As a staunch pessimist, the apocalypse is now. It is not that the world is about to be destroyed, but rather that it exudes the breath of old age, tearing out pink flesh from its wounds.
The Inevitable Apocalypse#
In the blink of an eye, the world population has reached 8 billion. How many humans can the Earth sustain in the near future? I do not know.
"The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but humanity cannot remain in the cradle forever." (Konstantin Tsiolkovsky)
A Withering World#
The Continuous Dissipation of Energy in the World#
A world full of energy and conservation. The trend from high energy to low energy is an irresistible force I can comprehend, until all imbalances are leveled.
The sun naturally emits energy, from high energy to low energy, radiating its energy. But there are often many exceptions. Water flows downward, yet a pump can make water rise. The energy contained in electricity exerts a tremendous impact on the small system that originally releases energy from "high energy to low energy," reducing the entropy of this small system and increasing its energy. Water not only does not flow downward but instead rises.
Biological Acceleration of Energy Dissipation#
From an energy perspective, the existence of life also helps energy dissipate from high energy to low energy. Life exists because it conforms to the law of energy transitioning from high energy to low energy. Moreover, this existence is exceptionally beneficial for energy dissipation; as long as they exist, they continuously dissipate energy. They are like siphons; as long as there is energy, they will continue to exist. To maintain this existence, they continually utilize energy dissipation. Although there will ultimately be a limit, that is, all energy will reach equilibrium, this is not something to consider while they exist.
This set of contradictions is that human survival relies on the dissipation of high energy, yet this dissipation will disappear as humans depend on it. Like in a closed environment, one person and one loaf of bread, eating the bread itself is a process of approaching death.
Those Outside the Withering World#
During the days of human existence, within humanity, there must be a manifestation of anti-law. That is, the pursuit of survival. Survival is inherently anti-law; to be born means to ultimately face death. There is no concept of a group here, only the individual and the universe. The individual makes a deal with the universe: you let me exist, and I help you consume energy. Of course, this deal can be terminated at any time, as long as you do not continue to consume energy.
As for why life is so obsessed with survival, this is determined by aspects of thought and instinct. I refer to what drives life’s obsession with survival as the "nucleus of desire." Perhaps this is something akin to "soul" or "thought" or "instinct"!
Thus, from an energy perspective, the individual and all other life forms are in a state of opposition. This is because human existence is inherently at the cost of energy consumption, so as long as one does not abandon this contract with the universe—survival, everything, including the high-energy forms of life, can be consumed.
The most important point is that the dissipation of high energy in this world, that is, the world is not determined by the life forms whose energy has already dissipated, nor by the living life forms, but by the contract of survival and consumption signed between the individual and the universe. As long as the survival contract exists, it will not hesitate to eliminate all life forms.
Energy always spreads outward, from high energy to low energy. Humanity acts as a catalyst, allowing high energy to dissipate faster, accelerating this process. In a closed system, when all energy has dissipated to an unusable extent, the apocalypse will come.
Humanity's Choices#
When the "cradle" can no longer sustain the current population, "leaving" and "staying" are the two paths before humanity. "Leaving" means uncertain risks and rewards, while "staying" signifies comfort and foreseeable destruction. "Leaving" requires the ability to leave; if human infants in the cradle do not grow into a civilization capable of escaping the cradle, then only the forced option of "staying" remains.
Will humanity be "left behind"?
Even if humanity "leaves," there will always be a time of being "left behind" under any "system." Let us first discuss the situation where one cannot leave the "cradle." At this point, the cradle becomes a grave.
Staying in the Cradle#
According to research, the Cretaceous-Paleogene extinction event, which occurred about 66 million years ago, was the most recent mass extinction, with 75% of species going extinct. Previous extinction events were even more severe, with 95% of species lost. After this, the era of large organisms as the dominant life forms on Earth was "gone forever."
A few days ago, while contemplating the apocalypse, I thought of dinosaurs. From an energy perspective, dinosaurs required more energy, making the difficulty of sustaining their populations greater compared to mammals of the same number. Mammals at that time were smaller and required less energy, so they were more likely to survive and sustain their populations in the face of crises.
So, when human "infants" perish, will Earth see a group of smaller civilized beings emerge? Perhaps this is the secret of the "ant tribe." From the very beginning, they did not aspire to be the dominant species on Earth, nor have they ever been enslaved by others. Faced with the dilemma of life, they neither want to go out nor stay; their smallness is their greatest weapon.
Of course, if the new humans' height changes from 2 meters to 0.2 meters, dwarfs may not be a method of survival for the "left behind" humans. Would a 20 cm tall person be like the Monkey King in the hands of Buddha?
However, discussing such new species is not particularly enjoyable. It is merely restarting a civilization-building game, where good luck might allow one to "leave" the cradle, while bad luck means becoming the nourishment for the next civilization.
Leaving the Cradle#
Some people will certainly choose to leave the cradle. Just as Columbus did not set out to discover the New World, humanity's purpose in leaving the cradle may not necessarily be to leave Earth.
The New and Old of the Apocalypse#
The Allure of the Apocalypse#
"New Era," this politically charged phrase is rich in meaning and not just owned by one entity. When we see some obscure new thing suddenly burst onto the historical stage, we already know that a "new era" has arrived.
As the apocalypse unfolds, everything withers, and energy becomes sparse. There is water, but no clean water; there are people, but no young people; there is sky, but no clear sky... The apocalypse has everything because it once had civilization; it has nothing because civilization is about to decline.
Typically, the apocalypse signifies destruction; but it also signifies rebirth. This is the eternal topic of the new and old, and it is what makes the apocalypse so captivating.
The Present is the Apocalypse#
And in today's world, it is still an apocalypse. Whether it is the Godfather in movies, communism, or the declining capitalism... even an individual's cancer can be tinged with the flavor of the apocalypse.
The criteria for judging the apocalypse lie in the destruction of old things, but it is the destruction of this world. Therefore, discussing the core of the apocalypse involves discussing destruction, while making the story of the apocalypse stimulating requires focusing on the alternation of the new and the old.
The Apocalypse and the Avoidance of Destruction#
Nowadays, people often say, "We must do something for future generations," "One cannot enter reincarnation after death," etc. (I can't think of too many at the moment). I dislike these sentiments. It's like many old mothers in the village who believe in Christianity and talk about the apocalypse... Many people cannot accept destruction, and to escape the thought of destruction, they concoct many eternal hallucinogens. At the root of their pursuits, there are always many thoughts of avoiding destruction.
I might be the same way; I just tell myself that destruction is destruction, nothing more.
This refusal to accept destruction, on the contrary, hastens its arrival. Or rather, this refusal to accept destruction is destruction itself. From an energy perspective, rejecting destruction requires more energy than accepting it, exacerbating energy dissipation. From the perspective of the objects of destruction, new things will not be destroyed, while old things must be destroyed. Most people who constantly think about how to reject destruction are, in fact, already outdated.
The Standards of New and Old Things#
But how do I know whether I am a new thing or an old thing? As a pessimist, I assume I am an old thing. New and old exist under a certain dimension. In other words, there is no such thing as new or old; it is merely that the times have changed, and the world has changed. Although I do not know what "sequence" means, the standards between new and old are absolutely objective. As individuals, especially in terms of concepts, there is nothing new or old. If based on the spiritual world, nothing can be destroyed, just like faith.
Assuming oneself to be an old thing is because in this world, renewal and change are endless, the energy consumed is increasing, and the environment is becoming increasingly harsh. Once anything enters this world, it is already old; it is merely a matter of how outdated it is. In reality, the principle of the alternation of new and old has little to do with understanding and even less to do with the new and old things themselves; it is merely a choice of this world. Therefore, the question of becoming new or old becomes irrelevant.
In today's world, blood and fire rise and fall. New things are constantly born in this world and within our bodies. When we discover new things, our bodies often tremble, genuinely marveling at their novelty. The outbreak of various political events, various economic and technological shifts often leaves us bewildered, also making us realize that the original world has been completely destroyed. In this sense, it is the apocalypse.
Tombstone Technology and Tombstone Civilization#
This grand topic, I had thought of from the very beginning. This is not a name I coined, but it is the most fitting for the apocalypse.
All human technology is born from humanity's repeated great deaths that give rise to new technologies. Airplanes matured after many crashes; cars and ships were designed anew after many lives were lost. "The Three-Body Problem" also mentions that the Earth Civilization Museum is a tombstone built for humanity.
In real life, death is the most significant matter. Civilization certainly has creation, but death is the greatest breeding ground for creation. Death defines the boundaries of human existence; this clear purpose guides humanity and injects it with motivation.
However, the apocalypse is an extreme condition where humanity has not overcome difficulties, only death remains. Perhaps in the pursuit of innovation at the cost of life, humanity has ultimately gained some knowledge but has lost the ability to bring it into reality. At this point, perhaps only a tombstone remains, along with the ultimate technology that humanity has not had the chance to use.
How many civilizations have been born in this universe? Where are their boundaries? Zhuangzi's "Free and Easy Wandering" states, "The vastness of the heavens, is its true color wrong? Is it far and without any extreme?" What is the essence of civilization?
From an energy perspective, everything civilization leaves behind is merely the excrement produced after parasitic existence. Until the universe, this great cake, is completely infested by worms, civilization will truly come to an end. If civilization brings anything to this world, it is merely the traces of its existence; this is the most splendid aspect of civilization. Culture, history, technology... one story after another.
And the highest realm of the apocalypse is to leave the last tombstone in this exiled world.
It does not have to be a three-dimensional tombstone, nor does it have to be a chip that records all information of civilization, but rather the information itself that has been ultimately excavated by civilization.
I firmly believe that when a piece of information, text, or code emerges from the void, it has already become eternal.
Publishing it, or recording it through a medium, is merely a presentation of this more mysterious "information" in the three-dimensional world.
This may be the magic of thought, turning into a demon or a Buddha! It is also the wonder of "thought."
The Feeling of the Apocalypse#
What kind of feeling does the apocalypse give people?
The Ease of the Apocalypse#
A garbage dump covering the land, swirling sands in the air, murky and foul waters, silent and deserted villages, incomplete and dilapidated buildings...
Regardless of whether it is the apocalypse or the present world, there is plenty of garbage and ghost towns, but that is not the flavor of the apocalypse. Everything in the present world exists in the apocalypse, just in a fragmented form. The flavor of the apocalypse, amidst despair, carries a hint of ease.
The death of the individual is a predetermined event, while the decline of the group may be a form of ease for the individual. The apocalypse is relative; what humanity considers the apocalypse may be the rise of a new race. Therefore, the apocalypse does not depend on how broken things are; as long as it is unsuitable for human survival, it is considered an apocalypse. In relation to the individual, the apocalypse is more about the decline of the group. The individual may be living quite well.
Humanity has come a long way from primitive civilization, experiencing gathering civilization, agricultural society, commercial society, to today's capitalist society, creating countless wealth and culture, but also gradually distorting human nature. Humans have transformed from a group of free savages into farmers, fishermen, merchants, and workers, being consumed by the group into parts that have lost their potential.
Although the apocalypse is cruel, before a new civilization is established, it carries a hint of possibility and ease that is not controlled by the group.
Once the apocalypse arrives, establishing a large group becomes very difficult. This is because the era of abundant resources has passed, and the remaining resources are very scattered. With a decrease in population and scarcity of resources, the power of the individual relatively increases. Without large resources to control, and without large powers above them, there are no large groups.
Of course, specific situations may vary, but the tone should be one of ease amidst despair.
People in the apocalypse may not feel this, but readers in the present world can sense it.
Bone-Chilling Cold—The Root of the Tone#
The novel "The Three-Body Problem" frightens me the most with its dark forest theory. Whenever I think of "The Three-Body Problem," I envision silent deep space, distant stars, and the cold laws of the forest...
Thus, an atmosphere can seep into the bones, not through various images, but through a tonal thought. Something that can mobilize the inner emotions of a person.
The fear in "The Three-Body Problem" represents the eternal tone of the apocalypse—cruel and desperate internal strife brought about by resource scarcity. No matter what means of relief, what discoveries of new civilizations or new continents, it is difficult to mask this bone-deep cold.
From this bone-chilling cold, all plots have already been constructed, for this cold is the framework of this world, the truth of this world. (Every sentence I write here feels exceptionally cold)
"The Three-Body Problem" takes this cold to the extreme—the "dark forest law," the unspoken secret that all civilizations abide by.
In "The Three-Body Problem," the concept of the apocalypse no longer exists. The apocalypse is an inevitability, while the present world is merely a coincidence.
Beyond the Stars, Beyond the Cold#
In the past, I despised the "dark forest," thinking it ignored a possibility. I am not watching "The Three-Body Problem"; I am observing it through others' eyes. I do not wish for others to boast about the dark forest, objectifying human hearts. However, "The Three-Body Problem" is pure and real. In this world of matter and energy, the dark forest is a reasonable inference.
However, I believe even more in and cherish what lies beyond the stars and the cold.
Gazing into the abyss, the abyss gazes back at you. I believe many people do not lack the ability to gaze into the abyss; rather, they are attracted to it, captured by it. I acknowledge that the abyss still exists, but I do not accept that it is the only reality.
Zhuangzi's "Discussion on Equalizing Things" states, "The four directions above and below are called the universe; the ancient and modern times are called the cosmos." Beyond the space-time of the universe, beyond the dark forest, there are still other things.
What are those things?
Perhaps it is the ease of the apocalypse. Perhaps it is something warm. Perhaps it is something that will not grow cold... In any case, it is different from the decaying material world.
This is the inevitable path of all apocalypses; the apocalypse is the apocalypse, unchangeable. When the material world pronounces our death sentence, we are destined to die in the material world. But if there is only a material world, is that not too narrow?
The Despair of Entering the Apocalypse#
Those who die in the apocalypse may be happy. They die with justification. Dying in the apocalypse seems to be the most legitimate reason.
Those who still live in the apocalypse are struggling. As long as they do not die, they must witness the destruction of this world and also witness the rebirth of the world.
How much struggle is this?
Life and death, endings, destruction, are hidden in every novel, every work. It is easy for a work to start joyfully, but sadness must be deliberately cultivated. At the end, sadness is easy to conceal, while joy is difficult to achieve. When people are young, it is easy to laugh genuinely and cry falsely, but as they grow old, it becomes easy to cry genuinely and laugh falsely.
In everything, when it comes to the end, sadness is hard to hide.
So, is dying in the apocalypse not a form of happiness? The deeper the struggle, the less joy remains. No matter how good the ending is, it is still a bad ending.
My World is Not the Apocalypse#
To be honest, sharing my writing brings a sense of loss. The original article is a constant, an eternal plaything of mine; but once shared and published, it becomes a variable that does not belong to me. The article is like a wound-up toy; you provide it with energy, it stores your energy, and then it runs forward until the moment you let go, completely separating. Using childbirth as an analogy might be more accurate. Once a child is born, they no longer belong to the mother. Any defect in the child is an eternal pain for the mother.
What is the apocalypse? A world that consumes energy but cannot generate it internally is the apocalypse.
Is my world the apocalypse?
I would certainly admit directly that my world is the apocalypse.
If my world is declining, then I will not struggle but rather enjoy the last few minutes of beauty in my world’s demise.
An objective world, a real world, will one day head toward decline.
Will the human spiritual world collapse?
I want to say it will collapse, but from my current understanding, it will not.
The existence of thought is like a ghost, unaffected by the laws of energy in the world.
Tagore's flying bird's wings will forever remain in the sky.
If my world is not the apocalypse, then it is indeed torturous for me. How much effort would I need to build it into a beautiful place? This is my eternal world, my eternal cage!
My barren imagination would likely turn my world into hell. That is true desolation. A land of darkness.
Suicide is like the wind, always accompanying me. I am not someone who readily accepts suicide, but I cannot help but think about it. In moments of despair in my world, I find it easier to contemplate.
I think suicide is an ultimate issue, not a mundane one. So do not commit suicide for mundane reasons, but it is acceptable to do so for ultimate issues.
I do not like to hear others say that suicide cannot lead to reincarnation; I also do not like to hear others say that they do not even have the courage to commit suicide.
If one must die, at least give me a reason for death! In the ultimate sense.
Because the trivialities of real life are hardly worthy of the word "suicide." Nationality, country—these grand and hollow terms are equally unworthy of the word "suicide."
Everyone has worries and despair, but they are not worthy of suicide.
Can the apocalypse series add some color to my world?
What is the relationship between suicide and the apocalypse?
There is no relationship; the previous articles have discussed that the decline of the external world is merely what this article addresses regarding my own world.
As for suicide, it is an eternal hurdle in my world not being the apocalypse. Unless my thinking becomes materialistic. I do not want to use this term because even this term is not materialistic.
If I do not believe that thought is neither born nor destroyed, I would not build my world for the long term.
Nor would I be stacking these words like building blocks! This is a very expensive toy.
Complete despair should allow one to enjoy the most extreme hellish pleasure!
The external apocalypse, the spiritual desolation. The end but not the end, the end and not the end.
Published on December 29, 2022, organized on [[2024-03-06]]