

## Preserving the Essence of Human Life

##

# Martin A. Moe, Jr.

Preserving the Essence of Human Life  
Martin A. Moe, Jr

Copyright © 2014, Martin A. Moe, Jr  
Smashwords Edition 2014

Ebook edition 2014  
ISBN 978-0-939960-21-0  
Green Turtle Publications

All rights reserved.

Author contact Martin A. Moe, Jr. (keysmmoe@gmail.com)

Grateful acknowledgement is made to Random House, Inc. for permission to reprint the excerpt from Future Shock by Alvin Toffler, copyright © 1970.

To those who have gone before, so that we could occupy this time, and to those that will come after, would that our legacy be pleasing to them

## Contents

PREFACE

INTRODUCTION

THE PREMISE

CHAPTER 1: TIME

CHAPTER 2: LIFE

CHAPTER 3: HEREDITY

CHAPTER 4: HUMAN EVOLUTION

CHAPTER 5: THOUGHTS ON HUMANITY

CHAPTER 6: DEATH

CHAPTER 7: IMMORTALITY

CHAPTER 8: RELIGION

CHAPTER 9: THE FUTURE

SELECTED REFERENCES

APPENDICES

APPENDIX I: THE LIFE HISTORY AND PERSONAL PROFILE

APPENDIX II: THE FOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL PERPETUITY

## Preface

This small book does not contain new and amazing scientific information. It simply organizes much that is known and that that may become known into a program that provides for preservation of the very essence of the individual. It is not the intent to conform to, or to deny, any sectarian doctrine or nonsectarian beliefs. Some may find the concepts abhorrent, an affront to traditional and religious beliefs. Others will find rationality, compassion, and a natural extension of humanity.

It will be difficult, for those who seriously ponder the current and probable future state of mankind's capabilities, to regard preservation of the essence of a human life with indifference. The knowledge that each human being is genetically unique and individually valuable, that a man has walked on the surface of the moon, that a human child has been conceived in a glass vessel, that a complete and viable mammal has been created from the biological program in its DNA, and that unprecedented access to computers and information have expanded human capabilities beyond recent imagination prohibits the intelligent human mind from dismissing this concept as impossible in any present or future time.

I've been working with this little book for over thirty years. The print edition was published in 1981, Although I've had reports from many people who have read the book, that it was very meaningful to them, and that they would be interested in anything that might come of this concept, the book has not captured a wide readership. And that's understandable because books without marketing and without famous authors seldom make an impact even if they do carry a worthwhile idea. And now the sheer volume of books produced through the open capability for publication that the ebook revolution leaves us awash in the literary efforts of millions of writers, all seeking an audience.

Most ideas, and books, good and bad, die in the graveyard of obsolescence and obscurity in our fast moving, modern societies. However, if an author thinks that a book carries an idea and/or a story that has merit, he or she does not allow it die. It is usually a quixotic effort but the author continues to seek an audience for the work in whatever avenues are available, and so I am expanding and republishing my little book as an ebook under the title _Preserving the Essence of Human Life_ , which more aptly describes the concept. **And now, as never before in human history, it is within our power to preserve for the future our genetic code, the physical essence of our being, and the history of our individual existence, the essence of who we were. And if we do so, the potential is beyond our imagination.**

The print edition titled _Project Phoenix: A concept for future existence_ , was published in 1981. This was in the early days of the development of the technologies that could make such a concept conceivable. The book did not receive wide distribution at that time, and may not do so at this time either. But the electronic publishing available today makes it possible to introduce such "out of the mainstream" concepts and expose them to many minds to die or flourish in the ocean of public opinion. So with expansion, corrections, editing and 30 more years of experience, I will once again toss it at the wall of the human mind and see if it sticks...

## INTRODUCTION

We all die. This fact has driven the development of our religions and our cultures for many thousands of years. We now know that a human life is molded by the inherited genetic code that forms us, working in concert with the physical and social environment in which we develop. In the past, and also in the present, we were and still are, captive to the misunderstanding that the human species is above all other forms of life and that somehow we alone have a special, supernatural spirit. Actually humans are biological beings with exceptional self awareness and intellect, and nothing more, although many hold a different opinion. We are just beginning to recognize that however long or short, however ordinary or extraordinary, however rich or poor, and wherever we live in time, place, and culture–every individual human life has the potential to be meaningful and significant to the future of humanity in ways large and small. The life environment that happenstance selects for us greatly determines the nature of the individual formed from each genetic code. In other times and other places, this same genetic code could produce a very different individual with a potential that far exceeds what is expressed in this life.

However, despite the current technological capability to preserve the very essence of a human life, our genetic code and our experiential history, we discard our unique genetic code, the foundation of our existence, and the history of who we were and what we did on the trash pile of ephemeral cemeteries and cultural mores. After death our genetic code deteriorates and reenters the biological dance of the elements, and our individual history is lost in the shadows of time and the instability of our cultures

The history of humanity is one of migration forced by environmental change, population increase, and cultural conflict. This has been a driving force in human evolution, human expansion, and cultural development ever since the proto human families/groups/tribes sought better sources of food and shelter over the hills and beyond the river. The result is that every inhabitable continent on Earth hosted a human presence long before transoceanic travel by large sail driven ships was possible. And since that time, technology, exploitation of the natural resources of the Earth, and expansion of the human species has already exposed the absolute ragged edge of human existence on this little planet. However, there has been little change, if any, in the inherent genetic, biological, intellectual, and cultural traits that have stimulated the human growth and development that is close to surpassing the carrying capacity of the natural resources of our Earth. It is patently obvious, that If we can not control our populations and our rapacious exploitation of our natural resources, that the future of humanity will not be growth and development–it will be a fight to extinction between human cultures for control of what little resources might remain in the biosphere of our planet.

It is also obvious that if we do learn to control the human genetic based physical and behavioral traits that served to lift us from ignorance and bestiality to intelligence and world wide civilizations–that human behavior must also change to the point that humanity becomes self-domesticated. We will develop into a species that has learned to live and survive within the physical and biological limits of the Earth's environment–and stability and sustainability will replace growth and development as the driving forces of human civilization. If we can do this, Earth will morph over time from a natural ecology driven by environmental change and natural selection to a controlled ecology driven by the nutritional and intellectual demands of a stable human population: in essence a Garden Earth. We will have lost the natural world of our birth, but gained survival. The current rate of human population growth and the rapid development of technology is changing the world at a faster pace than at any time in history. It does not appear that the journey from this point to a stable world culture will be peaceful, but there is hope even if the most violent and turbulent times in the history of humanity are yet to come.

The human genome is changing rapidly, there is genetic evidence that over the last five to ten thousand years the rate of human evolution has increased 100 fold. This rate of genetic change is driven by factors such as dietary changes, reproduction concentrated within relatively small cultural groups (assortative mating), resistance to various diseases, and acclimation to changing environments all serve to establish beneficial genetic mutations. The gene pool of relatively small reproductively isolated cultural groups, which includes people of similar intellectual and physical traits, rapidly accumulates random mutations in DNA and over time this accelerates changes in genetic characteristics that aid survival of that cultural group. And as the most successful of these traits are transferred to other populations, these mutations are incorporated in the wider gene pool of the human species.

However, the rate of biological evolution is imperceptible compared to the potential for manipulated change of the human genome now being developed by human cultural practice and direct genetic manipulation. For example, at the level of conception and embryonic development there is negative selection now available through birth control methodology and also through abortion of embryos unwanted because of sex, ethnicity, physical malformation, genetic disorders, and medical and social reasons. Positive selection is also available through artificial insemination to resolve infertility problems and also to select a sperm donor with desirable physical and intellectual characteristics. Also through medical advances, many individuals survive to reproduce despite physical and genetic problems that in the recent past would have eliminated them from contributing to the gene pool. And at the genetic level, direct manipulation of genes in many ways is allowing survival of individuals that would surely die before reproducing. It may well be possible in the not too distant future to directly manipulate the genes of an early embryo to correct problems and also to imbue desired mental and physical characteristics to the resulting human individual. Thus it may well be that when, and if, the human species develops a stable civilization that lives in concert with the resources of the Earth, that humanity of that day and age will not be well suited to exploration, migration, and settlement in survival challenged environments.

No doubt, however, that curiosity, innovation, and an imperative desire to build and grow will still be present in the bosom of humanity, and migration will still be a driving force in the imagination and character of humanity. But where to migrate when the Earth reaches carrying capacity (like now)? Well, that process has already begun. It will be many years yet, but the moon and the planet Mars are beckoning. The humans that colonize these worlds and perhaps other worlds in the far future will have to be intelligent, curious, innovative , aggressive, capable of taking extreme, but well considered risks, and physically adaptable to many different kinds of environments. These genetic and behavioral traits are more likely to be found in the individuals alive today than in the individuals alive in the future times of a stable Garden Earth. It may well be that the genetic codes of those of us alive today will be one of the most important resources to the far future of humanity in its successful migrations to other worlds.

Yes, this is the stuff of science fiction, ideas and imaginations that fill idle hours with speculations, stories, and scenarios of futures that can never be. It is, perhaps sort of like the visions of only a relatively few years ago of submarines, machine powered vehicles, flameless lights, tools operated by electricity, huge flying machines that whisk people and goods across continents in a single day, ice always available in the summer heat and rooms always at the right temperature, electronic devices in every room and on every desk that display large and small moving pictures and text and allow instant access to an unimaginable variety and quantity of information, electronic devices in every persons pocket that connect them with millions of people as well as the world of information, machines that take men to the greatest depths of the sea and to the mountains of the moon, and even the recreation of a living replication of a beloved pet created from the genetic code of the departed companion. You know, the products of silly abject imaginations of folks with nothing better to do...

Our religions teach that the physical body, however unique, is not important, and that the supernatural aspect of our life, our spirit or soul, is indestructible and that that is all that matters. Science, however, does not corroborate that belief. Any supernatural aspects of human existence are beyond confirmation through observation and analysis. It is now possible, however, to not only preserve our unique genetic code, the physical foundation of our existence, but also an account of who we were, our beliefs, our heritage, our skills, our relationships, our talents, our desires, and our messages to those that descend from our seed for whatever the uncertain future may bring.

Our individual future is also uncertain. Every day, the lives of people with much life yet to live are cut short by unexpected violence and accident. They had no thought or premonition that they had just eaten their last breakfast, and they had made no preparations for those that follow them in life to remember and know who and what they were. But now, almost beyond imaginative possibility back in 1980, it is possible for individuals to preserve the story of their lives, their unique genetic code, and even an analysis of the DNA that forms that code and the ancestry that it reveals. Thus we can preserve for the near and far future the very essence of our time on Earth, the genetic code that created our unique individuality and and the story of our life. We have but to make it happen. This book, however imperfectly, explores this concept.

## THE PREMISE

Today we have the greatest knowledge of mankind's origins and history, and the clearest concept of our potential destiny that mankind has ever had. Within a few generations, a mere wink in the flow of evolutionary time, we have begun to throw off the remaining bonds of ignorance and superstition and gain a real understanding of the nature of the universe and our place within it. We must no longer be tied to the traditions and doctrines of the past as we step into the ever quickening future. We can now gather together hard won knowledge on the structure of ourselves, our society, and the physical universe; couple this with reasonable inference on our future, and create new pathways for our individual and collective destiny.

Every human being has, at the moment of conception, a potential for existence so vast that it can never be realized in one lifetime. Nature, through ages of evolution, has equipped us to survive, and survive well, under a great variety of environmental and cultural conditions. The events of our lives, voluntary and involuntary, interact with our genetic heritage to create the person we become at each moment in the flow of life. The most fortunate among us experience in one good lifetime the best that can be developed from the expression of their genetic code in the contemporary environment. They may be quite successful and contented in their life and still have the potential for equal or greater accomplishment under totally different circumstances. The indiscriminate vicissitudes of life can also prevent fulfillment of innate potential. Early death, a physical or mental handicap due to disease or accident, world circumstances during formative years and a poor cultural environment can all prevent or detrimentally modify the full flowering of our capabilities and create lives fraught with frustration. Whether the circumstances of life are good, tolerable or wretched, mankind's lament has always been that we must leave the theater before the play has barely begun. We must still leave the stage, but now it is possible to preserve what we we are and contemplate a potential future engagement.

Consider the following:

1. Every nucleated body cell of every creature, including man, contains the entire genetic code, the blueprint that patterns the development of that individual's basic physical and mental characteristics from conception to old age. These genetic instructions function actively throughout our life. The body follows this blueprint as it forms in the womb, grows physically and mentally in childhood, becomes sexually mature, and finally, disintegrates in age. Every nucleated cell carries these instructions, and even though that cell may use only a small portion of the code to perform its function, the entire code is replicated in each cell division from egg to death.

2. Suppose there was a wonderful machine, one that could make everything that might be required for a full and happy life. But, as with all machines, it would eventually wear out or break and no longer be productive. And also, suppose that the machine had a blueprint, a construction manual that gave instructions for building a duplicate. If you owned such a machine, would you discard the blueprint when the machine wore out just because you didn't have the capability for building another one immediately? Few of us would, and although we may go to great lengths to preserve bodily remains when life is done, we casually destroy the unique blueprint that cast our being. The genetic code is contained in the nucleus of almost every body cell; cells of the skin, epithelium, muscle, bone, brain, nerves and all other organs contain the entire genetic code. Therefore, our individually unique genetic code can easily and painlessly be taken from the epithelial lining of the mouth, the inside of the cheek, certain cells in the blood, and many other cells of the body including stem cells at birth. They can be preserved indefinitely under the proper conditions. These cells contain all the genetic information necessary to recreate that same genetic entity when and if the proper technology is developed.

3. Communication through the corridors of time proceeds in only one direction, toward the future. No matter how much we might wish that it could be so, a message from the present cannot be sent back into the past. But every time we write or record our voice we are sending a message to future. Those who lived in the past have seldom been able to leave a personal communication about who they were and how they lived for future generations. Our links with past generations have been usually limited to names and dates on old documents, decaying grave markers, old family Bibles or in the fading memories of aging friends and relatives. Personal communications from those that have gone before are seldom more than glimpses of the individual, letters and writings created for contemporary purposes, and although valued by descendants, they seldom provide the essence of a life that one may have wished to communicate to those that live later. We are not the pinnacle of humanity. All those that lived before did not see their end solely in us, and we, as well as they, will contribute to the lives of those we propagate in turn.

It is now technically possible, for the first time in the long history of mankind, to record and preserve the chronicle of our life. Including, who we are, our values, our accomplishments, laments and circumstances, in our own voice, for those who come after us, both immediate and far removed. Just as our lives have been, or could have been, enriched by messages and knowledge from the past, so we can make available in the future far more than just the record of our name and the dates of our existence.

Even within our own lifetime, a recorded personal history has value. We can communicate with ourselves over the years of life and compare the way we were at age 25 with the person we become at 35, 50, or even 80 years in the future. But such histories cannot be stored in desks and drawers. They should be entrusted to a foundation charged with their care, security, maintenance and authorized distribution. The individual placing such a record in the care of a foundation must be able to specify exactly the conditions of all future access to that record. The possibilities are many and the wishes of each individual must be carefully followed without deviation. And if the biological re-creation of an individual becomes possible at some future time, that individual will have a direct communication from the personality he or she once was many years ago.

4. The contribution, both real and potential, of every individual human being to the fabric of humanity is unique and irreplaceable. The genetic code and life history profile of each individual is as worthy of preservation as that individual is worthy of life itself.

5. Mankind will persevere and mature. We have progressed through ages of biological and cultural evolution into a number of highly technological societies that exercise extensive control over our internal and external environment. This control has recently developed to the point that we can destroy and degrade our environment and our species or we can create a rich and varied existence in harmony with the life processes of the earth. In long term prospective, hundreds or even thousands of years into the future, we must assume that humanity will prosper and grow, despite occasional regressions, and that our cultural development will equal or exceed our technical competence. To contemplate the alternative is to deny our destiny.

6. It is the essence of humanity to conquer the environs, build monuments and explore the unknown. Thus whatever the future limitations, we will not cease to reach for what we can imagine. We have colonized every inhabitable continent and built cities and communities beyond the comprehension of past generations. And still we are only at the threshold of the future. As our ancestors could not begin to imagine the technology of today, we cannot envision the world a hundred or a thousand years from now. Already we have visited the moon and sent probes throughout the solar system; we routinely utilize the near reaches of space and have developed workable plans for space habitation. We shall reach out beyond our world, perhaps to the stars eventually, and spread the triumph of our existence to a multitude of other worlds as well as outer space itself. It is our nature to do what can be done. Just as colonization of new lands and creation of new technologies and new trade is within us, so is the drive to someday, perhaps soon, leave the cradle of Earth and make the first tentative steps toward the stars.

7. It is a wrenchingly difficult process, but we will eventually learn to live with ourselves and with each other for the common good of humanity. When our species matures, and we occupy the Earth in a peaceful, steady state, technological society, many changes may have occurred in the fabric of humanity. Individuals may live to great age, indeed it is possible that death will be an infrequent occurrence, and if so, birth will also be a stranger. Aggression among individuals and between nations, if not eliminated, will be controlled and constructively directed. Individuals with hundreds of years before them should have a great reverence for life and much patience to work out the details of their existence. Dependence on high technology and a stable, productive place in society may be the heritage of the long lived individuals of the future. Populations may be relatively small, very stable and quite resistant to social change and possible emigration.

8. The human potential for rapid colonization and establishment of an industrial society from a baseline of natural resources may be rather limited in the world of tomorrow. Low fertility and possible biological inhibitions to rapid reproduction may create the need for individuals from the past to populate new worlds. The very traits of aggression, competitiveness, individual enterprise and risk taking that fostered development of modern technological societies may counteract compatibility and social organization in a future society. Thus they may be repressed in future cultures, and perhaps even eliminated from the genetic potential of future individuals. Therefore, colonization of primitive environments may not appeal to men and women of the future, and there will be no place in their stable societies for numerous individuals recreated from past generations.

9. There will be a need, when the stars are open to man, for the free and aggressive spirit of the individuals that exist in this time to create the populations of far flung human colonies. Earth will never, barring great catastrophe, have the space to be able to integrate individuals from past populations into an advanced and stable society. However, when the worlds of other stars are available to mankind, Earth's populations may not be able to fulfill the demands of colonization of new worlds.

10. We should have the technology and science at that future time to recreate the individuals of this and subsequent generations from preserved genetic codes and give them life in new and expanding cultures; and if this occurs, they will be able to carry the knowledge of who they were at some past time into their new existence. The genetic codes of those of us alive today carry the diversity and genius of the individuals that created our modern society from raw natural resources and demonstrated the vast potential of humanity. In fact, the preserved genetic codes of individuals of the present may be one of the greatest of human resources to future civilizations.

Therefore: it is possible at this time to establish a foundation that will preserve at reasonable cost the very essence of an individual, the specific genetic code that forms and regulates each human life, and to also preserve for posterity and specified distribution, the written and recorded life history and personal profile of each participating individual. This program for individual preservation, Project Phoenix (for want of a better name), could be developed and administered through establishment of a foundation, The Foundation for Individual Perpetuity (again, for want of a better name). Although the possibility of a Project Phoenix may be readily acknowledged in today's technological societies; the question is–should such a foundation be formed? The answer must be an individual answer. No one governmental, religious, political, fraternal or business organization can determine for all people whether or not such a foundation may exist or determine who can participate. Only free individuals, independently convicted, but collectively active, can determine if a Project Phoenix should exist and become a part of the future of humanity.

The concept of "Project Phoenix" provides the potential for a new dimension to human existence, the dimension of perpetuity, and each individual that encounters it should rationally evaluate this potential as it applies to his or her existence. Each person has a unique perspective of the world of yesterday, today and tomorrow based on the interaction of their education, beliefs and attitudes with the flood of new information that arrives daily. Thus, the meaning and relevance of genetic preservation will be different to each person and the rationale for participation or non-participation will also be unique.

The following impressions and opinions on subjects of great interest and concern to most of us are presented in the following essays as one individual's perspective and rationale for the existence of a project for preservation of the essence of human lives. They are presented to stimulate individual thinking and evaluation as much as to offer a rationale for such a project. The opinions presented are mine, and any errors in facts or judgment are my responsibility

# CHAPTER 1

## TIME

_Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time, for that is the stuff life is made of._ Ben Franklin

The quest into the nature of time soon leads one deep into theoretical physics: Newton's concepts of absolute time and space superseded, augmented, by Einstein's relative time and space, the arrow of time, the world line, the speed of light, simultaneity, quantum mechanics, string theory, and the fabric of space time. These are concepts that few of us can relate to the daily concerns of our lives. It is sufficient for most of us just to understand that we are made of elements born in the fires of the stars and the matter that composes our bodies will mix and mingle with the life on Earth for billions of years before eventually returning to the dust of the universe.

One approach to the nature of time is to find a place where time does not exist. Imagine a sealed box that contains absolutely nothing, not even one atom of hydrogen, no dark matter, no photons or electrons or even an elementary particle. The sides of this box may be two centimeters, five kilometers or two light years apart; whatever size you wish for size is of no consequence. That such a box can never actually exist, at least not within this universe, is of no concern, for anything is possible in the realm of imagination (except, perhaps, the complete absence of time).

Once the box has been constructed and we have made absolutely sure that it is completely empty of every vestige of matter, we can ask if time occurs within the box. The sides of the box cannot be considered, they must be totally disregarded and be completely independent from any events within the box... events within the box? If there is absolutely no matter within the box, no electrons, no gravity, no electromagnetic fields, no photons of energy, no subatomic particles; and if the box sides do not exist in even a relative sense to the inside of the box, then there can be no events occurring within the box, hence no passage of time. Time can be defined only by the events created by matter and or energy in any form, thus time does not exist within the box. If even only one atom of hydrogen is introduced into the box, then time, relative to that atom, exists. We can now consider the age of that atom, when and how it got into the box, its movement, the motion of its electron and its changing level of energy. Thus the concept of time suddenly has meaning within the box. It is obvious that time is a property of matter (the forth dimension) , and as such, time, as we move through it, is as integral a part of a human life as body, mind, and thought.

As travelers along the river of time, the individual that we were minutes or years ago no longer exists and the individual that we will become does not yet exist. All the moments of our past, however, are blended together to form the present and we exist as a human being only in the present moment. And what we are at any given moment is only a small part of the totality of our existence. The point is that a human being is not a static entity. We change every minute, every month, every year into a new expression of our physical and mental history. And who we are at any moment is the history of our past and the basis of our future potential.

Every bit of matter and every discrete organization of matter, including living things, has a "world line" that extends that object into time just as the dimensions of length, breadth, and depth give it form and substance at any given moment. The world line for the biological existence of each individual begins at the moment of conception and ends at death. This we know for sure. All other possibilities of existence apart from time and physical matter remain only as imagination and speculation.

Therefore, time is our existence. It is the central concern of our lives for we measure it, understand the meaning of its passage, and comprehend a beginning and an end. Lesser, or rather, other earthly creatures do not have the same understanding of time and depend on instinct to meet nature's temporal requirements. Awareness of the meaning of the flow of time was essential to the development of rational thought.

We have expanded the awareness of time from a strictly personal and historical sense to conceptual extremes that we can articulate, but not incorporate in any personal frame of reference. We consider the age of the Earth to be 4.54 billion years, estimate the origin of our species, _Homo_ _sapiens_ , at over 100,000 years ago, and anticipate the death of the sun in 5 billion years. And at the other extreme, we measure certain events in nanoseconds, one billionth of a second. For example, the neutral pi-meson, a subatomic particle, decays into two photons in 0.00000000000000001 seconds, a very short time indeed. Our personal awareness of time is much more restricted. Only the immediate past: days, weeks, or perhaps a few months is usually clear and sharp in our mind, as is the anticipated future of a few hours or days. Mental journeys into years past are accumulations of individual events that are vivid in memory only because of some special significance. Thus time has two meanings—the here and now of each individual, and the span of all existence.

In another imaginary sense, time can be visualized as a corridor extending back into the mists of the past and forward into the light or dark of the probabilities of the future. We all move along this corridor of time at the same pace over the brief and particular distance that the fates have allotted to us. We cannot yet define the beginning and end of the corridor, if indeed these concepts apply to the existence of the universe.

But on any scale we can imagine, the period of our individual existence is incredibly short. If, as a figurative example, a million years, a relatively short time in a geological sense, were equated with a linear distance of 100 feet; a life span of 83 years would equal a distance of only one tenth of an inch. On the same scale the age of the Earth would equal 85 miles and the age of humanity a mere 10 feet. The time corridors of those that lived before were quite narrow with opaque walls, a brief past and little anticipated future change. Only in the last hundred years has mankind, through our own efforts, illuminated the past to almost the point of origin and expanded and clarified the walls of the present so that we might comprehend the place and time of our existence.

Think of the number 29,220. Not a very big number, perhaps less than your annual income or the mileage on a nearly new car. This number has another import, however, for if one lives to be exactly 80 years old; 29,220 is the total number of days of existence. And if the span of life corresponds with a life expectancy of 73.3 years, the days number only 26,772. So in round figures, a modern life span consists of about 27,000 days. This also means that a 40 year old has about 12,410 days remaining and a 50 year old may have only 8,760 days before the end of biological existence. (Now at age 76, I'm hoping that I'll see the age of 90, and if so I have about 5000 more days ahead of me) Perhaps this was long enough in times past to savor being alive and to fully experience the joys and tribulations of each stage of life's passage. But life is complex today, and we have many options and choices as to how we fill our days. Without physiological or psychological infirmities, few of us would choose to end our days after the allotted 70 to 80 years. The drudgery of life, for many of us, is not present in today's world. There is much to experience, to do, to accomplish—but we are still slave to the biology of our species. Although those we propagate may not bow so quickly to the inevitable, most of us alive today will not differ from our ancestors in this respect.

The present is yesterday's future. Thirty years ago the world was a very different place. We had different values, different goals, and different fears. Few thirty year old people then could really believe that they would actually be sixty years old today, and few of those who were sixty then are with us now. So time passes, a fact obvious and scarcely worthy of mention, even trite, just simple arithmetic, easy to dismiss in the impersonal, imponderable expanse of thirty years ahead or thirty years past. Yet this is the stuff of our lives, and to look back in quiet moments at happy times and sad, crossroads that were passed before we realized we were upon them, great ambitions and struggles for achievement that have faded in time; this is when we realize who we are and try to build who we will become.

Thus time is the measure of our existence. It gives us a beginning and an end and numbers the days of our life. If one knew that only 60, 90 or 180 days of life remained, preparations, reflections, regrets and appreciation for what life had given us might consume the final days. However, when there are 7,000 days remaining, the reality of mortality fades into the long term of anticipated existence. The difference, of course, is one of degree and not of kind. The Earth revolves relentlessly with no thought nor care to the life it carries and we prefer not to think of the number of our days. But we carry with us the knowledge that there will most certainly be a future in which we do not exist, and if we wish to extend the structure and history of our existence into the future, then preparations must be made.

# CHAPTER 2

## LIFE

_Life is not a miracle. It is a natural phenomenon, and can be expected to appear whenever there is a planet whose conditions duplicate those of the earth._ Harold C. Urey

Life can be defined as the biological organization of a discrete bit of matter that gives it the capacity for metabolism, growth, reaction to stimuli and reproduction. The difference between living and inanimate matter is more than the accumulation of all the proper elements in one place at the same time. Life is the complex functional organization of these elements, the ability to accumulate and build raw materials into a functional structure and pass the plan of that structure on to subsequent generations. A sardine is not alive as it rests in a pool of olive oil even though all the elements that composed its structure when it swam in the sea are still present. The organized interactions of the molecules that composed the fish were irrevocably disrupted when it was removed from the water and the matter that composed it lost the property of life. This organized functional biochemistry, the very essence of life, is passed on to each generation through the reproduction of existing organisms, thus the thread of life winds back through eons of time to the primordial Earth.

There are three basic possibilities concerning the origin of life on Earth. The first is that life began spontaneously in the distant past and progressed through ages of organic evolution into all the species, including humanity, of the present day. Secondly, life may have been created by an Earthly supernatural Entity with or without guidance from the time of creation to the present. And lastly, life may have been established on this planet by a natural entity from another life source in the universe, another dimension, or another time. (Although the latter does not solve the problem of the original origin of life, a few believe that Earthly life can be so explained.) Of the three, it is my opinion that spontaneous generation of life and subsequent evolution of all species is the most plausible, for contemporary and ancient physical and biological evidence support this view. Each basic theory, however, has its adherents.

There are two periods in the history of life on Earth that are of very special significance. The first occurred over 3.5 billion years ago and the second was the spring of 1953. The events of these times were not of earthshaking import to the everyday concerns of humanity—their significance pertains primarily to the existence of life itself. The first period included the origin of life in the primordial chemical seas of Earth and the second marks the time that life became aware of its own mechanisms.

It is generally accepted in scientific circles that life first developed in the early chemical laden seas that were present half a billion years after initial formation of the planet. The molecules of the elements and compounds interacted and reacted with each other as stimulated by temperature changes and the energy of sunlight and electrical discharges. There were no living things to utilize and impose an existing structure on the chemical species present. Complex molecules were regularly formed and broken for millions and millions of years until one type of molecule developed with the unusual property of being able to replicate itself. This class of molecules, termed replicators, were able to use the less well organized molecules abundant in the seas about them to increase their own complexity and form replicas of their own molecular structure. Such molecules, because of their replicating capabilities, rapidly increased in number.

The chemistry and "ecology" of these early chemical seas was complex and we will never know exactly what happened during this early period, but it is evident that at some point one type of early replicating molecule developed the capability to build the compounds it required from the raw materials and the energy sources that surrounded it. Soon the threshold between chemical interaction and life was irreversibly crossed. This momentous change from chemical to biological evolution occurred over 3.5 billion years ago and marked the emergence of life on Earth.

The basis for all life, and all genetic systems, is a complex organic molecule, deoxyribonucleic acid, or DNA as it is usually abbreviated. In the spring of 1953, J.D. Watson and F.H.C. Crick published a short paper titled, "Genetical implications of the structure of deoxyribonucleic acid" in volume 171 of the British science journal Nature. This paper described the structure of the DNA molecule and, for the first time, living organisms on Earth became aware of exactly how they reproduce and function. In essence, life became knowledgeable of its own mechanisms, and this knowledge will allow life to direct its own destiny. DNA is a complex very long chained organic molecule. It is capable of manufacturing a duplicate of itself as well as directing the synthesis of all the cells, tissues and biological products of each organism.

DNA is in the form of a double helix held together by the interlocking nucleotides: adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine, usually abbreviated as A, C, G, and T. These nucleotides hold the helix together not unlike the teeth of a zipper. Now A can link only with T and C can link only with G, so when the zipper breaks apart, a T that has been released from an A on the opposite side of the helix can grasp an A from the surrounding environment and if a C happens to be next to the T and is also freed, it can pick up a loose G. In this way, a duplicate of the opposite side of the helix can be manufactured rather quickly. The DNA molecule can duplicate itself completely, as it does when a cell divides into two daughter cells, or it can partially unzip and manufacture the instructions that other parts of the cell use to produce the chemicals and/or structures that that cell contributes to the total organism. Each segment of the DNA molecule that determines some characteristic of the organism and passes intact from one generation to another is a gene. All the information required to build the 16 trillion cells of a human being is contained in the fertilized human egg and that unique arrangement of genetic material is completely and accurately duplicated in every nucleated cell (except for sex cells) that is formed by that individual organism.

An amazing system, one that would be wondrous enough if one species or one class of organisms shared the code—but most intriguing of all, every species on Earth uses the same four nucleotide code. Only the sequence of attachment to the helix and the amount of DNA varies. The amount of genetic material varies only between species, but DNA, and its messenger RNA, is the basic code of life on earth. Individuals of the same species have the same number of chromosomes, which are the "packages" of organized DNA in each cell nucleus, and differ only in the detailed sequence of nucleotide attachment. Consider five of the most unlike organisms on Earth: an oak tree, a honey bee, a soil bacterium, a spiny lobster and a human might be the selection. The genetic code for all of these organisms and any others that might be mentioned, with perhaps the exception of a Martian, all have a genetic code composed of the same molecular structure, DNA, with variation only in the sequence of nucleotide attachment. The coded information can vary greatly between species as different as an oak tree and a spiny lobster; or very subtly as two children from the same parents differ. Thus the DNA molecule carries the design of existence of all life on Earth just as all the words of the English language are made up from the same 26 letters.

Each species has a certain amount and specific arrangement of genetic material that is contained in all its living members. This genetic material is shuffled and recombined between individuals to create new individuals, each with a unique genetic pattern. The total body of genetic material that is contained in all the reproductively active members of each species represents the gene pool of that species. This pool can be vast and highly variable as that of human beings; or greatly restricted and near extinction as that of the whooping crane. Each individual organism; be it a human, eagle, palm tree, or flea, is, in the general scheme of things, only a manifestation of the interacting structure of the gene pool.

The individual contributes to the survival and growth of the particular species of DNA that constitutes the total genetic material of that species. Thus, the gene pool grants existence to the individual and the individual gives the gene pool definition and continuance. Gene pools, once distinct, rarely interact. Closely related species may occasionally interbreed, and the result is a hybrid, usually with some characteristics of both parent species. However, inbreeding between species does not often occur naturally since some reason for reproductive isolation–behavior patterns, geographic distance, genetic incompatibility–must exist for species to remain distinct.

The capacity for change is also an integral part of the system, for if it were not, simple chemical replicators would still be the only lifelike activity on Earth. Occasionally, sometimes due to outside intervention such as cosmic rays striking a molecule in a particular place at a certain time, the introduction of certain chemicals that are capable of affecting DNA formation, or because of internal genetic misplacements; the sequence of gene formation is altered and is not passed on in the same form to the next generation. When this happens, and it is not a common occurrence, the change in the coded information alters in some small way the progeny that results. If the change gives the organism a slight advantage in the contemporary environment, and it seldom does, the change tends to persist and be replicated in future generations. This basic process is what Darwin called survival of the fittest, and given millions upon millions of years of geologic change and interaction between species, it resulted in the great diversity of species that inhabit the Earth today.

Some may claim that the evolutionary processes that led to mankind, and myriad other species, were not the result of random biological changes, but were subtly influenced by a supernatural entity, a First Cause, an Unmoved Mover. Others can see no evidence of a purposeful directive force. Whatever the cause, be it random or directed, it is now history, for future responsibility lies in the hand of Man.

Thus far, we have not handled our new charge with an unblemished record. In fact, technological progress, often exercised without full knowledge of the consequences, has, in less than 100 years, forever altered the patterns of life on Earth. For as long as life has existed, 3.5 billion years or so, time and evolutionary change have meandered hand in hand down the garden path. There was always ample time for genetic change to balance environmental change, mutation to counter mutation. Mankind has, in the blink of a geologic eye, created new genetic patterns and destroyed others, and most significant of all, introduced unnatural chemicals and radiation sources that may alter the genetics of life for uncounted future years.

The future of the gene pool of humanity is threatened by events in four major categories—mutagenic and carcinogenic chemicals released into the environment; proliferation of unnatural sources of radiation that may increase the mutation rate; accumulation of deleterious recessive genes through the success of medical technology; and ever since 1945, the threat of genetic devastation that would follow a nuclear war. Of these, the one that may have already done the most damage is the release of chemical mutagens in the environment. A substance that increases the risk of cancer may easily be a mutagen also. Any substance that is persistent and has a strong biologic activity, such as herbicides and pesticides, has the potential for effects far remote in time and space from those intended in the initial application. The effects of a carcinogen may be evident in 20 or 30 years, but mutagenic effects may not appear for several generations.

The names of the chemicals we have created and released into the environment in the last few decades are now familiar to almost everyone. Often in the last 15 years the terms asbestos, arsenic, DDT, chlorinated hydrocarbons, Chlordane, Parathion, Malathion, pentachiorophenol, 2,4,5-T (Agent Orange), PCB, Bisphenol A, and kepone, to name a few, have been associated with news stories on ecological problems, small scale disasters, large scale disasters, and many problems that never make the national news. PCB's are now everywhere and in everybody and are considered responsible for deformed development of shorebirds by Long Island Sound and fish kills in Miami and Pensacola, Florida. Six grossly malformed human babies have recently been born in various areas of the United States and exposure of the mothers during early pregnancy to pesticides or herbicides is the suspected cause. These topics can, should, have, and will again be the subject of scientifically accurate and alarming tomes and essays. It is significant in this context, however, just to be aware that the problems exist. People five generations in the future may be more concerned with our carelessness of the last 100 years than we are today, a sobering thought indeed.

Even our good works may create future genetic problems for although we can improve the quality of life today, we are building weakness into the gene pool of humanity. Mutations that create deleterious recessive genes are not expressed until they happen to "double up" in one individual, so such altered genes can become widespread in the population before the frequency of expression is great enough to bring them to general attention. Dr. James F. Crow of the University of Wisconsin recently stated that spontaneous mutations are occurring faster than previously thought and that the vast majority of these mutations are harmful. Infants born with pyloric stenosis, for example, where the opening of the stomach to the small intestine is blocked, used to die shortly after birth. New surgical techniques, however, allow these children to survive and have children of their own who then have an increased risk for the same disorder.

It is not at all uncommon these days to know someone that would not be living, or perhaps could not have had children, except for the intervention of modern medicine, and many of these successfully contained illnesses have a hereditary disposition. Many people can now survive and even reproduce with diseases such as diabetes, phenylketonuria (PKU), cystic fibrosis, schizophrenia, Wilson's disease, hemophilia, Huntington's chorea and sickle cell anemia to name a few; and if they do reproduce, then their children and their children's children will expand the reservoir of deleterious genes in the gene pool of humanity. It is important that those that are affected or carry genetic disease receive genetic counseling and be able to make an informed decision on having children of their own. Thus medical technology, multiplied many times in many ways, alters the gene pool of humanity toward dependence on technology and makes us less able to survive in the face of adverse or primitive conditions.

These changes also extend to the plants and animals we breed and use to enhance our quality of life. With plants and animals, however, we recognize the potential problems and "gene banks" for selected species are already in existence. The National Seed Storage Laboratory at Fort Collins, Colorado houses 95,000 species of plant seeds of rare and genetically unmodified species in sealed cans kept in cold storage. These are held to prevent the extinction of rare species and to preserve the genetic diversity of important agricultural species.

Thus, when new forms of blight and pests cause problems in genetically modified crops, we will still have the original wild strains with inherent natural resistance. The Soviet Union also has a similar facility. The San Diego Zoo in California and the M.D. Anderson Hospital and Tumor Institute in Houston, Texas both keep cell samples of rare and endangered species of animals under cryogenic preservation. These cell samples are kept for research purposes and to preserve the genetic codes of species that may soon be eliminated by our search for natural resources and living space.

Eventually, several hundreds of years in the future, these preserved genetic codes may allow the people of those distant times to once again see living snow leopards, Indian tigers, whooping cranes, the great Indian rhinoceros and many other species now near extinction. In like manner, it is not impossible that preserved genetic codes of people alive today may be of great importance to the future existence of mankind.

# CHAPTER 3

## HEREDITY

_Not only in his thoughts, his feelings, and his will, but in the chemical markings of his body each human individual is unlike any other that has ever existed._ Salvador E. Luria

We see ourselves in our children, or at least we often see a blend of familiar characteristics, traits that "run in the family". A father's eyes, a mother's chin, a grandfather's temper may all be recognized in the new generation. Yet the child is obviously a unique individual with his or her own blend of some recognizable family characteristics. It was long thought that family resemblances were due to a fluid blending of inheritable traits. The vital fluid of life (blood) was considered somehow responsible for this blending of inheritance and this erroneous concept has become part of our language. The term "blood line" is used to define descent in man and animal, "bad blood" describes undesirable characteristics in related individuals and we often refer to our "blood relatives". This fluid blending concept of heredity has fostered the belief that everyone in a particular line of descent receives a measurable hereditary influence from all those who have gone before, since after all, a little cream colors the coffee evenly. People even fractionate their ancestry—the claim to one fourth French or one eighth German or even one sixteenth American Indian can often be heard in cocktail party conversation. Although it is easy for people to think in these terms, and our traditional concepts of family and ancestry are so based, the actual particulate nature of heredity works in a far different manner. It is more analogous to the random distribution of variously colored marbles than the blending of fluids.

The mechanisms of human genetics are not unlike those of other mammals, especially the great apes. In fact, most of the genes in the gene pools of chimpanzees, gorillas and humans are the same. Genetic studies on the banding patterns on chromosomes of chimpanzees, gorillas, and humans show many similarities in position and intensity of bands. Chromosomes of different species with similar banding patterns often carry the same genes. Geneticists at the University of California estimate, on the basis of comparison of human and chimpanzee protein chains, that more than 99% of the genetic material of man and chimpanzee is the same. Humans, chimpanzees, and gorillas are easily recognized as primates, just as a Rolls Royce, a Ford, and a Volkswagen are easily recognized as automobiles. In both cases it is the differences and not the similarities that are most important. So even though most of the genetic information that builds the structure of a human is duplicated in the chromosomes of chimpanzees and gorillas, the variations in structure and gene function that do exist create very different species within the same basic structural design.

The DNA that composes the genetic code of humans is formed into 46 "packages" called chromosomes. Every genetically normal person has 46 chromosomes in the nucleus of almost every cell. The structure, organization and replication of these chromosomes is most important, for even though the specific hereditary information is chemically coded throughout the entire DNA complement, it is the random segregation and recombination of the chromosomes that provides the incredibly great variability of the hereditary mechanism.

Human chromosomes occur in 23 pairs. Each chromosome of each pair carries similar, but not necessarily identical, genes that determine the expression of a single characteristic. The pair of genes, one on each member of a pair of chromosomes, are termed alleles. One allele may be dominant over the other, which is termed the recessive gene of that pair, and control the entire expression of that gene or they may work together in various ways. Generally both genes of the pair must be recessive in order for the recessive trait to be expressed in that individual. The DNA that composes each chromosome carries a specific complement of genes, and genes that are located near each other can form a unit of various characteristics that are usually inherited together.

Each person gets half of their genetic complement, 23 chromosomes, from each parent. The reproductive organs of each sex manufacture the sex cells, eggs in females and sperm in males, which have the potential to join and create a new human being. During the formation of these sex cells, the 23 chromosome pairs separate and only one member of each pair winds up in the mature sex cell (termed reduction division or meiosis). Each pair of chromosomes separates independently of every other pair, thus each sperm or egg receives a random assortment of one member of each pair of chromosomes. This is an amazing mechanism—it is how nature shuffles the deck and deals a unique, never before expressed genetic code to every human individual, except of course, in the case of identical twins. Identical twins, and more rarely triplets and other multiples, occur when the already fertilized egg forms the first few cells of the embryo, and then splits apart allowing each first cell to form a complete individual using the now duplicated, identical genetic code.

As an illustration of random segregation of chromosomes, consider two pairs of chromosomes labeled A1 and A2, and B1 and B2. When these pairs separate to form egg or sperm cells, each gamete (sex cell) will receive one A and one B chromosome; but this could be an A1 and B1, or A2 and B1, or A1 and B2, or A2 and B2. So with just two pairs of chromosomes, there are four possible genetic combinations; but when all 23 human chromosome pairs are considered, there are over eight million possible combinations. This random shuffling of genetic information is so effective that even when brothers and sisters mate, the child that results is always unique. However, the greater the closeness and frequency of interrelated marriages, the greater the chance for the expression of recessive genes, and since these may be deleterious, mental and physical defects may become more frequent.

The random shuffle of chromosomes and the occasional crossing over of genetic material in chromosome pairs at the formation of the sex cells assure creation of a new formula each time a genetic code is formed. It is the singular pattern of each genetic code that gives every individual unique physical and mental traits. Even though the similarities between parents and their children or between siblings in characteristics like facial structure, physical appearance, voice intonations, personality traits and intellectual and physical talents may be quite strong; they are obviously very different individuals. Thus, the unique physical and mental potential of each individual depends on the total chromosome complement formed at conception. The blended characteristics, therefore, that are unique to each parent are less significant in the structure of the child than the specific genes passed on by the parents. And in each subsequent generation, the influence of the unique genetic combination of each ancestor is diminished further.

For example, a child receives half the chromosomes, 23, of each parent. The entire 46, acting together, provide all the physical and mental potential that he or she may have. And when that child matures and has a child of its own, it passes on only 23 chromosomes, selected at random from those it received from both parents. Three paternal and 20 maternal chromosomes may be passed on, or perhaps a 12 and 11 combination may be contributed to the next generation. The following generation will receive even fewer of the original maternal and paternal chromosomes, until within a very few outbred generations, these original hereditary patterns are completely gone.

This can be easily illustrated by a simple demonstration. Place 23 marbles of a single color, yellow perhaps, in a paper bag to represent the inherited maternal chromosomes. Add 23 marbles of a second color, green perhaps, to represent the paternal contribution. The genetic code of the child is a mix, half and half, of maternal and paternal chromosomes. We can now trace the hypothetical contribution of the child's mother and father to subsequent generations through random segregation of chromosomes as represented by marbles drawn blindly from the bag. The laws of probability, of course, determine which chromosomes, marbles in this case, will pass to each generation and so each line of descent will be different, the chosen color may persist for many generations or only a few.

We can find out, in one instance at least, how many generations must occur before every chromosome contributed by the original mother and father has been eliminated from the line of descent. The child or F1 generation (first filial generation) carries 23 green (paternal) and 23 yellow (maternal) chromosomes. When the child mates and the F2 generation is formed, 23 chromosomes taken at random are given to his offspring. So to represent the inheritance passed to the grandchild, 23 marbles, 8 yellow and 15 green, are blindly removed from the bag. Thus the F2 generation receives a high proportion of the original paternal chromosome complement, 15 out of the total complement of 46, and only 8 of the original maternal chromosomes. The other 23 are contributed by the mate of the F1 generation and are represented by marbles of any other color. The same process is followed for the F3 generation, the great grandchild, and only 6 yellow and 7 green remain. In the great, great grandchild, the F4 generation, 2 yellow and 5 green remain and in the F5 generation; the great, great, great grandchild, only 1 yellow and 2 green remain. One green marble persists through the next two descents, so a total of 8 generations pass before every original paternal and maternal chromosome has been eliminated from the direct line of descent.

Thus, without inbreeding, the first and eighth generations in this particular ancestry are no more related genetically than any two individuals of similar ethnic background selected at random. The time line of eight generations, assuming reproduction at about age 25, extends a little over 200 years. That means that the family name may live quite a bit longer than the hereditary influence of any family member.

The genes themselves are the survivors, not the organisms ceaselessly built and discarded by the pool of hereditary material. The gene pool is very dynamic and fluid when there are many individual members and it survives only as long as it can respond and adapt to a changing environment. It is not a purposeful super-organism. A gene pool is a mindless, irrational, interacting mass of DNA molecules and is perfectly capable of self-destruction, division and structural change. The great adaptability to change, characteristic of vibrant gene pools, allows them to be easily molded by intelligent selection.

Our domestic plants and animals, bred for ornamental and consumptive purposes, vividly illustrate the plasticity of gene pools. The varieties of fruits and vegetables, dogs and cats, cattle and horses all bear eloquent witness to the effects of selection on gene pools. The human gene pool is no different. Were we to carefully select for particular mental and physical characteristics over many generations, humanity could easily direct its genetic future. Races of tall dark people with great intellect or short, muscular, mechanically adept people could be created providing the breeding effort was sustained and directed over a long period of time. The other side of the coin may be equally frightening. The gene pool is plastic and, with or without conscious selection, it will respond to the artificial and natural pressures of the environment and changes will accumulate as humanity progresses through the centuries. The future shape and condition of mankind cannot be predicted but, unlike nature's other creatures, the results will be our own responsibility.

We exist in the face of incalculable odds. Each person is first the product of a unique arrangement of DNA and secondly is molded by a specific environmental history. Any variation in the initial genetic code would produce a different person. If we exist at all, we are already winners in a lottery beyond the capacity of imagination. There are three basic elements in the lottery of life: the egg, the sperm, and the ancestral line. The ovaries of a human female contain about 500,000 eggs at birth, many more than she will ever release over the reproductively active period of her life. Each individual, male or female, can produce any of 223 (over 8 million) different kinds of sex cells, so even in all the eggs a woman may ever produce she cannot include all the possible combinations of her genetic complement.

Usually one of these eggs matures and is released every 28 days from puberty to menopause, a total of about 450 eggs, and only about 200 of these eggs are released between the ages of 18 and 34 when pregnancy is most likely to occur. So if you are to exist, your egg must be released at the specific time that fertilization and pregnancy occurs, and that egg must carry the particular combination of chromosomes, one out of 8 million that will provide only half of your unique genetic code—and this is the least of the lotteries that determines the specific genetic code of each individual.

The male produces many, many more reproductive cells than the female. One emission from a human male may contain 500 million sperm, and each of these has equal capability to fertilize the egg. If 500 million sperm are produced and if each possible chromosome combination is equally represented, then each sperm is duplicated about 62 times and all 8 million of the possible combinations have a chance to fertilize the egg. The egg will accept only one sperm, however, and entry to the egg is sealed after only one of the many millions of sperms completes the journey through the female reproductive tract and enters the micropyle of the egg. The genetic code of the potential new individual is then determined and the chance of the formation of that particular combination of maternal and paternal chromosomes is one in 70 quadrillion. The variable is actually greater than this because chromosomes often break apart and rejoin in different configurations; but just the odds for the joining of two specific chromosome complements is sufficient to demonstrate the magnitude of the lottery for existence that each of us has already won.

This conceptual lottery, the shuffling of chromosomes, occurs every time an egg is fertilized, but the chances of existence become truly overwhelming when one realizes that the existence of each individual is dependent upon a long ancestral line of similar conceptual lotteries. For example, one of the two genetic codes that had the potential to create your specific genetic code may never have existed if two young people had not met and married several hundred years ago. Your very existence may have depended on a shy smile by the village tavern sometime in the 14th century—a fateful chance encounter, multiplied many times over with the one in 70 quadrillion lottery at each conception on both sides of your ancestry, which led eventually to the unique genetic code that is the foundation of your existence.

Of course, the whole of human genetics is much more complex, but it is evident that a particular genetic code of an individual does not survive, even in part, for more than the life of one individual (or two or three in the case of identicals). Individual chromosomes survive very much longer, although not without some gene mutations, for the span of existence of the species and on into other descended species as well. But the genetic complement of an individual is composed of the interactions of two halves of the different genomes of a male and a female, and is unique to one or a very few individuals. The total gene pool, the combined hereditary material of the human species, does survive however, because individual human beings, the transient biological expressions of this gene pool, survive well in the contemporary environment. Now that humanity develops control of its genetic future—the slave may soon become the master. And what is the genetic future of mankind—given natural mutation, natural and artificial selection pressures, the presence of unnatural mutagenic substances, and perhaps even direct genetic manipulation? I suggest that we can predict the future state of mankind in 200 years with as much accuracy as Ben Franklin could predict the world of today from his vantage point in the year 1750.

# CHAPTER 4

## HUMAN EVOLUTION

_Unless we willfully close our eyes we may with our present knowledge approximately recognize our parentage: nor need we feel ashamed of it._ Charles Darwin

This is a new section to the ebook edition. The study of evolution, especially human evolution, is now a vast and complex field of science. It includes aspects of every science: biology, chemistry, molecular biology, geology, genetics, anatomy, paleontology, and many more, including the recent development of the science of DNA analysis that has had so many ramifications into the fields of psychology, medicine, forensic science, ancestry and animal, plant and human evolution. Not so long ago human evolution was a theory based on comparative anatomical recreations from sparse fossils and estimates of fossil ages based on geological formations. There were and still are intense debates with those that insisted that only supernatural creation could explain humanity. Despite the obvious evidence that humans are an evolved primate, a vertebrate animal, the debates still rage, but the evidence and findings from many fields of science has and is pulling the cloak of time off the ages of human evolutionary history.

I am not an expert or even scientifically well versed in the rapidly expanding field of human evolution, but I have a keen interest in this science, as do many people who understand that humanity is part and parcel of nature and a product of the life process of this Earth. I also have speculations, for what they may be worth, on the processes that created humanity. But for a basic understanding of the current science of human evolution I would direct you to the website of The Institute of Human Origins at Arizona State University for a succinct and well-illustrated depiction of the story of human origins. But it is a highly controversial science and there are thousands of web sites that discuss many aspects and theories of human evolution.

There is one essential circumstance that is fundamental to the existence of all life on earth. And that is simply survival. If an organism, a species or an individual does not survive to reproduce, then it cannot contribute to the biological future of that species, or to the future of life on earth. This well-known, intuitive and obvious tenet is the underlying principle of evolutionary biology. It applies to all life including humanity, past and present. There is a caveat, however, in that even though the genome of an individual that contributes to the survival of the family, tribe, and species does not directly inject their genome into the future of the species, the genetic value of their contribution still resides in the collective gene pool. It is preserved and expressed in the gene pool based on its survival value to the species.

_Homo_ _sapiens_ is an intelligent, cooperative (and combative) species that has remarkable cognitive and material manipulative abilities far beyond the capacity of any other species. This includes language, communication of abstract thought, use of tools, manipulation of the environment, and the understanding that events in the present control the reality of the future. In the far distant past, when humanity was emerging from the fog of bestiality, evolution shaped not only the human body but also the capacity and abilities of the brain; thus the behavior of individuals and groups are a product of physical and behavioral evolution. It has been demonstrated in recent years that to a great extent, personality and collective and individual behavioral traits are to a significant degree, genetically inherited, thus much of modern human behavior is a product of ancient evolutionary pressures.

Genetic change through neoteny may have been a strong force in the creation of modern humans. Neoteny (also known as juvenilization) is the preservation of juvenile characteristics into the adult stage of an organism. The effect of neoteny is that the development of physical and/or mental structures and characteristics of humans and other animals are delayed and this allows some structures and organs to continue develop and change in shape and function in the adult organism. We are learning that there are many genes that serve to control the expression of other genes, particularly in the timing of the target genes expression. Sexual maturity, for example, may be slowed or speeded up not by changes in the genes that control sexual development but by mutations in the genes that control the activity of genes that direct sexual development and concomitant development of other structures as well. Genes that control growth and development of various structures and organs may be "turned on" and/or "turned off" at various times during development and life and this can change the adaption of an organisms to environmental and even social changes. Over time a single species can evolve into one or more different species with only mutations occurring in a relative few genes. Chimpanzees, the bonobo species in particular, are the closest existing genetic relative to humans and have a high number (96 to 98 percent) of the same genes. The great differences in form, function, and behavior, however, between humans and chimpanzees, and the other great apes, is driven by changes in the timing and expression of a relatively few genes rather than changes in a very large number of genes.

There can be great survival advantages to the retention of juvenile characteristics in reproductively active adult of the species. Greater time for development of important organs such as the brain, longer juvenile period for development of intellect and learned behaviors, and retention of juvenile cooperative behavioral traits for example. This process of genetic change through mutation of genes that direct development (control genes), and other genes as well, is very marked in humans, so much so that humans have been termed "the neotenous ape" by many scientists. There are many human traits that indicate neoteny. Some of these are the strong resemblance of the adult human to chimpanzee and gorilla infants, including the bipedality and the flatter face, and proportionately larger cranium of young apes, the dependency of modern humans on learned rather than instinctive behavior, the slow development of humans into adult sexual function, and the more primitive childlike anatomy of humans, especially females. The great anatomical, physiological, and to some extent, psychological, differences between most men and women certainly indicate that sexual selection, perhaps selection for juvenile characteristics in females, also played an important role in the evolution of humanity. A very important part of being a baby and a child is the ability to cry, to shed tears and outwardly show pain, distress, anger, fear, and even happiness and love, and crying is an outward expression of these emotions that captures the care and attention of adults. It is a childhood trait that is extended into adulthood, primarily in females, but males are not immune to this emotive expression. Females, generally, more strongly express childlike mannerisms and emotions, behavioral traits preserved by neoteny, that better adapt them to interact with young children and to function under the care of males.

Many behavioral traits indicate neoteny. Typical behaviors of juvenile vertebrates include play among siblings. mock aggression, oral fixation, long term emotional connection with mothers, same sex alliances, exceptional curiosity and other behavioral traits that are found in adult as well as juvenile humans. Kissing and laughter are two behaviors that seem basically human, although chimpanzees and bonobos exhibit less extreme forms of these behaviors. These behaviors are the subjects of serious scientific sturdy, kissing is termed "philematology", and laughter is termed "gelotology". Both behaviors developed early in the evolutionary history of humans. Kissing strengthens and lengthens the bond between mother and child and depending on cultural adaptions, functions socially as an intimate gesture of affection between both males and females. Kissing may also function as a chemical test of genetic compatibility between prospective mates and serves to arose sexual passion. It is a trait preserved by neoteny and evolved to biological and cultural importance in the human species.

Laughter is also a multifaceted, cultural behavior in humans. Laughter reduces stress and builds social bonds. It is a response to humor and indicates acceptance and understanding, stimulates group participation, and enhances enjoyment of the social situation. What would most television comedies be like without artificial laughter at exactly the right time? There are two types of laughter named after the 19th-century French physician Guillaume Duchenne. The first, termed Duchenne laughter, originated sometime between 4 and 2 million years ago and is the laughter that is a response to something truly amusing. It is considered to be derived from the panting and explosive breathing of juvenile primates during play. The second is non-Duchenne laughter and is the laughter that comes during nervous and anxious situations, times when laughter may relieve stressful encounters. It comes from a higher mental process and serves to mimic true laughter in an effort to appease, or to ridicule, or to manipulate rather than as an expression of true amusement. Non-Duchenne laugher probably developed along with the origin of language. Again a primitive behavioral trait preserved by evolutionary neoteny and evolved to biological and cultural importance

Thus neoteny is an important process in human evolution: it explains paucity of body hair, lack of facial hair in females, changes in anatomy that allow bipedalism, the highly functional opposable thumb and hand anatomy that allow for manipulation of tools, and the extension of juvenile play and exploration into adult behavior. Perhaps the most critical result of neoteny is the greatly enhanced development of the brain (a very expensive organ in terms of development and energy requirements) over that of other great apes. The adult human brain is three times larger that the brain of an adult chimpanzee There are also many genes that function to control the expression and the time of expression of other genes. They work within the context of genetic mutations and in the path of evolution as directed by environmental pressures. These great changes in the human anatomy, human intellectual capacity, and social and cultural developmental, were underway over 300,000 ago. They were integral with environmental changes that stimulated changes in the human diet that included meat (which added an energy rich, nutritional source that powered brain development), anatomical changes that allowed pursuit of game and tool making, development of language that rapidly refined communication, and behavioral changes that allowed cooperative behavior in food acquisition and social structure. Thus the point is made that genetic mutations that preserved juvenile traits that adapted early hominids to changing environmental and social conditions effected a complex, evolutionally rapid, and dramatic evolution into a variety of hominid species, including _Homo_ _sapiens_.

As the human brain increased in size and function, the development of language, spoken communication with others, was essential to the survival of individuals and groups that were advancing in proficiency of communication. Despite the apparent absence of thought demonstrated by much of the vernacular in use today, thought and language is obviously intimately connected. The work of Piaget and Vygotsky in developmental psychology explored the relationship of thought and language in early childhood and demonstrated that thought precedes language in human development, and when at about the age of two when language is in full development, thought and speech merge and the individual becomes capable of using language as a tool to develop and enhance thought. Vertebrate animals are apparently capable of using thought to aid behavior but lacking the facility of combining thought with language, higher cognitive function eludes them. In the evolutionary development of humanity, the enlargement of the brain, development of abstract thought, and the facility of communication provided the capability of using language to identify events and motives in the past, present, and future. This must have provided an exceptional survival advantage. One would speculate that advancement in each trait would drive evolutionary advancement in the others as well, a sort of "leapfrog" effect. I don't think that we have yet seen the pinnacles of human thought that is possible through the evolutionary coordination and mutual stimulus of brain development and cognitive capability.

The great effect that small changes (mutations) in control genes can have on the entire genome and the phenotype that is formed from that genome is remarkable. For example the highly varied beak shapes and functions in Darwin's Finches of the Galapagos Islands was recently discovered to be directed by changes in a single control gene called "calmodulin". An increase in the activity of this gene stimulated protein forming genes to made beaks grow long and pointed, good for probing for insects, whereas a decrease in its activity created strong, heavy beaks, good for cracking seeds. Thus small changes in single control genes can create large changes in morphology and behavior that can greatly change survival probability and eventually result in the evolution of very different species with almost identical genes over relatively short periods of time, actually just a few million years, maybe even a little less than one million years.

A great behavioral conflict must have developed as the very early families and colonies of humans struggled for survival in a harsh and wild environment. In order to survive they had to develop the instincts and behavioral patterns required for family and tribal cooperation including extended care and training of infants and juveniles. This required development of the behaviors that we have labeled as compassion, love, caring. and cooperation. On the other hand, survival also demanded the ability to drive away or to kill individuals and other groups that competed for females, food, and shelter. Functional blending of cooperative, compassionate understanding and the will to conduct the actions necessary to destroy individuals, families, and then tribes, villages, and societies that competed for the resources essential for survival were the key to their own survival.

In my opinion, those early tribes that were able to resolve this behavioral conflict and express love and compassion within their own society while still be willing and able to kill and destroy (and sometimes eat) competitive families and tribes, survived; while those that could not strike a proper balance between aggression and compassion did not. They either destroyed through internal tribal aggression the cooperative social systems that might develop, or at the other extreme, a paucity of aggressive traits would make them easy prey to those tribes with stronger aggressive instincts. As with most genetic traits, especially complex behavioral patterns based on genetic inheritance, there is a broad range of potential expression. Even today there seems to be genetically homogenous groups of humans that are at one extreme in expression of aggressive behavior and, more rarely, groups that are at the other extreme and express only passivity and cooperation.

Thus we modern humans carry within us the capacity and necessity of love, caring and compassion as well as the conflicting capacity for violence, hate and destruction of others when survival seems to require this. In our modern world we strive to control and direct these behaviors so that our survival and the survival of our societies is mutually assured. Even in our world today where democracy, peace, and cooperation are essential to mutual survival, and economic growth, war and aggression are all too common. Control and direction of aggression and compassion was essential to the development and survival of larger tribal societies, city states, and the greater social evolution of humanity. In my opinion the key to this control, and to the development of human civilization, was religion.

Religion, the acceptance of, and obedience to a controlling factor beyond and outside of the responsibility for individual behavior, provided a justification for cooperation or aggression, and also provided a social reward for behavior based on compassion and cooperation. An individual could, within a society based on direction from a supernatural entity, claim the reward for the love and compassion of family and tribal cooperation, and still justify the expression of instinctual aggression towards other humans that claimed ownership of an essential or even just a desirable resource. It was, and in many minds still is, also justifiable to consider individuals and societies that embrace a different religion as sacrilegious to the "true God" and thus not worthy of ownership of their resources or even of life itself. And through the direction of their God, they have authority to destroy the blasphemers, and take their resources. This occurs today in our "enlightened" world.

Thus the development of religion was essential to the development of the roots of civilization in that it rewarded compassion within the group and justified aggression directed to those outside the group. And, as such, the propensity for behavioral patterns that support cooperative religious activity became ingrained in the complex, inbred behavioral patterns of modern humanity. Whether or not humanity can survive the burdens of our ancient heritage through knowledge of ourselves and through reliance on the products of rational thought rather than blind adherence to mythical supernatural beings remains to be determined.

The traits of compassion and aggression have been instrumental in formation of our modern cultures and they are still fundamental to our behavior. We often mention the veneer of civilization that lies between our conscious "civilized" mind and the ancient animal impulses of the primitive parts of the brain. Everyday expression of civil behavior relies on the control of instinctive behavior by the conscious mind.

When our willpower is weak, often when breached by the effects of alcohol and other drugs, the force of will may break and we indulge in behavior that may bring immediate gratification but result in very unpleasant consequences. Of course, the force of will is variable, some people are inherently strong of will and others weak. Religion is usually the element that establishes and defines what is societally acceptable, what is not, and what should be the punishment for behavioral deviation.

Consider gender differences in the light of human evolution. Sexual dimorphism is the physical (and mental and emotional) variation between the male and female forms of a single species. In the human species sexual dimorphism is very prominent. In general the male is physically stronger, larger, hairier, and more capable of the endurance and physical activity required for conflict and combat than the female. The female is generally smaller, more childlike in appearance, and less capable of the struggles of physical combat. One has only to look at the physical forms of a football player and a cheerleader to realize that the differences are rooted very far in the ancient past of our species, and to wonder about the evolutionary forces that produced such disparate morphology. And mentally and emotionally, generally, the male is more aggressive and combative, active in instigating aggression, and physically responsive in protection and domination of the family and tribe; while the female is, again generally, more compliant, nurturing, and openly more emotional and compassionate than most males However, despite the obvious differences between human males and females, variability in cultures and socialization structures strongly affects the outward expression of emotional, physical appearance, and behavioral traits of individuals in different cultures.

The apparent uselessness of homosexuality in a reproductive context can also be considered in the light of the success or failure of the very early tribal societies that were struggling to achieve survival. Groups larger than isolated small families may well have had a greater chance of survival as their numbers increased through formation of tribal groups composed of many families. If so, then conflict among males for females and dominance could limit the number of males that could function cooperatively in the developing society. Males that had no sexual interest in females would not be a threat to heterosexually active males and they could function to advance group survival through activities normally performed by either males or females. Although survival of a homosexual individual's genes would not occur, group survival could be enhanced through the contributions of cooperative, non-combative individuals that could function in the societal areas that lie between male and female roles. Genetic tendency toward homosexuality, perhaps hidden in the potential expression of control genes, can be carried by individuals not expressing these traits. Thus the existence of homosexual traits in a cooperative, primitive society may have had a positive survival value for the entire group.

Our physical and mental sexual dimorphism is so genetically and biologically evident in modern humans that it must have been a major theme in the evolution of our species and it may well have originated from the innate conflict between aggression and compassion that may have guided the survival of the earliest pre human societies. The biological requirements for childbearing and infant and juvenile care are, of course, a major directional influence in biological evolution, but great physical and mental disparity in male and female form and capability are not a constant trait among vertebrates. Although the traits of compassion and cooperation are certainly present in males and aggression and combativeness are indubitably present in females, the genetic expression of physical and mental traits found in humans apparently seek a social balance between aggression and compassion with males at one end and females at the other. In other species of vertebrates, the shared responsibility of caring for the young is sometimes nonexistent, the female carrying the entire burden, such as the grizzly bear, and sometimes very much stronger than in humans, such as penguins. The balance of infant care that is developed between the sexes is determined by the evolution of the species, which in turn, depends on survival of the current generation, along with the capacity for change when the environment demands change.

Whatever physical and mental vestiges of our early development into the human form we may now carry, they will accompany us into the future. The only way humanity will be able to live, grow, and develop into a stable civilized species is to understand the elements of our psyche and history and be able to change and develop despite the baggage that we have carried through ages of evolution.

# CHAPTER 5

## THOUGHTS ON HUMANITY

_What is man, that thou are mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?_ Psalms, 8

The psalmist echoes the mystery of mankind. Through the ages we have cried out to know who we are and what is our purpose? The concept of purpose has been central to humanity since the dawn of our species. Long before we had the cognitive capacity to define purpose, it was central to the survival and development of humanity. To have purpose, one must be able to foresee the probable result of an activity and the benefits that can accrue from successful completion of that action, and when this began to occur, however meager and seemingly insignificant at the time, it was the birth of technology and rational thought.

Foreknowledge and consideration of the probable results of purposeful activities of oneself and others; a carefully thrown stone, a sharpened stick, a prepared defense, a plan for the hunt, soon leads to cities, social structure, material trade and abstract thought. Accumulation and interrelation of purposeful actions becomes intelligence, rational thought, and awareness of individual existence and mortality; and this awareness demands explanation.

Anthropomorphism is the imbuement of human characteristics and purposes to nonhuman life forms and inanimate objects. The owl is wise, the sea angry, ants are industrious and nature can be kind or vindictive in the human centered universe. Although it may please us to think this way, human motives and behavior are not shared by plants and animals. These concepts, however, have been part of humanistic expression since the beginning of thought and will always be with us on an irrational basis. Purpose is so central to our existence, not only in the grand plan of our lives, but also in each daily activity that we readily conceive that all things have a human centered definable purpose or motive, even if no purpose is apparent. Humanity also seeks explanation for its own awareness and existence, and has found a purpose for individual and collective human presence in a wide variety of beliefs and social structures.

The rational and imaginative faculties of mankind have struggled for thousands of years with the perplexities of existence and the true nature of humanity. Collectively, we have always believed that we are part of a greater whole, that our individual being is more than just "a transient, biological expression of a gene pool"—a sentient being, to be sure, but still only a pawn in the mindless battle for survival among rival species of DNA molecules.

I, for one, believe̶ that humanity is much more than just a biological phenomenon. An acorn can only become an oak tree and a fertilized human egg has only the potential to become an individual human being. But human beings are aware and can knowingly shape the future—a potential that other creatures do not possess. Whether or not the growth of humanity, from the acorn of potential we represent today to the tree of maturity we can but dimly imagine, is a product of divine guidance or a pathway mankind will follow as a seedling seeks the sun—I do not know—but I know that great potential exists, and that humanity and its individual expression of life are in the process of becoming more than just a biological phenomenon if we can control the biological heritage that formed our species.

What then is a human being—an organism that is as integral a part of a social structure as an ant or a herring, and yet more alone and individual in mind and action than any other creature? There are more answers and speculations to the question than one could ever read and many millions of individual opinions. Our governments, religions and social orders are all founded to a great degree on philosophies and doctrines written in the past in answer to this basic query. Like others that ponder such questions, I have my own thoughts on the matter.

An individual human being is composed of four aspects of existence: the genetic code that forms the basic physical and mental structures; the experiential history that molds the cultural expression of the individual; the current consciousness, the "now" of the individual; and the unconscious, the intangible aspects of each individual's being.

The physical presence of a person, the special organization of matter that forms the body, brain and organs of a human being is the product of the genetic code that is formed at conception. This physical aspect of mind and body is only part of the totality of a person, but it is the foundation of existence and it is the direct result of the structural guidance of the genetic code. Physical structure, chemical reactions and bioelectrical activity develop and interact according to inherited instructions. The genetic code must first be formed before the potential for a specific individual can exist. Thus, before an individual personality can form, the lottery of life that occurs at conception must be played and won. The genetic code defines the basic structure and the physical and mental capacities and limitations of the individual. We cannot be more than our inheritance allows, but we can easily fail to achieve the best that is within us. We begin with a basic potential, a specific pattern for physical and mental development, and as each new page of our book of life is turned, we and the world around us, coauthor the history of our existence.

Our experiential history and our world line in time begin at conception, the moment the sperm enters the egg. The resulting individual may exist for only a few minutes or for over a hundred years. Each new individual is influenced in many ways, physical, nutritional, and chemical, during the time of development in the womb. Even though the child and mother are separate entities, genetically and physically, the child must obtain all nutrients for development from the mother and share with her the stresses and abuses of her existence through the chemical exchange between them. In many instances, the prenatal period detrimentally affects the remainder of life and surely in myriad other instances, good prenatal conditions enhance the quality of life that follows. The experiential history of a person: prenatal conditions, birth, early education, relationships with parents, development of skills and talents, political conditions, religious training and beliefs, friends, lovers, occupations and the aging process molds the essence of each individual with increasingly rigid patterns of thought and behavior. The experiential history includes all events of every day; some are of seemingly little significance and quickly slip away from conscious recall, while other events are of such great import that they remain forever at the surface of memory.

Every decision that one makes, important ones such as marriage, occupation, friends, investments; and seemingly insignificant decisions, menus, clothes, trips, reading material and entertainment quickly become part of the person that we were, and guides us into the person we will soon become. An experiential history rich in education, travel, accomplishment, associations and experiences produces a personality of greater scope and flexibility than would result from that same genetic potential under conditions of deprivation. Events of long ago become dim in memory or fade beyond recall into the unconscious mind, but they influence in some small way the individual we are today. Our response to a situation at any given moment is determined by the result we desire and the capabilities provided by our past experience and our genetic code. Physical and mental training and indoctrination insure the proper response to any anticipated situation. Every human culture provides structured and unstructured training and conditioning that prepares each member for a functional interaction with the community.

Abrupt changes in cultures often occur in modern times and the young adapt to new cultures far more readily than do the old. Thus we become in large measure the result of our experience, and we change from moment to moment, year to year into different contemporary expressions of our individual genetic endowment. The mind changes with age as does the body and expressions of the same life separated by time represent, in a contemporary sense, different identities connected only by memories that diminish greatly over expanses of time. A man of 60 years is the same person that he was at 20 only in memory. The line of continuity between the expressions of self that are separated by time is strong, and memories and anticipations may be vivid—but we actually exist only as we are at the present moment.

The current consciousness is where we live. It is the "now" of each human being, the individual awareness that nature, fate and volition create anew at each instant in each life. Our current consciousness experiences, plans ahead, and meets and merges with the immediate future, and as we move through time, the current consciousness is blended into our experiential history. The current consciousness consists of the instant of now and extends forward in time only to the extent of expectation of the immediate future; anticipation of the feel of an object reached for, formation of the next thought to be uttered, a decision to make a casual movement or enact a preplanned series of moves. It extends into the past only as a residual of the next new instant of existence; the pleasant feeling after an accomplishment, the implications of the last point on the next to be played, the emotions released in conversation, physical sensations that slowly ebb from the moment of experience; things such as these affect the immediate future as they slip slowly into the past.

Our concept of self, the understanding of who we are at any given moment, is a major part of our current consciousness. Our self-concept gives definition to our consciousness and binds the elements of our psyche into a stable personality. Self-concepts are developed only through interactions with other people. An understanding of self cannot be developed except through our evaluation of the responses of others to our own presence. Regardless of the potential that hereditary intellectual and emotional capacities may give us to create a positive self-image, initial self-concepts are formed when others react to our existence. Approval, rejection, adulation, ridicule—all take their place in our understanding of who we are, and these interactions are most influential when our first self-concepts form in response to the few people that attend us in early childhood.

Self-concepts are somewhat flexible, however, and change slowly as we journey through life, or occasionally, precipitously, when we encounter situations that impact us greatly. War, prison, crime, serious injury, sudden wealth and sudden poverty are rapid changes that can alter self-images for better or worse. Strong, positive, but realistic, self-concepts are resistant to rapid change while weak dependent self-concepts are subject to vacillation and manipulation. Self-concepts tell us what we can do, what we cannot do; and perhaps more importantly, what we should, and should not, attempt to do. Thus false self-concepts can limit our innate potential or create impossible demands on our capabilities.

It is a fleeting, constant thing, this immediate experience of self, and yet there can be great variation in how we perceive it. Current consciousness can seem to be very compressed and intense, consisting only of the moments immediately preceding the present and an anticipation of just a few instants beyond actual experience. Physical combat, intense and immediate danger, rapid competition—all times of great concentration and fast action produce a compression of current consciousness and the impression of rapid interaction with the movement of time. At the other extreme, the flow of time fading away from the point of now may seem to extend some distance back into a lazy afternoon, or weak concentration on a repetitive task may seemingly slow the movement of time and blur the transition of past to future.

Current consciousness is only part of existence, for we gladly give it up each day to sleep and yet our identities, according to memory, persist as before when we awake. The brain is still quite active as we sleep, we experience dreams that we may or may not recall, but the experience of self, of consciousness, is very vague, "dreamlike" as one would say. Without the experience of conscious reality we are not fully aware of our existence, and without this awareness, the activity of the unconscious mind lacks control. Thus, our active, current consciousness is actual existence, new again in each instant yet totally dependent on what we were before, and able to anticipate the future only in terms of the past.

The mind of a human is much more than just a wave of consciousness cresting over the ocean of our being. Beneath the surface of our thoughts lies an unknown frontier more profound than any we have, or may yet explore. Through our consciousness, we have only surface contact with the most complex of organs, the essence of our identity, the brain. Although we know that the brain functions on many levels, we have only the readout of consciousness to inform us of these functions.

The unconscious mind communicates with us in many ways so subtle that it is difficult to analyze its functions. But it is possible, in a general, unscientific way, to consider the content of the unconscious mind. It includes, but is not restricted to everything that an individual knows but that is not at the moment at the level of conscious thought. It includes everything that was once present in the conscious mind but is now seemingly forgotten as well as information that can be recalled but is not present in current thought processes; everything perceived by the senses, but not consciously noted; everything that is involuntarily felt, desired or emotionally experienced; and all the subconscious activity that is forming, without conscious effort; the attitudes and actions that will in time become conscious.

The unconscious includes instincts; however hidden they may be within a cultured structure; emotions, learned mental reflexes, the possibilities of above normal psychic abilities and archetypes (the possibility of inherited ideas and predispositions). Many believe that a soul, a part of a human entity that has a real and permanent existence beyond mortal life, is woven into each personality. The soul, if it does exist, cannot be separated from or defined within the living personality and so it must also be a part of the unconscious mind.

Although current consciousness is the awareness of identity and the actual interaction of an individual personality with the environment, the unconscious is the foundation of the personality. It is a product of the formation and function of the brain as structured by the genetic code and programmed by a particular experiential history. The unconscious mind also matures with time as body and brain age, and reactions to events and perceptions change according to accumulations of past experiences and also due to genetically and environmentally influenced changes in brain functions as aging progresses.

The brain, of course, is the organ that gives mankind dominion over the earth through intelligence and individual awareness. Identity, memory and personality are among the functions of the brain. The anatomy of the brain is well mapped, even the smallest, most insignificant structures and areas have names and, in general terms, many of their functions are known. The workings of the brain are both electrical and chemical, thus anatomical study reveals little about actual function. Only in recent years with highly sophisticated and advanced surgical techniques, electronic equipment, radiology, computers, and psychiatric techniques have we been able to learn something of the way the brain functions. And even now, our knowledge of brain function is just beginning.

The size of the human brain, in terms of discrete functioning elements, is enormous. There are over a hundred billion nerve cells in a human brain, each with an axon fiber and numerous dendrite fibers. And if the synapses, the connections between axons and dendrites, are actual elements of the information processing system of the brain, an estimate of one hundred trillion elements is not impossible. No man made computer can match the general potential of a human brain. We now know that each half of the brain, connected above the brain stem by only the corpus callosum, serves different functions and has different mental capabilities. The left side is the verbal brain and controls speech and language, words and musical notes. The seat of reason also appears to be in the left brain. The right brain is nonverbal. It controls three dimensional evaluation, emotion, recognition (a relatively large portion of the brain is devoted to recognition of faces), musical rhythm, complex visual patterns and abstract thought. In a normal healthy mind the two halves work well together and a single, persistent personality results. The two halves of the brain, however, are capable of functioning independently and may even have different perspectives and different points of view when consulted separately.

It is possible that information from the right brain may, under abnormal conditions, be perceived by the left brain as communication from an external source. Although specific functions have been identified with certain specific areas of the brain, memory is apparently diffused throughout much of the brain. Injury to part of the brain does not necessarily result in specific memory loss. For example, a loss of 25% of brain tissue does not result in a 25% loss of memory. Depending on the site of injury, all memory remains even if loss of brain tissue is extensive. Some injuries can affect the function of memory, but established memories are not partially destroyed.

The memory reserve of the brain is amazing—only a relatively small piece of brain tissue seems to contain the entire complement of memory. In this way the brain functions similar to a hologram. A hologram uses the interference patterns of monochromatic (laser) light to record and reproduce three dimensional images. Only a small portion of the filmed interference pattern is needed to reproduce the entire image in complete detail. Similar interference patterns are produced in the brain when brain waves move along the billions of synaptic nerve cell junctions. This holographic theory of how the brain processes information may explain the vast storage of information and the rapidity of information correlation that the brain can accomplish. If this is so, it may at some future time be possible to record brain waves in holographic form to preserve memory and perhaps even transfer memory from one individual to another.

A human personality, brain and physical body, of course, cannot be separated into specific parts. A human being is a continuum and does not exist, as a human being, except as an integrated entity moving through the dimension of time. What then can be preserved of a human being? At this point only the genetic code and a record of significant memories, attitudes and beliefs can be preserved of each person. The value of this is twofold.

First, it is the nature of humanity to celebrate birth and existence; and to deplore, deny and rage against the cessation of our brief lives. In the face of the inevitable, however, we desire a trace of our existence to survive in memories and accomplishments—the fact that we existed should remain even when we are no longer present. The recorded life history profile, preserved and maintained, can provide this opportunity where little now exists. The works of mankind are collected and preserved in museums and libraries of every country. The history of nations and remarkable individuals are carefully researched, analyzed and cataloged for posterity. Even frivolous fiction eventually finds a place in the archives of libraries. Each individual should have the opportunity to preserve the record of their life, if for no other reason than the fact of their existence—for there is no human life that is without value or without some knowledge that should be preserved as part of the history of humanity. And now, so much more so than in 1980, the computer revolution has given us the tools to do this, and so much more.

Secondly, preservation of the genetic code can fulfill a basic human desire in evidence since the dawn of civilization. Almost all cultures, exemplified by the ancient Egyptians, have been driven to preserve bodily remains after life is done. There have been, and are today, many varied reasons for attempted preservation of the body, but even if it could be preserved without physical and mental dissolution, the physical body at the time of death represents only the final embodiment in the time line of that individual's life. The body is temporal and changes as life progresses, but the genetic code that develops the individual through life does not change. The potential of the entire individual at every stage of life is incorporated in his or her particular genetic code, and that genetic code can now be preserved.

Preservation of the genetic code also creates the possibility that it can be reactivated at some future time and the human being programmed by that code can exist again. Of course, if such a recreation does eventually take place, it would not be exactly the same individual that existed before. There would probably be no continuity of consciousness between the current and future embodiments of the genetic code. However, the importance of that continuity of existence may not be as great as one would suppose. The present, the current consciousness, that flows through all life stages would exist again, and we live in the present, not in the past and not in the future. For example, a child of 15 relocated from a small Asian village to a large western city undergoes many changes in a period of 40 years, and the resulting adult at age 55 is not the same in mind and body as he was 40 years before. Nor is he the same individual he would have become had he remained in the village of his birth.

The person that exists today, the "you" that is present now would not be extended into the future, unless great advances are made in recording and preserving the memory elements of the brain within your lifetime. The future personality would be "you", again; in a new culture, with a new consciousness and with the knowledge of who and what you were in a previous existence. The consciousness created once by a particular genetic code would exist again, as molded by a different experiential history, and the exhilaration and wonder of existence would be enhanced by the knowledge of a prior life.

Multiple expressions of human genetic codes exist today as identical twins, and more rarely, identical triplets. Identical twins are incontestably different individuals, separate expressions of the same genetic code, but the remarkable similarity of their physical, mental and behavioral traits demonstrates the great importance of the genetic code in the fundamental expression of each individual human being. Dr. Thomas Bouchard, a St. Paul psychologist, studied identical twins separated in infancy and grown to maturity without contact with each other. The similarities in life patterns and behavior are quite striking. Individual twins often behaved very much alike, expressed the same phobias, the same manner of dress, had the same habits, chose similar occupations, and even gave their children the same names.

The mental abilities of the twins he has studied have been more similar than their physical traits. The study indicates that a great deal of human behavior is genetically influenced, more than has been generally realized. Thus, a strong homogeneity may exist between the patterns of life of an individual of today and the life of an individual recreated from the same genetic code far in the future. The same talents and skills, competencies and intelligence would contribute again to the human species in a new context and be rewarded then, as now, by the pain and pleasure of existence. It may be a better life, however, a life without the infirmities and difficulties that may plague one in these times.

The human brain is a product of evolution, biological evolution influenced by the development of culture in human communities. Survival of early human communities was evidently enhanced by cultural developments—languages, cooperation, division of labor, development of reason and intelligence and a working understanding of natural processes. Brain development and social interaction in human communities may be connected by a sort of "feedback mechanism". Successful early hominid communities nurtured development of those mental qualities that made advances in cooperation and technology possible, thus the stimulus existed for extremely rapid evolutionary development of the human brain. This interaction between social and biological development in mankind is still at work today (some might say that our social skills lag far behind our technological prowess), and in recent years a most significant threshold has been reached. We have the technical capacity to change and even destroy our species, and most important, many of us are fully aware of it.

Our species, _Homo_ _sapiens_ , is generally considered to be about 100,000 years old although basic traits of what would become our species appeared about 300,000 years ago. At about 100,000 years ago, physical traits very similar to modern man were characteristic of human populations. And what we would sort of recognize as our species, _Homo_ _sapiens,_ appeared about 50,000 years ago. However, the essence of humanity was present long before this. The oldest tools identified so far are 2.6 million years old and language appeared in human culture about 1 million years ago. Human evolution can be traced back at least 15 million years, although most of the significantly human traits appeared within the last 5 million years.

The most important of these distinctly human traits are generally considered to be locomotion on the hind legs with arms freed for carrying food, babies, tools, and other uses; dependence for survival on the manufacture of tools and equipment; enlargement and reorganization of the brain; development of speech and language; and development of cultural controls on aggression and sexual activity and division of labor through social behavior. Thus long before the dawn of civilization we had developed the major characteristics of humanity. Most important were tools, garments, and shelter; language and abstract thought, written symbols, rudimentary astronomy, and religion—and the concept of ownership, the idea that an object could be a personal possession—a concept so integral to human function that it is seldom recognized and considered as perhaps the most fundamental of human attributes.

There are other concepts in human culture that are also of great importance: love, beauty, patriotism, altruism, religion—but I submit that the concept of personal possession is the most fundamental of all, and in fact, responsible for the emergence of other human traits. Mankind is not alone in the use of tools. Dogs and other animals can be trained to use tools to achieve a desired effect; some birds use sticks to probe termite holes and wild chimpanzees can manipulate objects to extend their reach. Trained chimpanzees, of course, have great facility with tools, and with extensive training, chimpanzees can even use the rudiments of language and exhibit a fundamental concept of self. But in nature, humans alone can own as well as use a tool. Ownership can be shared, given and exchanged; animals do not conceive of possession and do not own objects in this sense. Without training, an animal's relationship to an object is impulsive, instinctive, and momentary.

Creation and use of tools is considered the spark that propelled mankind into the cycle of physical and mental development that led to culture and civilization. A tool, however, cannot be maintained and improved until the creator of the tool understands the meaning and value of possession. Somewhere before the dawn of early man, some individual may have gained a strong survival capability by recognizing the value of keeping a particularly useful stone or club with him for continued use. This realization could be passed to others who could learn by imitation what they could not conceive themselves.

What is civilization, if it is not the development of the concept and technology of ownership? What is technology, if it is not the development and refinement of possessed objects? What is marriage, if it is not the definition and acknowledgement of a commitment to mutual possession? "This tool is mine, therefore I exist." may predate, or at least be contemporary with Descarte's "Cogito ergo sum"—I think, therefore I am. The basic concept of ownership extends to all facets of being. This is my shirt, my pants, my shoes. He is my husband. She is my wife. This is my land; you may not come upon it. This is my money and my property. My God will take care of me because I belong to Him. I will protect, maintain and keep what I perceive and claim to be mine. If I kill you, your land and property will become mine. The concept of ownership conveyed a great survival value.

Ownership and culture marched step for step through the ages of evolution. "I am dying my son; I give you my stone ax that has served me well, my warm bear skin and my spear. Go and be greater than I." "I am dying my son; my lawyer will read my will. I give you my business, my money, my property, go and be greater than I." The concept of owning a possession is so fundamental to mankind's being that it is difficult to conceive of existence without it, and it is so integral to our nature that it is taken for granted or overlooked when the nature of mankind is considered. Modern societies that espouse communal ownership of property seldom succeed and the concept of ownership is still present but is vested in governmental authority, usually tyrannical and despotic.

Ownership readily extends to mutual control of objects and territory by family and tribal groups. Survival was enhanced by group ownership concepts and cooperation. For example, agriculture could not begin until a special sort of relationship with a particular area was conceptually defined. The territorialism of animals is similar, yet fundamentally different. The territorial nature of many animals is an extension of the presence of the animal itself rather than delineation and acknowledged ownership of a particular area. Animal territorialism is an instinctual control of an area extending outward from the animal a certain defensible distance. The territory moves with the animal and exists only when the animal is present and able to defend the claim. Man, however, in the claim of ownership, carefully defines the area and exercises total control. This control is acknowledged by society and exists even when the owner is not present. It can be transferred to another individual through gift, barter or even forceful acquisition.

If mankind's culture and technology rose from the root of the concept that a thing could be owned, then the darker side of mankind's nature sprang from that same root. If a thing of value could be owned by one individual, then it could also be owned by another individual with the strength and/or cunning to acquire it in any way possible. Covetousness, greed, envy, jealousy, extortion, and theft are all human elements with the same behavioral roots as love and generosity.

Ownership can be permanent and inheritable such as property and heirlooms that pass from generation to generation and often have a personal value far above the market price—or it can be extremely transitory and intangible and exist only momentarily for pleasure or entertainment. Most games are based on a concept of possession and a conflict to maintain or regain ownership of an intangible, or to invade and capture ownership of a symbolic territory. Consider the US national game of football, where each team has a territory to protect, an object highly coveted by both teams, and a desire to prevail by strength and cunning in an invasion into the heartland of the enemy territory. If no one cared who were the temporary owners of the football and the ends of the playing field, the game would have no meaning.

Even card games depend on the reward of ephemeral ownership of a trick or accumulation of cards won by fair battle in the realms of chance and cleverness. One cannot eat, wear or sell a checkmate or a touchdown, but the idea of prevailing in mock combat to gain symbolic ownership of these can often be terribly important. The concept of ownership is an integral part of mankind's nature and it cannot be denied. It has served us well and if we can be its master, we will take it to the stars.

# CHAPTER 6

## DEATH

_As ye are now,_

I once was.

As I am now,

Ye will be.

Epitaph on an anonymous grave

You will die.

The two fundamental physical events of any human life are birth and death. This is true for all humans of every time, every circumstance, every culture, every anatomy, every intellect, every religion, and every society. The joy or sorrow, and travail of birth, however we enter this life, has only one ending and it is a universal one. That ending may be a final, gentle relaxation into the long sleep after a lengthy, pleasant, and successful life, or it may end prematurely in disease, trauma, and pain. I sincerely hope that for you, my reader, and for me, that we have a good death, which, although a "good death" may sound like an oxymoron, actually has as much meaning as a good life.

But this book is not about what happens, if anything, after death. That is the realm of religion, superstition, hope, and fear, and we all have our own thoughts about what might be behind that final curtain. This book is about the facts of life and death in this modern world and why, how, and what might be possible in extending the essence of our existence into the future.

Human beings die because death is a biological necessity for the change and survival of all species. However we may differ mentally and perhaps spiritually, from other earthly creatures, our biological kinship cannot be denied. Blood and bone, sex and death, we are one with all life on Earth; and as it is with all creatures that reproduce by sexual recombination–the moment of conception assures each individual that death will someday follow. Without sex and death, life on Earth could not have developed beyond the stage of simple unicellular organisms reproducing through division and recycling available nutrients in a tenacious grasp on existence. Sexual reproduction and the concomitant reorganization of genetic potential provided individual diversity within a gene pool and allowed the gene pool to react to changing environmental conditions. Of course, each generation of individuals has to pass the gift of life to the next to allow the species to grow and change. Species with individuals that did not die or that lived too long, exchanged so much genetic flexibility for long term individual existence that the species itself could not survive. Species that become too highly specialized also lose flexibility and become extinct if they cannot adapt to a changing environment that gradually becomes inhospitable.

If an organism dies before it reproduces it is because the physiological, nutritional, or behavioral elements of its environment are not adequate for survival. Death before the completion of a normal life time, even after successful reproduction, is also a result of the inadequacy of one or more of these three elements. A physiologically inadequate environment includes physical destruction of the brain and/or body through accident, predation, disease, genetic dysfunction, and a physical environment incompatible with survival. This may be a rapid change such as physical destruction from violence or toxins, or long term degeneration such as caused by chronic disease. The absence of a proper nutritional environment also may be short term such as starvation, or long term such as absence of a critical nutrient. Each individual of each species has a behavioral environment composed of physiological requirements and instinctive behavioral responses to the immediate physical environment. Survival in a behaviorally inadequate environment may also be short term, such as a penguin that finds itself on a sandy shore rather than on a snow bank, or long term such as an individual or group that is prevented by some cause from a required migration. Most species also require a population density that allows successful reproductive behavior and production of sufficient progeny to maintain the population. Loss of this minimal population density, from over exploitation or excessive predation (actually the same thing) results in the decline of the population (the gene pool) sometimes to the point of species extinction.

In long term situations genetic change in the genome of the species through mutation and survival of the fittest, evolution as we term this, may allow survival through change of the species by adaption to a changing environment. Rapid environmental change, however, limits the ability of the gene pool to adjust to changing conditions and usually results in extinction of the species.

Reproduction requires a great amount of energy, energy that could also be spent on individual survival. Therefore, each successful species must strike a balance in expenditure of reproductive energy, enough to insure perpetuation of the species, but not so much that the life energy required by the individual organisms is depleted below sustenance levels. Reproductive mode and individual longevity are closely interrelated in each species. Each generation must survive long enough to assure propagation and development of the next, but not so long that the older generation deprives the new of the basic elements required for survival. Each new generation carries the seed of change within it and the gene pool must allow this seed to grow if the species is to survive.

Short lived species tend to produce many offspring and parental care, if any, is brief. Long lived species tend to conserve reproductive energy by producing relatively few offspring, but aiding their survival through a prolonged period of parental protection and/or by reproductive activity spread over a long span of years. Despite the pattern of individual longevity and reproductive strategy that each species has developed, the bottom line is always the same, the individual must reproduce and die—or the species becomes extinct.

There is an enormous conflict inherent in this pattern. The individual must fight for life with tooth and claw and instinct and intellect. Each individual must rage to live and abhor death to assure the best chance of survival in the jungle of existence. Yet, each individual must eventually die so that the species may be vital and survive. This conflict is neatly resolved biologically, for each individual of every sexually reproducing species is "programmed" to die once its individual function is complete. (This may not strictly apply to some colonial invertebrate species such as corals and sponges, and protozoa with sexual and asexual alternation of generations and reproduction by fission.) Despite the intense will to live present in individuals of every species, bones become brittle, tissues age, the immune system wanes, cellular clocks run down and the spark of life fades and dies when the allotted life span is over. Nature benignly conceals this conflict, however, for individuals of every species, save one, are unknowing of their inevitable demise. Mankind has paid a very great price for awareness, intellect and reason.

Thus death is as integral to existence as sex and birth, but only human beings know and fear the end of life. Death is the cessation of biological activity, the dissolution of the organized molecular activity of life. It used to be defined by the last heartbeat, the last breath; in fact, the essence of a person, the spirit or soul was thought to leave the body with the last breath. Now we know that every organ has its own intensity of life and resistance to death. All tissues are dependent on oxygen delivery and waste removal by blood circulation. Some organs such as skin and glands may retain life for hours after the flow of blood has ceased, but others are so active and dependent on an oxygen supply that only a few minutes of oxygen deprivation means irreversible cell damage and organ death. The brain is especially vulnerable, only a few minutes without blood flow results in brain death—damage to nervous tissue so severe that the brain no longer functions and brain waves characteristic of mental activity are no longer generated. Consciousness is lost forever. Other organs may continue to function and the body may still live, usually with mechanical aid, but the consciousness, the human identity created in the brain no longer exists within the body.

As long as the brain functions and consciousness is present, medical technology can now allow survival even though parts of the body may have atrophied and died. Heart-lung machines, blood transfusions, kidney dialysis, and sophisticated surgical techniques can preserve life where death was certain only a few years ago. People may now live almost normal lives even though their body cannot make insulin, their kidneys do not function, their heart must be told when to beat, and their lungs are so compromised that pure oxygen is always required. This technology has also blurred the definition of death for the body may now live long after the brain is dead. Brain death, irreversible cessation of brain function is now legally accepted in at least eighteen states as the definition of death.

Thus we exist as a human being from the time of brain formation to the time that this organ ceases to function. Brain waves are first detected with sensitive instruments when the human fetus is six weeks old. From this point on the neural tissue of the brain is always active. The electrical and chemical activity of the neurons never ceases although the type of activity varies with the state of consciousness. From the formation and electrochemical interaction of the first two neurons to the eventual death of all brain cells, this amazing organ is never "turned off". The electric potentials of the brain are always there; ready to react at the slightest stimulus. What happens when the oxygen is turned off, the blood to the brain is stopped by heart failure or blood clots, and brain cells begin to die? Are death hormones released, are the memory banks discharged? Do unusual patterns of electronic activity take place?

Recent investigations on the experiences of people that have returned from the point of death with mental faculties intact have shown amazing similarities in their recounted experiences. Encounters with God-like beings, long dark tunnels, bright lights in the distance, presence of old friends and relatives, out of body experience and a near passage to another world are frequently described. The similarity of this experience in many people of widely differing cultural backgrounds is often claimed as evidence of continued existence after death. Not all agree with this interpretation, however. Carl Sagan in his book, Broca 's Brain, raises the possibility that these experiences could be merely perithanatic release of birth memories, common to all people of all cultures and interpreted according to the beliefs and traditions of those cultures. Feelings of flying, tunnels of darkness, beings surrounded by a halo of light may all be dim memories of birth, an experience shared by all people. Isaac Asimov, on the other hand, in an essay in the October 1977 issue of Fantasy and Science Fiction Magazine, considers these experiences as hallucinations of minds in an abnormal state of near death described later according to the preconceived ideas of biased interviewers.

There is another possibility also, one that accounts for the similarity of the recounted experiences. Just as a television set emits a characteristic display when it is turned off and its capacitors discharge so may the brain "discharge" during death and release a characteristic electrochemical activity that produces the mental effects later described by survivors. Neural discharges upon death are a common occurrence. Anyone who has butchered chickens or cleaned freshly caught fish is familiar with muscle twitches caused by the post mortem discharge of motor neurons. Brain neurons must also discharge as death approaches and the effect of this abnormal activity on memory, identity, and brain function is not known. Also in this context, it is significant that recent work by Ronald Siegel at UCLA in cross-cultural analysis of the effects of hallucinogens has demonstrated that drug induced visions show uniformity over cultural boundaries. Despite broad cultural differences, carefully monitored and recorded drug induced hallucinations result in similar psychological experiences. Evidently the human brain responds in a basically patterned way to hallucinogenic stimulus. However, the interpretations of these visions are dependent on individual cultural and experiential bias. It may be that sensations of light and dark, old memories, and self-images experienced at times of near death are normal responses of brain tissue to the stress of death and only in rare instances can this experience be recalled, described and interpreted.

Descriptions of perithanatic experiences depend entirely on a later memory of the event. Remember yourself doing something in the recent past, eating yesterday's lunch perhaps. Try to remember as much detail as possible. The picture that is recalled is usually one of yourself sitting at a table or bench and being very much involved in the activities of that particular segment of time. The remembrance includes the entire picture, your self-image as you perceive it in memory, relating to the environment and the activity. You do not see just your hands lifting food to your mouth or the expressions on the faces of those near you; the tendency is to recall a total picture of yourself in those surroundings at that time. You recall a scene with yourself as a principle focus rather than a mechanically perfect replay of the actual sensory stimuli received at that time.

The brain then actually creates a mental picture of the memory that is being recalled—and in turn it is later possible to create a memory of the memory that was initially created. Frequent recall of significant memories seems to fix them in the "long term memory bank" and makes them easier to recall in future times. Because memory is not a mechanically perfect replay of the event, memories can be, and often are, unintentionally altered to conform to a pattern of belief or self-image. How does one recall the memory of near death, the memory of possible brain dysfunction at that time? What self-image does the brain store of the near terminal experience? Is it a common occurrence to see oneself in memory placed in the setting of last consciousness? I am not convinced that perithanatic "out of body experiences" are indeed memories from a consciousness apart from the physical body. But like many other experiences that cannot be recorded, measured or experimentally reproduced—it is not possible to make-a definitive, categorical judgment of such phenomena.

Of course, there is also the possibility that perithanatic experiences are actually glimpses of continued existence on another plane. The conscious entity created in the brain as an individual life progresses may continue to exist for a while or for an eternity after biological death as a discrete energy entity or a pattern of energy interactions. This last great mystery of life cannot be solved to the satisfaction of all people by any scientific, psychic or supernatural investigation or doctrine, yet every individual will eventually enter this great unknown.

The potential human life span has remained about the same, 70 to 90 years, for thousands of years. Life expectancy, however, has increased dramatically as advances in medical science have allowed people to more nearly approach the life span programed in their genetic code. Individuals that do not die of appendicitis, tuberculosis, bacterial infections, Hodgkin's disease, polio, H1N1 and other influenza virus, etc. live much longer than they would have not too many years ago and the average life expectancy has moved closer and closer to the maximum longevity written into the genetic code. Thus medical science has extended the average life span and allowed us to live with the effects of aging for a longer period, but the genetically programed mortality for mankind has not yet been altered.

Much of the history of mankind is a chronicle of beliefs about supernatural beings and events and efforts to avoid the inevitability of death or appeasement of the gods that controlled existence after death. The death of individuals after the time of reproduction is essential to the survival of each species, and distasteful as death may be to individual organisms, there has never been any recourse to this basic law of nature. Nature's laws, however, are a challenge to mankind, and now for the first time since life began on Earth, the supremacy of death is questioned, not by magic, but by science. We are beginning to understand what biological changes take place as aging progresses and the realization is dawning that it may be biologically possible at some future time to retard, prevent and perhaps reverse the phenomena of aging. The immune system, cellular aging clocks, cross linkage in aging DNA, changing hormonal and enzymatic activity, accumulations of cellular waste, loss of the telomeres on the tips of chromosomes, and free radical reactions are all implicated causally in the aging process. (So easy to say in one sentence, yet years and years of intense scientific effort are represented there.)

The first step in the control and cure of any disease is to identify and understand the causative agent or organism. Smallpox, diabetes, diphtheria, bubonic plague, tuberculosis and many, many other afflictions that relentlessly claimed human lives are no longer real threats to a full life span because their cause is known, and knowing the cause allows development of effective preventative and curative measures. Of course, control and cure do not immediately follow the identification of cause, but this knowledge makes possible the eventual cure.

The degenerative effects of aging that eventually result in death of the individual are due to complex biological interactions that are the subject of intensive scientific study. It is a very real possibility that mankind will soon understand the process of aging well enough to develop methods of treatment that will mitigate and perhaps eliminate the effects of aging and extend the vital years of a normal life span far beyond nature's three score and ten. If this happens, and I repeat, it is a very real possibility, the changes in the social structures of humanity will be enormous.

I will not consider true immortality here, for this is a supernatural concept, but rather a significant prolongation of the normal life span. The two most important factors are the extent of the longevity increase, and perhaps most significant, the time span over which the increase occurs. Even an increase of 15 to 25 years is significant, especially if it happens quickly; and a doubling or tripling of the average life span would completely change the structure of humanity. We are very near the point, past it some might say, where increases in population will significantly decrease the quality of life for all. Death and birth must be balanced to keep humanity in harmony with the life support systems of our Earth.

We can no longer rely on nature to do this for us, for with control of death comes responsibility—or chaos. As longevity increases, without population expansion, the birth rate and the quantity of youth must decline. According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, about 32% of the U.S. population in 1980 is under the age of 20. If the total population, 222 million, remains about the same while the average life span triples to 219 years, then only about 9% of the population will be under 20 years of age. If the average life span ever approaches 500, 1000 or even 2000 years (and if it is possible to extend it 25 or 50 years, there may be no limits), then youth will be more rare than centenarians are today. Who is to say if this is good or bad? Do individuals never conceived have a valid claim to the space occupied by those that now live? No easy answers here.

Humanity will certainly be enriched by long, active life spans, but we can only hope that the enrichment will at least equal the loss. The heaviest price we will pay for super longevity is the loss of youth. Playgrounds, schools, mother and child, and children oriented families will be exchanged for a greatly prolonged and vigorous middle age, extensive facilities and programs for aged individuals and, perhaps, increased fear and avoidance of death. One of the greatest joys of mankind is youth. The love of an infant, the smiles and tears of a child, the unrestrained exuberance of adolescence would be only a minor portion of our long lived lives. The economics of youth, the markets for entertainment and children's products would be greatly diminished as life spans increase. We could ease the problems by being selective about longevity increases; only those wealthy enough to afford the pills and injections, or only those that make a significant contribution to society could be allowed to take the life extending medication.

Who would make the selections and who would tell those that were not selected? What would be the relationship between those that are aging and those that enjoy vitality and vigor long after their age group has passed away? No—unless we become a stable society of serfs and masters, longevity for just a few is perhaps possible on the basis of economic ability, but in a free society can such disparity of class between patricians like "The Eternals" coexist with the plebians, "The Common People? And if the society is not free, will the revolutions of the past occur once again? All must share the gift of extended life or very few or none at all. The question appears to be when and how quickly this fundamental change in humanity will occur; and not whether it is possible or even conceivable that such change will take place. It is possible, if not probable, that the natural age barrier may begin to crumble before the year 2000, and at the rate of scientific progress now in evidence, extended life spans should be common within the next few hundred years. (Note: When this book was first written, the life expectancy in the US was 73 years, now, in 2014, it is 78 years) Within this new pattern of greatly extended individual life, survival of humanity will depend on tightly controlled reproductive rates and very stable cultures. Only unrestricted off planet migration can soften the controls necessary for survival of an expanding civilization.

The Grim Reaper has always been mankind's unconquerable enemy. Kings and peasants, intellectuals and idiots, all pay their dues for their years of existence. The elements of the life span: childhood, youth, maturity and age, and the allotted years for each of these, is woven into the fabric of each human culture. Such a fundamental change as elimination or repression of death will introduce many unforeseen sociological problems. Without the pale priest of death, will humanity become more or less than it now is? Only time can answer.

When life has fled and consciousness is gone, all that remains is the rapidly dissociating organic elements of the physical body. The body of the friend or relative that lies before us no longer has worldly cares or pleasures and will quite soon lose human visage despite our efforts to preserve it. Religious beliefs and traditions typically determine the manner of disposal of bodily remains. The traditions concerning death are among the most conservative elements of human culture. Most of us choose to bury our dead. We place them under stone or brass markers that say little other than our name and the dates of our existence. Long after the passenger has disembarked, we ceremoniously consign the empty ship to a small plot of ground, often with the belief or hope that the disintegrating remains will someday, somehow be made whole again with memory and vitality by some supernatural entity beyond our comprehension. In these enlightened times we may choose to have our remains reduced to ashes and then release them in a memorable place to recombine with the elements of our environment, or to allow the remains of the dear departed repose in yet a smaller box. Either way our physical essence is lost and time eventually takes even memory.

Survival is the first concern of every individual. Once our survival is assured for every minute of every day, once we know that the possibility of our death is not imminent (which occurs below the level of consciousness, of course, until it is needed to fight for survival), then we can go about living the life that lies before us. Fortunately, the inevitability of our death is not a constant concern. But it is the obvious fact of the inevitability of death that colors the very fabric of all human cultures, and that is the driving force, for good or ill, in the development of our societies. Religion is the cultural expression of that concern and the foundation in one form or another of essentially all human societies. It has long been obvious that death is followed by decay of the physical body, and as long as human cultures have existed we have striven to preserve in some way the body after death, or send it ceremoniously through earth, fire, or water into the afterlife, with the hope, or the "sure knowledge", that the personality that once occupied that physical structure could occupy it once again. From entombments of Neanderthals to the mummifications and pyramids of the Egyptians, from Viking flaming raft funerals to Hindu cremations, from Judaism to Christianly to Islam, to a pantheism of gods, humanity has preserved and revered its dead to ensure and enhance the possibility of continuation of individual existence in some supernatural future realm.

But the physical result of these practices is always the same. As told in the Book of Common Prayer, "Earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust", and as revealed by the decaying tombs, crumbling headstones, old lost graves, and tales and stories of heroes and villains, those that lived in the past slowly lose their reality and are forgotten or become fable and myth. But this can be changed, we can still maintain the rituals and beliefs of our cultures but also use the science and technology that our civilization has developed to preserve the physical and historical essence of who and what we were in life for whatever the future might be capable of producing. In the past there was only one option at the end of life, eventual extinction of who were and the fact that we existed. We can now have a choice between the extinction or the preservation of the genetic code that created us and the life history of who we were and what we did. Given the current level of our knowledge and our technology, this is now possible.

We see in the death of others our own inevitable mortality and we grieve for the loss of a companion from our own lives. The body represents only what we were at the moment of death. True preservation of all that we were and all that we had the potential to be can most nearly be achieved by preservation of our unique genetic code and life history profile. These are the parts of each of us that are unique to each human being. Speaking personally, I would not want the remains of my physical body encased in a box or urn and left to the care of future generations. All that I took from earth and sea should be returned to mingle, combine and recombine with the life and environment that gave me sustenance. In my case, let my ashes be released to the sea that I studied and loved, there to become one with life again. Let my elements join with the waters and carry my essence into the cycles of existence from whence they came. But preserve my humanity, the story of who I was and what I did, and preserve the pattern of the structure of my mind and body for the future of my kind.

# CHAPTER 7

## IMMORTALITY

_I neither deny nor affirm the immortality of man. I see no reason for believing in it, but, on the other hand, I have no means of disproving it._ Thomas H. Huxley

As silence defines sound and darkness gives meaning to light, so awareness of mortality creates the concept of immortality. And what is immortality? Some may conceive of an afterlife within a pleasant social setting of streets of gold, light and joy, milk and honey, homes filled with precious gems, loved ones nearby, continuous worship at the throne of God—and off in the distance, very faintly—the cries and wails of the damned suffering the unspeakable tortures of hell throughout eternity. Others find such a scenario abhorrent and believe the essence of each individual is on a journey through many planes of existence of one type or another, and just as biological evolution has taken mankind to the present physical state, so spiritual evolution will transform each of us, eventually, to an ultimate state of perfection, whatever that might be. Those that eschew the supernatural and believe that each person has but one existence may seek a sense of immortality through their presence in an ancestral line, or through their contribution to the collected works of humanity—both a symbolic form of immortality. All this is said succinctly in Webster's, unabridged, second edition.

Immortality. The condition or quality of being immortal: Exemption from death and annihilation: unending existence. Exemption from oblivion, enduring fame

Either supernatural immortality is now real for some or all of humanity or it is not real and the possibility exists only in the mind and fables of mankind. If it is not real then true immortality is never to be, for even if biological life spans or even existence as an electronic identity can be extended "forever"–forever ends with the demise of a sun or a universe, however incomprehensible in time that event may be.

If immortality, in the sense of the continuing existence of our identity (a "soul" perhaps) after biological death does now exist, then it must exist in one of two modes. It may be a supernatural phenomenon, a result created by a supernatural intelligence that does not necessarily function according to natural laws, one who can determine who survives, who does not, and the conditions of survival; or it may simply be an extra natural phenomenon that occurs in dimensions and realms beyond our present (and perhaps future) abilities to measure and comprehend. (A third possibility is that existence of our identity after death does not now occur, but that mankind will someday develop a form of immortality through greatly extended biological life spans, functional brain preservation, and/or eventually preservation in the form of an artificial identity—which may or may not be in the best interests of humanity).

If we assume that a supernatural immortality exists as it was created by a supernatural intelligence; then it must exist exactly as one or all of mankind's many religions describe, or it must exist independently of our efforts to perceive it and define it and our various beliefs may reflect only some portion of a greater whole. Such knowledge and speculation is intuitive and not rational, traditional and not reasonable. However, these concepts are vibrantly entwined with our religious, social and even political institutions; and the presence or absence of factual truth is not necessarily relevant to the conduct of these organizations. It is belief itself and human conduct based on that belief that is all important. If we are a result of, or an extension of, a supernatural intelligence, then each individual will someday evaluate his or her own existence in this greater context; and we can do no more than use the greatest of our talents, our intellect, and the essence of our humanity, compassion, to define our personal beliefs.

On the other hand, it may be possible that immortality exists as a supernatural phenomenon that certain humans can, at times, perceive dimly. This information may be passed to humanity in myths, religions, and dreams and form the core of the yearning for eternal life that all cultures seem to possess.

A constantly reoccurring theme in our concepts of immortality is the reincarnation of a human entity after biological death, as a different human being or even a plant or animal. This implies the presence of a vast structure of entities in some form outside the structure of the "real" world. The concept of reincarnation has been a part of human culture long before the ancient beginnings of modern religions. Even today, most of the world's people: Hindus, Buddhists, and many others believe in multiple lives through reincarnation. Many of us today claim vague impressions of former lives, some not so vague, and most people are at least intrigued by the concept.

Either reincarnation in some sense or manner does occur, or it does not. If it does not occur, then all reports of it are intentionally or unintentionally false and evidence suggestive of reincarnation has other explanations. This is the most plausible prospect, in my personal opinion, for nothing that I have seen, studied or experienced would indicate otherwise. On the other hand, if reincarnation does occur, then life, human life at least, has ramifications that transcend biology. If even one true instance of reincarnation has ever occurred, then there is a nonmaterial aspect of human existence that defies even our considerable imaginations.

Reincarnation, if it does occur, is either a phenomenon universal to all humanity or is restricted to only a part, great or small, of mankind. If it is a rare phenomenon similar in frequency to unusual mental and physical traits, then it may provide valuable insights in understanding the essence of things we cannot yet measure and manipulate dealing with the relationships of mind, identity, matter, and energy. However, if reincarnation is a universal experience, if every person has the capacity for multiple lives, then each entity must by definition remain discrete; and the structure of the nonmaterial universe is indeed vast and complex.

The world population at the time of the birth of Christ is estimated at 300 million; 310 million were alive in 1000 CE; 909 million in 1800; 2,556 million in 1950; 4,088 million in 1975 and an estimated 6,084 million existed in the year 2000 and it is estimated that 9,202 million (that's over 9 billion) will exist in 2050. Thus, the number of human entities in a state of biological existence at one time has had about a 20 fold increase in the last 2000 years. This creates a number of intriguing possibilities for reincarnation. There may be a vast "population" of entities waiting to enter the cycle of birth and rebirth, or perhaps new entities are "created" as biological space becomes available, or possibly each entity in a nonmaterial existence has the potential for reproduction.

The situation becomes frighteningly more complex if creatures other than humans are considered to partake in these cycles of existence. Truly the concept of reincarnation creates many possibilities and paradoxes outside the realm of rational thought.

The possibility, however remote, that there could be a form of continued existence after biological death invites speculation. So I shall speculate. Is it possible to develop a theory of immortality that does not necessarily conflict with current scientific thought, yet explain some apparently puzzling phenomena? Perhaps, but depending of course, upon one's own opinions, beliefs and experiences. There may be some veracity to the following supposition, but its probability is entirely a matter of individual opinion and assessment.

We live in a "real" world, a world of natural laws; past, present and future; light and dark; gasses, liquids and solids; life and death; chemistry, physics, and biology. Our experience, intellect and science tell us that this is how our world has always been and always will be, that as things are here, so they are on the other side of the our universe (multiple universe theory not considered).

There are intimations, however, in our imaginations, our religions and from a few individuals who "march to the beat of a different drum" that all may not be as it seems to the skeptical, rational mind. Many of us, me included, dismiss these irrational ramblings as emanations of the apparent human need and affection for mysticism, mystery, magic and majesty. And certainly there are few, if any, real world phenomena that have demonstrated extra natural characteristics under careful scientific scrutiny and experimentation. However, when we move to the realm of subatomic particles, the "building blocks" of atomic structure, reality takes on a different aspect. Our world is not "real" anymore in the sense that a desk or pencil is real (although some physicists theoretically extend the principals of quantum mechanics to all physical objects).

The study of subatomic particles is a study of the probabilities of subatomic events. According to Werner Heisenberg's uncertainty principle, verified experimentally, we can determine the position of a subatomic particle or we can determine its momentum, but both position and momentum cannot be determined for the same particle. The very act of measurement changes the particle, so we can never be merely independent observers of events at subatomic levels. We must participate in these events in order to observe them, thus we cannot "know" the undisturbed nature of subatomic particles; we see them only as our investigations change their reality. Subatomic events themselves cannot be predicted, only the probability that they will occur. These particles do not "exist", they exhibit "tendencies to exist" or "tendencies to happen".

Subatomic particles, the ultimate stuff of matter, the building blocks of atoms, are "particles" of energy, energy quanta. They are constantly being created and annihilated, changing from one form to another and possibly moving in and out of the "real" world in apparent chaotic confusion, yet seemingly in communication with each other on an instantaneous basis. Energy becomes mass and mass becomes energy in an unceasing dance of creation, annihilation and transformation. Only the great pattern remains constant. The atom, the molecule, the form of substance—the energy patterns of the "real" world do not easily change. We, our minds, our bodies, are actually composed of ephemeral energy quanta, a structure of particulate energy bound in the firm and unique patterns of atomic structures. The elementary particles and atoms change, but the pattern that makes us unique, as structured by our genetic code, remains the same.

Now suppose, (the speculation begins) if we are biological entities composed mentally and physically of a very complex and tightly organized pattern of energy events, is it possible for the subatomic and electrical patterns that form the structure of our identity to, in some way, maintain coherence after biological death, and for this pattern to transfer from control by a biological organism into an energy pattern that can sustain its organization within the broad structure of energy/matter itself? If so, then the unique energy pattern that is, in the "real" world, a biological human being, may be able to retain the pattern of the special organization within brain tissue that has formed over years of development into a human personality, into a form of energy outside of matter completely independent of the biological organism.

This organized pattern of energy interactions may be able to impose its organization upon the basic structure of energy/matter /time and exist for a while or forever as a discrete entity moving as it wills through the energy/matter/time framework of the universe. The intensity and strength of the energy structure that is formed in the brain during life may determine if and for how long, a particular mind might survive in the chaotic energy network that underlies matter in the "real" world. Perhaps the mental exercises of certain religions aid the mind in preparing the type of energy structure that can survive and thrive in the nether world of subatomic energy patterns. A weak mind, one with limited organization and poor intensity of personality and force of will, may survive only a short time before losing substance to the chaos that surrounds it; while a strong and/or trained entity may be able to protect its pattern, consolidate its identity and expand its presence and knowledge in the energy frame of the universe.

Travel for this incorporeal entity may be very easy. It might move at, or even beyond, the speed of light by imposing its pattern instantly upon the energy structure of matter wherever matter exists. Imagine the intellect of Albert Einstein moving through the universe investigating the structure of stars and the ways of matter. An entity composed only of a pattern of energy may even be able to pass into biological organisms and influence them in some subtle ways to comprehend or develop in a particular manner. And time travel for entities composed only of organized energy, who knows?

Good may be the the basis of actions that create beneficial structures and organization, and evil that that destroys and disintegrates beneficial structures and organization. A little further imagination and speculation can carry this concept into a functional interaction with many of our religious, mystical and intuitive rationales. For example, there are intriguing similarities between the relatively recent findings of the study of physics and the ancient Eastern philosophies. Gary Zukav in his book, The Dancing Wu Li Masters, and Fritjof Capra in, The Tao of Physics, discuss the blending of new physics and ancient philosophies in great detail. Good qualities: caring, kindness, sharing, loving, guidance to young minds, are all characteristic of successful intuitive human teachings and also some religions. Perhaps mankind's intuitive mind (right brain) has been far ahead of our rational mind (left brain) in sensing the basic structure of our universe.

Could immortality exist through transfer of a personality from a biological organism to a persistent pattern of subatomic energy? That is the stuff of pure speculation and imagination, but no less plausible than many of mankind's other concepts of the realms beyond our understanding. So be encouraged to use your mind to its limit, strengthen it, keep it well, and contemplate the universe, for we may be more intimately associated with it than we realize.

Immortality is also sought in areas we can see and understand in forms of actual and symbolic immortality. We have turned to technology as well as mysticism and religion in our efforts to continue our existence. A form of immortality through indefinite extension of our present life is seen as a real possibility. Research is underway in laboratories around the world to discover the causes of aging and develop techniques to retard, prevent and reverse the human body's natural process of self-destruction. The results of these studies will not provide a supernatural immortality, but they may be successful in significantly extending the normal life span. Barring accidents, it may be possible for people to live for thousands of years or more in a state of youthful vigor, but this presumably happy state of technology will probably arrive too late for those of us alive today. There are those, however, that are not content to follow their ancestors into the grave when the promise of extended life through technology is so tantalizingly close.

Cryonics is a term coined to describe the practice of freezing a person as soon after death as possible and preserving the frozen body for a future time when, hopefully, the technology will exist to resurrect the individual and return them to vibrant health. At least one small cryonic society is now in operation. The cost is great and chances of future resurrection are very slim.

A person cannot be frozen until pronounced dead by proper authority. There are at least two major technical impediments that greatly reduce the chances that any frozen cadaver could ever be returned to life. First, immediately upon death, small packages of digestive enzymes in each cell, lysosomes, rupture and begin to destroy the cell structure. These lysosomal enzymes function in cell metabolism when the cell lives and digest the cell when it dies so it is easily resorbed by the body. When the entire body dies, all the cells begin to break down in this manner. This cellular damage begins at death and accelerates with time. The cell damage done to the brain by this system of self-destruction before freezing takes place would be quite considerable if there is any delay between death and processing.

A human body is a relatively massive object and cannot be instantaneously frozen. Body warmth and lack of oxygen in the tissues promotes enzymatic self-destruction until internal temperatures are sufficiently depressed. Secondly, formation of ice crystals and expansion of frozen cellular fluids can rupture and burst individual cells, especially if freezing of each cell is not instantaneous. Although perfusion of the body with DMSO and glycerol can decrease such damage, the extent of destruction in each individual case would not be known until resurrection was attempted.

The brain, of course, contains the identity that is sought to be preserved by freezing, and death stops all electrical and chemical activity in this organ. It is possible that even if the brain could be so perfectly preserved that no damage occurred to its capacity to function; that upon return to life, no memories or skills would remain encoded in its tissues. It may be a blank slate, worse even than at birth, for it may not have the potential for growth and development that allows a new born to form the essential behavior patterns for motor and linguistic skills.

Thus freezing of cadavers offers only a very slim chance for personal life extension. But for some, this slim chance is better than none. However, anyone that takes this road to personal preservation is well advised to preserve their genetic code and leave a record of their life and identity in the event that their resurrected brain carries no memory.

When this little book was first written, computer technology as we know it today was in its infancy. I recall machines that shuffled data cards and that were the epitome of computer science. Today of course, the advancement of computer science has come so far that the concept of capturing and maintaining the essence of a human mind and personality in a computer program that allows that mind and personality to remain intact and learn, grow, and contribute to the technical growth of humanity is a part of our fictional culture. Although that might never be possible, it is not unimaginable. As the song says, "The future is not ours to know."

The yearning, the human need to assure that we do not simply cease to exist is manifested in many ways. We may seek symbolic immortality through veneration of ancestors and through the concept of a form of life extension in our children. For most of us, the knowledge that a part of what we are will live on in our offspring is important to us personally as well as biologically. In fact, in some cultures the continuity of the ancestral line is the reason for existence. Typically, we strive to leave a legacy that will be meaningful.

Symbolic immortality, for good or bad, may be bestowed upon us by those who share our moment in time. Fame and fortune, hopefully lasting, is somehow considered to provide "immortality", at least in the eyes of contemporaries and especially if it comes as a result of significant achievement. Fame is fleeting, and while it may be comforting to know that one's existence is celebrated, it does not change the basic biological status of any human being. Such "immortality" is also a misnomer, for what it preserves is a creation of the public and the media. Seldom is the true essence of the personality captured, preserved and held pristine for future generations. Only through an honest effort, not subject to modification by others, to recount the events and attitudes of life can one leave behind an accurate record of existence.

The trauma of birth is intimately shared by a mother, death is a singular experience. Psychologically, we must eventually come to terms with mortality. Consciously or unconsciously the fact of biological death must be acknowledged and a rationale developed that allows acceptance or denial. However, acceptance of biological death is not necessarily acceptance of the possibility that one may completely cease to exist. As Sigmund Freud has written:

_"It is indeed impossible to imagine our own death: and whenever we attempt to do so we can perceive that we are in fact still present as spectators. Hence the psychoanalytic school could venture on the assertion that at the bottom no one believes in his own death, or, to put the same thing in another way, that in his unconscious, every one of us is convinced of his own immortality."_ Sigmund Freud

This universal conviction that Professor Freud has so keenly described may stem only from the self-awareness our species has developed—or it may find origin in an intuitive knowledge that all possess, but few can articulate. We can but live our lives with pride, compassion, and courage, and contribute as best we can to the future and the potential of humanity

# CHAPTER 8

## RELIGION

_Fix reason firmly in her seat, and call to her tribunal every fact, every opinion. Question with boldness even the existence of a God; because, if there be one, he must more approve of the homage of reason, than that of blindfolded fear.... Your own reason is the only oracle given you by heaven, and you are answerable, not for the rightness, but uprightness of the decision._ Thomas Jefferson

What is religion? Ah—it is all but reason. It does not stand the test of rational scrutiny; yet it springs from the wells of emotion, tradition and intuition with unquestioning conviction. Religion has the great power to lift us far above the most abominable aspects of our nature, and concomitantly, to drag us to the depths of guilt, cruelty, and inhumanity. Despite the obvious futility, there are times I flail at religion with the clubs and stones of fact and knowledge and look with scorn at those that smile warmly from her close embrace. I exult with reason and plant religions firmly in the fields of superstition and myth from whence they arose. At other times, however, I feel as a hungry waif peering through the frosty window of a sumptuous banquet where fortunate ones are secure and comfortable in their belief and fellowship.

Such is the conflict that in one form or another has plagued rational minds since the first shaman claimed a personal link with supernatural entities. Religion does serve mankind, perhaps as often as mankind serves religion. For there is a need in us, a drive to be one with one another in a supportive social structure that religion, almost any religion, serves. This need may be met by secular organizations: political, fraternal, social, but seldom with the emotional intensity of religion.

There is some times a joy among communicants, one unclouded by commercial considerations, a hand outstretched without fear of contamination or rejection, a fold in the harsh fabric of life that provides companionship and assurances to ease the pain of a terminal existence. Frequently, however, religion is also a sea of insanity, intolerance, exploitation, prejudice and violence. Subservience to the unquestioned authority of a supernatural entity can easily become a rationale for heinous inhumanity.

Only if religion sprang from the irrational, intuitive side of mankind's mind, is it possible to comprehend the illogical aspects of our nature and the realities of religion. Such is the duality of humanity. Both are required, the rational and the emotional, in conflict and in concert, to form the complex of a single human and the nature of humanity. Albert Einstein expressed it well:

_"Science can only be created by those thoroughly imbued with the aspiration toward truth and understanding. This source of feeling, however, springs from the sphere of religion."_ Albert Einstein

Unbiased judgment, the curiosity and analysis of science, and the emotional insight and caring of religion, are necessary for rational human endeavors. This is not to say that all scientists must embrace a religion, or that all theologians must study science. However, a balance must exist between these two aspects of human nature for an individual to be in harmony with basis of humanity. The scientist that denies his emotion and intuition and the theologian that eschews and denigrates any knowledge of science are both horrors. The aims of religion and science are the same despite conflicts and differences in purpose–to define humanity and to better our place in the design of existence.

Religion is a function of the intuitive, irrational mind. Its truth lies within itself and is not defined by the structure of the real world. Real, ultimate truth in any context does not change. Things occur according to basic natural laws (as decreed by the stable, physical relationships of matter) and once an event has happened, it is fixed forever in time exactly as it occurred regardless of our oftentimes imperfect perception and memory. Change can occur only in what we perceive to be true without knowing the complete truth, which is most all of what we "know".

Thus, there are two types of "truth". There is that that is actually true in the real world, fact–the elusive quarry of science and justice, and then there is the truth that lies in the beliefs and convictions of individuals and cultures. They are not necessarily the same, but each is nonetheless truth by definition to at least one individual at some point in time. The greater the divergence of belief and fact, the more an individual acts on conviction in conflict with fact, thus the greater the separation of the individual from reality, usually to their detriment. The blending of fact and belief, knowledge and intuition, tempered with rational judgment, is an interaction that allows for normal behavior in each facet of life. Total dependence on only one facet of their reality, religion or reason, produces at best an abnormal personality.

Religions are many and varied and exist for various purposes and reasons. They often tie our potential destiny after death with our actions, beliefs, traditions and even the lifestyles that we express in life. Above all, however, they allow us to function within the framework of our culture. If intensity of belief and adherence to ritual assures truth, then there must be many gods or many aspects of one god. Why is Mary a Catholic, Harry a Methodist, Abraham a Jew, Mohammad a Moslem, Banadur a Hindu, Toyohiko a Buddhist and Ivan a Communist? (Communism may or may not be a religion depending on the opinion of the one that considers the proposition) Is it because each of these individuals studied the tenets and beliefs of all religions and carefully determined through prayer and meditation which they believe to be true? Perhaps, but I doubt it. Is it because God, or the characterization of God as defined by each of these religions, has touched each of these people and convinced them of the veracity of that religion? Perhaps, but again I doubt it. Or is it possible that the culture and value systems of the societies that molded the experiential history of each individual has supported and encouraged a particular system of belief and socio-religious interaction that finds form in a structured religion? I feel that this interpretation is closer to actuality.

In my opinion, each individual finds the cultural context that supports their self-image by blending experiential history with preferred social structure and this cultural context is usually defined by a religious construct. Religion has been largely responsible for the cultural continuity between generations that has defined the great civilizations. However, the form and function of these religious structures have changed in all but name as mankind's cultures have changed over the ages, and they will not cease to change. How will our religions react to significant extensions of life spans, contact with extraterrestrial beings, colonization of space, creation of new life forms, manufacture of human organs from individual genetic codes, and many other issues perhaps waiting for us in the next century? Will they meet the challenge and give humanity emotional support and structure in volatile evolving cultures, or will they try to return us to the era of peasants and priests? Perhaps neither, perhaps both–the next thousand years will be interesting indeed.

It is not what other people think about religion, or what they tell you to think about religion that is ultimately important. It is what you think, after careful consideration, meditation, prayer and study, and individual analysis that is of greatest importance to each individual. Religion represents an inner "truth", a belief about the way things are that is not directly verifiable in the real world, and thus an honest belief requires a real inner conviction based on more than just acceptance of childhood teachings and traditions. It is certainly possible to agree with all or part of a doctrine or an individual's teachings, but such agreement must not be given without careful consideration, not only of the apparent truth of the doctrine, but also of the motivation and veracity of the teacher. To be without religion may be lonely, but to espouse or teach any religion, emotionally or intellectually, only for personal gain and aggrandizement is amoral, blasphemous, and hypocritical.

A person's mind is a very private place. There are often thoughts that we seldom share, we may have beliefs or questions that we carry with guilt or pride and do not admit, perhaps even to our conscious selves, for fear of disrupting our lives and personalities. It is here that we come to terms with our Gods, where we accept, reject or hold in private abeyance things we cannot "know". Acceptance of any religious doctrine may be the result of supernatural conviction, social convenience, family tradition, community acceptance, or psychological need. Each individual alone knows the extent and intensity of personal religious convictions and the rationale for these convictions. "Gnothi seanton", said Socrates—know thyself—sage advice in any age, for when one is honest with one's self, life is lived with dignity.

There will be differing opinions, religious and secular, on the value and significance of preserving the essence of your life, which is as it should be. But it is important to rely on your own judgment and your own intellect and experience when developing opinions on matters dealing with religion, existence and things beyond the senses. The concept of Project Phoenix is not an attack upon the veracity or substance of religion; to the contrary, it offers the opportunity to extend the tenets of any religion, through the stated beliefs of any individual, without censorship or judgment, far into the future. An ultimate truth in any realm will survive forever despite the best of mankind's attempts to change or eliminate it, or whether or not we humans happen to believe it.

# CHAPTER 9

## THE FUTURE

_Throughout the past, as successive stages of social evolution unfolded, man's awareness followed rather than preceded the event. Because change was slow, he could adapt unconsciously, "organically". Today unconscious adaptation is no longer adequate. Faced with the power to alter the gene, to create new species, to populate the planets or depopulate the earth, man must now assume conscious control of evolution itself. Avoiding future shock as he rides the waves of change, he must master evolution, shaping tomorrow to human need. Instead of rising in revolt against it, he must, from this historic moment on, anticipate and design the future._ Alvin Toffler

Humanity has been obsessed with the future ever since we were aware that it existed, and with this awareness came the knowledge that one could influence future events through foresight and planning in the present. Thus a great measure of our humanity lies in our sense of the future, and in our efforts to direct it to our own ends. Of course, no amount of preparation and foresight can guarantee a specific future event or circumstance, hence the ready market throughout the ages for soothsayers, fortune tellers, astrologers, palmists and other practitioners of prognostication. If mankind has a sixth sense it is a sense of the future.

Concern for the future, individually and collectively, is characteristic of humanity. Our efforts are spent on building our individual fortunes and fitting our communities with the structures for future defense, growth, convenience and security. In fact, some of us become so extreme in our concern for future conditions that the present begins to exist only in the sense that it influences our future. Anticipation of future events shapes our economy, local and national politics and even religious and educational principles. And never before, because of the rapidity of social, political and technological change, has the future come upon us so quickly.

With such powerful incentive we have increased our efforts to know the future before it becomes the present. The future was once the exclusive realm of those who gazed into crystal balls, examined the shape of animal entrails or tea leaves at the bottom of a cup, read palms, charted the stars and received psychic messages. Such divination has frequently been characterized by fraud and deceit, self-delusion at best; and although there are infrequent, unsettling, and unexplainable instances of precognition, such activities are usually found at the ragged edges of modern understanding of the functions of the human brain.

Scientific prognostication, however, has become respectable, a sought after well-paid profession, in fact; but the futurists of today rely on computerized models of future trends and development of scenarios of alternate futures instead of consulting the fates through magic and psychic power. Their clientele are government agencies and large industries who seek foreknowledge of technical and economic trends rather than individuals seeking love, money and power. The public also has a great interest in the prognostications of futurists on a popular level. Events and developments of the last 35 years, since the atomic bomb, have made us aware that whatever the future brings, it will be nothing like the past. The limits of the future, seemingly so well defined in years past, have expanded so far, so fast, that they are indiscernible today.

Some popular futurists such as Arthur C. Clarke, Adrian Berry and Robert W. Prehoda are primarily concerned with future technological developments. Berry makes the interesting point that the die is cast and despite temporary difficulties such as nuclear war and energy shortfalls, mankind will, given many thousands of years, expand into the solar system and beyond. In his view, a regression of a few hundred years or even a few thousand is not significant when hundreds of thousands of years stretch before our species. Other futurists such as Alvin Toffler are more concerned with coming changes in the social aspects of humanity. Our social institutions, politics, language, and family structures make up the "soft" areas of our culture. These will change in concert with technological advances, and understanding these potential changes and their effects will make us better able to cope with the future that is thrust upon us.

Predicting future developments, technological and social, is best left to those that study these areas professionally. Specific technical and social developments can be anticipated based on past and present trends and events, but like the path of a football bounding across the field, one unexpected bounce can change its trajectory, and the course of the game. The only constant is the structure and properties of the football itself. And as the nature of the football defines the game, so the essential nature of humanity will define our future, however it may occur. We cannot create change in any context beyond the physical and psychological limits we now possess; these limits will not change significantly, barring direct genetic manipulation of our species, for many thousands of years.

(That said, however, now after the 21st century is well underway, science and technology has already made advancements far beyond what was generally thought possible only a few years ago and the implications of developing technology are beyond imagination. A few examples of this are: nanotechnology, microscopic mechanical and chemical machines that can operate in living systems and repair and replace cells; recent development of chemical compounds that can function as artificial base pairs of DNA that can be inherited, a precursor to "designer" genes that may be able to adapt organisms to new environments; coding DNA in computer language, a book has already been coded this way, that will expand, no explode, the capacity for computer storage; and proof from the Large Hadron Collider that the Higgs Boson exists, bringing us closer to understanding the structure and evolution of the universe. Human knowledge is far outstripping by hundreds of years human culture and behavior. We have to find a way to preserve what has been learned and developed if and before the base elements of humanity destroy what we can become.)

This is not to say that we now understand the flexibility and perimeters of our inherent limits, or that humanity is not capable of further broad cultural improvements. However, only about 80 generations (assuming 25 years between generations) separate a human being of 1000 CE from a human being of 3000 CE so the basic nature and potential of individuals from each of these eras will not differ unless we deliberately or inadvertently change the genetic structure of our species. Our basic nature will not change, at least not in time to solve the problems that are upon us, so the next saga of humanity will be enacted by people like ourselves. Although we cannot know the specific events of the future, we do know that we will react as human beings and that what we were, we are now, and so will we be in the future, regardless of the cultural structure.

It has often been said that to know the future one must understand the past. There are four basic characteristics of mankind that have brought us from the forests and savannas to the threshold of space exploration and migration to realms beyond our planet, and as they have molded our past, so (hopefully) will they direct our future. These characteristics are a personal integration with technology, vast improvements and developments in technology and science, expansion and growth of our cultures, and last but not least, an appreciation of the beauty of our planet and a sense of awe and wonder at the magnificence of the universe.

Technology and humanity are now one. Each has created the other. Technology is development of a technique or product to achieve a practical purpose. Science is an outgrowth of primitive technology, a search for the why that feeds back as applied science and opens new vistas of thought and endeavor. The distinction between the two is vague. Technology is the manufacture of a clay water jug. Science is the pursuit of understanding the physical, chemical, and cultural processes involved in manufacture and use of the jug. Creating a better jug is the marriage of science and technology.

Today we think of high technology as going to the moon, artificial satellites, atomic power, electronic computers, and many other modern marvels, but only yesterday high technology was a steam powered locomotive, powered flight in a heavier than air machine, a V-2 rocket, and a printing press. And the day before yesterday, high technology was an expertly shaped flint spear head on a well-balanced shaft, a carefully maintained fire and seeds scattered with thought to next autumn's harvest. Everything we do: eating, sleeping, fighting, reproducing, praying, and playing is now aided and changed by technology. Protecting soft feet with the partly cured skins of rabbits or with carefully designed and manufactured jogging shoes is a difference of degree and not of kind. Whether we explore far flung star systems or farm in the nuclear glow of devastated cities, we will use technology to achieve some degree of control over our environment. Whatever the future may bring—as long as we are human—we are wedded to technology.

The second important characteristic is that there is within us, perhaps within the province of youth, the drive to improve existing technologies and invent new ones. "The better way", which always leads to change, is sought anew by each generation. Aggression, defense, economic well-being, fame, humanitarianism and just plain curiosity all stimulate improvement and invention of technology. Technical invention, discovery and improvement have been part of our nature since the second spear and the second clay jug and eventually they will expand our frontiers to realms beyond our planet. It is our nature, individually and collectively, to seek ways to grow more and better crops, travel more quickly in greater comfort, fight more fiercely, attain more wealth and heal more effectively. The history of our species is measured by technological innovations. Even primitive peoples in the backwaters of humanity, with little motivation for technical innovation, quickly adopt the tools and trappings of modern culture when the opportunity is presented. Technological change, at a measured pace or with unsettling rapidity, is a basic characteristic of humanity.

Expansion and acquisition are the engines of civilization, the driving force of humanity. Technology and technological innovation fuel these engines. Individuals, families, tribes and nations; religions and corporations, all follow the same patterns in that they exhibit the same drives to grow and acquire substance and power. Exceptions are relatively few and always remarkable. The concept of possession, the desire to own material things, so unique to human beings and human cultures, is not a satiable appetite. Successful acquisition does not lead to satisfaction; it only fuels the desire for greater wealth.

In the past, limits of effective growth and management were determined by technical constraints on travel and communication. These constraints are no longer limiting, and the families of mankind interact in commerce and impinge in politics and culture as never before. The inherent drive to expand our interests (commercial, religious, political) will not abate of its own accord as we fill the Earth. Spatial and intellectual frontiers are necessary for the freedom and expression of humanity. If civilization is to survive on our planet, unrestrained expansion of populations must be controlled. Stability and sustainability must replace growth and development that are now our economic engines. It is very obvious, especially given the developments during the thirty years since the first edition of this book, that population stability and technical development compatible with healthy ecosystems will be necessary for survival of our civilization.

The traditional outlet for dissent and dissidence, emigration, is under increasing restrictions as worldwide populations build and technological control of people increases. Just as an overcrowded prison or ghetto is a tinder box of frustration and irrational emotion, so the present growth rate of humanity will lead to such behavior on national levels. (And at this time one has only to look at the Arab nations to see the results of population growth combined with despotism.) There are only three ultimate alternatives for mankind: extra planetary emigration, domestication of _Homo_ _sapiens_ , or collapse of the current world wide technological civilization. However, things of this magnitude are seldom either/or situations, at least in the short run, and the year 2100 may see a blend of these possibilities. (Global climate change, not even on our radar thirty years ago, will probably speed up the process and make alternative three, collapse of civilizations, more likely.) Given adequate time, our control over ourselves will increase, the promise and/or actuality of the ultimate frontier will provide the safety valve of emigration, and conflict may not be eliminated, but hopefully, will remain under control.

Fortunately the irrational, emotional aspects of the human psyche balance and constrain the three elements discussed above. The cold and calculating, more is better and build and grow side of humanity is tempered by the aesthetic qualities that most of mankind possesses. We alone of Earth's creatures see more in a sunset than the end or beginning of daily activity. Compassion and love have become more than instincts that protect and preserve infants, families and tribes. Many of us extend these emotions to all of humanity. Adventure, compassion, search for understanding, creativity and emotion motivate us as much if not more than a desire for material gain. Our aesthetic sense finds expression in every facet of our existence. We see beauty in nature: the allure of gemstones, the color, form and fragrance of flowers, the majesty of mountains, the grace and strength of the great predators, the music of wind and water, and most wondrous of all, the sky on a clear, moonless night—this has structured our imagination, and our humanity, from the beginning of awareness.

Uncounted men before me have lain on the rough deck of a fishing boat under the tropical night sky, as have I, and gazed with wonder at the panorama of the stars. But I and my generation are the first to see the faint glow of an artificial satellite journeying across the star field. Exultation and vague anticipation is then mixed with the awe and wonder elicited by the splendor of the stars. And although such a night may cause one to marvel at the hand of the Creator, it also moves one to look with awe at the potential that lies in the hand of mankind.

We will not reach for the stars through technology alone. We cannot reach for the stars through wonderment alone. Only the blending of these elements of humanity points us inexorably in one direction—the ultimate frontier, the unknown reaches beyond our Earth. We now know we can go, and I suspect we have always known it. Some wait for the day of leaving with eager anticipation and some will gladly leave the adventure to others. But the promise is there, and the knowledge of it will hang heavy upon us until it is realized. Even those that remain behind the plow and in the factory will gain in spirit and substance, as they already have, from mankind's first steps into space.

Immigrants to the New World in the 16th century faced resettlement of the same magnitude. They ventured into new environments with little chance or intention of ever returning to their homeland. Space people, however, at least in the early years, may return with frequency to home ports. And how will we go? When will we go? It may be possible, not probable, but possible that we may leave within a year; or perhaps more likely, several centuries may pass before we venture into our solar system. The possibilities fall into three basic categories.

Most probable is a slow development of near space utilization, development and colonization that will lead to gradual independence from Earth and eventual migration to other star systems in large ships with independent energy sources and social systems designed for the contained environment. This possibility is dependent not on discovery of new fundamental knowledge, but on time and the rational growth and development of humanity. The second possibility is the discovery and implementation of new principles and knowledge that will allow us to defy gravity and perhaps travel faster than light. These things are improbable, of course, much more improbable than heavier than air flight or atomic fusion power, but even so, the early stirrings of these developments may be present today. Gravity waves, black holes, white holes, tachyons (hypothetical faster than light particles), string theory, and bending of the fabric of space/time are all phenomena with unknown potential that are now under serious investigation.

Just ease of travel beyond Earth's intense gravitational pull would open the gates to the moon and planets of the solar system and begin migration and space colonization on a vast scale. We may burst into extraterrestrial colonization more rapidly than the development of intercontinental air travel. If this happens, the human race, in its current undomesticated condition, would be beyond the lament and containment of any nation, religion or political theory within half a lifetime.

The most improbable possibility that will open space and the galaxy to us is to gain communication with technologically advanced extraterrestrial beings. Is this the realm of fantasy, or the province of the lunatic fringe? Perhaps, but we have a long history of visualization of "gods from the sky". This concept in many guises is quite common and the possibility of other life and other technological civilizations is certainly statistically possible. Far less possible is their visitation of Earth. But if such contact does occur, and we survive, their wonders will soon become as commonplace to us as sugar, metal, and helicopters are to the recently discovered Stone Age tribes of the Philippines.

Much scientific effort has been expended attempting to receive electromagnetic messages that may have been sent by civilizations in other star systems, thus far without success. Interstellar distances are so great that we cannot easily conceive of casual interstellar travel, thus the most likely initial contact would be through a type of radio message. Communication would be only one way, probably for at least a few hundred years, or a few thousand, for it would take that long to get a reply. This would not prevent receiving valuable information, however, for those civilizations making the effort to send interstellar messages would certainly have something to say, and they may be able to impart fundamental knowledge of themselves and their achievements in hopes of receiving similar information from another civilization.

Many believe, however, that contact with extraterrestrial beings has already occurred. The term UFO now more readily conveys the image of a flying saucer filled with aliens than simply an acronym for an unidentified flying object. In fact, reported contact and speculation on UFOs has become a human phenomenon in its own right. Either UFOs are the result of extraterrestrial visitation or they are not.

If they are not extraterrestrial visitors, then the manifestation of UFOs is entirely a worldly phenomenon; natural, or manmade or psychological, and the concept of extra planetary life visiting Earth and interacting covertly with humanity falls somewhere in the vague spheres of superstition, myth, psychosis, and deceit; a hodgepodge mixture of fact and fiction. This does not, however, diminish the possibility of future contact. And if that does occur it would most likely be in the form of detecting radio signals from life in far away star systems rather than physical visitation.

On the other hand, if they are truly visitors from another star, then we can only speculate on their intents and purposes and go about our business for their vast technical superiority and avoidance of the mainstream of humanity clearly keeps the ball in their court until they choose to openly contact us. If they do exist and are from another star system, the implications are boundless. We would then know unquestioningly that other intelligent, technological species exist, that travel to other star systems can be accomplished, and most important, that all humanity, every race and creed, is a single unit. A new era would dawn for humanity with changes more profound than those produced by the printing press and atomic power.

Thus even though our rate of change and development is far beyond what was thought possible a lifetime ago, even greater changes may await us a few short years in the future. We must not be afraid of the future, for fear breeds defeat and regression. Nor can we wait for a supernatural destiny to overtake us. We must step forth with our own visions and plans and construct a future that will benefit the future of humanity–a future that will allow humanity to survive and not extinguish our civilization in an orgy of reproduction and destruction of our natural resources. The future is ours and this generation is the first that can perhaps be a part of it if we so desire; but it will not happen unless we make it happen, for the future belongs to those who farm the present.

It is possible that we can live another life. That the human being we are can be replicated at some future time and live again, perhaps on a planet of another star system far removed from Earth. Of course, the probability of this occurring cannot be calculated. To some it may be practically inevitable, given enough time; and to others, the probability is near zero.

Nonetheless, it is a possibility and the opportunity to begin to realize that possibility has arrived. If one values and enjoys this existence, despite hardship and adversity, then this possibility must be carefully considered. I for one would gladly live another life on a planet or a space colony far removed from Earth. I am sure I would occasionally ponder and wonder about who I was and what Earth was like, and then, as now, delight in my existence. Strange suns and new cultures would be home to me then and no less beautiful than the star system of my origin. I think at that time, if it ever occurs, I would look back over the centuries with gratitude for the foresight that preserved and protected the blueprint to the structure of my being.

## SELECTED REFERENCES

Free libraries are the most valuable and constructive of all the works of mankind, while censored libraries are symbolic of the darkest, most constrictive bonds that can be placed on the human mind. I hope the reader has been stimulated to seek out other, more detailed, works that pertain to the subjects discussed in this book. We live in the midst of an explosion of knowledge. Books and periodicals overflow our physical and mental capabilities. (The explosion of the internet, not even a glimmer on the communication horizon of thirty years ago, puts this last sentence into an entirely new light, the hand held flashlight of those days has become the Xenon Arc searchlight of today.) This is an embarrassment of riches perhaps, but one very necessary for the expansion and freedom of humanity. There are many important and pertinent works not listed below, but those that are will adequately serve as a point of departure for those that wish to explore today's concepts on the current and possible future condition of mankind.

The world has not stood still in the thirty plus years since the first edition of this book. Many more pertinent references have been written in that time and these are not listed below. If this possibility intrigues you it would be worthwhile to follow up on additional references in areas of your particular interests.

Asimov, Isaac. Is Anyone There? New York. Doubleday & Company, 1967.

Asimov, Issac. Extraterrestrial Civilizations. New York. Crown Publishers, 1979.

Berry, Adrian. The Next Ten Thousand Years. New York. Mentor, 1975.

Berry, Adrian. The Iron Sun. New York. Warner Books, 1977.

Blakeslee, Thomas. The Right Brain. New York. Doubleday & Company, 1980.

Capra, Fritjof. The Tao of Physics. New York. Bantam Books, 1977.

Carson, Rachel. Silent Spring. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1962.

Clarke, Arthur. Profiles of the Future. New York. Harper & Row, 1977.

Clarke, Arthur. The View from Serendip. New York. Ballantine Books, 1978.

Cloud, Preston. Cosmos, Earth and Man, A Short History of the Universe. New York. Yale University Press, 1978.

Commoner, Barry. The Closing Circle. New York. Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., 1971.

Cooke, Robert. Improving on Nature, The Brave New World of Genetic Engineering. New York. Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Company, Inc., 1977.

Cudmore, L.L. Larison. The Center of Life. New York. Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Company, Inc., 1978.

Dawkins, Richard. The Selfish Gene. New York. Oxford University Press, 1976.

Dickson, Paul. The Future File. New York. Avon Books, 1979.

Dobzhansky, Theodosius. Heredity and the Nature of Man. New York. Harcourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1966.

Dubos, Rene. So Human an Animal. New York. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1968.

Durant, Will. The Story of Philosophy. New York. Pocket Books, 1961.

Farb, Peter. Humankind. Boston. Houghton Mifflin Company, 1978. Grey, Jerry. Enterprise. New York. William Morrow and Company, 1979.

Heppenheimer, T.A. Colonies in Space. New York. Warner Books, 1978.

Hoyle, Fred. Astronomy and Cosmology, A Modern Course. San Francisco. W.H. Freeman and Company, 1975.

Isaac, Glynn, et. al. Human Ancestors. Scientific American Offprints. San Francisco. W.H. Freeman and Company, 1979.

Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth. On Death and Dying. New York. Macmillan Company, 1969.

Lewis, Richard T. From Vinland to Mars. New York. Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Company, 1976.

Lifton, Robert Jay and Eric Olson. Living and Dying. New York. Praeger Publishers, Inc., 1974.

Macvey, John. How We Will Reach The Stars. Toronto. Macmillan Company, 1969.

Moe, Martin A. Genes on Ice. 1981. Science Digest. Vol 89: No. 11, pp 36, 95.

Moody, Raymond A. Jr. Life After Life. Georgia. Mockingbird Books, 1975.

O'Neill, Gerald K. The High Frontier. New York. William Morrow and Company, 1977.

Prehoda, Robert. Your Next Fifty Years. New York. Ace Books, 1980.

Rosenfeld, Albert. Prolongevity. New York. Ace Books, 1976.

Sagan, Carl. The Dragons of Eden. New York. Random House, 1977.

Sagan, Carl. Broca's Brain. New York. Random House, 1979.

Taylor, Gordon Rattray. The Natural History of the Mind. New York. E.P. Dutton, 1979.

Taylor, John G. Black Holes. New York. Avon Books, 1975.

Thomas, Lewis. The Lives of a Cell. New York. The Viking Press, 1974.

Toffler, Alvin. Future Shock. New York. Random House, 1970.

Zukav, Gary. The Dancing Wu Li Masters. New York. William Morrow and Company, 1979.

## APPENDICES

It may be possible and desirable at this time to establish something like The Foundation for Individual Perpetuity (for want of a better name) to effect preservation of the essence of individual human beings, The configuration for doing so could be named Project Phoenix (also for want of a better name) . The two appendices will explore these possibilities and present a potential preliminary structure for such a Foundation and a possible structure for the materials preserved. What is speculation now could in a few short years, become reality if enough individuals find all or part of "Project Phoenix" valuable and significant enough to stimulate their participation in its formation. The below structure is only suggestive and exploratory.

Technology has greatly changed since these appendices were written.

In the short time of thirty years much of the technology for preserving, collecting, and maintaining biological and personal information has changed and improved, and will continue to change and improve, probably quite rapidly. Much of what was speculation only thirty years ago is now fact. The development of molecular biology gave us an understanding of the function and importance of DNA, and the technology that rose from this knowledge now uses DNA to understand and treat many human health issues. And to extend and enhance the applications of DNA therapy "biobanks" have recently been established. These are institutions that collect DNA from members and/or volunteers and use it along with personal information to help create new technologies for treatment of human disease. Genetic banks have also been established to preserve the genetic codes of animals and plants in danger of extinction so that these species will be available to future civilizations. Project Phoenix may be able to function in the arena also, but the primary reason for its existence would be to preserve the individual genetic code and life history of individual human beings. It is important to note that the suggestions below are based on 1980 technology and although they apply in principal, many better technical options now exist.

On a personal note: We all have our strengths and weaknesses, and also our preferences as to how we spend our time in this brief life. My personality and experience do not lead me into the financial, legal, and administrative realms required to create an organization such as this. I have some ideas on what I believe should be the basis for a foundation that will establish an organization dedicated to the preservation of genetic codes and life histories, and these are in the appendices. It must be stressed that these appendices are only suggestions, not instructions. I have no applicable experience or desire to personally establish or administrate such an endeavor. In fact, publication of this book and participation as a member in whatever organization might develop would be all that I could do.

## APPENDIX I: THE LIFE HISTORY AND PERSONAL PROFILE

The personality profile: the history, accomplishments, disappointments, and aspirations of each individual would be a unique document, and each individual must be free to develop it as they desire. The structure and content of the recording and/or written document will depend upon the intent of the individual. For example, a highly restricted personal message intended only for descendants or perhaps a future expression of your genetic code would probably differ from an open message intended for later publication. Flexibility to meet the requirements of many individuals must be inherent in the profile system. Other recording modes, aside from the standard 60 or 90 minute cassette tape, may be available if requested. These may include a video option, a longer or shorter tape than standard, and perhaps an accumulation of tapes from various ages of the member. (Note: current computer technology greatly changes the potential for creating and saving profile content)

The Profile Guide that may be developed could follow the outline presented below. It is intended only as a structure of suggestions to aid in preparation of the message that one may wish to preserve. The Profile is the chronicle of your life and you alone can determine its contents, its use, and its distribution. You will be free to use all, part, or none of the Profile Guide in preparation of the message that will be projected into the future. Every recording and individual genetic code container will bear an identity number that will cross reference the individual with the files of the Foundation, the genetic code bank and the recording storage system.

# IDENTIFICATION

This, the first section of the recording, has a standard importance for it serves to identify the person making the recording, cross index the profile with the genetic code, and provide a non-private recorded section for recording quality checks. For these reasons, the identification section should be standard to all tapes. The information should include:

Full name, First correctly pronounced and then carefully spelled.

Project Phoenix identification code number.

Current date

Birth place

Parent's names

Birth date

## ANCESTRY

This section may include background information on the maternal and paternal sides of the family, country of origin, family traits and perhaps available information on individuals in the ancestral line.

# PERSONAL HISTORY

This section should describe happenings in the life of the individual. It may take the form of a chronicle and trace the life story from an early age to the present time. Things listed below may be included.

Physical descriptions, then and now

Childhood memories, places and people

Marriages and children

Education

Professional accomplishments

Athletic prowess

Social involvements

Political activities

Financial history

Hardships and trials

Personal relationships of importance

# SKILLS, TALENTS, AND ABILITIES

We all have areas of endeavor or arts that we practice with above average, or even average skills, that we may do just for enjoyment. These may be musical, athletic, scientific, artistic, culinary, exotic, psychic, literary, architectural, agricultural, and many other categories. These talents can be described and discussed in this section.

# UNREALIZED POTENTIALS

We often find we have abilities that we have not cultured or that have surfaced late in life and have not become a part of the personality we have developed. Perhaps, in retrospect, we may wish that the current of our lives had taken another pathway that was obscured when the crossroad came upon us. These things may be important to discuss, especially if our genetic code will someday be the basis for another existence.

# PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE

Life means something to all of us. Even those whose thoughts are not cluttered with the whys and wherefores of existence have ideas and concepts about themselves and their world, constructive or destructive, that form a basis for their actions. We may wish to find these thoughts within us, if we have not already done so, and formulate them into words and phrases so that we, and those that we will never know may better understand us.

# RELIGIOUS BELIEFS OR BELIEFS ABOUT RELIGION

Few of us know nothing about religion and few have not made some determination on the significance of religion in our lives. For many, religion is the central fact of life and provides the joy, or fear, to our existence. How we feel about religion is highly individual and should be a part of any description of our lives and thoughts.

# MESSAGES TO THE FUTURE

We may wish to transmit a religious conviction to the people of the future or a picture of life in contemporary times. Messages may be addressed to individuals, groups, all people, or perhaps to the future expression of your genetic code. Each individual will have a unique message from a unique perspective that they may wish to extend into the future; and it will always be available as personally directed and in exactly the form and content the individual creates. Whatever the intent, this section allows one to speak to individuals of another time, perhaps on another world, from the perspective of the past.

## APPENDIX II: THE FOUNDATION FOR INDIVIDUAL PERPETUITY

It may be possible and desirable at this time to establish The Foundation for Individual Perpetuity (for want of a better name) to effect preservation of the essence of individual human beings. This appendix will explore this possibility and present a possible preliminary structure for such a Foundation. What is speculation now could in a few short years, become reality if enough individuals find all or part of Project Phoenix valuable and significant enough to stimulate their participation in its formation. The below structure is only suggestive and exploratory.

# PRINCIPLES

The Foundation should be structured to be as permanent a human institution as possible. It should be apart from politics and religion, yet interact with society to achieve and protect the aims of the Foundation. The principles below briefly and simply suggest the position and aims of the Foundation.

1. The primary concern of the Foundation for Individual Perpetuity is the preservation, protection and maintenance of the genetic codes and life history profiles entrusted to its care. This responsibility should take precedent over all other functions and activities.

2. The life history profile entrusted to the Foundation will be distributed exactly according to the instructions of the member. Except for any necessary quality control checks, the Foundation should not release, play, or transcribe any profile without authorization.

3. The Foundation should develop and maintain the financial

structure necessary to adequately provide for all functions of the Foundation.

4. The Foundation should support the development of technology that will further the advancement of biological knowledge and aid the expansion of humanity throughout the solar system and beyond.

5. The Foundation should protect the uniqueness and freedom of every individual. No individual can ever be recreated into a society that condones slavery or manipulates human beings through mental or behavioral control. The government must serve the good of the people rather than the people serving the good of the government. Re-creation will only occur in those societies that respect and value the essential human rights of freedom and individual enterprise.

6. Only one individual at any one time should ever be created from any one preserved genetic code. That new individual shall be in every way a complete and autonomous human being and shall have the sole right to determine whether or not his or her genetic code will ever again enter the cell banks of the Foundation.

7. The Foundation can only serve the individual and should do so without consideration, approval or rejection of any aspect of that individual's heredity, personality, history or beliefs. No judgment can ever be passed on the worth of any individual to participate in the programs of the Foundation and no individual should ever be excluded from membership.

8. The Foundation should protect the interests of each member. No membership lists are to be revealed and disclosure of membership is entirely at the discretion of the individual member.

9. The Foundation ought to remain apart from governments, religions and all other organizations. It should, within the law, serve only the interests of the participating members thus can never become a part of any other entity. The Foundation may, however, provide support to other organizations that further the purposes of the Foundation.

# THE PROGRAM

The Foundation for Individual Perpetuity should be established to preserve, protect and maintain the genetic codes and recorded life history profiles of individuals now living for reference and possible re-creation in future times. Project Phoenix is the program developed and administered by the Foundation to achieve these purposes. Genetic codes and life history profiles will initially probably be stored and maintained in the United States. Eventually, depending on practicality and capability, these materials may be stored in an orbiting space facility for both safety and unique preservation advantages.

# BIOLOGY

Each nucleated, somatic cell of every normal individual human being has 46 chromosomes, 23 originating from each parent, and each chromosome is made up of a great many individual units of heredity known as genes. There are probably about 50,000 to 100,000 separate genes in the code of each individual human being, although some estimates range up to 4 million. This entire complement of genes composes an individual's genetic code and, except in the case of identical (monozygotic) twins or triplets, this code is absolutely unique in each person. The genetic code determines, in concert with environmental pressures, the physical structure and coloration of the individual, longevity, intelligence, talents, disease resistance, and some personality traits. The formulation of the genetic code is precisely determined at the moment the sperm from the father penetrates the egg of the mother. The existence of the new being begins in a single cell when the genetic material from both parents combines into the first nucleus. This first cell is destined to divide trillions of times and differentiate into the tissues and organs of that individual. Although only a small part of the genetic code of each cell is active, the part that directs the development and function of that individual cell, the entire genetic code is duplicated at each division and each cell carries the complete genetic message for each individual organism.

Therefore, each somatic (body) cell has the potential to create an individual physically identical to the original individual. Science does not now claim to have, and may never have, the technology to recreate a human being from a single cell, but of course, if the cell is never preserved, the potential does not exist. (This potential has now been demonstrated! And much sooner than I ever expected in 1980.) Cell banks holding genetic codes of rare animals and plants already exist to preserve the diversity of nature that may be eliminated by the works of man. Should we care any less about the diversity and heritage of our own species?

Nucleated living cells from any part of the body, except post-meiotic sex cells, may be preserved for this purpose. A good, easily accessible source of cells is the epithelial tissue layer of the interior lining of the mouth. These cells are easily and painlessly scraped alive from the inside cheek and can be preserved before any degenerate changes due to cell death and subsequent decay take place. Cells from this epithelial tissue are also very active, rapidly dividing cells and may be well suited to future recovery of the genetic code.

The best way to preserve these cells with the greatest possibility of future activity is through freezing in liquid nitrogen, cryogenic preservation. This technology for cell preservation is well advanced at this time as both sperm and early embryos from cattle have been so preserved with no damage. Chemical preservation is also possible, but the potential for future activation is less certain. However, future technologies hundreds or thousands of years from now may well develop the techniques required to reactivate such preserved genetic codes.

Each participating member may, if they so desire, preserve his or her genetic code by freezing in liquid nitrogen and/or by chemical means in the cell banks of the Foundation. Chemical preservation can be accomplished at home with materials provided by the Foundation. Cryogenic preservation must be done at the Foundation. Whenever possible, members are urged to use both methods of preservation. Re-creation, when and if it becomes possible, will be done according to the stated principles of the Foundation for Individual Perpetuity. We can now have a personal interest in the future of humanity, a knowledge that sometime, somewhere we may exist again; and this knowledge may, in some small way, help us to contribute to the creation of a better future.

# LIFE HISTORY

The lives and personalities of those that preceded us are folded into the mists of time and become fainter with each passing year. Only the most famous or the most infamous leave a deep footprint in the sands of history, and even these imprints are altered to the shape society perceives. Only when we leave a true and unchanging description of the context of our lives and times does the fact of our existence remain undiminished by the erosion of time. Few have done this, and fewer yet have done so in such a way that their words are untouched, unedited and always available despite the relentless flow of years. Oral histories are now preserved much more frequently since 1980. The reasons for preservation of oral histories are usually to preserve information of about a significant event or a particular family history.

The opportunity presented by Project Phoenix, however, is universal and is nothing less than an opportunity for an individual to be part of the preservation of a critical moment in the history of our ever evolving culture. The essence of a society is, after all, not kings, presidents, generals or celebrities. It is the collective expression of the myriad individuals that form the population; and each of these individuals contributes in some unique way to the whole of the culture. We can now preserve the record of our lives and the way we perceive our place in the panorama of mankind, and project it far into the future.

How important and enlightening it would be to hear a great grandparent or even a more remote ancestor speaking of their life and times while they are still in their prime? For that matter, what knowledge of yourself and your life, what advice and wisdom would you pass down through the years to those that follow? It is possible to begin now, to record and preserve the essence of your life and times so those that inherit our world will know and experience a personal contact with their heritage. Even though much of our existence may seem commonplace and scarcely worthy of comment when we are caught up in daily activities, it is precisely such detail about the lives of past generations that holds such interest for us. Those that live 300 years in the future will be no different in their desire to see their past, but unlike us they may have our personally recorded histories for contemplation and enlightenment.

The life history profile of each participating member can be recorded on a 60 or 90 minute standard cassette recording tape. A video tape option may also be available. A specific tape cassette could be provided by the Foundation to assure a standard in recording quality and preservation characteristics. (A bit of 1980s technology here... a digital recording is now possible) A basic format guide will be provided that, if followed, will insure that all essential information is included in the recording. The guide will also provide suggestions on organization of information that will aid in preparation of a complete individual record, and provide for separation of identifying data and possible confidential information. The life history recording, however, is the sole creation of the member and the guide is offered only as an aid and not as a directive. The recording should be made on the best equipment available to the participant. The Foundation can provide use of high quality equipment for those who wish to prepare the life history record at the Foundation.

The life history profile can be preserved at the Foundation under magnetic shielding and controlled atmospheric conditions. A member may preserve only a life history profile if preservation of the genetic code is not desired. The original recording of the life history profile delivered to the Foundation can be withdrawn only through direct request by the member. Once the life history profile is in the vault of the Foundation, only complete, unedited copies or transcriptions will be released according to the instructions of the member.

Distribution instructions can be selected from the possibilities compiled by the Foundation, or, if desired, the participant may provide detailed distribution instructions to fit individual requirements. The listed possibilities include:

A. Distribution possibilities

1. Release to any request.

2. Release only to specified individuals or agents.

3. Release only to an individual recreated from the preserved genetic code of the member.

B. Time of release

1. Release at any time.

2. Release only after death of the member.

3. Release only after a specified number of years after death.

4. Release on a specified future date.

C. Methods of release

1. Release of a copy of the original recording.

2. Release of a written transcription of the recording.

D. Possible special provisions.

1. Recording or transcription never to be released but to be available for audience at the Foundation.

2. Publication of all or part of the life history profile according to the wishes of the participant.

The life history profile would be held inviolable by the Foundation. Not a word would be changed in recorded copies or written transcriptions at any time for any reason. The text of the life history profile is the sole creation and the total responsibility of the participant. The tape will be checked in the first section for proper recording level and intelligibility when received, and if a problem is evident, the contributor will be informed. Quality checks may also be made when and if the tape is copied due to advances in technology or as required by age. Other than this routine quality check, no other use of the recording, except that specified by the contributor, will occur. Review and update of the life history profile is suggested every five years, but this may be done at any time. Copies will be provided for review and the original returned if requested when the new, updated original is received. This recorded life history profile may be the only accurate account of a life of trials and triumphs. Great care should be taken in its preparation and execution. (Although the above is based on 1980s technology, current technology of the time will always be employed.)

# ORGANIZATION

When and if, the Foundation for Individual Perpetuity is established, competent legal and financial counsel should be obtained so that the Foundation will be formed according to the laws of the United States. The financial and management structure of the Foundation must be above reproach. The following discussion includes the concepts that I feel are significant to the structure of the Foundation.

# MEMBERSHIP

Three classes of membership are proposed.

1. Active membership

Active membership in the Foundation would be renewed annually or through a longer term membership plan. It keeps the member aware of Foundation developments and services, but is separate and apart from participating membership in Project Phoenix. Programs may be developed to aid active members to become participating members. The fee for active membership would be minimal and should provide a newsletter, information services, membership card and access to any other services that the Foundation may offer that will be of benefit during the member's lifetime.

2. Participating membership

Participating members would receive the benefits of active membership for the first year plus participation in Project Phoenix. Each participating member will be assigned a number that along with the member's legal name will identify an individual's participation in Project Phoenix. The participating member will receive a certificate bearing the emblem of the Foundation and the member's identity number. This certificate will provide a record of that member's participation in Project Phoenix, and may contain instructions to survivors and descendants pertaining to the information contained in the Foundation.

Participating members would pay a basic fee for deposition of their genetic code and/or life history profile plus one year of active membership. Active membership may be renewed each year, but non-renewal does not affect the participating membership. The basic cost for participation in Project Phoenix, perhaps termed the credit unit, will be the base of the financial structure of the Project and depending on conditions and operational structure may continue to increase in the name of the member throughout the years.

Charges to Participating members would consist of the following.

A. Cost of materials and handling for initial preservation of the genetic code and life history profile.

B. Cost of one annual or Active membership.

C. Cost of at least one "credit unit" in the Foundation.

(The cost of a single credit unit should be as modest as possible, in the range of a few hundred dollars, but this would have to be periodically adjusted to new members depending on prevailing economic conditions.)

3. Granting membership.

Especially in the early years of development, the Foundation will encourage contributions directed toward the growth of the Foundation. Members making such contributions will be considered Granting Members and will be so recognized in the history of the Foundation. Granting Members will receive all the benefits of Active or Participating membership including special recognition for their direct financial support of the Foundation during its formative years.

# FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS

The credit unit funds would be invested by the Foundation conservatively, with safety and long term value placed above speculative investment. A percentage of the annual earnings would be added to the value of each individual credit unit and the rest of the earnings would be used to further the interests of the Participating Members through the activities and operation of the Foundation. The value of an individual credit unit would increase slowly but steadily under such a program.

It must be stressed, however, that participation in Project Phoenix is not an investment. Project Phoenix may be the ultimate speculation in life itself, but there can be no return in the lifetime of the member and no financial benefit to any heir. Also, a future existence created through the Project from the preserved genetic code, one that will benefit financially, is only a remote possibility at this time. All obligations of this life should be well considered before participation in Project Phoenix.

Individuals may purchase more than one credit unit, but must still hold only one membership and still have the potential for only a single recreation. The only charges placed against the credit unit fund of any Participating Member will be those authorized by that member for special distribution of all or part of the life history profile. This would include publication at any time in any manner of all or part of the recording and/or copying or transcription of the recording with distribution as directed. Only the cost of a distribution planned and authorized by the Participating member will be charged to the credit units of the member. Additional credit units should be purchased if the member plans an authorized distribution or publication of the life history profile at any future time.

# OTHER SERVICES

Fees for materials and handling would be charged for all external requests. These may include requests to update life history profiles and requests for copies or transcriptions of life history profiles that are not restricted in distribution. These fees will depend on current cost of materials and processing.

The Foundation may also offer special innovative biological services for members that are extensions of the cell bank technology. Preservation of whole blood frozen in liquid nitrogen from young or middle age individuals for future use by that individual in later years when natural immune systems decline is a good possibility. This and other possible services may be provided for members at reasonable cost as the Foundation develops.

PROJECT PHOENIX

Is it a flight of fancy or a real opportunity for individuals of today to be a part of the future of humanity? Since the future is unknown, the answer is also unknown. The concept of Project Phoenix can only promise a personal communication extended into the future and the possibility of another life at some future time. Without such a Project, however, this possibility, remote that it may be, does not exist at all. This concept deals with the essence of individual existence yet it is not traditional, not religious, not political, and not supernatural. It does, however, allow these elements, as they are entwined in an individual personality, to be projected as a part of that personality into the future of mankind. The pertinent question is not, Can it be done?—but, Will it be attempted?

Humanity has a choice to make, we have always had this choice, but in the past it has been hidden by the quest for survival. But now time is running out. This generation, those of us that live in the first half of the 21st century are the first generations that are unambiguously aware of the presence of this choice and of the fact that we must make the choice, or though inaction, the choice will be made for us. The choice is, of course, do we live only for ourselves today with no concern for the future of humanity—or do we work to preserve our natural resources, work to establish our societies on a foundation of stability and sustainability rather than the follow the path of growth and development to the inevitable ending of societal collapse. We have only to look at the increasing rapidity of the decline of the earth's natural resources, the rapidity of the increase of human populations, the rapidity of the increase of pollutants in all the world's environments, and the rapidity of deleterious change in our climate and in the life of our oceans to realize that the path of growth and development at any cost can lead only to the collapse of our environment and our cultures. Sure, we have some time yet, but time seems to have a way of running out before we begin to make the necessary changes, if ever we do so at all. I seriously doubt that a supernatural entity will suddenly intervene at the last moments and change the developing downward direction of human civilizations. If we value our individual existence today, it may be that preservation of the very essence of our being will help to direct the course of society toward a future that extends further than the day after tomorrow.

Only the participation of many individuals can provide the base of support that the structure of such a Foundation requires. Without a broad base of participation, Project Phoenix will remain only an intriguing concept, but with strong participation, it can become a reality. Individual response, affirmation, and development a foundation dedicated to this concept, is all that is required to create Project Phoenix.

On the future of this concept for the preservation of the essence of human life...

My personality and my age do not lead me into the financial, legal, and administrative realms required to create an organization such as this. The previous sections are only my ideas on what I believe should be the basis for a foundation that will establish an institution dedicated to the preservation of genetic codes and life histories. It must be stressed that these appendices are only suggestions, not instructions. I hope my little book will stimulate thought and action into the establishment/development of new and functional ways to preserve the essence of a human life

# About the author

Martin A. Moe, Jr. is a well-known marine biologist specializing in marine fish biology and culture, fishery biology, sea urchin culture, and environmental issues. He has published numerous popular and scientific books and articles in these areas. Mr. Moe holds an M.A. degree in Zoology from the University of South Florida and is currently retired, but still active in his chosen fields, and resides in the Florida Keys.
