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Saturday 19 October 2013

The Machine

Nori’s grandmother told her about the machine beings that will rule in the age of weapons.

“What’s a weapon, grandma?” Nori asked.

“It is a hard, sharp, deadly object that is created from materials taken from the earth. It is created in such a way that it will kill fast. The deadlier, the better.” Grandma answered. She knew about the coming age of iron because the auspices had told her.

“Why would anyone create these things, grandmother?” Nori asked, puzzled. Grandmother looked worried and a bit sad. At least that is how Nori would have described it in our words, but she didn’t really understand the feelings she saw in grandma.

“Because they want to dominate others and accumulate things. This is how they will know that they are important.” Nori didn’t understand at all, but grandma continued to tell her about the machine beings.

The machine beings will think that they are God’s representatives on Earth. Because they have been given intelligence, they can use it whichever way they want to. They will think that the Earth is their kingdom and that everything on it is their property. They will regard themselves as the highest life form. They will think that there is no life anywhere else in the universe other than on Earth. Because they are so important, God has given them the entire universe and placed them at the centre of it with their own kingdom of plants, animals and minerals.

The most interesting thing about machine beings is that they don’t care much about killing each other, much less killing other forms of life. The machine people group themselves into communities that function together as one large machine. They put all their efforts into creating something called “thin air” which they use to create a pyramid that gives some people power and impoverishes others. Another curious thing about the society machine is that it’s based on nothing but everyone believes in it because of the thin air, whether it works for them or not. They think the “thin air” is their reason for existence and they have to fight their whole lives to get more of it so others can respect them.

Within each machine there is hate and fighting amongst themselves and between the larger collective machines there is even more hate and fighting. Each machine society believes God to be on their side only.  They often think that their faith is the one true one and that people who have different beliefs will either go to hell or are delusional. The machine beings are intelligent enough to make weapons of mass destruction but they aren’t smart enough to figure out that that bit makes no sense.

“What will happen to these machines, grandma?” Nori asked.

“We will have to wait and see, Nori,” Grandma answered. “It will depend on whether they can wake up from their inflated sense of self-importance and remember that everything else they can perceive is also part of themselves. If they fail the test, they will die out, because what they have created is not sustainable. If they wake up, there is still hope.”

“Where can the hope be found, grandma?”

“In their hearts, Nori, although that would be asleep for a long time. The machine doesn’t think the heart is important. If they remember their capacity to love and forgive then there is still hope.”

“Grandma?”

“Yes, Nori?”

“Isn’t the machine lonely? How can anyone forget about their hearts - it must be terribly painful!”

“They forget because they are taught from a young age that love is better when received than given. When they give love, it should only be to those who are like themselves for only those are worth the effort. If they love anyone outside their group then there is a risk of mingling, fudging boundaries, and that would lead to more equal distribution of wealth. If people realise they are all brothers and sisters then they wouldn’t want to have too much when there are others who don’t have enough. And when everyone shares and stops stressing about gaining wealth and being at the top then the machine of society will no longer work. Then people will return to simplicity and live in harmony with the earth and all beings on it.”

“Just like us, grandma?”


“Just like us primitive beings, Nori, just like us. The machines will stop being machines and they will become people once more.”

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