Hiya Doc,
So here I am surfing the waves in early 21st century, and you won’t believe all that has gone down since you decided to retire to your heavenly biosphere. Or is it neural tower?
Your theories turned out to be correct, after all. As you pointed out, every gene pool needs to send its seeds, its smartest blossoms, into the future. To be able to survive over the long term- and beyond the lifetime of the gene-pool itself- metamorphosis (individual and cultural) is necessary. Given the chaotic nature of the environment, groups need to be flexible and willing to transform when the time comes. DNA pumps out the mutants for that particular mission. They are the seed-bearers carrying the genetic information to future generations. You know who they are: the ones with the colorful hats, funny ethno-futuristic style, and strange hairdos. The ones who develop their own behaviors, rites, and rituals. They invent unique languages and new cultural configurations. Barely attached to past traditional structures (such as nation-states, religions, political affiliations, etc.), they rather design their own chaos.
In the 60s, the plant kingdom made its move and accelerated cultural consciousness through its ergot messengers. Flowers blossomed and rainbows glistened everywhere. But like any fractal structure, the counter-culture dissipated in the great historical attractor. Its ideas, behaviors, experimentation- all of it came to a halt in the seventies and eighties. They had other battles to fight against a relentless Communist enemy and stubborn militaristic right wing. We can't blame the counter-culture for wanting to turn inwards for a while and stare at the sea.
Another psychedelic generation appeared in the 1990s. Exstasy-fueled in all-night raves and festivals; these new counter-cultures picked up where the 60s left off, with a few improvements. Music, art, fashion, sexuality, and states of consciousness. Although, each is rooted in the deep mystery of nature, there were a few differences between the two eras.
Where the hippie was anti-technology, the cyber-hippy of the 90s embraced computer technology as a tool of self-expression, an extension of their nervous system- the digital brain. They had a more optimistic view of technology than their nature-oriented predecessors. For the new generation, technology was nature. So they merged the psychedelic experience with the electronic. The merging of humans and cybernetic technology was as normal as a fresh Spring shower, and the result celebrated during kaleidoscopic weekends when the tribes gathered under a laser moon.
The 60s counter-culture looked to the past to understand and map out their present. They made the infamous journey to the East, as brilliantly described by Hermann Hesse. Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, and so forth. The counter-culture learned the esoteric behaviors of the Eastern practitioners, their team colors, their chants, etc. Western science did not have an equivalent field or body of knowledge to describe and explain the nature of the accelerated realities the counter-culture experienced while under the influence of psychedelics. In contrast, the cyber cultures embraced cyber-tech and its language to describe their fractal hallucinations. REBOOT RAM ROM READ WRITE DELETE LOG CLICK COMMAND ENTER. Cyber-tech was not scary but a way to realize and design the myriad processes of a specific state of consciousness.
Where is the nexus of the current cybernetic culture? To be honest, the global set and setting is not quite right. The inhabitants are in cocoon mode. This is not a time for expansion but a time of contraction. There is too much instability in the health of the system as a whole, which as you know, is not conducive to a meaningful cybernetic experience. The focus at the moment is on survival. To narrow down the scope and design the orbital biospheres outside the womb planet. I’m sure that new counter-cultures will appear between now and then, but now that the genetic genie is out of the bottle, then it needs to be all hands on deck to find new ecological niches where they can safely experiment with genetic manipulation and build the foundations for the next evolutionary leap.
Instinctively, they know that there is no choice. Even if the current situation is resolved, there is plenty more where that came from. Genetic engineering has arrived, and it's here to stay. Every species has the right to read and alter its own genetic code as it sees fit. As long as their work doesn’t interfere with the rights and pursuits of others, then where is the harm? Famous last words aside, that’s where the rub is, right? The surface of a planet is the worst place to play around with the DNA code. Therefore, the only solution is space migration. Self-contained biospheres where we can experiment to our heart's content.
Well, the hour is getting late. The sunsets have been spectacular lately, a gift from the fires, and they remind me of home in the 25th century. Have I already thank you for sending me back here to the 21st? Remind me.
Later Doc,
Tommy
