by S A Pavli
“I’ve never seen anyone take a scientific theory so personally before,” he laughed.
“But does that mean..?” I began.
“No, we are still different species. We cannot interbreed.”
“Ah…”
“There is a problem though,” continued Kruzniet. We do not know the mechanism by which Genetic Convergence acts to create high level organisms. We would expect the normal evolutionary forces to produce differing solutions to the same problem on different planets.”
I remembered a phrase in the Bible, a phrase everybody knows, and cold fingers climbed up and down my spine.
“Man was made in the image of God,” I whispered.
“Hianja were made in the image of the Maker,” she whispered back, and now I understood their awe and disbelief. We had just proved the existence of God.
It took me a minute or two to recover my wits. As a confirmed atheist this was a bit of a shock and I was not predisposed to accept it.
“Look,” I began, “A few hundred years ago on Earth, people did not know what electricity was. They saw the results in lightning for example, but they did not know what it was. Is this any different? Maybe in a few years we will discover what this missing force is and how to measure it?”
“Yes,” replied Manera, “But that is not the problem. It is what this force says about the nature of the Universe that is important. This is a force whose only purpose is to produce a certain kind of conscious Life. It has no other purpose in the scheme of things, and if it did not exist the Universe would continue unchanged, apart from the existence of certain beings. Us.”
“But how can this force possibly work?” I asked, not prepared to give in just yet,
“Well, perhaps calling it a force is misleading,” said Krusniet. “We do not really know what it is, only that it seems to be an extra influence on Evolution, in addition to mutation, adaptation and natural selection. The “force“ shapes advanced life in a certain way.”
“But it does not necessarily prove the existence of God?” I insisted.
“No, it just proves that the Universe comes with a built in method of creating a particular kind of Intelligent Life. Make of that what you will,” he replied with a wry smile.
After Krusniet left, Manera and I sat around discussing the scientific pros and cons without achieving any further enlightenment. It looked like this finding was going to become another bone of contention between those who thought that the Universe was just a machine, and those who still believed in the ‘ghost in the machine’. The latter had become a stubborn rump, hanging on to their belief in the face of mounting evidence that there was no such thing as the ‘ghost’ and no need to invent it. Now, there was real evidence that the ‘ghost in the machine’ really did exist.
But this was my last day on Mesaroyat, in a couple of hours we were scheduled to depart for orbit to join the Settang Despass. The Lisa Jane was already loaded up and secured in its huge docking bay. I was going to say goodbye to our close friends and then there would be an official send off, transmitted live to the whole planet and on to the Federation.
Manera went to pack some personal effects and I pondered the coming end of my incredible adventure. Not the end though, an exciting new beginning. I thought of everyone back home, getting on with their lives completely unaware of the momentous events which were about to unfold. A new partnership would evolve with our new Galactic neighbours. Our new Galactic Cousins in fact, if the theory of Genetic Convergence was to be believed. A new partnership which I was sure would bring enormous benefits to Humanity. And for me? My thoughts went to Manera and our own personal partnership. The first Human - Hianja relationship, but I was sure, not the last. Whatever was in store for us, I was sure it would not be boring.
Manera came out of the bedroom carrying a light holdall and looking radiantly beautiful. She treated me to a bright smile and, hand in hand, we headed out to face the future.
*****The End*****
1
Table of Contents
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
