Understanding and Applying the Theosophy of Octavia Butler’s Earthseed Toward Achieving Geoethical Nanotechnology
Allison M. Ward
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4. Accepting Reality and Delegating Power
There are many choices in the randomness of life. One is to accept responsibility to and for each other, and the world. Another important choice lies within the power of delegation, which is always a difficult and perplexing task. However, no matter the amount of problems and complications that arise in this process, the duty must be fulfilled. Earthseed suggests the following considerations:
"Beware:
At war
Or at peace,
More people die
Of unenlightened self-interest
Than of any other disease." [1]"The child in each of us
Knows paradise.
Paradise is home.
Home as it was
Or home as it should have been.Paradise is one’s own place,
One’s own people,
One’s own world,
Knowing and known,
Perhaps even
Loving and loved.Yet every child
Is cast from paradise—
Into growth and destruction,
Into solitude and new community,
Into vast, ongoing
Change." [2]
The author is trying to convey that you may not always understand life. You most certainly cannot understand life in comparison to the way things were or expectation of what they should or could have been. The overall human mentality tends to be quite childish, especially in this time period; wanting instant gratification, instant answers, instant comfort, and wanting everything instantaneously. Evolution is not instantaneous, and more importantly, not permanent. No matter what you encounter, there are many ways to perceive it. People need to step out of the childish mentality of wanting the magically instant solutions previously developed for them. We need to think about what we can do to continuously help developing new solutions and new answers for the varying challenges we face.
"Earthseed is adulthood.
It’s trying our wings,
Leaving our mother,
Becoming men and women.We’ve been children,
Fighting for the full breast,
The protective embrace,
The soft lap.
Children do this.
But Earthseed is adulthood.Adulthood is both sweet and sad.
It terrifies.
It empowers.
We are men and women now.
We are Earthseed.
And the Destiny of Earthseed
Is to take root among the stars." [3]
The importance in this parable is insurmountable. We WILL be a civilization that extends and expands beyond Earth. We already are! Although it may seem scary that we are developing technologies to take entire civilizations off Earth, we must realize that we were never going to remain here forever in the first place. We must break this chain of thought that Earth is our destiny. Our destiny is space, and we must develop methods and ordinances about what is to take place in this new territory. We must look forward and acclimate to the changing times and associated duties.
Our world is changing at a rapid pace, and that pace is accelerating. Ignoring this fast approaching new world is not an option. We must begin organizing preemptive defense systems for the advancement of technology. With hardware advancing faster than software, it is up to the people to develop systems to ensure its safety. How soon will this technology materialize? Current estimates maintain it will be twenty to thirty years from now.
"We cannot say with certainty that full-scale nanotechnology will not arrive with the next ten years, or even five years. It may take longer however; it is prudent to our survival that we prepare now for the earliest conceivable development scenario." "We believe it's not too early to begin asking some tough questions and facing such issues as:
Who will own the technology?
Will it be heavily restricted, or widely available?
How can dangerous weapons be controlled...?"
"If the questions are not addressed with sufficient deliberation, outcomes will take us by surprise and likely to be unpleasant." [4] Lauren addresses this in a parable:
"Chaos
Is God’s most dangerous face—
Amorphous, roiling, hungry.
Shape Chaos—
Shape God.
Act.Alter the speed
Or the direction of Change.
Vary the scope of Change.
Recombine the seeds of Change.
Transmute the impact of Change.
Seize Change.
Use it.
Adapt and grow." [5]
These parables are a calling for action. Use and constant development of our potential, as a collective whole, is the only way to ensure our survival. Since the beginning of its existence, our universe has been continuously evolving. Defining its destiny by considering past definitions will only keep us locked in the past, and we will surely parish. We need to face what is in front of us with diligence and love for all that we may continue to evolve peacefully, fusing our potential with the potential of the universe.
Footnotes
4. "What is Nanotechnology?." Exponential Proliferation. 2008. Center for Responsible Technology. 3 March. 2009 <http://www.crnano.org/whatis.htm>.
5. Butler, Octavia. Parable of the Talents. Page 103. New York: Seven Stories Press, 1998.
Bio
Allison M. Ward is a student in Psychology, Human Anatomy, and Physiology, wishing to further her education by seeking multiple PhDs. A futurist, Allison aspires to apply her studies in the development and implementation of geoethical nanotechnology and cognitive artificial intelligence.