An Ecology of MInd (35 page)

He was escorted out of the planning centre and down one of the side corridors to be disposed of.

CHRIS WAS ALMOST OVERWHELMED by what Michael had been revealing to him. “I’m having trouble wrapping my head around everything.”

“Go ahead and ask questions to help organize it in your mind.

“I don’t know what you can tell me to top what you have told me so far. I keep thinking I must be dreaming or hallucinating.”

“Concentrate and look at things closely, do you see any of the vagueness and disjointedness of a dream. Walk around and touch things if you want. While I
made the surroundings change, I did that intentionally to make you see at least the possible truth to what I am telling you. The surroundings are also
meant to act as an ongoing reminder that this is real. I can change them if you think something else more useful.”

"No, this is fine. You said you were Jesus?”

“Yes, if you remember your bible story there was a time when Jesus was wandering through the wilderness and not much is known about him. Up to that point,
it was the actual Jesus. Much of the story of his birth was embellishments added by followers. He was just a man, but his ideas of how life should be lived
were interesting to me. I had been looking for a way to change the world in a positive way. As I said, he had already died by the time I found him. I never
actually got to talk to him, but I had heard enough about what he was espousing to give me a kernel of an idea to grow on."

"I had hoped to make the world a better place and while at times the teachings did that, overall I rank them as ineffective as a whole. I have found
religion an extremely poor tool for societal change in the long run. It keeps fracturing into splinter groups that fight with one another. I realize many
would disagree with that view. What I was trying to get across to people was good and the core message still is, but how it got twisted and mutated into
several warring religious factions was hugely disappointing for me.”

"I'm still somewhat baffled how a seemingly straight-forward message of love, peace and forgiveness managed to splinter into so many religions and
denominations. I did not anticipate how often it would be used to justify hate, torture, slavery and murder. I consider it one of my greatest mistakes so
far. My intent was good, and it seemed so promising in theory. It turned out very differently in practice. As I mentioned in the last seminar, it seems to
be a problem of different cultures altering the original idea or concept."

"Some of my tinkering with the progress of the human race I consider successful. I feel introducing agriculture was a success. Other actions were
disastrous. Extremely long life gave me lots of time to make mistakes. I still make them. The alternative is to never take action, but I am not willing to
do that. I have my own life to live, and that includes taking actions I choose."

“You also said you were Gengis Khan," said Chris. "It seems like an incompatible thing to go from being Jesus to one of the biggest killers and conquerors
in history.”

“Not really, I am at my core a pragmatist. If I cannot achieve the change, I want in one way, I will try another and even alter my goals to something that
seems more workable if necessary. If changing the world though peaceful means is not working, I have no problem using force.”

“While Gengis Khan was responsible for much death during his conquests, his resulting empire did a lot to improve the lives of many people over the long
run. My thinking tends to be longer term than most people. Long life does that. I count my time as him as being a successful, though limited, endeavor.”

“The world and how men think has changed a lot over the millennia. Some of that is my doing. Much of it is not. I actually rely on human thought and
inventiveness to teach me new things and alter my own thinking. I try to adapt my thinking to changes around me."

"The twentieth century brought a huge increase in my powers and abilities. The more I understood about matter and its nature, the better I could manipulate
it. An understanding of living cells granted me greater abilities. Most of my limits were due to a lack of understanding of the true nature of matter and
living things. I had always been able to do more things with my own body more because of an intuitive sense about it rather than any difference in my
ability. Internal or external, I have the same abilities but the understanding of what I am doing varies."

"Even with my own body, it was often more a change in appearance than in the actual underlying structure. For example, I was a woman many times during my
history for reasons of variety, curiosity or blending in with a group. It was merely in appearance only, though. I was capable of a very convincing
appearance, but it was still only that. A better understanding of genetics and DNA allowed me to change my body, right down to the cellular and DNA
structure to become for the first time, a total biologic woman.

"Man's understanding of the world and his technology grew at a phenomenal rate, and my abilities grew even faster. An understanding of a theory or process
meant I could do it. Once subatomic particles were discovered, and theories for more particles postulated it gave me the knowledge of what to look for to
go further on my own. I can sense things down to the subatomic level. I always could. I just did not know what to look for or understand what I was
sensing. I don't need massive multi-billion dollar particle accelerators to smash atoms to create ever smaller particles. I can do it with my mind,
anywhere, at any time."

"When the atomic bomb was detonated, and nuclear fusion was still only a theory; I could create my own fusion reactions with my mind and use the power
generated to expand my strength and abilities to a much larger extent. When Crick and Watson discovered the nature of DNA, I could examine it in greater
detail than a microscope and unravel its coding. Whole new abilities in dealing with living organisms opened up with my understanding. No longer was I
unable to duplicate living creatures."

"When the space program came along, I also moved into space. The idea of doing that had not even occurred to me until humans started to consider the
possibility. First, I sent a probe to the Sun to act as a gigantic additional energy source and later sent drones to all the planets in the solar system,
having them explore the planets before moving them to the molten cores, just as I had on Earth. With each expansion in energy source, my powers and
abilities grew further. A few years ago, I sent one of my bodies as a probe to Alpha Centauri, the closest star to the Sun. It arrived there about a month
ago, and it also acts as a large energy source. Those efforts expanded my radius of total matter control to about five miles."

"Increases in my abilities were not limited to strictly power. I use the research from Redstone to keep up to date with the latest theories and thinking in
a wide range of areas. One area I explored was some theories in computing. Often the theories can postulate things that cannot be built yet with current
technology. I don't have those limitations. If I can conceive it being done with matter, I can do it. I use the advances and theories of others to continue
to expand my abilities.”

“I have created several massive quantum computers of a type that researchers think possible only in theory. They are a number of miles across in size, and
they are all linked directly to my consciousness. Doing this has expanded my ability to analyze and process information. The computational and data-storage
ability this grants me is almost beyond imagination. My normal memory is eidetic, and I don't forget anything. It was not always that way, just since the
original expression of my abilities. The quantum computers add the computational aspect, and I like keeping the information stored there as well as a sort
of computer back up in case anything happens to my own memory."

"For the past several months I have been storing the data needed to recreate much of Earth and its living creatures, including humans from raw matter in
the case it was ever destroyed. I have done this by mapping the actual molecular positions of large areas of the planet. In the same way that all the
information to create an elephant or a human and all the processes that go on in cells, organs and systems, can be encoded within a single DNA molecule, I
can encode whole ecosystems in a quantum format. You, Margaret, Nora and Cody, and millions of others are all stored and could be recreated if needed,
memories and all."

"Everything was progressing in what seemed to me to be an orderly and planned fashion. Then the aliens came."

KIM WALKED DOWN THE SIDEWALK towards Morrell's. It was a nice sunny day, and she was wearing black jeans with a plum colored leather jacket and a
light-blue silk top along with high heels. She had phoned Wendy last night, and they had arranged to meet for lunch. Kim had the impression that Wendy was
being withdrawn and distant from her but as far as she knew the problems had been solved. Don was free; things were cleaned up with her superiors at the
NSA, and Kim had taken further steps to ensure the Chinese took no action against Wendy. Oh well, she thought; it was a beautiful day, and she would find
out if there was a problem over lunch. Kim was humming a song that was currently popular on the radio as she walked the last bit to Morrell's.

When she entered she saw Wendy and her brother Don at a table over in the corner. They were each sitting with their back to a wall. They seem sort of
defensive thought Kim. Something is up. "Hi girlfriend, hi Don. How is everything going?"

"Everything is fine," answered Wendy but her body language seemed slightly evasive.

Kim took a seat across from them. "Sorry I had to leave so suddenly last time but something unexpected and urgent came up."

"Oh, no problem. I understand," said Wendy.

"Are you still hanging around Don or have you been home and come back?"

"I'm still here handling a few details. I took some holidays to spend time with Wendy." He leaned forward and placed her car keys on the table in front of
her. "Here are your keys, your car is parked in the lot two buildings down."

"Thanks. That's great that you could spend some time here. I'm sure Wendy appreciates ---"

"I reported my kidnapping and the dead kidnappers to the local police," interrupted Don.

"Well, whatever you think is best. You are the expert on police matters."

Don frowned at her and replied, "There was no sign of the bodies or that there had ever been any when they searched the farmhouse where I was held."

"Huh, imagine. We did discuss that if you remember. At least, you are free. That's the main thing."

Wendy spoke to head off the argument that Don seemed to want. "Kim, I am extremely grateful to you for what you did to get Don free, and I will always
remember that."

"You are very welcome Wendy. Always glad to help a friend."

Wendy winced. "Don told me about what happened in detail, and I hated being involved in the violence and spy-related stuff that happened. I don't ever want
anything like that to happen again. I decided I was fooling myself by working at the NSA. Even analyst work is dangerous as I found out, so I quit. They
did offer me a promotion as you had suggested, but I just don't want any part of the intrigue and violence."

"I'm sorry to hear that Wendy, but whatever you think is best. You have to do what you think is right for you for your life."

"I'm glad you see it that way, because I've decided based on what happened and the details from Don, that it's best if you and I don't see each other. I
greatly appreciate what you did, but you are obviously involved in a lot more intrigue and violence than I realized. Don has made me see that hanging out
with you is potentially a huge risk for more events like what happened. I will always be extremely grateful for what you did, but I don't want the risk of
violence like that in my life again."

Kim rapidly scanned the mind and memories of Wendy and Don and saw that this was what Kim really did want. She had been pressured by Don but there was no
violence or extortion involved. She was heavily influenced by the opinions and wishes of male members of her family, but it was a choice she had made.