. . . The fundamental thesis of
this book is that the same innate, biological capacities of ingenuity
and creation that have enabled humans to build rockets to reach other
planets will also be needed for designing and engineering the
organisms that will sustainably inhabit those planets.
The missions to other planets, as well
as ideas for planetary-scale engineering, are a necessary duty for
humanity and a logical consequence of our unique cognitive and
technological capabilities. There is no other species that leverages,
or even can leverage, the frailty of mortality into an
intergenerational stability of sentience. As far as we know, humans
alone possess an awareness of the possibility of our entire species'
extinction and of the Earth's finite life span. Thus, we are the only
ones who can actively assess the risks of (and prevent) extinction,
not only for ourselves but for all organisms as well. This is
unusual. Most duties in life are chosen, yet there is one that is
not. “Extinction awareness” - and the need to avoid extinction –
is the only duty that is activated the moment it is understood.
Christopher R. Mason
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