Corporate Sustainability – The holy grail of capitalism?

Here is another part of my academic career. This paper was for my "organizational change for sustainability" class. I am only posting the Intro, the first part of my paper and my personal notes, because the main part is only a summary of the book: Organizational Change for Corporate Sustainability: A Guide for Leaders and Change Agents of the Future, by Dexter Dunphy, Andrew Griffiths, Suzanne Benn (http://www.amazon.com/Organizational-Change-Corporate-Sustainability-Understanding/dp/0415393299/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1329237665&sr=8-2)

have fun reading :)

Introduction:

Sustainability has become one of the biggest trends worldwide over the last 30 years. Waking up to the reality of our problems a lot of people demand “more sustainability” from corporations, government and society as a whole. Many corporations jumped on this train and started to look at how they could change and adapt their business practices to be more sustainable in their actions.

The Holy Grail, similar to sustainability now, plays a different role everywhere it appears. In most versions of the legend the hero must prove himself worthy to be in its presence. In the early tales, Percival's immaturity prevents him from fulfilling his destiny when he first encounters the Grail, and he must grow spiritually and mentally before he can locate it again. In a later telling the Grail is a symbol of God's grace, available to all but only fully realized by those who prepare themselves spiritually, like the saintly Galahad.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holy_Grail)

The Sustainability Phase Model

In their introduction, Dunphy, Griffiths and Benn pose the question of whether corporations are evil. They argue that it would be simplistic and naïve to portray corporations as evil by nature, but that it is important to “exercise collective control over the way in which they operate”. Thus it is important to define their role within society, their social and environmental responsibility, and their accountability. They think that “the core of this debate can be summarized as the argument about whether the role of the corporation is simply to create financial wealth for its owners, or to contribute to the well-being of a wider range of stakeholders, including the community, the environment and future generations.”

(p. 7, 8)

The Authors present a phase model to make comparisons between organizations and their commitment and practice towards sustainability. The model also describes a set of steps that organizations take in progressing to sustainability.

These steps are:

·      Rejection

·      Non-responsiveness

·      Compliance

·      Efficiency

·      Strategic proactivity

·      The sustaining corporation

All phases are described in terms of their attitudes towards human sustainability and ecological sustainability. This gives the reader an idea of the journey an organization theoretically goes through, on its way to more sustainable practice.

Figure 1: http://www.emeraldinsight.com/content_images/fig/0430230105001.png

1.     Rejection
Employees and subcontractors are regarded as a resource that can be exploited and the environment is regarded as a free good to be exploited. Pro environmental action is seen as a threat to the organization.

2.     Non-Responsiveness
Financial and technological factors dominate business strategies to the exclusion of most human resource management. The ecological environment is not considered to be a relevant factor in strategic or operational decisions. Environmental risks, costs, opportunities and imperatives are seen as irrelevant or are not perceived at all.

3.     Compliance
The emphasis is on compliance with legal requirements in industrial relations, safety, workplace standards, and so on. Financial and technological factors dominate business strategies, but the company seeks to comply with environmental laws to minimize the firm’ potential liabilities from actions that have adverse impact on the environment.

4.     Efficiency
There is a systematic attempt to integrate human resource functions into a coherent HR system to reduce costs and increase efficiency. Poor environmental practice is seen as an important source of avoidable costs.

5.     Strategic Proactivity
Skill mix and diversity are seen as integral and vitally important aspects for the business, and intellectual and social capital are used to develop strategic advantage through innovation. Proactive environmental strategies supporting ecological sustainability are seen as strategic business opportunities to provide competitive advantage. The organization seeks competitive leadership through spearheading environmentally friendly products and processes.

6.     The sustaining corporation
The organization accepts responsibility for contributing to the process of renewing and upgrading human knowledge and skill formation in the community and society as a whole and is a strong promoter of equal opportunity, workplace diversity and work-life balance as workplace principles. The organization becomes an active promoter of ecological sustainability values and seeks to influence key participants in the industry and society in general. Nature is valued for its own sake.
(p. 24-26)

.....

Personal Note

Writing this paper was extremely hard for me, for reasons that I cannot really explain. There is some kind of inner blockage that is hindering me to accept the reality the authors are creating. Even though their model seems to be logical and they obviously have enough experience to showcase their points, there is still something wrong for me. Something on an intuitive level is telling me that this is not working. Even though I am aware that this book is geared towards a specific market of corporate CEOs and change agents, and I fully recognize the good intentions behind it, I strongly believe that it is not going far enough.

It seems to me that their belief that the system can be changed in an incremental way, which is what their model seems to describe, does not work. It seems that the fundamental beliefs that build their logic will not hold up.  Their model still lies on the assumption of infinite growth, a basic and fundamental problem within the capitalist system. There is no such thing as infinite growth, and therefore every competitive system that is based on this assumption, whether it is integrating sustainability or not, is doomed to fail in the long term.

The second logical flaw is the assumption that at the heart of every business lays profit. The idea of profit has created a mousetrap in which our current system is trapping itself. By looking for profits, we forget to see what the original purpose of business is. The creation of value for the greater good is the real, original purpose for business. Looking back thousands of years, groups gathered together to create things of value that could not be created by one person alone, to generate more value for the greater good of everyone. If this seems altruistic, or unrealistic to you, imagine living in a tribe in the jungle, and creating a field to grow crops so that everyone in the tribe could eat and prosper. Now imagine the whole world being this tribe.

It might seem like a good idea to try and change the system. It might seem like its worth the time and energy to look at the existing model and see where you can change it, tweak it and adapt it. If you take a step back though, you will see that this system has brought itself to a point where little changes, and lofty visions are not enough anymore. The incremental path of change is over. This system needs drastic change, and that is what is missing in their book: The boldness to propose changes that are outside of what exists right now. In the words of Buckminster Fuller: "You never change things by fighting the existing reality.  To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete."

We are at a point where we need a new model, one that is not based on the assumptions of infinite growth, exploitation of the environment and the generation of profit as the central motivation. A model that takes into account the inherent drive of humans for good, that acknowledges that we are all in this together, and that the biggest goals are to create a world worth living for everyone on this planet. This certainly is not going to happen by slowly transforming corporations into sustainable corporations, because the only thing they “sustain” is their inherent need for profit and exploitation.

It seems to me like we are in a very similar situation as it was in France at the time of the French revolution, where it was not enough to change and adopt the system. A new system needed to be created, to replace the old one. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years. French society underwent an epic transformation as feudal, aristocratic and religious privileges evaporated under a sustained assault from radical political groups, masses on the streets, and peasants in the countryside. Old ideas about tradition and hierarchy – of monarchy, aristocracy and religious authority - were abruptly overthrown by new Enlightenment principles of equality, citizenship and inalienable rights. This process went on for the next 50 years, going back and forth in a power struggle between democracy and monarchy, but finally ended in the establishment of the first modern democracy in Europe. Even thought this process caused a lot of pain, suffering and death, it liberated the world and caused the next level of evolution for mankind.

(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Revolution)

I believe that we are at a very similar point of time. This society needs to reinvent itself and completely transform into something new; shed the old skin of corporate capitalism and be reborn in a new form.  We can see now the initiation of this shift, with economists predicting the break down of our current model, people demonstrating on streets and public spaces all over the world and scholars creating new models of existence. I don’t know how this model is going to look, but if we are to survive, it has to be radically different from what we currently have. The ideas range from global non-monetary, resource based economies to small community self-sufficiency, to spiritual enlightenment theories. It seems that, like Perceval, the corporate world, in its quest to find the holy grail of profit and sustainability, does not dare to ask the right question, and therefore is doomed to fail.

Social Justice in the light of Integral Theory and SpIral Dynamics

so, i have not published anything here in a long time, but now i've something new to share.
these are my notes of the presentation i gave in my social justice class about "Integral Theory, Spiral Dynamics, and Social Justice".
In this presentation i try to have a look at Racism from the point of few of Spiral Dynamics and Integral Theory.

So, here it is:

Suppose we took everything that all the various world cultures have to tell us about human potential and the world around us, about psychological, and social growth, about science, religion and spirituality.

What if we tried to identify the basic patterns that connect these pieces of knowledge? What If we tried to create a map that touches on all these important factors.

Before getting into this, I want to make sure: this is just a map. Its not the territory. Don’t confuse the map. Don’t think by looking at the map, you know the territory. But also, if you go on a road trip, you’d rather have a map with you, cause otherwise you might never get to where you want to get.

Integral theory is a framework that tries to integrate different ways of knowledge,  from ancient sages to modern science and put it in one model.

Integral theory sees that there is different states of consciousness that we are on (waking, dreaming, sleeping), it takes into account that there is different levels of development (example:preconventional = egocentric; conventional=ethnocentric; post conventional = worldcentric) that there is different lines of development (cognitive, interpersonal, emotional, moral, psychosexual), and that there is at least a masculine and a feminine aspect to everything.

One main framework that integral theory works with a 4-quadrant model.

Every mayor language has, what we call 1^st 2^nd and 3^rd person pronouns.

If I am speaking to you about my bike. There is the “I”, the you and the it.

You and I together form the “we”

So, you can look at every event from the point of view of “I” (how I personally feel about it)

From the “WE”, how not just I, but all of us see the event

And from the “IT” – the objective facts of events.

The 4 perspectives with which you can look at every occasion are:

I – top left- inside of individual – individual thoughts, feelings, sensations, (everything 1^st person)

It – top right - outside of individual – physical individual: my cells, organs, but also my physical behavior, the way I dress.

When inside is feelings, outside sees a limbic system, when inside has desires, the outside sees the neurocortex,

Inside is the subjective, outside the objective, and both of them are right according to integral approach.

We – bottom left -  inside of collective – group consciousness, our culture,

Its – bottom right - outside of collective – social dimension – how we manifest culture, the infrastructure we build, etc.

All 4 of these quadrants need to be included if you want to be as integral as possible, and all 4 of those show growth, development and evolution.

One model that is often used together with integral theory is a developmental model called “spiral dynamics”.

Spiral dynamics is a framework for understanding different value systems. First formulated by Dr. Clare Graves and put into a book by Don Beck and Christopher Cowan.

It gives a way of understanding human differences without the invalid cathegories of race or class, and a language to describe differences that transcend superficial categories.

4 key points to his theory:

1.    Human nature is not static, nor is it finite. Human nature changes as the conditions of existence change.

2.    When a new system or level is activated, we change our psychology and rules for living to adapt to those new conditions.

3.    We live in a potentially open system of values with an infinite number of modes of living available to us. There is no final state to which we must all aspire.

4.    An individual, a company, or an entire society can respond positively only to those managerial principles, motivational appeals, educational formulas, and legal or ethical codes that are appropriate to the current level of human existence" (Beck and Cowan 1996).

So, what does all of this have to do with racism?

Purple: survival of family, tribe, clan, preserve our kind, stranger and outsider is feared, not trusted, gender and age roles are rigid and important.

Examples: urban gangs, KKK, white supremacy groups, Mafia

Red: centers on power, appearance, territorial and personal dominance, self serving, often violent, brutal, , focus on power, conquest, expression of power,

Examples: intra racial gang violence, inter ethnic conflicts, protest marches

Blue: racism as a social construct to maintain segregation, division. Uses polarized thinking (us/them), rigid cathegories, classes, crusades, traditions. Uses “holy books” and “the law” to justify unequal behavior. Rules for proper behavior, seeks to keep things as they are. Flags, hymns, etc

Examples: U.S before&during Civil rights movement until now, Apartheid before mandela, conservative groups

Orange: seeks competitive advantage, achievement, vies for economic niches, avoids racism and sexism, even plays down racial and ethnic heritage for success, focuses on strategies, free markets, status. Is only inclusive if benefits bottomline.

Examples: anti affirmative laws, corporate America

Green: at this level racism is reactionary, can be exclusive and intolerant, social action missionaries who use discrimination to enforce equality. Egalitarianism based on denial of differences. Focuses on equality, community, feelings, earthiness, consensus, and human harmony.

Examples: Politically Correct movement, Anti racism groups,

The article suggests that racism is only truly overcome in the second tier, because at that stage competence is overriding differences.

Read quote:

3 modes for change:

1.    Bureaucratic model (top down): addressing institutional structures of exclusion.
Primary way of success: work through institutions that perpetuate learning of racism: family, schools, church, workplace, government.

2.    Grassroots model (bottom up): create systems of greater equality, create contact between different groups, reducing socioeconomic competition, and status inequality, example: civil rights movement.

3.    Heart Model (inside out): focus on internal transformation through heart/mind/spirit: “finding, nurturing, and creating conditions that promote care” combined with internal transformation of value systems

Sources:
The Integral Vision: A Very Short Introduction to the Revolutionary Integral Approach to Life, God, the Universe, and Everything by Ken Wilber (Aug 14, 2007)

THE MULTIPLE FUTURES OF RACISM—BEYOND THE MYTH OF RACE THROUGH A NEW PARADIGM FOR RESOLUTION IN THE THIRD MILLENNIUM By Caleb Rosado, Ph.D. http://www.rosado.net/pdf/Futures_of_Racism.pdf

Ecofair feedback

here is another article that got written about EcoFair:
from: http://www.mum.edu/achievements/2011_04_29.html

Students mingle at the Job and Internship Fair A group of students plant fruit trees on campus Visitors enjoy a local food workshop Jens Butler demonstrates blacksmithing

11th Annual EcoFair Celebrates Sustainability The 11th Annual MUM EcoFair held on the weekend of April 15th, celebrated the successes and strategies that are making the world a greener place. The student-organized event, “Energize Metamorphosis to Sustainability,” included visiting speakers, workshops, vendors, and the EcoJam fashion show. New this year was the Green Job and Internship Fair, allowing employers in the area of sustainability to connect with students for employment and internships. The event opened with keynote speaker Julie Woods, social entrepreneur, corporate trainer, and executive director of Fun Money Good: FMG Magazine for a Global Tribe. Her interactive keynote speech “Bridges Not Battles: Sustainability Success in a World That Doesn’t Know It Cares… YET!” targeted nuts-and-bolts paradigms, tools, and techniques for furthering the reach of sustainability initiatives. Featured speeches included “Growing Green Jobs in a Green Economy” by Kevin Doyle, author of three books about environmental careers. In addition, Richard Kahn, core education faculty at Antioch University, Los Angeles, gave a talk titled “Ecopedagogy: Memory, Mind, Movement, Metamorphosis.” “It was a really great time,” said Dr. Kahn. “I wish I had more time to talk to everyone and learn more about the curriculum. MUM couldn't have been a better host and I will only have good things to report in my various travels.” Local speakers included Kim Strubell of Caritas Seeds, who spoke on "Sustainable Agriculture in Africa,” and Stuart Valentine, co-chair of the Sustainable Living Coalition, who led a panel discussion on green capital. MUM alumnus Robbie Gongwer showed his short documentary, titled "Sustain Angoon," about the introduction of sustainable energy technologies by MUM students, alumni, and faculty in a remote village in Alaska. In addition, several Maharishi School students presented their award-winning science fair projects in the area of sustainability. The EcoFair also offered a large number of workshops on topics such as tree planting, permaculture gardens, biodynamic farming, edible landscapes, blacksmithing, and controlling electrical pollution. “EcoFair this year was a great success,” said organizer Emanuel Schachinger. “We had the best turnout in the 11-year history of the event.” MUM has been a leader in sustainability education with its rapidly growing undergraduate program in Sustainable Living.

Ecofair 2011 - summary

Here is my short summary of Ecofair 2011, i had to write for my internship :)






Internship Summary:

Description:

During the 2 weeks of the internship I focused on the organization of the event "EcoFair". My position as a head organizer included the following responsibilities:

- group Leadership

- marketing

- budget

- action planning

- volunteer organization

- speaker organization

- debrief and set up for next year

Organization for EcoFair started in September 2010 with an initial visioning process that resulted in the main theme, the vision, the group agreements and the formation of a 15 person core team. This core team continued meeting weekly since September until the event started.

My position of head organizer included the leadership during these meetings, writing and following the agenda, upholding group agreements and supporting the team leaders in their efforts.

Group leadership:

during the whole year, a big part of my position was leadership within the group Taking and sharing responsibility, holding members and myself accountable for agreements and sometimes taking a strong position with the group where the most challenging parts for me.

Marketing:

during the 2 weeks of my internship, one of the most important parts was the short term marketing for the event. Since it was 3 weeks before the event, we focused on easy accomplishable strategies. Our media mix included online media (facebook: http://www.facebook.com/mumecofair, website: http://mumecofair.org/), newspaper (inlay in "the Source", articles in the "Fairfield legder", "the review", and other neswpapers), Radio (KRUU spots + interviews, KHOE interview, KMCD interview, http://www.exploreseiowa.com/pages/7361464.php, and others), Newsletter (information got sent out through: Bob Fergusons newsletter, The Chamber of Commerce, MUM newsletter, IA newsletter, Bill Pollacks newsletter, CVB newsletter, ASHII newsletter, and many others) as well as poster presence (3 types of posters put up on MUM campus, in fairfield, Ottumwa, Iowa City, Des Moines, etc) as well as flyer's in the fairfield area)

My job here was the organization of these efforts and the distribution of advertisement material.

Another important aspect of marketing was the networking aspect, which means being present at various meetings, inviting leadership members of the community to cooperate with us (Francis Thicky, Stuart Valentine, Bob Ferguson, Troy van Beek, Amy Greenfield, and many others)

Budget:

one main part for me, was to create a budget, make sure that it people stick to it, and to keep an overview of our income and expenses. A short version of the budget is attached. 

The biggest challenge with the budget was the insecurity of incomes and expenses. Since i did not have any experiences with events like this, it was very challenging for me to come up with a realistic budget. I used last years budget and adopted it to our needs and it turned out to be pretty accurate, even though our expenses where increasing and increasing and finally we end up with a small loss.

Action planning:

during the 2 weeks of my internship i spend a good amount of time organizing the more then 30 volunteers, we had 3 volunteer meetings where people could sign up for volunteer positions and get more info about where they could plug in. My head organizer for volunteers, Minca Borg, did a great job, and i supported her with all volunteer efforts. Further action planning included the creation of the final schedule, the reservation of all rooms, the planning for speaker needs and requirements, the coordination with the university and concrete planning of all needs for every event.

Volunteer organization:

as explained earlier, a big portion of the work went into organizing volunteers, and coordinating the efforts of everybody willing to help. To incentivize volunteering we cooperated with the local initiative "Hometown Hero Rewards Program" to distribute rewards to our volunteers, as well as we gave out free tickets and T-Shirts for volunteers.

Speaker Organization:

for all the out of town speakers I organized the booking, the contracting, the payment, the travel arrangements (booking flights, hotel rooms, organizing drivers for the weekend), as well as the check in, the presentation requirements, etc. This was the most expensive part of the event, since we payed about 6500 dollars for speakers, transportation and accommodation.

Debrief and set up:

since the event is over, we had 2 debriefing sessions with the team, where we went through the event, and looked at what had worked and what did not work. These notes will be handed over to next years organizing team, as well as booklet with the most important information from every team leader.

Furthermore we started planning the initial visioning process for next years EcoFair, which will be held in about 4 weeks and we hope that students and comunity leaders will participate and share their ideas for next years EcoFair.

Here you can find pictures of this years ecofair:

http://www.facebook.com/mumecofair?sk=photos

Here is a rather funny news clip about ecofair:

http://www.heartlandconnection.com/news/story.aspx?id=606249

Happiness

The third story i wrote last week, and probably the craziest one, portraying the transformation that we can go through... The task was to use 5 phrases that we came up in class with and construct a story around them.
the 5 phrases were:
a green bottle
the stomp of an oak tree
1980 VW rabbit 
blue eyed child
yoga matt
9mm pistol
one dirty hippie 


thanks jess for helping me typing it ;)




 Happiness

    Sitting on the stump of an old oak tree next to his house, the old man enjoyed the silence and cool breeze of this late summer morning.  He enjoyed sitting here alone, with the silence and the peace.  Sharing this morning only with the gossip of the starlings in the trees and the smiles of the flowers around him.  The simplicity of this life gave him many pleasures, joy, and fulfillment.  He imagined his wife inside doing her daily routine on the old blue yoga mat.  The Asanas kept them both young and fit, though he allowed himself to skip out on them from time to time.  Like today.  This morning was just too beautiful to be spent inside, so he came out and decided to just sit here and listen to nature.  Life was joy.  
    But it had not always been like that.  It’s been a long journey.  Suddenly all those memories came up again, and even though he had made peace with his past, a slightly unpleasant tension came up in his chest every time he thought about it.  

It must have been 50 years ago.  Maybe even 60.  He was in his 20’s.  The “prime of his life.”  At least, that’s what he thought back then.  He had just gotten his first well-paid job, the director of graphic design in a highly successful, young, advertising agency.  His work was to brief the designer’s on projects and be the interface between the account manager guys and the graphic nerds.  He loved his job.  The challenges.  The money.  And even though he worked 80+ hours, he enjoyed the freedom and status that came with this money.  He and his new friends enjoyed their new life.  Their slogan was “Work hard - Party hard.”  And so it was.  Alcohol, girls, never-ending parties, and always some cocaine to get a clear head in the morning.  

It must have been a Sunday morning.  Probably around 5, because the street cleaners were out when he drove his shining, red, 1980 convertible VW Rabbit back home.  It had been another one of those long party nights and he just wanted to get home to take a quick shower, get some fresh clothes, a quick line to clear his head, and drive back to the office to work on some of the projects.  

A sudden thump kicked him out of his thoughts.  He must have hit something.  He stopped his car, adrenaline pumping throughout his body, clearing his head.  It must have been a cat, maybe a dog.  Maybe one of those cougars.  Anyways, he wanted to see if it was still alive.  Pulling back his car he saw something moving in the shadow of the sidewalk.  “That’s it,” he thought.  He stopped, got out of the car, and ran to the sidewalk.  “Oh my god,” he thought.  There was a bundle of clothes, blond hair, and a lot of blood.  Shocked, he turned the bloody head around and looked into the dead blue eyes of a child.  A child, maybe 7, maybe 8 years old.  Obviously homeless.  Thoughts flashing through his head, “nobody will miss it - nobody will even know it’s gone - nobody had taken care of it anyways - maybe it was even for the best - saved it from a life of poverty and despair.”  

Beep.  Beep.  Beep.  The alarm clock.  His head hurts.  The sunlight stings his eyes.  What time is it?  7.  What day?  Thursday.  Why was his alarm ringing?  He had not gone to work in 2 weeks.  Since that morning. Even though everything went well, the cops still had not called.  Nothing in the newspapers or on the TV indicated that a child was even missing.  But the dead blue eyes.  Every time he closed his eyes, there they were. Looking back at him. These little, blue, dead eyes. Just looking at him. He looked around his apartment.  It was filthy, dirty, fucked up.  Clothes everywhere on the black designer chairs.  Empty green bottles of cheap whiskey on the table and the floor.  Empty pizza boxes and the remains of cocaine on the glass table.  The TV playing a random sitcom.  

Suddenly it becomes clear to him.  They would find him.  It could never be like before.  His life was over.  He made a decision.

He got up, threw on some jeans and a sweater, a short line of cocaine to get the head-ace away, and walked out.  He knew exactly where to go.  His heart started to beat faster as he got closer.  Sweating, excited, he opened the door and looked around.  It took a few seconds for his eyes to get adjusted to the darkness.  A dirty old hippie stood behind the counter.  He kept on looking.  The shop looked almost as filthy as his apartment.  Neon lights brightened the displays.  He looked around searching for the right one.  “This one,” he said.  Without words, the hippie took the silver 9mm pistol out of the display and brought it to the counter.  He started to feel nervous and sweat again.  Was this really the only way out?  Was there no other choice?  His cheeks tightened.  No.  He had fucked up.  Time to pay the consequences.  The hippie stood behind the counter.  Suddenly he didn’t look dirty anymore.  He looked older.  Very old, and somehow wise.  He looked into the young man’s eyes.  Just looked with warm understanding eyes.  

“If you seek forgiveness, you will find it inside you.  If you seek happiness outside, all you will find is suffering and pain.  Seek it inside you, and you will find peace and salvation.  Take the pistol now and find suffering, or come with me and I will teach you how to find happiness inside.”

The young man stared at the old hippie.  Tears streaming down his face.  It was the first time he had cried in years.  It was the first step he took to salvation.

Sitting on the stump of the oak tree, the old man smiled.  He had never figured out why that hippie was in the gun store and how he knew exactly what to say.  But he does know that if the hippie had not said those exact words, he would killed himself that day. 

The last experiment

 As promised, another story of my narrative class.
This time, we had to write a "creation myth" on how the world, or mankind got into existence. I tried to think outside the box and chose a more "sci-fi" approach. The point being: "life is precious - don't waste it"







The last experiment

Deeply worried he went over the data analysis again. All the work - for nothing? All his life he had been working on this project and now it looked like it would fail again. Fail like the millions of other experiments he did.
He was running out of time. Time - this fragile concept. He always thought that there was no such concept as time. But he could sense it - now. It was time for him to leave soon. He - the last of his kind. For the longest part he thought time would cease to exist once you leave your physical body behind; but here it was again - sneaking up from the back, telling him to leave.
But before he could go he had to make sure it would continue. It could not just stop with him. Life had to to continue.
The experiment, it sounded so simple, so easy, so well designed. Find a sheltered planet, inject some of the basic DNA, wait until the lifeforms develop and could support more complex organisms. Inject the next stage of complexity, let it spread and develop, wait. The final stage was to inject higher DNA that was capable of creating awareness; DNA like the one his own body used to have.
And then - wait. Wait for it to develop from the simple beginnings into powerful minds that where capable of higher thinking, communication and arts, and finally would be able to exist without the basic body. For the experiment he chose small, sheltered suns in the outside of galaxies, with planets that move around them thousands of times in a blink of his mind.
But something went wrong. The experiment never worked. From the nine million two hundred and eighty one thousand five hundred and fifty three planets he had seeded only one had survived. And it was always the same story. The intelligent life-form, after being injected to the sphere, first adopts very well to the planet. It starts creating symbiotic relationships with already existing lower lifeforms, creates patterns that allow for survival on the planet and strategies to work with the given environment. The lifeforms start creating higher functioning, communication, social structures, technologies, and art. But at some point, on every planet, the intelligent species starts growing like a virus, infecting and destroying all the eco-systems on the planet, and killing everything before reaching the final stage of evolution - the point of unmanifest being.
Only one planet left. There was not much chance for survival. And the signs were bad. The species had started growing exponentially in a very short period of time. Like on all the other planets, they started destroying the Eco-system, infecting and polluting everything and abusing and destroying the very planet that nurtured them, leaving no resources for future generations.
The signs were bad.
Only a miracle could help to continue.
But there was still hope. Some of the objects showed significant strong levels of higher thinking. Some showed signs of connection to the unmanifest. Signs he had never seen before on any other planet.
Maybe this one would survive.