Will we be gods or be Destroyed? Todd Murchison ski@sover.net good writing, writings, Todd, Todd Murchison, Murchison, y2k, Y2k, technology Technology continues to speed forward at an accelerating rate. It's clear that nothing short of a worldwide disaster is going to stop its development. Could technology itself bring about such a disaster someday? Will our own most complex tools and toys destroy us, or eventually make us like gods in our power? I started thinking again about where technology will ultimately take us because of a new development in the world of Physic's research. We have now slowed down and sped up light within a small area. Light - - it's supposed to go about 186,000 miles per second no matter what. We've nearly doubled its speed now and slowed it down to under 40 miles per hour! That may or may not seem like a big deal to you, if it doesn't it should. The speed of light has always been that one universal constant that is unimaginably beyond our reach to manipulate. For us to be able to alter that constant makes it theoretically possible now for us to alter pretty much anything. The circumstances in which we have toyed with the speed of light may have been small, short and taken a great deal of work. However, once we know something is possible, we tend to get much better at it very quickly. Moreover the actual experiment itself and its direct implications are of far less interest to me than the philosophical challenge presented: we little humans wandering the face of earth cannot yet seem to find any real limits to our power. The findings we have made in the last ten years alone now insure that the changes of the last thousand years could very likely be a drop in the bucket compared to what happens in just the next one hundred. Fear of change is a survival instinct seen in all higher mammals, and most people are no exception. For members of an advanced technological civilization most of us still somehow remain blissfully unaware of how science really works. Our instinctive fear of the unknown therefore gets tickled by the swift forward stride of technology. However, the majority of even the most ardent anti-technologists still eagerly reap the fruits of that technology . . . in medicine, transportation, communication, clothing and entertainment. And again, regardless of the opinions of Luddites - only a major disaster to humanity is going to slow our forward plunge. We made the commitment to technology when we switched from being hunter/gatherers to being agricultural. There are still a few hunter/gatherer cultures in South America and Africa, and their societies are far older and more unchanged than any of the societies that embraced agriculture. To become agricultural is to become technological. So ultimately where are we going? It seems to me that technology must either destroy us or give us powers far beyond our imaginations. I wouldn't put my money on either, both possibilities have some momentum and evidence behind them. I think that if I have any single frustration with mortality it's that I'm not likely to get to find out what happens! Deus Ex Machina - God from the Machine, is that where we are headed? Or will the machines be the instruments of a Biblical type of destruction. Many certainly claim to know, and many have their own belief - but beware of the lie in the middle of belief - the future of humanity is a gamble no good bookie would dare set odds on. We have managed to control the speed of light, that ultimate constant of the universe. There are two pretty radically different possibilities for our future - and I'm not going to guess which will happen. I've always liked roller coasters . . . and I just want to hang on and enjoy the ride wherever it goes. Todd Murchison is a Freelance Writer, Computer Technician and Professional Skier. He only gets this philosophical when he eats his Wheaties and wears the glasses that make him look smart.