Longevity

A common theme I find in many of my science fiction books is the search for longevity. This search comes in different forms. It can be in the form of individual longevity or in longevity of the human species and it's descendants. Usually, the search for longevity includes both. However, both are so foolishly short-sighted.

The real hope seems to be to search for a way to turn death itself backwards and keep it from happening. Failing that, the goal seems to be to establish a life of experience that isn't so pathetically short. Perhaps man can someday actually watch the birth, life, and death of a star. If we can't get this, then perhaps man itself can fight to live and make a difference on the Universe rather than existing for the teeniest expanse of time compared the billions of years the universe has existed for. And yet, all of this is pathetic when highlighted against the facts.

On the positive side of the ledger it shows that humanity is full of vitality and that many do not wish to see that life end. This view, at least, seems to recognize that there is something special about life itself and that to risk it ending arbitrarily or without some kind of fight is a kind of sacrilege. However, this recognition seems misplaced. It's almost a religious belief that somehow mankind should be preserved.

Yet, what is there that is special about life that isn't special about minerals or plasma or any other natural phenomenon? If all is a natural pheneomenon then there is no purpose to living or not living, to existing as an animal or a mineral. Existence itself has no purpose. All you can really say is that you might as well enjoy your existence if you can.

Do good deeds if that makes you happy. Work on discovering new facts about the Universe and make youself wise. Find a mate and procreate. Be a hedonist and serve every selfish desire you can contrive. Wallow in misery and despair and pain. Do anything at all or nothing. All of these fates have the same meaning: nothing.

As Solomon said 30 centuries ago, "Meaningless! Meaningless! Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!" (Ecclesiastes 1:2) If you ever have an interest in it, this main has explored many ways of passing the time on earth and he found all of them meaningless. He tried wisdom, pleasures, insanity, work, oppression, friendlessness, advancement, and riches. His conclusion is that anything other than working to honor God is meaningless. My conclusion is the same.

If a way is contrived for man to live forever, to make the body strong enough to resist any damage, to make it last and repair itself perfectly forever, then what? Eventually, the Universe will become a uniform temperature across all the expanse of the universe at just above absolutely zero—according to current science. It might collapse and reform. It might do so forever. But why live? Just to experience life forever and ever? Sooner or later, the mind will grow tired and undo the work to preserve the body or simply go eternally mad. Who wants that fate?

If we make the human race last a bit longer even, to what use? What can humanity do if lasts thousands or millions or billions of years that it hasn't done already? Perhaps we can achieve some kind of utopia? Okay, suppose we do. We create a perfect society where everyone lives in harmony with everyone else despite diversity, perhaps because we've created our invincible bodies and know that we can't harm each other even if it comes to violence. What then? What's the reason? What purpose? Just to live and experience everything for the rest of eternity? This again leads to become tired and madness. Sooner or later, this life will grow dull and we will destroy ourselves or go mad.

However, I cannot express any faith in humanity's longevity. I do not believe it will last forever despite any and all efforts to the contrary. I, like Solomon, believe in this from Ecclesiastes 12:

13Now all has been heard;     here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments,     for this is the whole duty of man. 14For God will bring every deed into judgment,     including every hidden thing,     whether it is good or evil.

Man exists for a higher purpose, for a reason. To fear God and to keep his commands. To believe otherwise is to believe that life is meaningless. If that were my only reason, that would be enough. That is not my only reason, but that's another blog.

Okay, by my belief, I don't see any point to prolonging the life of humanity. If God created the universe, as I believe He did, we aren't going to impress Him if we live a long time. He's a long-liver already. All will prove is that we want to be like Him, but if we were created in His image, as I believe we are, we are already like Him. I also believe that the life after death is the real life and that it will be eternal, so prolonging life now is just a way of putting off the real life. Why would I want that? I'm not going to put myself to death to get there faster, but I'm not (totally) afraid to face death when it comes for me. It will come, I might as well live my life with that realization.

Similarly, why bother extending life of the race by making sure we are spread across the solar system, the galaxy, and the rest of the universe? We could then survive world or galaxy ending events as a race, but why do we want to? This serves no purpose I can discern in God's order.

I do not believe that man will ever really extend itself beyond this tiny ball of earth. Looking at current world events, I even doubt that Western Civilization's flirtation with atheism and secularism will last longer than the rest of the smaller blips on history's radar. In fact, I'm guessing that Western Civilization itself has already passed it's peak and will soon be absorbed into a civilization that may not even now exist or is now only a small segment of this world's population. With its passing, the desire to colonize the moon and other planets will probably lose much of its current fervor—some of that fervor has already waned since in the last few decades. I believe the emphasis on science and technology itself will probably be seen as a passing phase as the strong emphasis on the arts passed a few centuries ago.

Fortunately, my hopes for civilization and life do not hinge on such things. I am a technologist and a scientist, but those are just ways of paying the bills. I may, from time to time, be passionate about those things and the best way of pursuing them, but I put my faith in God. God's rule is eternal and continues forever. I will serve him and I yearn for the next life where I will be able to look upon my Creator's face. That will be a life of longevity with meaning and worth living.

Cheers.