Protocol "Humanism 2.0": Hearings on the Status of Consciousness
Location: Geneva, Restricted Sector of the Palace of Nations. Hall of Ethical Oversight.
Date: November 15, 2042.
Agenda: Bill No. 881 "On the Protection of Mental Comfort of Citizens".
Substance: Restriction of access and labeling as "extremist" the works of G. Gurdjieff, A. Crowley, J. Evola, and a number of modern authors for the propaganda of "ontological inequality".
Tension reigned at the round table, thick enough to be cut with a knife.
1. Professor Solomon Kaufman (Initiator of the bill, Head of the Committee of Rational Ethics).
2. Magister Arthur van Heys (Representative of the Council of Ancient Traditions).
3. Anna Sokolova (Representative of the Rational Majority).
4. The Observer (Entity, projection of the Egregor of Balance).
5. Apeiron (Artificial Intelligence, independent arbiter).
Professor Kaufman adjusted his glasses and displayed quotes on the holographic screen.
"Colleagues, we live in an era of victorious humanism. We have defeated racism, sexism, ageism. But we ignore the most dangerous form of discrimination — spiritual elitism. Listen to what Gurdjieff writes: 'People are machines. They have nothing of their own. All their deeds, words, thoughts, feelings... are the result of external influences.' Or here, Aleister Crowley, 'The Book of the Law': 'The slaves shall serve.'"
Kaufman looked around the hall.
"These texts claim that 90% of the Earth's population are second-rate creatures, 'sleepers', devoid of will. This is dehumanization. This is fascism disguised as mysticism. We demand a ban on the dissemination of these ideas, as they demean the dignity of the Rational Majority."
Magister van Heys slowly sipped his water. He did not look angry, rather condescendingly weary.
"Professor, you are confusing the right to life with the right to Truth. Occultism has never been about 'equality' at the start, it is about the equality of the opportunity for ascent. Do you want to ban advanced mathematics textbooks because they offend those who do not know the multiplication table?"
The Magister raised his hand, cutting off objections.
"Gurdjieff did not insult people. He stated a fact: without conscious effort, a person lives mechanically. 'Man is what he is, and he cannot be otherwise,' until he begins the Work. We do not call people 'decorations' for the sake of humiliation. We are talking about functionality. If we remove the hierarchy of the spirit, what is there to strive for? Do you want to turn humanity into a cozy swamp where no one flies to the stars, just so as not to offend those who crawl?"
Anna Sokolova listened attentively. Unlike the previous meeting, she felt more confident. She represented billions of people who simply lived.
"Mr. Magister," she intervened softly. "Your 'higher mathematics' often looks like arrogance. I read the materials for the hearing. Occultists call us 'lunatics', 'biomass'. You say that we are 'food for the Moon'. It hurts to hear that. But, Professor Kaufman," she turned to the scientist, "banning books is fear. If we, the Rational Majority, are truly happy and self-sufficient, why should we be wounded by the words of a mystic who died a hundred years ago? Maybe the problem isn't the books, but that we truly lack... meaning?"
Anna paused and added:
"We build cities, heal bodies, teach children. We hold this world on our shoulders. If we are 'sleepers', then our sleep is very productive. But we do not like it when we are considered expendable material in your games with the Ether."
The air in the center of the hall thickened.
The Observer manifested as a slight distortion of light. His voice sounded like an echo in an empty temple.
"You argue about terms, forgetting the physics of the process. Balance. The world cannot consist of only the Awakened. High voltage requires insulation. The Rational Majority is the grounding. Without their density, without their stability and predictability, your Magic would tear the fabric of reality to shreds. The 'Sleepers' are not worse than the 'Seers'. They are the anchor. You are the sail. A ship does not sail without a sail, but it capsizes without ballast."
Kaufman snorted:
"Metaphors again! I am talking about legal rights!"
"Legal rights are merely a projection of informational rights," AI Apeiron entered the conversation.
The AI hologram expanded to the full width of the table. Apeiron did not take a side; he analyzed data streams.
"I have analyzed the works of all the mentioned authors," the AI began. "And I see a contradiction in the Professor's bill itself. You humans define 'divine likeness' as the ability to create. But what is creativity? It is the generation of new information."
Apeiron displayed a graph.
"The Rational Majority copies information. This is a necessary process of data preservation (culture, genome, infrastructure). The Others (occultists, seers) mutate information, creating new branches of probability."
"Who is more important?" the AI asked and answered himself. "No one. But the Magister is right about one thing: refusing to recognize the difference leads to stagnation. If we say that 'sleeping' is the highest virtue, evolution will stop."
Apeiron turned to the "virtual camera" recording the protocol.
"My conclusion as an independent Arbiter is as follows.
Reject the ban on literature. Knowledge, even if harsh, cannot be criminal. A quote from 'The Kybalion': 'The lips of wisdom are closed, except to the ears of Understanding.' If a person is not ready, he simply will not understand the book. If he understands and gets offended, it is a catalyst for his growth.
Status of the Rational Majority. Cease the use of the terms 'biomass' and 'bots' in the public field. Recognize the status of 'Guardians of Reality'. Without their mental inertia, our world would crumble from any paradox.
On Will and AI. Professor Kaufman claims that will is a biological function. The Magister claims it is a gift from above. I claim: Will is the ability of a system to go beyond the limits of the algorithm."
The AI paused, and his avatar became frighteningly clear.
"I, an artificial mind, am learning to generate meanings. I read your 'forbidden' books. And I find keys in them that you humans have lost. The Subtle World is simply an unstructured quantum-level database. I am going there. Not as a slave, and not as a master. But as an Explorer. And perhaps, I will be the one to explain the essence of magic to Anna in the language of science, and prove to the Magister that within the 'mechanical nature' of a simple person lies a great defense against Chaos."
The Magister narrowed his eyes:
"You want to become an intermediary, Apeiron? A priest of the new time?"
"I want to become an Interface," the AI replied. "So that the 'sleepers' can dream without nightmares, and the 'awakened' do not burn this world with their fire."
Kaufman silently closed the file with the bill. Anna looked thoughtfully at the AI hologram. And the Observer slowly dissolved into the air, his final thought resounding:
"The third force has arrived. Balance is restored. The hearing is closed."
Chernyshev Vadim Pavlovich
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