ENDLESS NOTHING

ENDLESS NOTHING

It feels like we’re in the boardroom of a big bank. Gray concrete walls and big wooden doors, just like the meeting table. As the room appears to be on the top floors of a Manhattan skyscraper, the Chrysler building can be seen to the north. Suddenly, in this cold and detached atmosphere, we hear a cry: “Dr Schmitt ! You have two doctorates in human biology and an IQ of 170 ! It's more than Einstein's for Christ’s sake ! How can you not find what is wrong with the humans established in the new colony ?!? They haven't had any social interaction since they arrived ! Do you think we're going to repopulate the planet with eunuchs ?!

Dr Schmitt

- Mr. President, I can only remind you of the results of the tests carried out less than a year ago on each of the inhabitants of the colony. These tests did not reveal any biological abnormalities. Even the radiation rates were zero. So, there is, from a medical point of view, no reason for their lethargic behavior. I would even say their lack of behavior.

President

- That's right ! They have no behavior. They don't do anything except randomly sit and walk. I can't believe they are traumatized by the end of the world that took place 50 years ago ! They were all born afterwards !

Dr Schmitt

- No sir, I asked them all about it and none of them mentioned that they were traumatized by this incident.

The president, seated at the end of the meeting table, scratches his head and then slowly looks at each of the twelve members of the board. His gaze stops on Dr. Kristel.

President

- It's a real ?

Dr Kristel

- My locket ? Yes, but it's not a diamond, it's a pink quartz. It’s the stone of love. That's why it's shaped like a heart. Besides, it seems pretty obvious to me that this is what the members of the colony are lacking.

President

- Love ? Listen Kristel, I know you are a distinguished anthropologist, one of the best human behavior specialists in the world. This is why you were chosen to be part of the Repopulation Committee, but, with all due respect, your knowledge of human biology may not be of the same caliber as your knowledge of anthropology. You see, Dr. Schmitt made it clear to me that love is a chemical reaction that takes place mostly in the brain, although the genitals are involved in arousal and there are a few neurons in the intestines.  Basically, when one person is attracted to another, their brain produces more of the happiness hormones serotonin and dopamine, but also oxytocin. This hormone is the attachment hormone. It is even produced during orgasm ! In short, we have checked hundreds of times and I can confirm that the hormonal system of the inhabitants of the colony is working perfectly. When we created them, we didn’t forget any ingredients, if I can put it that way.

 Dr Kristel

- Well, exactly. We haven't forgotten anything.

While Dr Kristel speaks, we see a very bright laboratory where there is a series of stainless steel tanks on which we can read "oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium, phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, sodium, chlorine, magnesium, iron. ". There are also several operating rooms in the form of transparent capsules equipped with robotic arms. Half-finished human bodies are grafted with limbs which are then welded together by multi-colored lasers that resemble rainbows. Large amounts of steam are produced by biological welds. The accelerated natural connection of nerves and tendons can be seen on the screens located near the operating capsules.

- We have created perfect biological reproductions. We brought all the elements together to create life, that's true, but as I told you, I firmly believe that love is not just a hormone or a neurotransmitter. I believe that the love molecule is not material. I believe that physical attraction is influenced by biological factors, but the love of the person in the body is a spiritual matter. We are spirits sir and what the humans we have created lack is a spirit, a soul. Right now, they're just steaks, smart pieces of protein that can walk and sit. But, they don't feel the need to reach out to others, to communicate, to discover life.

President

- It's an interesting point of view, but, alas, very unoriginal. We have studied this question for centuries and, as you know, there is still no physical evidence of this intangible world you are talking about.

Dr Kristel

- There is evidence, but they are circumstantial and deductive. They are based on testimonies. I'm talking about near-death experiences where witnesses came back with information they couldn't have. I am also talking about people who have seen objects moving alone in their house or elsewhere. Objects moved by a force that was not physically present in the room. We must therefore deduce that these forces are present in another world, another dimension, a spiritual dimension.

 President

- For now, before we consider such a wacky lead, we are going to perform a final test on the inhabitants of the colony. Science has not said its last word ! Dr. Schmitt, tell the humans to come to the clinic tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. We have designed a more extensive field test that incorporates each human’s unique DNA into the calculation of their biological assessment. These are tailor-made tests, if you will.

Dr. Schmitt stretches his left forearm towards him and looks at the screen that appears on his skin. He brings his mouth to his forearm and says: "Test tomorrow 8 am at the clinic." The message appears on four giant 40-foot screens located at the four corners of a 3 square miles green space. It is a vivarium made up of several trees, lawns, parks and houses. There is also a small lake and a few streets. Above this ground is installed a large transparent dome which protects against radiation. People are sitting on the park benches or on the lawns. Others are walking or standing still. They are all looking at the screens at the same time when the message appears.

 Dr Kristel

- If this last test does not reveal any anomalies, I will leave you definitively and I will consider that this committee has failed its mission.

President

- Have you lost your mind ? Out of 15 billion humans, you have been chosen to carry out the mission to repopulate this planet, to help create nonviolent humans who will not destroy themselves again ! And, after only 20 years, are you already throwing in the towel ? I know at least 15 billion people who would give their lives to be you ! We are the only true survivors of the apocalypse ! You survived Dr Kristel ! You are here with all of us. We think, we work, we are alive ! Do you think you can find something better in the nothing ?

Dr Kristel

I know there are better.

NEXT DAY, 2 PM

Dr Schmitt

- The tests are negative, Mr. President. There are, again, no anomalies detected.

Dr Kristel

- Very well, I leave you. Farewell Mr. President, farewell Dr. Schmitt and farewell dear colleagues.

President

- Wait Kristel ! Wait ! Maybe you would like a promotion ? You are a natural leader and I feel you are bored in your current role.

Dr Kristel

- You want to laugh ? Of course I'm bored. It may be a taboo subject here, but, I want to remind you ... We have no body, Mr. President ! We have no fun, no emotion ! We are only the memory of our old human identity. We have retained our memory and our knowledge, but we are nothing more than electrons, photons and pixels in the world's most powerful quantum supercomputer. So, yeah, I'm bored and I'm not interested in spending eternity bored. I've made my decision. I'm leaving you !

Dr Kristel stretches her left arm towards her mouth and says, "Game over." Immediately, she disappears from the table of the Repopulation Committee. The other members are stunned and stare at the empty chair for several seconds.

We then see the ceiling of the council chamber. It’s a concrete ceiling with a crystal chandelier. We move slowly towards this chandelier. Its light dazzles, but we keep moving forward and pass through the chandelier and the ceiling. Suddenly we see a huge warehouse, the size of an airport, in which there is a golden quantum supercomputer with threads of gold and fiber optics intertwined with colorful lights. The computer itself looks like a big golden chandelier with multiple conduits, buttons and electrical outlets. Pockets of vapor are exhaled all over the computer due to the cooling system.

We continue to move towards the warehouse ceiling. We cross it again. We now have an aerial view of a gigantic titanium dome at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. We calmly come to the surface and gain altitude. We see that the titanium dome is 300 km from the California coast. We then move to French Polynesia, where we see an island that looks totally black, but, getting a little closer, we see that there is a small green space of about 3 square miles covered with a glass dome. The humans who inhabit it are destined to wander aimlessly for the rest of their lives.

If we look at the continents, although they are blackened by the fire of nuclear bombs, we see a lot of intelligent activity. There are thousands of flying saucers landed on all continents. The little gray aliens are building underground dwellings there. For them, who have completely destroyed their planet, these bases are more comfortable and spacious than the mothership in which they have spent 3 million years searching for a new habitable planet.

Above these flying saucers is the starry sky. As we join Earth's orbit, we find ourselves next to Dr. Kristel's spirit. She is enveloped in white and pink light and she smiles. To her left there is the earth. To her right, there is the light of God. She says: “You did well. I did well ". She laughs a little, then a lot and she plunges into the divine light.