E = AM2 - the 14th Paradigm Shift

Lift-off Let us see how far we can fly before the sun melts the wax in our wings. Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, the astrophysicist, when referring to the limits, or non-limits, of human endeavour He saw the fate of Icarus as not paying the price for hubris, but rather as an experiment in human endeavour and taking up the challenge. Background The Story of Icarus (adapted from Wikipedia) In Greek mythology, Icarus is the son of the master craftsman Daedalus. The main story told about Icarus is his attempt to escape from Crete by means of wings that his father constructed from feathers and wax. He ignored instructions not to fly too close to the sun, and the melting wax caused him to fall into the sea where he drowned. The myth shares thematic similarities with that of Phaëthon – both are usually taken as tragic examples of hubris or failed ambition. Rachel discarded her blinkers, carried out one last check of her fibreglass wings, adhered with a new synthetic non-melting resin, and armed with both ancient and new charts that point to a pathway through the blindness of unquestioning light, launched.   Ask the right question. The ‘right’ answer to the wrong question is still the wrong answer. Anon. Chapter 1: Rachel gets the gig From his forty-second-floor office, with its panoramic view of New York, the secretary general prepared to meet and somewhat intimidate his visitor. She was not his choice, but the panel had chosen, and that was it. But he had to ensure that she knew who was boss. Strangely, in the whole process, he had only met her once, when she was one among many. He removed her résumé from his desktop, smoothed his hair, straightened his tie, then rose to greet her and deliberately sat her on the other side of his large desk. ‘Well, Doctor Livingstone, I presume. The ship is yours,’ he joked. Rachel inwardly flinched at the mixed metaphors, and was as aghast as her Aunt Venetia would have been. She was wary of this olive-skinned man, with his distinguished grey mane. She well knew the intent of her ten-minute wait, and now her sitting opposite him, with the large desk in between, and why she had not been offered tea or coffee. Though still piqued somewhat, as he was not used to being thwarted, she was, he thought, attractive with her neat figure, taller than most women, reddish hair, fair complexion with demure make-up, a stylish dress. When combined with intelligence blazing out of her eyes, a certain aloofness and frank expression, he could see she could easily be spellbinding. He wondered if her somewhat unkempt hair was coiffured or really so. Her style and elegance as she entered, walked across the room and in the way she sat were palpable. He watched her eyes pretend to take in his office, the view, but really take in him. What would he make of her? And indeed, she of him? Outwardly, as she was expected to, she smiled at the secretary general while replying, ‘Touché,’ without knowing if that Bolivian gentleman had any French in his vocabulary. She wondered what he would make of her. ‘The president has informed you of the appointment, which we will make public at next Friday’s press conference. You are expected to take up your appointment the first day of next month. Does that fit your timetable?’ Rachel nodded her assent, a mere pleasantry, as her consent was not really being sought. ‘The appointment is to remain confidential until that press conference.’ She met this with another nod. ‘Only you, the deputy chair, and the other commissioners are aware of your appointment, so you may speak to them confidentially before then. ‘You would be familiar with The Edge Questions, I am sure.’ ‘Not especially.’ She feigned ignorance by asking, ‘Any in particular?’ as he clearly wanted to enlighten her. He could play his game but it would be on her terms, she had already resolved. ‘The genesis of the Commission’s establishment was the 2009 question: What will change everything? As The Edge expounded on its website: Nobody ever voted for printing. Nobody ever voted for electricity. Nobody ever voted for radio, the telephone, the automobile, the airplane, television. Nobody ever voted for penicillin, antibiotics, the pill. Nobody ever voted for space travel, massively parallel computing, nuclear power, the personal computer, the Internet, email, cell phones, the Web, Google, cloning, sequencing the entire human genome. We are moving towards the redefinition of life, to the edge of creating life itself. While science may or may not be the only news, it is the news that stays news. ‘Yes, secretary general, though I am not so sure about the accuracy of all of those assertions.’ To his quizzical look, she began to change his rules. ‘I accept the general thrust. I know the redefinition of life, and to the edge of creating life itself were picked up by some of your members as something the Council should address. ‘People’s votes have been influential on those who set budgets, and revisions to budgets, for space travel and for nuclear power, to mention just a couple. People “voted” on cell phones and the Web by adapting their lives to demand better and better service and speed with reduced costs on those technologies.’ She could see that he had understood her point, but was he impressed, she wondered. He continued, focusing on what the Council had indeed picked up. ‘The Commission, as you already know, is how to inculcate human values into human clones, and so perhaps allow humans to define themselves with the benefit of current knowledge, including technology.’ ‘No mean feat!’ she mused to herself. But when to really throw down the gauntlet? Might as well be now, so she said, ‘Of course, it is not as novel as some may think.’ His eyes widened. ‘I BEG YOUR PARDON?’