4

Shaper Journal 1.008 Hierarch 1 entry 0058--Shaper Naturo Seti

It occurs to me that the only order man has ever truly known in recorded history on the Earth is the example that nature has set. When man eventually succeeded in freeing himself from the constraints of nature in the sense of brutish survival and formed civilization, he re-instituted the same prison as that from which he escaped. He imposed a hierarchy with a few men being at the top, and the rest below them. The torment those below these men felt was not of concern to them, as they justified their positions by suggesting that they had played the game of life more responsibly, or more cleverly. To their minds, this belief entitled them not only to a better life but often times life itself. Likewise, it kept those below them from rising up against their secret masters. If there was a sense that they too could be among the top men on the strength of their merits, then it must be their fault for occupying the positions they were in. They needed to be more educated or to work harder. What those below often did not know was that those at the top were there for one reason--cunning. Certainly, there were honorable men and women at the top of the chain, but cycles of history proved that these men and women tend to become fewer as the power becomes more concentrated. Those at the top begin to enjoy the privilege and start to inherit their positions without actually working for them. Those at the bottom become acutely aware that there is an invisible wall that their efforts can never pierce. Without the right family, regardless of merit, one may find themselves endlessly mired in conditions well below their abilities and find that their abilities have no audience without perceived prestige and wealth.

History also shows that when this inherited power condition exists for long enough, those who are lower on the chain eventually rise against those with power. When the differential is neutralized, it often comes at a high cost. It would seem the only society with the ability to persist indefinitely is the society that keeps power moving throughout it such that it does not become dynastically concentrated in inferior men and women who have enjoyed its benefits without ever having experienced life from any other perspective. With such power comes pride. With such power comes exploitation. With exploitation comes what amounts to slavery, and with slavery eventual rebellion and disintegration.

Since the dawn of Protean science, it is tempting to say there exist no power differentials. Such a state would be naive. While it is true that power differentials due to money have been eliminated, we now have power differentials taking shape due to knowledge. Agron stands poised as a company to wield an incredible amount of power. When such invention and ingenuity occurred in the old world, the company developing something would immediately lock their invention down with a patent. In the case of something like software, they would make it illegal for a user to look at the code. This was their way of being sure they could remain in power. Like the faux-wizards of the superstitious age, they used secrecy to guard that which they did not want to be known. If it was not known, the resulting ignorance would result in power as people would turn to those that they perceived to know something as having some form of answer that was better than not at all.

The difference between nature and man then becomes obvious. A lion never "decides" to eat an antelope. A lion must eat an antelope. a man or woman decides to exploit his fellow men or women. Where intense profit might be made, secrecy and power differentials are used. One need only remember the historical practice of paying for absolutions in the Catholic church to understand the nature of man is to corrupt anything he touches--even religion--if it means he can indulge his greed. In this sense, man in civilization has never emulated nature. He has simply used nature as an excuse to justify his own bad behavior. He has looked to animals as though they would have the answer, and in so doing has become one--one that eats his own kind for his own benefit.

My task extends before me and the burden of it is onerous. How can I compose a system to protect man from his fallen nature? The only way for man to live in harmony on Earth is for him to realize he is not an animal, and yet he insists on asserting that he is. The emergence of the holonosphere has changed many things, but I doubt that it is sufficient to change the nature of man. The only thing special about my position is that I sit at the beginning of another cycle of corruption unless something approaching divine inspiration endows me with the supernatural intelligence to make the right decisions in my task.

End entry 0058.

If you want to hear what the Rogue has plans wise, you can go here to hear his case.