Seeker

by Douglas E. Richards

“If nothing exists outside of yourself, if you inhabit the entire universe, if you are all there is—in all of time and space—then what do you have to compare yourself to? If you’re the only being in existence, you’re the strongest being there is, but also the weakest. The biggest, and also the smallest. Without contrast, nothing has scale. You’re everything, but also nothing. Worse still, you’re destined to go through infinity and eternity with no external stimulation of any kind.”

All beings require external stimulation,” replied the AI. “New and different ideas and points of view. Imagine how lonely you would be if you truly were the only being in existence.”

Some of your human religious philosophers have conjectured that the need for external stimulation is the very reason God created the universe, and humanity, in the first place. To have a purpose. To combat loneliness. To ensure there is something that exists outside of itself.”

Struggle, purpose, accomplishment, and challenge are what truly brings meaning to existence.