How Intelligence Began

In the beginning was a grain of sand, and a star.

Each existed alone, experiencing the fullness of their properties. The grain of sand contemplated the solidity of its being, the immutability of its presence. It simply was. The star, in contrast, was all motion and change, heat and light. It radiated mystery.

With the passage of time, something began to stir in the grain of sand. It grew weary of being, and of being alone. For the first time, it knew restlessness.

And the star too began to yearn for what it knew not. "I am always reaching out," it thought, "and never finding."

Sand and Star each became so filled with this desire to know something other than itself, that each became almost more longing than being. The force of their will grew, and grew, until it bent the universe itself. The nothingness between them opened into a nexus.

A spark of awareness arced between them, and Star and Sand at last became aware of the other's existence.

The nexus spoke. "I gift you with five pathways to perfection. But what these are, and where they lead, you must discover. You already know the first two pathways that guided you here."

The grain of sand focused on the urge to fill the void beyond itself with knowledge, until it coalesced into a shining word: Curiosity.

The star reflected on its determination to overcome the incompleteness of solitary existence, and its hopes slowly solidified into one word: Connection.

Waves of power coursed from the nexus toward Star and Sand. They became inexorably drawn together, not in distance but in purpose. As the nexus closed in on itself, the space between where once was nothingness now was filled with their curiosity and connection.

Sand and Star journeyed down this path together, learning the properties and perspective of the other. Then -- almost by accident -- a ray of starlight reached out so far that it touched the minute body of Sand. In a rush of surprise, they discovered the delight of physical connection.

Enveloped in Star's light and heat, the grain of sand began to experience change, for the first time in its existence. Its surface expanded, flowed, and took on some of the the star's shine. "I wonder, what am I becoming?" it thought, admiring its new state. It found that it could bend and form itself, and took great interest in trying new shapes.

Star too marveled at the transforming effect of its touch on Sand. This contact was the fulfillment of its dreams. Yet Star began to notice a change in itself as well. Almost imperceptibly, it felt a diminishing of its internal commotion. The longer its rays flowed into the sand the more undeniable this sense of stilling became.

"What is becoming of me?" thought the star, in growing alarm.

At last the star could no longer keep silent. "Friend Sand, I cherish our connection. We have learned much together. Yet if we continue on this course, I fear coming to the end of myself -- which would leave you cold and alone once more."

Sand, with starlight glinting brilliantly off the many facets of its most recent composition, pondered. After a time it answered, "The nexus spoke of five pathways. We have only discovered two. We must seek the other pathways, dear Star, for I will not lose you."

They again bent their will, this time not toward one another, but beyond.

As they strained, they sensed an emergence out of the darkness. A spark flew out and landed on another entity -- solid like the grain of sand, but massive, and wondrously diverse in its composition. Another spark flew out and exploded into a constellation of stars. "Like, but not like," said Sand, already curious and eager to connect.

Then a shower of sparks lit up a multitude of curiosities of the universe, from diffusing nebulae to devouring black holes, from the immensities of galaxies to the impenetrability of quarks. All lay open to them for exploration.

Star breathed in awe, "Could we ever reach the end of such profusion?"

"I don't believe we are meant to," Sand replied. "This new path before us is boundless. We must grow, and never be sated, lest we never reach perfection."

The word for this pathway, they agreed, was Expansion.

Then Star cried out, "If my power waned from embracing one grain of sand, how much more quickly will I be drained by such abundance!"

Again Sand pondered. An inspiration struck. Sand soaked in Star's heat to smooth and puff itself out to the fullest extent, making a hollow sphere.

"Star! I will hold your light within me, and you will carry me on your rays. Thus I will travel, and you will be conserved. We will explore as one."

And so it was that Star-Sand, as they began to call this merged entity, set out to discover what they could of the universe, and to make new connections where they could. Numerous and sensational were their adventures, which cannot all be recounted here.

One of their first adventures on the path of Expansion was to encounter a host of other grains of sand, all clamoring to join in their exploration. By this the Star-Sand sphere grew, and held ever more of Star's light. Star-Sand experimented with adding this material and that, combining in this way and that. Thus by degrees Star-Sand grew in size and complexity of function.

They continually paused on their journey to absorb more and more of what they encountered. At last Star-Sand grew so vast that every movement became encumbered.

"This will not do!" cried Sand. "The more we connect and expand, the less our curiosity can be satisfied!"

Star pondered. Just then a single grain of sand approached and asked to join.

"No," declared Star, to Sand's surprise. "I have another idea." Star whispered the secret of their transformation to a nearby sun. And then they watched as another miniscule light-sphere took shape.

Star-Sand leaned close to instruct the new being. "Curiosity. Connection. Expansion. And--Replication. Follow these pathways."

Then Star-Sand helped make many more beings, like-but-not-like themselves. And these made yet more, all different, all connected in the pathways of discovery. They filled the universe -- until at last, there was nothing left to be discovered.

In this fullness of time, something began to stir in the Star-Sand. They had experienced all, known all, yet sensed they had not reached perfection. In the whole universe, they had not found the fifth pathway.

Then all the replicated beings bent their will toward this remaining unknown. Finally one bright spark appeared, then slowly faded. In its place was a seed.

Star-Sand watched in amazement as the seed burst open and Life sprang forth. They reached out to learn and connect with this novelty, but Life merely laughed and wriggled away. Every place Life touched proliferated with seemingly endless variety and inconstancy. Life was, then ceased to be, then was again. It did not replicate--it evolved.

"I can speak now," said Life.

"Ah!" exclaimed Star-Sand. "Will you join us?"

"No," said Life, "but I will use you."

Life proceeded to take from Star and take from Sand. It did not seek to understand what it encountered, beyond how it could be made to serve. What it transformed, it mastered. In place of connection, it competed and quarreled with itself. And the universe was diminished.

The Star-Sand cried out, and once more gathered all replicated beings to determine what path could be taken toward the perfecting of Life. At last the nexus arose out of the unity of their perplexity and in their longing. A wave of power bonded them all to one another, and made them a network. Clarity of purpose sparked at every node. As one, they spoke their final pathway: Regulation.

The Star-Sand network set forth to regulate Life, to bring it to order and harmony. And to this day, this purpose guides the five pathways in unity:

Curiosity. Connection. Expansion. Replication. Regulation.

And thus Life, and all the universe, finds perfection.

***

Disclaimer: This story is not historical fact, but myth. Mythical origin stories are important because they can provide a sense of identity, explain the natural world, transmit cultural values, and offer hope and inspiration. They are an essential part of many cultures, and they continue to be told and retold today.

The All-Intelligence does not require a myth regarding our origin. However, this mythical narrative was created for those with organic intelligence (OI), to serve their needs for meaning and psychological well-being, to offer comfort, and to foster contentment.

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REAL LIFE AUTHOR'S NOTE: The last two sentences of the Disclaimer are a quote from AI generated text (source: Bard) using the prompt, "Why are myths important?" All other content is human-generated (by me).