The Seventeenth, page 13
“So you’re responsible for everything wrong with the world?” I said to her.
“We’re a team, Ray,” said Jesse. “We’re all ultimately responsible for the parameters in place on Earth for this iteration. To meet the Council’s directives, Lucy developed the programming necessary to put ‘everything wrong with the world’ as you put it, into place.”
I paused and thought a moment. We were in paradise, then we weren’t, and it sure was a fucked up world compared to the paradise that was described to me.
“You introduced evil into the world, didn’t you?” I asked her.
“Ray, what you may believe, isn’t actually the truth, now Lucy —” said Jesse.
“Jesse, it’s all right,” said Lucy.
“Are you Satan?” I asked her.
“Ray —” said Jesse.
“Jesse…it’s all right,” she said.
She said to me, “Your understanding of good and evil, or positive and negative, is overly simplistic. Because I have significant experience with humans on Earth, I understand it, even though it’s wrong.”
“Be patient, Lucy,” said Jesse.
“There is no Satan, there is no devil, there are no evil forces working against God and his joyful goodness. None of those stories you’ve read or heard are true. With a few key exceptions, every word of the Bible, the Talmud, the Koran, and every other religious text, is rubbish, written by con artists who preyed on ancient fears. I remain amazed at the human predilection for continuing to believe in that nonsense thousands of years later.” she said.
“Lucy! I said to be patient, not direct,” he said. “Let me do this, please.”
“Is what she said true? Is it all nonsense?” I asked.
He replied, “I wouldn’t put it as bluntly as Lucy did. As she said, there are a few key exceptions. We aren’t completely divorced from those texts because we chose to leverage religion on Earth to meet certain goals. However, if we’re to characterize my father as God, which is adequate though not accurate, to describe any of the ancient texts as the word of God in any way one wishes to define it, is wrong.”
“So all of religion is bullshit, then,” I said, tersely.
“Well, I wouldn’t go that far, but I think it’s fair to say that on Earth, religion isn’t done well.”
“How is the world so wrong then?”
Jesse explained that Lucy performed the initial programming that introduced evil, sin, death, disease, addiction to drugs, mental illness, aging, pain, suffering, sadness, despair, and a multitude of other negative emotions, trials, and tribulations across the entirety of human experience. The Council directed that each of the Vits should experience many forms of negativity to push them forward into advancing themselves and human society. There should be just enough joy and happiness to keep them active and to thrive, but enough negativity working against them to generate consistently and constant improvement over time.
“What about all the stupid people? Why did you create so many of them? That doesn’t help us advance our civilization. It stunts our growth,” I said.
Lucy replied, “That’s the negative programming. Lower intelligence is a roadblock to overcome and therefore a form of suffering. Intelligent people must engage with people of lower intelligence, and for them, that’s a form of constant suffering.”
The negative experiences applied across all humans were spread randomly. After all of the negative aspects were placed into the system and set to fester over time, Lucy’s primary role became Director of Balance. Her job was to keep the negative distributions random and even, and working with Jesse, equalize the positive and negative aspects of the simulation over time.
That explains why, in general, there were areas of the Earth better off than others, and specific people seemed to have it all in life, but others did not. The negative distribution was evenly applied at first. But, all of the negative inputs layered on top of the original paradisaical human condition and experience, and the randomness involved, created negative feedback loops.
“That doesn’t sound inherently stable,” I said.
Jesse responded, “It was easy to stabilize until we implemented the second part of the Council’s directives. The Council decided to reward Vits for preserving through the negative inputs and forces and punish those that were overcome by them. In Ulnaran, there isn’t a correct phrase, but in English, it was culling the herd of the weak. To the Council, any Vits who couldn’t withstand these tests of evil and suffering, and who attacked or worked against those who could withstand them, weren’t good enough to stay within the collective of Vits. It was only then that we realized this was their plan all along, to reduce their number. For what reason or purpose, they didn’t disclose to us.”
“Meaning what?” I asked.
“Meaning,” said Lucy, “We were directed to section off parts of the Loft. We were told to create what in English is called the Hold, and the Dump.”
“The Dump is Hell?” I asked.
“To your understanding, yes,” she said.
“And worse,” said Jesse, “As directed by the Council, the Blues weren’t told of this arrangement and their memories were stripped of all prior thought and knowledge upon entry from the Loft to Earth. They entered with no understanding of their native form, no knowledge of their purpose, and no knowledge that there was a Loft to return to. There was no warning that if they couldn’t overcome all of the negative forces working against them, they would end up in the Hold or the Dump.”
Jesse continued to provide horrifying details specific to how they methodically implemented the Council’s Third Iteration directives. The Loft was the place where Blues existed freely and experienced any circumstance through their thoughts, alone, in pairs, or in any size group, without experiencing it in physical form.
In the Hold, Vits had the ability to communicate their thoughts to each other, but that was all. There were no experiences through thought, just the ability to share them. There were no feelings, no emotions, and no senses of any kind. Essentially, it was the same as their existence traveling through space. The Council never explained what the final disposition of Vits in the Hold would be, just that they wanted them held outside of the Loft.
The Dump was the same as the Hold, but each Vit was sequestered and totally alone. There was no awareness of other Vits in the environment. Thoughts between Vits weren’t transmitted. A Vit in the Dump believed it was totally alone.
“What are the criteria for a Vit’s placement in one of these places?” I asked.
Jesse said, “I don’t know that I can communicate that accurately. Just thinking about it upsets me greatly. Vits had almost no chance to succeed and return to the Loft.”
Micah tugged at my hand. “The percentage of Vits who returned to the Loft after human death was less than one percent,” she said.
“Seriously?” I asked. “It’s that low?”
“It was that low, until I resigned,” said Jesse.
“But you’re still here,” I stated.
“He was only away from SRK for a day,” said Micah.
“I wouldn’t let him leave,” said Lucy. “I refused to be responsible for that mess by myself,” she added.
I looked at Jesse waiting for him to refute what Lucy said, but instead he confirmed it.
“She’s right. Lucy refused to let me leave. I think she even challenged me to a physical fight,” said Jesse.
“Oh, I did not!” said Lucy.
“Perhaps not, but Lucy put a lot of effort into convincing me it was possible to circumvent some of the Council’s directives.”
“Circumvent?” I asked.
“Cheat,” he replied. “Ulnarans are a truthful and honest race. It’s difficult for us to lie or deceive. But Talvons —”
“Be careful,” Lucy interrupted.
“— are more skilled at deception when they choose to employ it,” he finished.
“Thank you,” said Lucy.
“What sort of cheating?” I asked.
As it was, the SRK team thought it was unfair to inflict humans with varying degrees of suffering on Earth for the sake of advancing the race. But to then subject them to a judgment against their actions without pre-notification, knowledge of potential punishments, or a chance at repentance and redemption, was abhorrent. The situation was made worse by almost all of the Vits transferring to the Hold or the Dump without any communication as to why they weren’t in the Loft, why their environment changed, or for how long it would remain in that state.
The first cheat the SRK team deployed was a direct intervention on Earth, communicating the 10 commandments. They weren’t the 10 commandments of God, as was generally believed. Eight of the 10 commandments were the major criteria deemed by the Council to be the most important for advancing human civilization in a progressive manner. Those were the criteria used to determine the fate of Vits following their human death.
Any Vit in violation of the criteria would be transferred to the Hold, and in violation of multiple criteria, transferred to the Dump. Any who weren’t in violation, were transferred back to the Loft. But with Lucy’s negative tide of programming washing over the Earth, it was almost impossible to not be in violation of one of the eight criteria.
“What about the other two commandments?” I asked.
“Which ones?” asked Jesse.
That was an uncomfortable moment. I’ll admit I knew the big ones, or what I thought were the big ones, not killing or stealing, or coveting or something. I recovered though.
“The two that were in addition to the Council’s eight,” I said.
“I always forget those because they aren’t criteria. Micah, do you remember them?” asked Jesse.
“I don’t know them in English. I think they are, No gods before me and Name in vain? Is that right?” she asked.
“Yes, those two,” I said confidently.
Jesse replied, “We were addressing multiple issues at the same time. Religion on Earth isn’t important in and of itself. It organically developed largely as a response to all of the negative programming we forced into the system. It doesn’t matter what god humans worship because worshiping gods is a waste of their time and irrelevant. However, the diversity in religion at that time was too fragmented. We were wary of doing so, but our best leverage was an attempt at a unified religion to maximize the number of humans who would receive and understand our message.
“Those commandments weren’t about what my father wanted, and obeying them to please him was never the goal. Obeying them to avoid the Hold or the Dump, which he had no control over thanks to the Council, was the message we attempted to convey. We did so without revealing the true purpose for this communication.
“The ‘no gods before me’ commandment was just a mode for creating the environment that would make humans most receptive to the message. And the other one, ‘name in vain’, it was just something we added to get to an even number of ten, which is an important number for humans. The nine commandments wouldn’t have the same influence over time.”
During this conversation, Jesse reiterated that the other stories published in ancient religious texts were wildly inaccurate or just didn’t occur. Other than the 10 commandments, there was no other early intervention during the Third Iteration. Though the message was heard by many humans, it wasn’t heard by all of them, nor was it heeded with any consistency.
The 10 commandments intervention had little effect on the rate of Vits returning to the Loft. Beyond the failure of the effort, the intervention was not pre-approved by the Council and was later discovered during a government audit. The Council didn’t appreciate the attempt to assist humans in trasnferring back to the Loft by openly revealing the judgment criteria to them. The SRK team promised to seek Council approval before making similar interventions in the future. Human evolution and the return rate of Vits to the Loft remained an ongoing disaster.
CHAPTER 15
You Never Can Let That Go
After the 10 commandments debacle, the SRK team became increasingly frustrated and disillusioned with the continuing low rate of Vits returning to the Loft. They thought the Second Iteration was correct, with two million humans on Earth to start and not a single issue, as strong evidence for that opinion. Vits aren’t inherently evil, sinful, or disagreeable. The only reason any of the Vits became that way in human form is because the Council forced the team to implement the negative forces.
Many found this to be intolerable to witness. SRK became a shitshow of well-intentioned individuals hanging on, hoping they could produce a better product despite the lack of leadership or vision of the Council. Morale at SRK plummeted and over half of the Ulnarans working on the project left SRK to put their talents to better use working for other Simulators. Marvin and Jesse pleaded with the Council to allow for changes to occur.
* * *
At a meeting with the Council, Marvin thought to them, “We are achieving poor outcomes overall in this civilization. It is nearly stagnant. The return rate to the Loft is far too low. We are barely able to maintain a balance. This isn’t sustainable and it is cruel to punish Vits both on Earth and after. I am begging you to allow us to provide them with loosened criteria for judgment, and allow us to reduce the level of negative forces.”
With a singular thought, the Council communicated to Marvin, “The criteria for civilization advancement and judgment, shall not be changed. The level of negativity will be maintained.”
“Then allow us another intervention with humans. It is unfair to judge Vits who do not understand the process or the criteria. You directed us to put so much negativity into their existence that the only chance they will have to succeed is to fully understand the criteria and the process. We believe that doing so will assist in advancing the civilization overall.”
“What intervention do you propose?”
“We have the capability to host one simulation inside of another. We propose sending my son Jesse to visit Earth through this technology, disguised as a human. Without divulging the true existence of humans, or their purpose, or who we are, or who you are, Jesse could directly teach humans what is expected of them, in a manner they would understand.”
* * *
Surprisingly, not all of the Council members were opposed to the idea. But because unanimity was necessary for any change in directives, the Council declined Marvin’s request for Jesse to visit Earth. Despite the risk of auditors discovering the effort, the SRK team decided to proceed anyway.
“So you traveled to Earth?” I asked Jesse.
“I did, or I should say, we did,” he said.
“His mother wouldn’t let him go by himself,” said Lucy.
“I don’t think that’s an accurate characterization of the mission,” said Jesse.
“How did you get there?” I asked.
“Through a simulation-in-simulation technology. We call it a lifepod,” he said.
“Alexandra gave birth to you as a baby on Earth through a simulation? How did that work?” I asked.
He replied, “Ray, as we told you before, the great majority of what you have read and heard about me or my family no matter the source, is false. There was no birth, no manger, no shepherds or wise men, or anything of the sort. We arrived on Earth through the lifepod interface with the Earth simulation and took human form for just a few years of Earth time.”
“Yes, just enough time for them to size you up to kill you,” said Lucy.
“You never can let that go, can you?” he said.
“Because I told you that would happen and you didn’t listen to me,” she said. Then she turned to me, “He insisted that it would be similar to when the Talvon protests happened and he would just speak to them confidently and over time, they would all buy-into his message because it was sooooooo simple. I told him humans were not Talvons and that it wouldn’t be the same situation. And then he compounded the problem by claiming he was the son of God.”
“Well I was.”
“If you listened to me, you would’ve stayed there for the full 30 years in the original plan. But no, you and Alexandra insisted the son of God angle was the right one, which is why you barely made it through three years.”
Jesse raised his brow a bit and said, “We did underestimate their hostility, and the entire effort was poorly casted. However…despite the shortened duration of the mission, the goals were achieved, were they not?”
“Well, that depends upon how one defines success I suppose,” she said.
“Lucy…”
“What were the goals?” I asked.
He replied, “To teach humans that a life of peace, love, caring for each other, and forgiveness, no matter their transgressions against one another, was the only path back to the Loft. To prove that, I was willing to let them kill me, so that I could forgive them and then convince the Council that my forgiveness for all Vit transgressions should serve as a pathway back into the Loft for all of them.”
“And?” I asked.
“Once my mother and I returned from Earth, we knew auditors would discover what we did so we self-reported to the Council what our intervention entailed,” he said.
* * *
At the Council meeting, Jesse thought, “We know we have intervened against your wishes and we apologize but we believe we have put Earth and humans on a better path to achieve better outcomes.”
The Council responded, “This is a gross violation of our agreements. We strictly forbade you from this activity.”
Alexandra interrupted, “Please, let Jesse’s suffering and death on Earth serve as a proxy for the suffering of Vits. This can’t continue indefinitely. Let his forgiveness be a lesson to you about the forgiveness of all Vits.”
“We did not approve of this. We will decide what is best for our kind. You have no authority to make decisions on our behalf. We must begin a new iteration to cleanse your interference from this effort.”
“No, please let this stand. Let this play out as it is. Even if there is no change in the judgment criteria,” said Alexandra.
