All language subtitles for Ancient Aliens S08E03 Aliens and Robots

NARRATOR:
Incredible strength.

RICHARD RADER:
You had the creation

of a superhuman that was
indestructible, invincible.

NARRATOR:
Superior intelligence.

MARK DICE: The ultimate goal
is to become an immortal god.

NARRATOR:
And the ability to reproduce.

DAVID WILCOCK:
You have a robotic consciousness

that has become something
we would think of as a person.

NARRATOR: But is this obsession
with creating counterfeit humans

really pointing the way

to mankind's future

or to its past?

GIORGIO A. TSOUKALOS:
Another civilization has done

the same thing hundreds

of thousands of years before us.

NICK POPE:
We may be living in a universe

where the real
intelligences out there

are robots.

NARRATOR:
Since the dawn of civilization,

mankind has credited
its origins to gods

and other visitors
from the stars.

What if it were true?

Did extraterrestrial beings

really help
to shape our history?

And if so,
could there be a connection

between aliens and robots?

Kansai Science City, Japan.

At the
Advanced Telecommunications

Research Institute,

Dr. Hiroshi Ishiguro
and his team

are developing
a series of robots.

Artificial humans
that are incredibly lifelike,

both in their appearance
and in their facial gestures.

NARRATOR: This robot--
part of the Geminoid series--

is designed to look
identical to its maker.

But what separates it
from other robots of its type

is the number of miniature
motors, called actuators,

used to mimic human expression.

While most use ten to 12,

the latest Geminoids
use over 50.

NARRATOR:
The robot is programmed to mimic

as closely as possible
the movements

a human makes while at rest.

It responds spontaneously

to being touched
or when asked a question.

It can also
be remotely operated.

NARRATOR: While the Geminoid
robots focus primarily

on replicating
facial expression,

engineers at
the University of Texas

Human Centered Robotics Lab

have developed a robot
named Dreamer

that can perform
an equally impressive series

of sophisticated body movements.

We made Dreamer more humanlike
through, uh,

features and-and shapes and
kind of dimensions of a human.

And at the same time making the
movements much more humanlike

by understanding
and learning from the human.

So one thing that makes unique
the movement of Dreamers

is what we call
the whole body control.

NARRATOR: Although Dreamer's
torso rests on a wheeled base,

a bipedal set of robotic legs

are currently being developed

which will make Dreamer
fully mobile within two years.

SENTIS: Ultimately,
we want these machines

to live 100 years unassisted.

Without any supervision
whatsoever.

NARRATOR: By combining
the lifelike characteristics

of androids like those

developed by Hiroshi Ishiguro

with the mobility
of robots like Dreamer,

scientists believe
we might soon see a time

when artificial humans
will be virtually identical

to the real thing.

SENTIS: We're gonna be able to
actually create very humanlike

robotic systems
to the point that

they are nearly
indistinguishable,

both in movement
and in morphology.

STEVE FULLER:
You look at something like

the sort of entities
that were dealt with

in the movie Blade Runner,
the kinds of Turing tests

that were done there
to try to spot the androids.

I think that in principle,

we could have androids passing

a sophisticated version
of the Turing test

that would force the machine
to think reflectively about

its own consciousness,
about its own past,

about its own feelings,

and I think that this

should not be impossible
to do, and in which case

we should count
these beings as human.

NARRATOR:
In the 21st century,

robots are being programmed
to do everything

from performing surgery

to driving a car.

And humanoid robots are rapidly

reaching a level
of sophistication

that was thought to exist

only in science fiction.

But what are the implications
of creating robots

that are increasingly
intelligent and independent?

In March of 2015,

Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak
was quoted as saying

"Computers are going
to take over from humans...

the future is scary."

Even Stephen Hawking

and Tesla Motors founder
Elon Musk

have predicted
that machines may soon surpass

and ultimately replace humans.

Many scientists
and thinkers have postulated

that ultimately machines

are gonna take over the world.

Computers are getting faster
and more powerful.

Ultimately, we will
design machines

that themselves design

even better machines.

If it gets smarter than us,
we'd better watch out.

NARRATOR: But while
conventional scientists

ponder whether or not robots

are destined
to take over the earth,

ancient astronaut theorists
are asking themselves

quite a different question:

Did this all happen before,

perhaps thousands of years ago?

Abydos, Egypt.

Seven miles west of the Nile.

Within this expansive
archaeological site

lies the ruins
of the Osiris Hall,

where thousands
would gather to worship

the god of the underworld.

TSOUKALOS: In comparison
to many of the gods,

Osiris is actually
thought to have lived

physically on Earth

as one of Egypt's Pharaohs.

He is often depicted

with a winged disc of the sun.

And while many scholars
have suggested

that this is nothing else

but, uh, to worship the sun,

that sun, as far as
the Egyptians were concerned,

also had wings
and it descended from the sky.

So in my opinion,
something else was depicted:

an extraterrestrial event

that in fact
took place in real life.

NARRATOR: Although most ancient
astronaut theorists believe

that the Egyptian gods were,
in reality,

extraterrestrial visitors,

there are many
who wonder if Osiris

was even made
of flesh and blood.

One of the most famous stories

that go hand in hand with Osiris

was that he was dismembered

by his jealous brother, Seth.

JONATHAN YOUNG:
Seth went into a fury

and tore his brother's dead body

to shreds, tore it
into 14 pieces, had it scattered

far and wide
all over the kingdom.

But Isis, the loyal wife,
searched far and wide

and found the pieces
and pulled it together.

TSOUKALOS:
Isis succeeded

in resurrecting him.

Now, when I hear
a story like that,

that a being is dismembered

and then somebody
puts together those pieces

and then they are able
to magically resurrect him,

I have to ask the question:

is it possible
that Osiris was not

some type of biological entity,

but perhaps he was some type

of a machine or a robot?

NARRATOR:
For ancient astronaut theorists,

perhaps the strongest evidence
that Osiris

may have been a robot
can be found

in the ancient Pyramid Texts,

which describe the symbol
of the Djed Pillar

as Osiris' spine.

WILLIAM HENRY:
Osiris in his resurrected form

was portrayed as a pillar

that clearly resembles

a modern-day Tesla coil.

The Djed Pillar
was considered a power pillar.

TSOUKALOS:
In this one carving at Abydos,

it is as if Isis has her hand

inserted into Osiris's back.

And so perhaps it illustrates

how she was manipulating Osiris.

Could it be that
the story of Osiris

is something
completely different

than what we have thought?

NARRATOR: Is it possible
that our ancestors

encountered highly sophisticated
extraterrestrial robots

in the ancient past?

And if so,

might there be some
tangible evidence?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes

and believe the evidence
was recovered

deep beneath the sea

and dates back

more than 2,000 years.

NARRATOR:
The Aegean Sea.

April, 1900.

Just 230 feet off the coast

of the small island
of Antikythera,

sponge divers discover
an ancient shipwreck

150 feet beneath the surface.

Over the next two years,

artifacts are recovered
from the wreckage

and among them are the remains

of a coral-encrusted metal box

that dates back
to the second century BC.

It is the oldest
mechanical computer

ever found,

predating artifacts
of similar complexity

by 1,500 years.

So you have
this small little box

with dozens of cogwheels

on the inside,
and it has been determined that

that analog computer was used

to predict astronomical events.

And so it was the first computer

that has ever been created
by mankind.

CHILDRESS:
The American scientists

who were studying
the Antikythera device

actually said that discovering
the Antikythera device

was like finding a jet plane

in the tomb of King Tut.

It was so amazing to them.

They had never, ever conceived

that the ancient Greeks,
at 200 BC,

would have had the knowledge
of mechanical devices like this.

That's completely changed the
way we perceive ancient history.

NARRATOR:
While excavation teams

have still not determined for
certain the origin of the ship

on which the Antikythera
mechanism was found,

the leading candidate
is the island of Rhodes.

According to some
contemporary accounts,

Rhodes was once home to what,
by today's standards,

would be considered
high technology.

In the fifth century BC,

the poet Pindar
wrote that Rhodes

was once adorned with statues
that came to life

like living, moving creatures.

TSOUKALOS:
He wrote that they

all of a sudden became alive,

and so the question then arises:

well, if you have
a lifeless object first

and then
all of a sudden somebody

breathes life into something,

could it be that
we have references

to some type of machines?

Where did the people of Rhodes

get the knowledge
of how to create

these moving statues
2,500 years ago?

I believe that it is

just what Pindar said,

which is, they got it
from the gods.

Well, who are these gods?

The gods are real people,
they're extraterrestrials

who had this technology,
shared it with humanity.

And now when we see
the Antikythera mechanism,

there's something
you can put your hands on

that shows that
they had the capability

to do advanced machine work.

It's 1,500 years
too early, at least.

The point is,
that technology really exists,

and from a technology like that,

going to robotics
is not too much further.

And extraterrestrials
would very well have had

that capability for the time.

If you believe what this legend
says on face value.

NARRATOR: Could the Antikythera
mechanism be proof

that the ancient Greeks
had technology

far in advance of the times
in which they lived?

And might this be evidence
that there really were

functioning robots
on the island of Rhodes?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes

and claim there is also evidence

that advanced robots existed

300 miles to the north

on another Greek island: Lemnos.

Here lie the ruins
of Hephaistia,

one of the most important
cities in Greece.

It is named for the Greek god
of metallurgy,

Hephaestus, who was said
to have fallen here

from the sky
and actually existed

on Earth alongside humans.

RADER: He's described
in his workshop as being

surrounded by automated robots.

He flips on the machines

and they bustle around,
doing all the sort of...

the hard busywork for him.

NARRATOR:
One of Hephaestus' most famous

and amazing creations was Talos,

a giant man made of bronze

who protected
the island of Crete.

Talos was able to observe

all of the ships
approaching Crete

and hurl stones at those ships.

And he was able
to release this heat,

and thus incinerating any boat

or anything that would
come close to him.

So is it possible

that Talos was
some type of a machine

or a robot?

NARRATOR: Greece isn't the only
place where ancient stories

can be found
about inanimate objects

that appear to come to life.

The Jewish Talmud
describes a clay figure

called the Golem
that could be brought to life

by inserting a spell
into its mouth.

In India,
an ancient Sanskrit text

called the Lokapannatti

tells of spirit
movement machines

as far back
as the fifth century BC.

And the Chinese text the Liezi

describes a humanoid robot
being presented to King Mu

as far back as 3,000 years ago.

YOUNG: There are stories
from many cultures

from all over the planet
of people who have either

created other humans or machines

that were very much like humans.

NARRATOR: But if sophisticated
robots really did exist

in the ancient world,
what function did they serve?

Who built them?

And perhaps more importantly,

what happened to them?

On March 24, 2015,

the Mars rover
called Opportunity

reaches the west rim of the
14-mile wide Endeavor crater.

It is searching for minerals
and other evidence

that might prove
that life once existed here.

It is one of several
remote-controlled robots that,

for more than a decade,

have provided NASA
with invaluable information

about our closest alien planet.

Well, NASA has successfully
controlled robots over,

you know, crazy distances.

They would execute the plan
here on the ground, then they

would upload those instructions
to the robot on Mars.

NARRATOR: Another NASA robot--
the humanoid

Robonaut 2--

works on the International
Space Station.

And in development
is the so-called

super robot, Valkyrie,

which is designed
to set up habitats

and pave the way
for humans on other planets.

When humans go out
into space, uh,

it's very difficult and
dangerous and time-consuming.

It's far easier to send robots,

and if that's what we do,

that's sure as heck
what extraterrestrials

are gonna be doing.

NARRATOR: But just as we
are employing robots today

to gather information
and minimize risk to human life,

could similar
cybernetic technologies

have existed
in the ancient past?

Could stories
like that of Osiris,

Talos, and the Golem be true?

Ancient astronaut theorists
say yes

and believe that the proof
can not only be found

in the past, but right here
in the present.

NARRATOR:
Norway.

November, 2014.

Scientists from
the University of Oslo

work on a new breakthrough
in robotics,

creating robots
that are able to adapt

and continue functioning

even after losing a limb.

The robots also know
how to create new limbs

with the use of a 3-D printer

and reapply them,

effectively repairing themselves

without the aid
of a human being.

This new technology
is the first step in achieving

what Hungarian scientist
John Von Neumann envisioned

back in the 1940s:

self-replicating robots.

John Von Neumann
was, uh, a mathematician

that had an idea about
self-replicating machines,

where you send out
a seed machine

and that machine
will seek out raw materials

to construct a copy of itself,

and then that will then
send that machine

out to replicate itself.

POPE:
So one become two,

two become four,
and eventually these things

would be able to explore
the entire cosmos.

Now, one theory is that
extraterrestrial civilizations

would build space probes
like that,

and that would be
the quickest way

to explore the entire universe.

FULLER:
The interesting question

is going to be the extent
to which

part of that
self-replicationing includes

the memories and the learning

that the first generation
of robots engage with.

So you'd want to make the robots

as open to new experiences
as we are

but at the same time
be able also to pass on

the experiences
from any given generation

to the next generation
through self-replication.

So I think that this could be
a very important way,

in terms of space travel, to go.

I mean, I think
the more interesting question,

from the standpoint of ourselves
as human beings,

is the extent to which
we remain part of that process.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible

that we could create
self-aware robots

that are completely autonomous

and send them off to explore
the universe unassisted?

And might these robots be able
to self-replicate endlessly,

using materials found
on distant planets?

Ancient astronaut theorists
propose

that extraterrestrial beings

may have already achieved
this technology.

It is entirely possible
that an advanced civilization--

I'm saying far more advanced
than we are on Earth--

could actually develop
this technology

of self-replicating machines

and then could send
artificially intelligent robots

out into space as sentinels

that scan a much vaster area

than that civilization itself
could go to with manned probes.

It's something that probably
is already very widely in use

by a variety of
extraterrestrial civilizations.

HENRY:
The Von Neumann machines are

an awesome idea that is
reflected in ancient stories

of extraterrestrials
coming to Earth.

In the ancient Egyptian
tradition,

we learn
of these formless light beings

that emerged
from what they describe

as the Island of the Egg

and create civilization.

It suggests
that they're utilizing

some kind
of self-replicating robot

that has the ability
to utilize genetic forms,

perhaps imported
from the home planet,

that can then be manifested
on a new planet,

in our case, Earth.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible that evidence

of self-replicating robots
can be found

in ancient historical
and religious texts,

such as those concerning
ancient Egypt?

And, if so, is mankind today

merely tapping into knowledge
that was available on Earth

thousands of years ago,

knowledge that might have been
brought here

by extraterrestrial
space travelers?

According to some
ancient astronaut theorists,

the concept
that extraterrestrial life-forms

may have first visited the earth
as machines or robots

is not only likely but logical

and can even help to explain
a series of alien encounters

that have been reported
as recently as the 20th century,

encounters with robot visitors

that might otherwise
be referred to as the Greys.

NARRATOR:
May 9, 2001.

The National Press Club,
Washington, D.C.

During a media conference
for the Disclosure Project,

former Army Sergeant
Clifford Stone

makes a stunning announcement:

he claims that for more
than two decades

he was part of a top secret
military operations unit

tasked with recovering
extraterrestrial technology

for the United States
government.

I was involved in situations
where we actually did recoveries

of cra... of crashed saucers,

for lack of a better term,
debris thereof.

There were bodies
that were involved

with some of these crashes.

Also, some were alive.

While we were doing all this,

we were telling the American
public there was nothing to it.

We were telling the world
there was nothing to it.

One of the things
that Clifford Stone talked about

was a program
called Project Moon Dust.

Now, Project Moon Dust was
a legitimate military program,

and it was designed
to recover things

like Soviet space satellites.

The small number of documents
on Moon Dust

that have surfaced through
the Freedom of Information Act

talk about how it wasn't
just Soviet spacecraft--

it was also UFOs.

Actually uses the term "UFOs"
in the document.

NARRATOR:
According to Stone,

he was the first to respond
to 12 UFO crashes.

But it wasn't until the day
after the press conference,

during a closed session with
Stone and members of Congress,

that he revealed something
even more shocking

about his firsthand accounts
with alien entities.

I met him the very next day,
on May 10,

in the closed executive/VIP
summary briefing

for members of Congress.

One of the things
that Sergeant Stone talked about

was the nature of the so-called
Grey extraterrestrials.

He said that there were
some very strange

biological anomalies about them

that make them look almost
as if they are some sort

of biological robot.

They seem to have very few, if
any, organ systems in the body.

And yet these beings appear
to be able to walk around

and think and function.

Sergeant Clifford Stone
got so emotional

about what he was talking about
in front of these congressmen

that he literally broke down in
tears and walked off the stage.

LINDA MOULTON HOWE: I spent
several different times with him

at his home,

looking at documents
and listening to him tell

his own extraordinary experience

of having some sort
of an encounter

with something that would fall
in the category,

from his point of view,

of being in the android

or hybrid area.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible

that the so-called Greys

reported
by alleged alien abductees

are really robots
being controlled

from beyond our planet?

In 2014, the online magazine
Motherboard posted an article

in which a handful
of philosophers and astronomers

speculated that the dominant
life-form in the cosmos

is probably
superintelligent robots.

And according
to ancient astronaut theorists,

the notion is not as far-fetched
as it seems,

especially when one considers

that Hiroshi Ishiguro's
Geminoid robots

are designed
to transmit a human presence

from thousands of miles away.

Similarly designed to operate
from a remote distance

is the Dreamer robot created
by the University of Texas

and also NASA's latest robotic
space traveler,

Valkyrie.

RADFORD:
What we envision in the future

is more
of a supervised autonomy,

where you're giving the robot
high-level instructions

and the robot's
autonomous enough

to interpret
those high-level instructions

and then carry out
a portion of its mission.

HOWE:
If you have androids,

something else
with great intelligence

has to have made them

to come here
to work on this planet.

NARRATOR: But while some ancient
astronaut theorists believe

the Greys could be surrogates

controlled by alien entities
from far, far away,

others suggest the truth
is even more incredible.

People often describe the Greys

as featureless,
emotionless creatures.

Could it be that they're all
effectively from the same mold?

Maybe they are

Von Neumann self-replicating
machines themselves.

The interesting thing
about this theory

is that people often say that
the purpose of the abductions

is to harvest genetic material.

Well, if these Greys

are actually
self-replicating robots,

what they might be doing

is actually getting
genetic material from humans

to construct more copies
of themselves.

NARRATOR: When Clifford Stone
made the statement

that Grey aliens might not be
entirely biological entities,

as part of his argument,
he cited the fact

that they have
a cookie-cutter quality to them.

Does his testimony suggest that
the extraterrestrial entities

that are visiting the earth
are not only part mechanical

and synthetic
but also part biological?

Or do they really represent
alien creatures

that are part machine
and part human?

NARRATOR:
September 2003.

Clemson University,
South Carolina.

Dr. Thomas Boland files
the first patent

for inkjet 3-D printing
of viable cells.

Already a multibillion dollar
industry,

this process involves
placing biological materials

into modified ink cartridges

and printing onto bio paper

made of soy and collagen.

What we see
is little petri dishes

with a culture medium
like agar in them.

And then you have
a little nozzle that comes over

and spray-paints these
little hexagons onto the agar.

And within only a few minutes,
they start growing cells,

and they become
these brown spots,

which are the beginnings
of human livers.

RADFORD: Dr. Boland has
some very interesting research

looking at printing cell tissue.

I think that opens up
some very interesting ideas,

um, about how
to bio-manufacture things.

At some point,
it'll have application

in the field of robotics,

especially
as we start combining devices,

uh, with the human body.

NARRATOR: Many believe
this is the first step

in constructing
engineered human organs.

Ultimately,
the goal is to do the same

for every other part
of the human body.

But there is a movement
to go much further

in merging biology
with technology.

It is called transhumanism.

The ultimate goal
of the transhumanists

is to become an immortal god.

And, literally,
these people believe

that they will merge with
technology and become cyborgs.

They believe that they will
unlock the immortality

anti-aging systems encoded
into the human race

and that that will be
the supposed final evolution

of human beings
as they ascend into godhood.

Transhumanists
generally acknowledge

that human beings are the
products of biological evolution

but we've now reached a stage
in our development

where there's an open question
about where we should go.

On the one hand,
our biological background

could be taken as a kind
of platform to go forward,

manipulating genes
in various ways.

But on the other hand,
we might think about ourselves

merging more directly
with silicon-based technologies.

DICE: We see the rollout
of these head-mounted displays

like Google Glass,

where people are now wearing
a computer on their head.

The Apple Watch now is sort of
merging man with machine, and,

instead of sitting down
at a computer now,

people are just wearing
their computer.

Uh, we see artificial hearts,
we see, uh, pacemakers.

These are sort of
the early precursors

to this transhumanist
transformation.

There certainly is a merging

between technology and biology,

and we are experiencing it
right now.

NARRATOR: Some experts believe
that by the year 2050,

scientists and engineers
will have unlocked

the secrets of immortality

through the production
of artificial organs

and silicone-based structures.

Ancient astronaut theorists
suggest

that considering the fact
that we are experimenting

with transhumanism today,

it is very possible a more
advanced extraterrestrial race

has already achieved similar
technological advancements.

A civilization millions of years
older than us

could have actually evolved
much beyond the baby steps

that we're taking right now.

TSOUKALOS:
If we are doing this,

is it possible
that another civilization

has done the same thing

but perhaps thousands,
if not hundreds of thousands,

of years before us?

When we look at some of these
ancient texts that we have,

we're always talking
about ancient astronauts

that came to visit us.

But what if we were visited
by machines?

And so the idea then arises:

will we ourselves be able
to become cyborgs?

WILCOCK: It's possible
that other civilizations

may have decided they would be
able to essentially live

indefinitely this way.

And the more that we look
at the way in which technology

and biology are fusing together,

the more
that we can confront the notion

that, with the advancements
of computer power,

we could have sentient beings

that are
significantly more advanced.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible

that extraterrestrials have not
merely sent intelligent robots

to Earth in their place

but that they themselves
have actually evolved

beyond biological bodies?

And, if so,

what might this mean for
the future of the human race?

NARRATOR:
February 8, 1957.

Washington, D.C.

At Walter Reed General Hospital,

Hungarian scientist
John Von Neumann,

the man
who came up with the idea

for self-replicating robots,

dies at the age of 53.

At the time of his death,

he was working on a manuscript

titled
The Computer and the Brain.

At only 82 pages,

the text was far from finished,

but some have proposed

that Von Neumann was exploring
the possibility

of reproducing a human mind
entirely on a computer.

For transhumanists,
this opens the door

for what many consider one
of the most radical innovations,

mind uploading.

DICE:
Companies have actually built

what are called
neural interfaces,

where they have wired computers
into people's brains.

They believe that they can map
the entire human brain

and all of the data
that's stored in it

and then replicate it

into an artificial intelligent
silicone-based system,

where it can then be stored
and essentially never die.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible

that an entirely nonbiological
being could have sentience?

And if extraterrestrials
have been visiting Earth

for thousands of years,

might it be more likely

that they are
actually fully robotic beings?

POPE:
Biological entities

may actually be a rarity
in the cosmos.

We may be largely living
in a universe

where the real intelligences
out there--

and perhaps coming down here--
are robots.

WILCOCK:
There are some who believe

that machines may have already
achieved a level of intelligence

vastly in excess of our own

and that they may be giving us
a trail of bread crumbs

to help us rebuild
the technology

that would get us
to become enough like them

that we could eventually
be merged into their society

in some fashion.

NARRATOR:
Could extraterrestrials

who have been observing mankind
for thousands of years

have led us to this point

because they desire not just

that we achieve
advanced technology

but that we actually become
the technology?

And if humans are the creation
of extraterrestrials,

as ancient astronaut theorists
suggest,

might they have
initially created us

as biological entities in order
to limit our lifespan

until we are ready
to become like them?

There are
very interesting things

about how similar to a machine
the body is.

If you injure certain parts
of the brain,

the body breaks down,
like a machine.

You can injure a tendon
or a joint,

and then that part
of the machine

doesn't function anymore.

So we have to look
at the possibility

that life is not necessarily
what we've considered it to be.

There is a possibility
that if we create computers

with enough complexity

that consciousness
could actually breathe life

into that inanimate substance

and you have
a robotic consciousness

that has become something
we would think of as a person.

HENRY: In ancient story
after ancient story,

we see references
of extraterrestrials seeking

to influence the human body,

to augment it,
especially with technology.

With today's transhuman
movement, you have to ask,

is this possibly part
of an extraterrestrial agenda

to influence humankind through
the implantation of technology

with the human body?

And, if so, what is the purpose?

Is it to accelerate
our abilities

or is it an effort
to control humanity?

Ultimately, time will tell
the answer to those questions.

NARRATOR:
Is it possible

that otherworldly beings
are leading mankind

not only to evolve on Earth

but ultimately to a destiny
of joining them in the stars

as nonbiological entities?

And could it be that our
increased reliance on computers,

cell phones, the Internet,

and even synthetic body parts

is part
of a vast extraterrestrial plan,

one that will see humans become
more and more assimilated

into the very technology
we have grown so dependent upon?

Perhaps mankind's destiny

is not to have a close encounter
with its ancestor

but with our future selves.

And perhaps when that day comes,

human beings as we now know them

will be thought of
as little more

than obsolete operating systems.

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