The 2084 Precept

by Anthony D. Thompson

  And so it was that around 500 million years ago plants and fungi began to colonize the land, and they were followed about 350 million years ago by arthropods and other animals of elementary structure. Amniotes and birds began to develop around 150 million years ago in what we refer to as the Jurassic period, and mammals evolved about 20 million years after that. Homininae first began to appear around 10 million years ago. And the human being—the initial anatomical version, as I had explained to Jeremy—evolved around 200,000 years ago. Very similar, at the time, to certain other animals; in fact to this day human beings and chimpanzees share 96% of their genomes.

  What evolved, including ourselves, and how it evolved—in fact, how it is still evolving—is, without contradicting proven biological and chemical theses, a matter of pure chance. It is a matter of pure chance based on several haphazard and unforeseeable occurrences, similar to the ones affecting our planet's weather. For example, the majority of plants and animals reproduce sexually, the defining characteristic of which is recombination, so called because each of the offspring receives 50% of the genetic inheritance from each of the parents. Nobody knows how or why sexual reproduction came into existence, although we do know when—it was in the early history of the enkaryotes—nor do we understand how it has managed to evolve and survive. For it is not only a highly inefficient method of reproduction—an asexual group of organisms can outbreed and displace a similar sexual group in as little as 50 generations—but it is well documented as being a haphazard and sometimes dangerous method as well. The genetic reshuffling produced by the random nature of recombination can, and often does, break up favorable combinations of genes. And it can cause unforeseen mutations.

  Another example of the random nature of evolution is the way predators and their prey have developed. Both have always needed to continuously develop and enhance their attack and defence mechanisms in order to survive: the predator in order not to die of hunger, and the prey in order not to be slaughtered into extinction. The continuous evolution of the increasing strength of toxins and antitoxins in certain animals, including limbless reptiles, is a perfect example of this. And sometimes the predator has become extinct, and sometimes the prey has become extinct, depending on the comparative efficiency and/or the speed of their individual evolutionary processes. Depending, in other words, on chance.

  And extinction events play a major role overall. It is interesting to note that extinctions of species occur regularly, the best-known one being the Cretaceous-Paleogene event, in which all non-avian dinosaurs were eliminated. In fact, nearly all plant and animal species that have ever lived on the Earth are now extinct. And we have a mass extinction event going on right now, the Holocene event we call it. It has only been with us for a few thousand years, for the simple reason that it is associated with the human species, with humanity's expansion around the globe. It is a very deadly extinction event and it is working at a very high speed. And the human animal is the cause.

  And so we are just a dot in the history of evolution, part of a long, long series of speciation and extinction events. The fossils tell no lies. And extinction, like it or not, is in any case the ultimate fate of all species.

  So…that is my ancestry. And, since all organisms on our planet derive from a common ancestral gene pool, it is yours as well. We are the products of evolutionary chance, a system created by a deity or deities, or otherwise, take your pick. Or don't take your pick if you don't want to. I don't. The big mysteries remain unsolved including the unanswered question of where did those prokaryotes come from in the first place and how did they manage to come into existence—on Earth or somewhere else—if they didn't exist before?

  But perhaps all of this is a load of crap. Maybe the Jews have got it right—we did not evolve at all. We, along with the universe, were suddenly created 3,761 years before the birth of Christ. Who knows? Not I. I am neither a Hebrew, nor has anybody else provided me with any worthwhile information on the matter.

  The cause of these idle evolutionary ruminations on a nice, sunny Wednesday morning was—of course—Jeremy Parker.

  That asteroid business had me thinking outside of the box, a fine expression for which we owe a debt to the Americans, and which I apply as necessary in my consultancy work when faced with major and seemingly insoluble problems. Hypotheses in other words, and mainly of the 'what if…?' kind, and as crazy as you care to make them. What if Jeremy Parker were an alien? And what if Jeremy Parker and his brothers were capable of eliminating us, should they choose to do so? It would, after all, be just another extinction event, it wouldn't have the slightest effect on our solar system, or on our galaxy or on the universe. It would be like destroying an ants' nest, it wouldn't have any effect on anything—or to be more precise, it wouldn't have any noticeable effect on anything, notwithstanding that legendary time-travel story to the contrary. You know the one I mean. The one in which the butterfly got trodden on.

  So…what if? The only thing to try and do would be to persuade them to please not do it. Which was exactly what was already under way, albeit with a well-nigh insurmountable condition attached—getting our birdbrains to agree on something in the first place, and in the second place getting them to do something about it. So there was no point in even thinking about it. Superfluous worry. And in any case, the idea was ridiculous anyway. He couldn't be an alien. He was, and without doubt the police had already substantiated it as an irrefutable fact, Jeremy Parker, ex-inmate of an institution for the mentally disturbed. An insane person with unusual hypnotic powers and very advanced astronomical knowledge.

  And that, of course, was equally far-fetched. So drop the subject. Carry on earning the money and time, as time is wont to do, will eventually deliver an answer to the conundrum.

  This thinking had carried me through much of the morning outing with Mr. Brown. It had been interrupted by a salad lunch in Monika's apartment, but it took hold of me again in the afternoon and it still didn’t bring me an inch closer to any form of rational conclusion. I mean, asteroids for goodness' sake.

  * * * * *

  It was eight p.m. and I was just about to leave to go to Marie-Anne's for something to eat, when Jeremy's 'phone rang. Seven p.m. his time of course.

  "The meeting finished a short while ago." said Jeremy. "It was an interesting experience."

  "What happened?" I asked. I could think of all kinds of ludicrous outcomes, but at least he didn't seem to have been held for further questioning. 'Held' of course is the wrong word, in that that would only be possible if he felt like being held.

  "Well, they certainly have some security there," he said. "and it included a body-search. I was told that the prime minister would not be meeting me on his own, that he would have some high-level aides present. And so I told them I was leaving."

  "And what then?"

  "Well, they had obviously anticipated this possibility and after some mutterings here and some mumblings there and some whispered mobile communication, I was shown into a room which had clearly been especially prepared for the purpose. There was a bullet-proof partition of some transparent material or other, a microphone, several cameras recording the scene, and so on. And there were several armed security people outside the door of course. And then the prime minister entered through a door on the other side of the room."

  "So you did get to meet with him on your own?" I asked. Well, well.

  "Yes," he said. "The prime minister told me that the Jupiter event, together with the occurrence in Piccadilly ten days ago, had been more than convincing and was sufficient for him to accede to a meeting—highly unusual though this one was. I told him that the cameras were not a problem for me but that, in his own interest, it would not be a good idea for any live audio surveillance to be in operation, at least not for the first ten minutes. After that, he could switch it on if he wished, or even have more people join him. No problem, his decision."

  "And how did he react to that?"

  "He didn't blink an eyelid, Peter, he
just said that that was understood."

  "Very cooperative."

  "Yes, I think he realized that this could possibly turn out to be a momentous meeting; but only possibly of course. In any event, he made a call and had the audio shut down."

  "O.K., so he was keeping an open mind but, obviously, no more than that."

  "Quite. He might also have been thinking," said Jeremy, "that he could become the biggest laughing stock in world history if he weren't extremely careful."

  "I don't blame him."

  "No…well, I simply told him the truth, or most of it. I told him that I was an alien inhabiting a human body. I didn't tell him that I was a student, that would have made it even more confusing and would have complicated my explanation as to how today's situation had arisen. I merely informed him of the situation, I told him of the terminal danger involved, I told him why, and I told him what the only potential solution was. The human race has to change itself, it has to change what it is and it has to change how it is. The same as I told you, Peter. Human beings have to stop being aggressive and a menace to other species, as well as to themselves. The slaughtering has got to stop, and you have to mutate into benevolent beings. Provably so."

  "And how did he take that?"

  "He didn't believe me. The 'occurrences' were obviously of tremendous ongoing interest to him but, like you, he merely put them down to some amazing telepathic powers I apparently possess. He was skeptical of course, like everybody else including yourself, Peter. Nevertheless, he was mightily puzzled by the asteroid event. He was assuming it had to have some technical or scientific explanation of which he was as yet unaware."

  "So what did he do?"

  "He continued to treat me with extreme courtesy which, for a man in his position and given the fact that he presumed he was dealing with a seriously deranged person, was a laudable demonstration of educational excellence."

  "Or intelligence," I said. "Don't forget, his main interest has to be how he and his country can lay their hands on these unheard of brain-hacking powers of yours—or, alternatively, how they can persuade you to agree to use them exclusively for their benefit and not for anybody else's. And at the same time, Jeremy, he and his colleagues are probably scared witless anyway about what you could do with these unheard-of powers, should you ever take it into your head to use them for your own purposes or, God forbid, for someone else's."

  "Yes, that too—just like you, Peter." And I heard him enjoying a pleasurable chuckle on the other end of the phone. "On the other hand, he didn't ask for the audio equipment to be reactivated, and so we continued our conversation one on one."

  "So what happened then?"

  "I told him that this was the only meeting I was prepared to have with him alone. Either he could manage to persuade the other major powers—as many as possible, but at least China, Russia and the USA—to meet and start working to resolve his species' detestable characteristics, or the matter was closed. But that if such a meeting were to be organized, I would be prepared to assist by attending that meeting personally. At which point in time, Peter, you would also be receiving the extra payment we agreed upon." And I heard him chuckling at that too.

  "And what did the prime minister say to that?"

  "He said he would, if I didn't mind, like to ask me two favors. I said it depended on what the favors were. The first one, he said, would be for me to have some of his on-site colleagues—but not the security personnel—come into this room, take off their shoes, get down on all fours, and start bleating like sheep. Just for a few seconds, he said, and then they could leave the room again. The cameras would continue to function and record all of this. He asked if I could possibly do that."

  "He's not stupid. He wanted more proof. For himself, and afterwards for his colleagues. I can understand that."

  "Yes. Well…I did it for him. He was of course disconcerted, astounded, and speechless; to the extent that I had to ask him what the second favor was. Ah, he said, now that would be one which would frighten the other countries' leaders sufficiently to have them agree to an initial summit meeting. Something they could all know about in advance and be told by their experts that it couldn't happen. It couldn't be anything that would cause any harm, I said. I understand, he said, so how about another asteroid, a very big one, and hitting the planet closest to us. Venus, he said."

  "Venus?"

  "Venus. But I had to tell him that whichever planet is the closest one to Earth can change by the day, by the month or by the year. It could be Mars, it could be Venus or it could be Mercury depending on which point in time, although, admittedly, Venus is the one which can come closest. And Mercury's maximum proximity only occurs every few thousand years. But Venus would be a waste of time in any case, I said. Its atmosphere, which is the densest atmosphere of all of your planets and is mostly carbon dioxide, is covered with an opaque layer of highly reflective clouds largely made up of sulphuric acid, and they prevent you from being able to see its surface—and consequently any impact on its surface."

  "And so he chose Mars?"

  "Yes, and very appropriate too, I thought," said Jeremy.

  "Appropriate?"

  "Yes, because my research tells me that the name Mars reflects two of your species' main characteristics."

  "And those are?"

  "Religion and killing. Mars was one of your gods, before you decided to switch your adherences to other ones. And he was, in fact, your Roman god of war."

  "Ha, ha, Jeremy. I see what you mean."

  "Yes. Anyway…that is the planet we agreed upon. And I will provide the coordinates of the impact tomorrow morning to the deputy prime minister after receiving the information from my colleagues. I also suggested next Monday as the date. That will give everyone's physicists and astronomers plenty of time to make whatever preparations they deem necessary to be able to focus on the event in a concentrated manner. An event which, for them, is unforeseeable."

  "And how is he going to use this incident to try and force a summit meeting?"

  "It will instill fear, Peter. As we have discussed previously, fear is the one emotion which all of the species in the universe understand and react to."

  "Maybe," I said, "but what you are after here is collective fear. Not so easy."

  "Same thing, Peter," he replied. "My studies have shown me that in your species the amygdala is the brain structure that is the center of most of the neurobiological events associated with fear. It is located behind the pituitary gland. It generates the secretion of hormones and, among other things, facilitates the 'memorization'—through synaptic plasticity—of situations which incite fear. Fear is induced by a perceived threat. This can be of something known, such as death, or of something unknown, such as the dark and what may or may not be hidden by it. And there are various possible reactions to such threats."

  "Such as?" I interrupted.

  "Such as dread, horror, panic, flight, or concealment. Such as paralysis. And of course, such as anger and confrontation. And the greatest fear of all, as you yourself have pointed out before, is the fear of ceasing to exist. And, as you have also made clear, fear is the main motivation for your religions. The carrot, you said, is that if you listen to us, and believe in us, and do as we advise, you will live forever. And if you don't…well, here are the threats. My research has in the meantime confirmed that your species' religious fears have existed for thousands of years and have even driven you humans to frequently commit murder."

  "Murder?"

  "Yes. You said it yourself last week and I have done some checking. You mentioned sacrifices to your 'Sun Gods' and a variety of similar deities—my research shows that this involved the killing of children, women, animals and occasionally men, depending on whatever you thought the god you were scared of wanted, and whom you were therefore trying to please. The Crusades. The Inquisition. The various 'Holy Wars'. And even your invention of the existence of witches and the consequent torturing and slaughtering of hundreds of thousands of them, both h
ere in Europe and in the USA—Salem is an example which sticks in my mind—are all the product of fear."

  "So the fear of ceasing to exist is as strong collectively as it is individually?"

  "Yes."

  "And how do you intend to successfully induce this fear?"

  "The fear of imminent death?" said Jeremy with a smile, "I haven't thought about it Peter. But it's easy. First of all, the Mars event will scare most of them but, incredibly, not all of them. They will want to be convinced further. And there are a thousand ways to do that. But we'll let them choose. They are perfectly capable of picking on some event horrific enough to convince themselves."

  "Mmm…"

  "The prime minister will not, obviously, tell them about a sick person who claims to be an alien. That wouldn't work, they would merely laugh at him. And anyway he doesn't know what to believe himself at this point in time. No…I suggested to him that he should say his country has developed a powerful new weapon, powerful beyond imagination. And that he is going to demonstrate it. And that he believes that knowledge and power of this immensity should come under international control and supervision, that it should be jointly shared and controlled by all of the leaders of your species. And only by all of them. And to that he agreed. That will work, he said."

  "And so how did the meeting finish?" I asked.

  "Very politely, very courteously. He thanked me for coming and said that he would now be meeting with his associates, the ones he most confided in. And that, really, was that. It went quite well, in my view, and he didn't have the audio switched on at any time. Naturally, he will be telling his associates what he won't be telling his summit partners, namely that I am a lunatic who thinks he is an alien occupying a human body. But they will definitely be taking my telepathic powers and my abilities to influence extraterrestrial objects—or at least, to forecast their movements—far more seriously than before."