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Living with Victoria is a lot like getting a post graduate degree in sociology. She examines our civilization without any preconceived notions and notices things that most of us never see.
“The one constant of every known species is that of self-preservation. This is exhibited in positive and negative behavior patterns,” she said, as I realized that class was in session.
“I’m very familiar with the positive side of self-preservation, but what’s the negative?”
“Judging from your civilization’s history, three factors are constant — money, power, and control. It is an interesting dynamic because it does not seem to matter which of the three factors appears first. The other two factors will always follow.”
“Well, money and power to go hand in hand. But how does control fit into the equation?”
“In the entire history of your species, various versions of money have always been the ultimate measure of human worth. Humans with a lot of monetary worth are powerful and control those with low monetary worth. Conversely, humans in a position of power and control of other humans, have the ability to increase their monetary worth because of that control. The degree of monetary worth determines the degree of power and control and vice versa.”
“And the negative self-preservation?” I repeated, beginning to feel like I was back in college and about to flunk out.
“People who have money, power, and control will do anything to keep it. They will also do anything to keep those who do not have it, from getting it. When that happens, you end up with a species divided into a small segment of those who control and a large segment of those they control. There are many more, but the countries China and Russia are good examples of this. Each is controlled by people unwilling to yield power under any circumstances. The leaders of these countries seem to get wealthier even though most of the people they lead remain poor. If this continues, the human species will evolve into a warlike species that only exists to commit violent acts.”
“You're talking about billions of people. How will an entire species evolve into a completely warlike society?”
“Because there seems to be another common denominator that exists with powerful people who are also wealthy and in control of others. It is a fear of those who are different from themselves.”
She was right. For a stranger in a strange land, she seemed to know human nature better than most humans do. We have quite a track record when it comes to fearing our differences. At their root, all conflicts are exactly the same. It doesn’t really matter whether they are called crusades, police actions, insurgencies, or war. Bad guys disappear and good guys take over; that is until the good guys get a little too cozy with being in power. Then the addictive lure of control and money takes over and the only victims are the innocent people who get caught in the middle.
That happened in 1988 with the Shah of Iran. He was a good guy taking over from a bad guy until he became the bad guy. He hightailed it out of Iran and our embassy staff was held hostage for 444 days. The only good thing to come out of that was the television program ‘Nightline’. Eventually, the Shah died, but our relationship with Iran has never been the same.
“What about when people are feared because they create reasons to be feared, such as terrorists?” I asked.
“It is not the act that should be feared. The act is the result of an underlying belief. That is what should be feared. Aggression is the result of fear, not the cause of fear. I have noticed that humans enjoy being members of groups with similar traits. They group together because of religious or political beliefs, economic levels, skin color, cultural or social similarities, and any number of other reasons. Each of these groups learn to dislike competing groups almost from the moment that cognitive thought begins. This inherent dislike of competing groups may start as one or two groups when humans are young and easily influenced by others. But as humans grow older, these groups expand and multiply.”
“If I understand what you're saying, the dislike that different groups have for each other will grow into blind hatred which will evolve into a warlike society.”
“That is correct. Those humans who do not conform to any group dynamic will eventually be victimized until they cease to exist.”
“How long do we have before this warlike society begins to take shape?”
“It has already begun, but it has yet to reach the point of no return.”
“And just when do you estimate that humanity will reach that point?”
“It is not an estimate. You will reach that point in 241.6 of your earth years.”
“Will that be the end of the human species?”
“No. Although the human species will eventually cease to exist on this planet, scientific advancements will enable small groups of humans to inhabit Earthlike clones in other star systems.”
“Can anything be done to prevent this from happening?”
“It is theoretically possible, but the window of opportunity closes exponentially with every orbit around your sun.”
“You've identified the problem and the timeline. Can you do anything to prevent the outcome?”
“Widespread knowledge of my existence would create more problems than solutions because humans have an innate fear and distrust of aliens.”
“Who can prevent the outcome?” I said, afraid that I already knew the answer.
“It is a universal construct that all change begins internally, not externally. As a member of the human species, you can begin to initiate that change.”
“But I am only one human and, chronologically speaking, my window of opportunity is also closing.”
“Are you familiar with one of your species’ scientific theories called the Butterfly Effect?”
“It's the idea that small things can have non-linear impacts on a complex system A butterfly flapping its wings in one part of the world can eventually cause a typhoon in another part of the world. I take it that I'm the butterfly?”
“You are correct.”
“I subscribe to a more personal version of the Butterfly Effect. Every choice you make, at any given moment, changes the course of your life. For instance, I was going to spend New Year's Eve watching the fireworks display on television. A friend of mine talked me into going to the Luxor, instead. He met a girl and partied into the next year. I met you and took on the responsibility of saving civilization from destroying itself.”
I paused to ponder what I just said.
“I just have one question for you.”
“What is that?”
“Why didn't I stay home and watch television?”