Phoenix
by Dale J. Sprague
White Papers
The Space Imperative
Once there was a territorial imperative. And this imperative rapidly grew and spread because it was well fed by abundant land everywhere. But soon, the limits of growth were apparent, the natural resources dwindled, and the conditions for a new world were formed.
Such conditions that inevitably made Earth smaller were championed by the ambition that would conquer and endeavor to own the world, by the priest who would personally revise living souls, by the intellectual who claims to know the essential meaning of life for everyone, by the mystic who would possess living souls, or the General who would impress and regiment them. Of what a human being could be, reached some infinity of ego within those unfathomable, habitually consuming life's vitality in their attempt to conquer life..especially life unlike itself.
Extended and profound, new world ingenuity ended old world visions that saw virgin land, fertile green valleys, and vast natural resources that have been since, consumed into weapons too great to be used, into air that cannot be breathed, into food that should not be eaten, and medicinals that should not be taken..and new world technology can virtually consume anything in the world. The end of an old frontier brought a world in transition..traditions in upheaval..a world in which the Earth as the universe, was readily and swiftly exchanged for the firmament of the stars.
Old tried and true beliefs and articles of faith that could deliver only hope, were followed with the hope that a larger nurturing world will somehow arise. The universe of the Earth had become too small, the implements of war too dangerous for all, the air too foul..and disappointed idealism, all too powerful.
Drifting upon grey seas of opposing wants, where is vision living and self transcendence striving? Where is life ensearching gnosis? So many with an appetite for the fruit of the serpent's tree!..and evermore paranoid from un'differentiated sumps of fear and hate; half god, half humanoid, they devote what sight they have to ravenous consumption of what their wit can take. What power'raptured child is this!? that with towers of wit, it would compulsively consume its surroundings until its unconscious deed becomes apparent to everyone. And what then? when everything is gone, when denials, after becoming so many so quickly, collectively evolve..each catalyzing the end of each with the death of the environment that had nurtured each.
What emotion would grip the heart, what insight would bring light to the mirror by which one may see the body saving itself at the expense of so much else laid to waste? Such a price for self preservation and 'knowledge for its own sake' surely, inevitably must beget only one purpose..a deep purpose..to resurrect the natural beauty so delicately formed, so patiently evolved, so darkly taken away...consumed, as it were, by such profound absence of a life'giving conscience.
Humankind has always responded to the demands of its natural environment with tools. Tools are essential for survival. Humankind cherishes a tradition of tools. And for new problems, there was always at least one with enough capacity for contemplation to innovate an old or conceive of a new tool, which resolved old problems more efficiently, or effected original solutions to new problems. While the use of tools distinguishes many species of life from others, where there was the systematic cataloging of ideas and evolution of invention, there was humankind distinguishing itself when environmental upheavals served as the force of necessity. One's environment is limited only by one's imagination. The force of necessity, the same..and its invention, with the very same limitation.
As in the past, today, the preoccupation with tool development is accepted as a fundamental part of the human condition. From the time in history that is unrecorded, from the time in each individual's life that cannot be remembered..we, mostly by instinct, adapt and invent the means by which our fragile body can withstand the extremes of a desert's heat or Arctic's violent cold...cut through mountains, span great spaces between cliffs, descend deep into the seas where night is perennial, and rise far above the skies, far away from the hold of Earth where darkness is eternal.
Becoming evermore aware of our frailty, we conceive the means through which our nearsighted eyes can see far into the depths of matter and into the vast space above. With the ability to do relatively little more than tread water, we span vast territories of ocean, and explore the bottoms where only few can live. Vast natural resources...air, fire, water, and earth are gathered, transformed, molded and shaped to extend the meager power of our hands, arms, legs..our eyes, ears, and our computing, collating, sorting, recalling, analizing brain. By our own inventions, we are more and more influencing or remaking creation for our advantage. We are reshaping and remolding creation to suit our needs within a biospheric vessel traveling through space.
Growing rapidly by our own means, vast territories of space become the new world within which new inventions and innovations will be necessary for humankind to maintain some control over its destiny, and perhaps attain a perspective to the territorial domain that has delivered us.
The motivations that drove the 'territorial imperative' reach deep within everyone. Even though there is no significant territorial imperative today, the instinct to claim more space is still alive. The imperative is still, very much alive!
Since the beginning of the 20th century, when humankind became airborne, the frontier of space increased manyfold. This newfound freedom provided the environment for the means we have today of exploring and occupying the new frontier. Within this new frontier of space, we have adapted well, as well as to the machines we have invented. Within the span of our grandparent's generation, we are taking steps into a universe far beyond their world. Adapting to open space, the new land, the 'territorial imperative' became the 'space imperative.'
Before our habitat was extended to the moon, before our eyes were able to see dawn and twilight on Mars, or the thick chunks of ice making the rings of Saturn, the Earth and its tributaries of land, sea, and sky was the universe. Within a blink of evolution's eye after eternities of inspiration gave its light, the old universe of Earth quickly vanished. Subsequently, we are no longer led by the explorers of sea and land, but by the visionaries of outer space.
The world is changing profoundly, changing by space technology that can reduce the universe of Earth to a scheduled flight within a single day. Such a course in evolution is inevitable because whether there is a tool or the controls of a space vehicle in hand, we become greater than what our bodies normally provide, greater than to where a bird can normally fly. Looking out into the heavens, the telescope makes us greater than we could otherwise be..seeing the image of stars, looking into the distant past. The reality of this here and now, being the greater portion of our being, beckons us to reachout to those images and learn what is really there. With the growth of technology, we mature. What we perceive and what we witness becomes a part of us. And a smaller Earth makes the many cultures of Earth closer...more neighbor, less alien.
Within a high tech steady'state environment, the birth rate will be controlled, the population will be commensurate with increases or decreases in natural resources. With stabilizing high technology, humankind will continue to optimize the environment for themselves, but not at the expense of it. Viral and bacterial infections will be decimated. Clean water'burning and long operating engines will replace the dirty inefficient fossil fuel engines. Low cost energy will be abundant. Abundant fresh water will be maintained with vast water'conducting systems that will harvest otherwise lost runoff waters to the sea. Fresh water will be diverted to deserts, transforming almost instantly, vast wastelands into great fertile farmlands. The work week will be adjustable. All education institutions will be incorporated into the corporations providing goods and services. Flexible manufacturing systems will be able to make a customized commodity for the same cost as a mass produced one. Opportunities for adventure will increase. The future will see a great hightech society that will be physically and emotionally well, with its members freely pursuing spiritual well being. The amount of leisure time will increase, and part of it will be devoted to individual pursuits developing science, expressing art..which will be important for everyone's well being whether labor, technical service, or high professional. The entertainment industry evolving with high technology will be powerful and ubiquitous, and will continue to entertain and express the sense and sensibility of its society.
Within a century, humankind evolved from the cloth fuselage of a light, single pilot airplane that could do little more than a mile a minute to a rocket boostered spaceship capable of traveling approximately seven miles per second while escaping the grip of Earth. In just fifty years, humankind went from hovering over tree tops whenever a strong wind arose, to stepping on the moon and taking a drive in a car. Rocketing out of past traditions, cultures will recede, but not become lost while a common sense of humanity is gained. It seems that immortality or something close to it would eventually evolve. But even at the zenith of such ascension, senses are limited, resources are limited, and a steady'state environment..still a requirement. It is the destiny of humankind to apprehend a nurturing environment, stabilize it, and in it, contemplate the destiny of stars and the space imperative they create.