Crazy messed-up world

Countless books have been written about this ape-descended life form that just refuses to take a hint. Kingdom Animalia, phylum Chordata, class Mammalia, order primates, species homo sapiens. This is its taxonomic calling card. But this life form still believes that just because some members of its species look, sound, dress or believe differently, they are from a different species altogether. Some of these life forms believe they are members of a distinct race because they can trace their ancestry back to somewhere between 2000 and 5000 years ago. This is funny because the history of this species is 6 million years long. Yes, 6,000,000 years. Prejudice based on not even one per cent of the lived experience.

This life form calls itself sentient and evolved because it can form complicated groups, organise a multilayered economy, build tall structures and travel slightly above the unregarded blue-green rock they live on called planet Earth. But somehow, this self-proclaimed civilised race takes pride in grifting its fellow beings and is found wanting when the time comes to show compassion for the suffering of its own. In fact, the primary existential threat to this species comes from the very weapons it has invented. This race is so naive, if not stupid that even the well-intentioned ones among it claim that they are trying to save Earth, not themselves. As has been stated before, the history of their species is slightly over six million years, whereas planet Earth has been around for roughly 4.5 billion years. That’s right, 4,5000,000,000 years. Their existence is not even one per cent in comparison.

Author Douglas Adams once remarked upon the soundness of their decision to climb down the trees. And the fact that they did shows how dolphins and mice are more intelligent than them. Advanced research has now proven beyond any reasonable doubt that the smartest creatures on the planet are the wooden structures they call trees because they feel no need to move beyond their own space, say little and quietly stand or lay about fixing the atmosphere the homo sapiens keep destroying. As a reward, they are cut down, and their bodies burnt to produce heat or used to fashion buildings, furniture, or paper that these semi-evolved monkeys consider the mark of civilisation. Speak about a death wish.

The sane ones among them came up with various ideas to ameliorate the lot of the most vulnerable. Religion after religion was introduced to teach this life form the sanctity of each individual’s life. They weaponised these religions, used them for further division and killed others in pure spite. Others came up with various institutions like states, governments, constitutions, laws, judiciary, police, army, and peacekeeping forces, all to ensure some peace. Yet, each of these constructs was used to persecute others.

For a species that takes pride in being cultured and civilised, this half-literate life form has squandered most of its very lucky stay on the planet. For the first five million years of its existence, nothing happened. For most of the next million years, nothing continued to happen. This species that has given itself the name human is so primitive that it hasn’t even breached the outer reaches of its planetary system. It just hovers slightly above its planet’s surface, visits its only orbiting moon and calls itself a space-faring race. It is so primitive that despite such unnaturally long life, this race has left its planet undefended, and what to talk about the assault of an alien exterminator, even a random giant rock from outer space could put it out of its misery.

This species reproduces sexually through the cohabitation of two genders. And always a grifter, it did all it could to subjugate, domesticate and annihilate the gender that is kind enough to carry the young ones to term, nourish and sustain them and ready them for independent life. While it takes special pride in its economy, it is so dumb that it still thinks that half of the population, the gender mentioned above, can be left out of the workforce. And despite having a population of eight billion people, it is so insecure that it loses sleep over an insignificantly tiny minority which refuses to conform to pre-ordained gender identities, stereotypes and lifestyles. That is not all. It is so greedy that it thinks that amassing and monopolising the wealth and resources beyond the extremely decadent needs of ten generations is a noble pursuit.

By this time, dear reader, you must expect to read about a redeeming quality to break the tension. It is my unfortunate duty to tell you there is none. But the situation is not totally devoid of hope. The ineptness of this species is the best bet for its survival. Why would any advanced space-faring race be afraid of this comedy of errors of a planet or race or meddle in its affairs? It is safe to assume that within the next million years, if not sooner, it would have annihilated itself after destroying the hidden resources of the planet. It will take the earth only a few thousand years after the species’ passing to repair itself and be shipshape for the next inhabitants or inmates. The dwellers of other star systems do not need to worry about this lot. It has not even cracked FTL (faster than light) travel yet.

Some among the species believe that its end would be brought about by its invented artificial superintelligence or then genetically modified hyperintelligent human beings because they would seek to dominate the planet. In doing so, they only betray their ignorance, lack of imagination and are often merely projecting. Needless to say, any alleged superintelligence that seeks to do that fails the fundamental test of basic intelligence. Reason? It does not compute. On one side, there is this piddling little planet with dwindling resources; on the other, the potential to explore the unknown depths of an infinite universe. Also, if there were any merit to this idea, it would have been accomplished in the past six million years.

What is the argument against extermination? For all its shortcomings, this species is capable of intense feelings. The majority of its population is in constant physical or psychological pain. And it feels pain more intensely than it lets on. This pain and the ability to handle it enables it to empathise with the suffering of others. When it tries really hard, it proves itself perfectly capable of redemption. So, for all living beyond or escaping its range, there is no downside. In the worst-case scenario, it destroys itself. In the best-case scenario, it lives and learns to get better.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 18^th, 2023.

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