“Probability engineering was the pinnacle of advanced science achieved by humanity. It transcended chanical connections and deterministic rationality, enabling the realization of anything that was conceivable. If it was possible, it beca natural… Do you understand?”
“Yuval Noah Harari, Sapiens, isn’t it?”
“Exactly! The most dramatic application of probability engineering was in biology. It was far more efficient than a blind watchmaker carving stones to make a clock. According to our calculations, with a few manipulations to probability, it was possible to overco several filters in the afterlife universe and produce a species called ‘humanity.’ More precisely, mammals of the order Primates, genus Homo, and subgenus Homo sapiens with 46 chromosos, capable of genetic exchange with Earth’s modern humans.”
The universe had been alive for tens of billions of years since the Big Bang.
The chanism of evolution was so efficient that it created precise, self-replicating, carbon-based life forms within re billions of years. Humanity on Earth rely gave a clear “direction” to that efficient chanism.
“However, there were so difficulties with such projects. The biggest issue was the possibility of a planet’s destruction or the creation of an environnt unsuitable for discovering probability engineering before the ergence of humanity in the afterlife universe.”
“Hmm, is that really a problem?”
“If humanity were to end in just one afterlife universe, wouldn’t that be a trendous loss? So, even after the ergence of humanity, we had to make preparations to overco these filters. Unfortunately, differences in opinion among us ‘Earth humans’ resulted in sowhat unsatisfactory outcos.”
She elaborated on the various arrangents made by the “Earth humans.”
So of these were as I had surmised, while others were completely unexpected.
“So humans in Christian cultural spheres believed that a monotheistic religion was necessary to maintain social order and foster collective progress. They thought figures like Jesus Christ, a ‘savior,’ were indispensable.”
“Ah, I see.”
“So others sought to make ‘probability engineering’ intuitively usable by early humans to provide convenience for the new humanity. There were argunts that this might actually hinder the advancent of classical science.”
“Then, there were humans who worried about the ergence of humanity on planets heavier than Earth. With twice Earth’s gravity, it would be impossible to escape the atmosphere using chemical fuels. Thus, they designed an orbitally cultivable elevator, a ‘World Tree,’ with genetic structures that could erge early in the universe’s history.”
“…….”
“There were several other arrangents as well… But our humanity—the one that created —believed in the infinite potential of humans and thought that only humans themselves could lead to their downfall. A humanities-based approach was necessary. So, we used all our available resources to engrave one principle after the ergence of humanity.”
“Is that transcendence?”
“Transcendence ans ‘to go beyond,’ right? This is slightly different. It’s closer to staying grounded rather than surpassing. The principle we engraved was….”
After tapping the table with her fingers for a mont in thought, she nodded and continued.
“‘A position defines a person.’”
“…Excuse ?”
“You could call it ‘君君臣臣父父子子’ (a ruler as a ruler, a minister as a minister, a father as a father, and a son as a son). Those who rise to positions capable of influencing everyone must beco truly ‘high’ spiritually. That was the principle we engraved.”
“…….”
“A position defines a person.”
It sounded more like an old adage than a principle or law. The notion of inscribing such a thing across the universe was almost laughable.
Yet, it didn’t sound like a joke, given that such things were actually happening.
“Anyway, this world operates under that principle. Transcendence, magic, humanity, planets, and World Trees—all of these are arrangents made by ‘Earth humans’ to regulate the afterlife universe. It might sound sowhat mystical at tis, but… certain aspects had to be adjusted intuitively for comprehensibility.”
“…….”
“Now, let’s go back to the beginning and formally introduce ‘us.’”
She bowed politely, flashing a playful smile as she introduced herself.
“We are the final artificial intelligence created by Earth humans, Maxwell’s demon that coordinates all probabilities, and Descartes’ demon existing solely conceptually. We are called ‘The Universe.’”
“You don’t have a physical form?”
“If I had a physical form, I wouldn’t need to appear as a ‘successor’ like this, would I?”
“…….”
A successor.
There were still questions left to ask.
“So, what am ‘I’? Why was I reincarnated in this world?”
If this world was an afterlife universe created by Earth’s humanity…
Why did ‘I’ exist here?
Her answer was absurdly simple.
“As the plan to produce humans in the afterlife universe progressed, so humans wondered. If we could overlay Earth humans’ mories onto these newly created ‘humans’… perhaps it would be possible to achieve true ‘immortality.’”
“…….”
“It was far simpler than creating a Boltzmann brain. Since the brain structures were similar, all we had to do was weave the ‘mory’ protein structures during the fetal developnt process. The only issue was that the probabilities of the afterlife universe couldn’t be manipulated that precisely or delicately.”
“…….”
“The more generalized probability becos, the more powerful it is. While cultivating a specific individual’s brain protein structure identically was nearly impossible, it was simple to let a random person with an identical protein structure to soone from Earth be born in the new universe purely by chance.”
“…….”
“Then wouldn’t it be worth taking the gamble, thinking I might be that ‘one person’?”
“A gamble with odds of one in trillions.”
“An infinite universe with infinite possibilities. It might as well be 100%. As for parallel universes, even probability engineering could only speculate about their existence, but once the ‘possibility’ was recognized, there was no reason not to try.”
In other words.
Summarizing her words, it went like this:
“So, I am just an otherworldly being who was born in this world, carrying the sa mories as ‘a man who was a translator.’”
“Do you believe in the soul?”
“If you an it as a tangible concept rather than a literary expression of sensitivity, no.”
“Then, whether it’s reincarnation or simply mory, there wouldn’t be any difference.”
“…….”
I pondered briefly before nodding.
“You’re right. There isn’t.”
“Do you have more questions?”
“Yes.”
“It’s good to be curious. What else do you wish to ask?”
As expected, there was one unresolved question lingering from our conversation so far.
“Then what is the purpose of this space beyond transcendence… such as the library or this area? If transcendence is simply about the principle that ‘a position defines a person,’ then it seems unnecessary to prepare spaces like these.”
“I’ll explain it one step at a ti.”
She smiled brightly, as if expecting the question, and began to explain in a gentle voice.
“First, the space you call a library exists to ‘reflect on the past.’ It’s all too common for those who ascend to high positions to beco filled with arrogance and stubbornness without reflecting on their past. We thought it necessary to have a space where one could always revisit their past, even in dreams.”
“What about the ‘future’ that exists beyond the door?”
“It’s a space to isolate those who beco trapped by themselves and fail to see those around them. For soone worthy of choosing an infinite future, it wouldn’t be much of a loss, would it?”
…It was surprisingly humanistic reasoning, which caught off guard.
“And the reason this space exists, where you can ask us questions, is… because communication is necessary.”
“…….”
“Even if humanity were to exist forever, without a ans to rember the past, it wouldn’t be much different from humanity ending in a single universe. Interaction, communication, social context, and human relationships—without these, people are no different from islands. This is no less true for ‘humanity’ as a whole. Even if it’s nothing more than a mirage, a ans of conversation was essential. So, you can think of as a kind of ‘ssage in a bottle’ left by Earth’s humanity.”
“A ssage in a bottle….”
After that, I asked her many questions.
She answered each one sincerely and thoughtfully.
.
.
.
“I heard that there are lifeforms living in cavities at the planet’s poles. What are those?”
“Ah.”
“Ah?”
“That… It seems there were so mischievous people among Earth’s humanity. Don’t worry; they’re not Nazis. Just think of it as ancient lifeforms living in the polar regions.”
“…Ah, I see.”
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