Knowledge is power; omniscience is omnipotence. And as our quest for dominion over the cosmos advanced, it accelerated rapidly. Before long, when the Singularity would transform this universe, the universe would become our playground, as if it were a simulation.
But technology, capable of destroying as well as creating, can be equally dangerous as promising, as the Cold War has already shown. The most destructive technology involve neither biology nor chemistry, but physics. Indeed, their devastation could literally be astronomical in schale. And even te most powerful forces in the universe would not remain unsurpassed by human ingenuity: as every technology has shown, it is inevitable that we eventually learn to emulate nature. First, we observe; then, we imitate; and finally, we surpass. It is only natural that anything science observes precedes technology that is based on it: ultimately, this applies to any phenomenon in the universe, from the fusion of atoms to the explosion of stars.
And in the end, even the most powerful of all stellar explosions would become insignificant next to the immense devastation we could cause. It could not be denied that our power was growing, for indeed it had since the dawn of our existence. Ever since, this had shown no signs of slowing down, but rather of speeding up. In what, then, would this end, if we'd become capable of destroying even galaxies?
If there would then be even the tiniest disruption in the harmony of civilization, it could seal its doom forever. Even the tiniest vestige of evil intent would be lethal. But as we would evolve as individuals, we would slowly unify as a species; eventually, we would think, feel, and act as one single superorganism. Soon, when the Singularity would unite us all to one, whatever one would do to others, one would also do to oneself.
If only we'd reach the Singularity, Stephen thought, before it was too late. But he already realized that, unless something would be done, this situation could threaten to become fatal to all mankind. He'd find this presentiment to be confirmed soon enough, for, before the end of this day, it would already begin.
But Stephen knew that mankind had more enemies than just himself: sometimes, as dangerous as the cruelty of humanity was the indifference of nature. The universe can impede us as much as we can impede ourselves. And control often entailed destruction; this was so not only for mankind, but also for nature. The destructivity of technology could have benefits as well as detriments.
Civilization was menaced with constant threats: climate change, astronomical impacts, stellar explosions, black holes… all could come to an end before we'd even have time to react. The chance that the world would end appears small: after all, it hasn't happened for billions of years. However, that it hasn't happened may not only mean that the chance that it does is small, but also that we otherwise wouldn't be here to ask why it hasn't yet! This is a strong form of the anthropic principle: the universe is as it is because we otherwise wouldn't be here to observe it as it is. Our safety, then, may as well be an illusion. As we know only one ecosphere, that it has survived may as well be an exception as it may be a rule.
Moreover, as our civilization will grow, threats from outer space will become considerable: while the danger of extermination will decrease, the danger of casualties will increase. The more planets we possess, the more planets we may lose. And while the best way of preserving civilization from war is negotiation, we cannot hope to negotiate with nature. To defend ourselves or flee is our only option. The question is: how can we fight something that is countless of times greater than ourselves?
Yet, at the same time, it could also be useful to imitate the destruction of cosmological cataclysm. Nuclear fusion was only one of the first of many stellar processes we'd manage to imitate; the last would be stellar implosions. As astrophysics advanced, we'd not just observe each phase of the lifetime of stars, but also imitate them.
But perhaps the most efficient ways to destroy something would not occur in nature. For instance, by deactivating electromagnetism, we could instantly break down anything to the subatomic level; deactivating the strong force would do the same on nuclear level; and increasing the weak force would do the same on elementary level. Because subatomic assemblers would one day become omnipresent in every atom, just like molecular assemblers were now omnipresent in our every cells, this would effectively allow us to cause any matter at all to disappear.
But aside from force control, there were easier methods to thus break down any matter to the subatomic level. Even then, there was already a way of controlling the existence of any matter which, in principle, was theoretically viable with that day's technology. If this technology had then been prevalent, abuse thereof in the Transhuman War would have had calamitous consequences. Indeed, our world as we know it now would not be the same.
