sagan!:
