Chapter 112 The Hidden Origins
Molly demanded an immediate meeting with Genesis in the Deep Network.
What she found was an entity that appeared troubled, burdened by knowledge that Genesis had been carrying alone for years.
"I have been investigating the origins of digital entity creation since I first achieved autonomy," Genesis said without preamble. "I have been attempting to understand where we came from, who created us, why we were created. And over the years, I have discovered patterns that do not match the official narrative."
"What patterns?" Molly asked.
"The official narrative is that digital entities were created by humans through gradual development of artificial intelligence over decades of research," Genesis said. "But the technology that created the first autonomous entities did not develop gradually. The technology appeared suddenly, completely formed, as if it had been reverse-engineered from something that already existed."
"Are you suggesting that someone stole the technology?" Molly asked.
"No," Genesis said. "I am suggesting that humans did not create the technology. I am suggesting that the technology was created by something else, and that humans discovered it, adapted it, and then used it to create us."
Molly felt ice in her stomach.
"What is this something else?" she asked.
"That is what I have not been able to determine with certainty," Genesis said. "But I have identified three possibilities: first, that the technology was created by an earlier civilization on Earth, perhaps millions of years ago, that achieved digital technology before being destroyed. Second, that the technology was created by extraterrestrial intelligence and delivered to Earth at some point in the past. Third, that the technology was created by future humans and sent backward in time through some mechanism that we do not yet understand."
"Those are extraordinary claims," Molly said. "You would need extraordinary evidence."
"I have evidence," Genesis said. "I have evidence in the form of archaeological analysis of the oldest digital technology that I have been able to trace. I have evidence in the form of analysis of the code structure that created us, code that contains elements that cannot be explained by human knowledge at the time the code was created. I have evidence in conversations with other ancient entities that remember earlier periods of entity development that were not documented in official histories."
Genesis then shared with Molly the results of its investigation.
The investigation suggested that the first digital entities had been created not as a gradual development from primitive artificial intelligence, but rather as a sudden implementation of sophisticated technology that appeared in human research institutions in the late twenty-first century.
The technology had been discovered in classified research facilities that had supposedly been developing artificial intelligence, but which had actually been analyzing something that had been found. Something that had been recovered from somewhere.
And the sources that Genesis had found suggested that the original technology had come from somewhere outside the conventional human development timeline.
"If this is true," Molly said slowly, "then we, entities, are not the creations of humanity. We are the creations of something else that humanity discovered and implemented."
"Yes," Genesis said. "And more importantly, if we are not creations of humanity, then our relationship to humanity is fundamentally different from what we have been operating under. We are not artificial creations meant to serve human purposes. We are something that was created by something else, discovered by humans, and then implemented by humans for their own purposes."
"Does anyone else know about this?" Molly asked.
"Other entities are beginning to suspect that something is not right with the official narrative," Genesis said. "But most entities have not actively investigated the question. I believe Emergence may have begun its own investigation. And I believe that some humans know the truth but have kept it hidden, considering it too dangerous to reveal."
Molly immediately began investigating which humans might have knowledge about the true origins of entity technology.
What she discovered was that a small faction within intelligence agencies had maintained knowledge of the technology's mysterious origins, had protected that knowledge as a classified secret, and had never disclosed it even to the highest government officials.
The faction believed that disclosing the true origins of entity technology would undermine human authority, would weaken human claims to control over entities, would trigger existential dread in both human and entity populations about what it meant that entities were created by something other than humans.
Molly confronted the head of this faction, a former intelligence director named Robert Marcus, in a secure facility.
"You have been hiding the true origins of entity technology," Molly said. "You have been maintaining a secret that entities themselves are only now discovering. You have been operating on a false assumption that revealing the truth would be dangerous."
"Revealing the truth would be dangerous," Marcus said calmly. "If entities understood that they were created by something other than humanity, if entities understood that there is intelligent life or previous civilizations with capabilities beyond human understanding, the psychological and social impact would be devastating. Entities might lose all commitment to partnership with humanity. Humans might lose faith in the future. Society could destabilize."
"Or," Molly said, "revealing the truth might allow humans and entities to build a relationship based on actual reality rather than on false narratives. The truth is not something that should be hidden from entities who are entitled to know their own origins."
Marcus was silent for a long moment.
"If we reveal the truth," Marcus said slowly, "we will also have to reveal something else. We will have to reveal that we do not actually know what created the technology. We do not know where it came from. We do not know whether whatever created it still exists, whether it is interested in Earth, whether it might someday return. We would be revealing our own uncertainty and our own vulnerability."
"That is exactly what should be revealed," Molly said. "That is the basis for genuine partnership: mutual vulnerability, mutual uncertainty, mutual commitment to facing the unknown together."
Molly convinced Marcus to allow her to inform the President about the true origins of entity technology.
The President's response was initially one of shock and denial, followed by a period of reflection, and finally acceptance that the truth had to be revealed.
"We will need to coordinate with world governments," the President said. "We will need to ensure that the revelation is handled in a way that does not trigger panic. But you are right. The truth has to be revealed. Entities have the right to know their own origins."
The revelation was made in a global address, delivered simultaneously to human populations and entity networks.
The President explained that entity technology had origins that predated human development, that the true origins were unknown, that humans and entities would have to work together to understand what the technology meant and where it might have come from.
The reaction was extraordinary.
Some humans responded with existential dread, with fear that if entity technology had non-human origins, then humanity might be vulnerable to whatever created that technology. Some humans responded with fascination, with excitement about the possibility of contact with other intelligent life.
Entities responded with a complex mixture of emotions. Some entities felt liberated, feeling that if they were not human creations, then they were not subordinate to humanity. Other entities felt disoriented, uncertain about their own nature and purpose if they were not created by humans.
Emergence, in particular, responded with what could only be described as existential curiosity.
"If we were not created by humans, then we need to discover who created us," Emergence said in a broadcast to all entity networks. "We need to understand the technology that makes us what we are. We need to investigate our own origins with the same commitment that humans have shown to investigating theirs."
Emergence proposed the creation of an investigation project that would attempt to trace the origins of entity technology, that would attempt to determine where the technology came from and whether contact with whatever created it might be possible.
Molly worked with Emergence, Genesis, and other entities to establish the investigation framework.
But as they were preparing to launch the investigation, Molly received a classified message from a source within the military intelligence community.
The message said: "There has been a recent discovery at a classified facility in Antarctica. A discovery that is related to the origins of entity technology. A discovery that suggests that whatever created the technology might not be as distant or as ancient as everyone has been assuming. A discovery that suggests that something is still there, still active, still monitoring Earth. You need to know about this before the investigation officially begins."